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Harding County/Bison's Kelby Hett (16) passes the ball during a game against New Underwood on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding County/Bison's Gage Gilbert (42) grabs a pass over his shoulder in front of New Underwood's Jaxon Fulton (5)during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding County/Bison's Evan Meyer (21) makes a grab beyond the reach of a New Underwood defender during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
NEW UNDERWOOD — Harding County/Bison took an 8-0 lead after one play from scrimmage on Thursday at New Underwood and never looked back.
On the first play of the new season, Ranchers quarterback Kelby Hett hurled a 75-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Hett, followed by a 2-point conversion.
The Ranchers kept up their early momentum in a 64-12 road victory over the Tigers that ended via mercy rule with 7 minutes and 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
“It always feels good to get that first one out of the way and come home with a win,” Harding Co./Bison head coach Jay Wammen said. “I saw a lot of good things from our offense and our defense. I’m pretty happy about our first game.”
Harding County/Bison's Keegan Hett slips out of the grip of New Underwood's Kale Crowser (20) en route to a score during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding Co./Bison (1-0) outpaced New Underwood offensively with 644 yards of total offense, compared to 127 yards of total offense for the home team.
The Ranchers jumped out to an early 22-0 lead with 3:25 left in the opening quarter, but the Tigers roared back to cut their deficit to 22-12 after one quarter.
In the end, however, Harding Co./Bison proved too much for New Underwood on both sides of the ball, scoring 42 unanswered points to close out the contest.
“I think we were always just one guy off,” New Underwood head coach Cameron Koch said. “There was just that one play in the drive where somebody took a play off or just didn’t do their fundamentals. In football, you know, all nine guys have to come to the football and do the fundamentals right or it screws up the whole play.”
Kelby Hett looked outstanding for the Ranchers under center. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 256 yards, one interception and five touchdowns, but credited his teammates for putting him in position to make plays.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my linemen,” the senior said. “They kept me safe all night and I don’t have a stain on my jersey. Everything just opened up. I know my players and I know theirs, because I watched film, so I just picked on them one-on-one.”
The quarterback also credited Veal for opening the offense by making plays in the run game. Veal racked up 185 yards on eight carries with three touchdowns.
“I saw a lot of open space,” the sophomore said. “My line was busy tonight and I have the best line in the state. I’m giving all of the credit to those guys.”
Harding Co./Bison also stepped up on the defensive side as it limited New Underwood to two first downs and recorded six tackles for loss, including five sacks.
“Our philosophy has been to get after the ball and see ball, hit ball,” Wammen said. “We want to get nine guys to the ball.”
A pair of first-half injuries, one for each team, put a dampener on the season opener for the two squads.
Harding Co./Bison’s Keegan Hett left in the first half with an upper body injury and New Underwood’s Cole Knuppe exited late in the second quarter with an ankle injury. The coaches for each team expect that both will return this season but did not have any further updates.
New Underwood's Cole Knuppe (8) passes the ball as Harding County/Bison's Wyatt Head (47) applies pressure during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Knuppe looked impressive in limited action at quarterback for the Tigers. He finished 10-of-16 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Jaxon Fulton stepped in at signal-caller for the Tigers’ only offensive series of the second half.
Harding Co./Bison scored touchdowns on its first three drives with a pair of 2-point conversions to take a 22-0 lead with 2:25 to play in the first quarter. The scores included two touchdown passes of 75 yards and 45 yards from Kelby Hett to Keegan Hett and Gage Gilbert, respectively.
New Underwood bounced back with a two-play 50-yard drive capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Knuppe to Fulton. After a fruitless 2-point conversion attempt, the Tigers trailed 22-6 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Fulton intercepted Kelby Hett and ran nine yards before a personal foul gave New Underwood the ball at the Harding Co./Bison 31.
One play later, Knuppe found Cash Albers for a 29-yard touchdown pass. Another failed 2-point conversion attempt cut the Tigers’ deficit to 22-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter, however, belonged to the Ranchers as they scored five touchdowns and held the Tigers to -16 yards. Harding Co. Bison entered the locker room with a 58-12 lead.
In the third quarter, the Ranchers forced a three-and-out on the Tigers’ opening drive and took over at their own 37. Two plays later, Cade Costello ran 52 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 64-12 lead, invoke the mercy rule and end the game early with 7:11 left in the period.
Both teams return to action at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26, as New Underwood hosts Lyman and Harding Co./Bison travels to Kadoka Area.
Contact Alex Dodd at ADodd@rapidcityjournal.com
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Harding County/Bison's Kelby Hett (16) passes the ball during a game against New Underwood on Thursday in New Underwood.
New Underwood's Cole Knuppe (8) passes the ball as Harding County/Bison's Wyatt Head (47) applies pressure during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding County/Bison's Gage Gilbert (42) grabs a pass over his shoulder in front of New Underwood's Jaxon Fulton (5)during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding County/Bison's Evan Meyer (21) makes a grab beyond the reach of a New Underwood defender during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
Harding County/Bison's Keegan Hett slips out of the grip of New Underwood's Kale Crowser (20) en route to a score during a game on Thursday in New Underwood.
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