Bison dominate Aberdeen Roncalli to move on to semis

Photo and story by Richard Anderson

The statistics only proved what we already knew: The Hot Springs Bison football team, seeded seventh, dominated the previously unbeaten and second-seeded Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers 28-0 Thursday night in a Class 11B quarterfinal game at Dacotah Bank Field in Aberdeen.

The Bison, 8-2, doubled up Roncalli in total yardage – 483 to 213 – and will move on to the state semifinals for the first time since the 2014 season. That year, in Class 11A, was the last of three straight seasons Hot Springs played in a semifinal game to get to the Dome.

Hot Springs faces No. 3 seed Elk Point-Jefferson at 5 p.m. (MT) Friday at Elk Point.

As has been the case all season, the Bison were led offensively by a strong offensive line and the Iverson twins – Preston and Landon – as well as fullback Camron Maciejewski.

Preston Iverson led the way with 197 yards rushing on 26 carries, scoring twice on runs of 5 yards each. From the quarterback position, the 5-foot-6, 160-pounder also completed 1-of-6 passes for 6 yards. Landon Iverson, at 5-6 and 170 pounds, finished with 174 yards on 17 carries, scoring on runs of 27 and 8 yards and caught the one pass for six yards.

Maciejewski, at 6-0 and 190 pounds, added 79 yards on just seven carries. As a team, the Bison ran the football 51 times for 448 yards, an average of 9.8 yards per rush.

On the defensive end, the Bison held the Cavaliers to just 83 yards on the ground for an average of 2.97 yards per rush. As a team, the Cavs went into the game averaging 248 yards per game. Maddox May, who averaged 103.5 yards rushing per game this season, was held to 43 yards on 15 carries.

Roncalli quarterback Jackson Isakson was 8-of-17 passing for 130 yards.

Maciejewski led the Bison defense eight assisted tackles, four solo stops and one tackle for loss. Junior Collin Iverson added three solo tackles and four assisted tackles and junior Caleb Rickenbach added five assisted tackles, two solo stops and two tackles for loss. Senior Dylan Webb had seven assisted tackles and one assisted tackle.

Landon Iverson had one interception, asecond-half pick in the end zone.

The shutout was Hot Springs’s fifth of the season. The Bison defense has given up 90 points this season, with 70 of those points in the first four games. They have given up just six points in the last five games.

With the win, the Bison will hit the road again to face another unbeaten team, Elk Point-Jefferson. The Huskies, 10-0 had an impressive 42-0 win over Redfield Thursday night. They thumped Rapid City Christian 58-7 in the first round last week.

In comparison games between the two teams, the Huskies beat Redfield 42-0 (HS--14-13), Bridgewater/Emery-Ethan 28-14 (HS--45-6), RC Christian 58-7 (HS--42-0) and McCook Central/Montrose 35-0 (HS, 7--16).

Hot Springs is averaging 34.6 points a game on offensive, giving up 9.0, while Elk Point-Jefferson is averaging 48 points a game, giving up just 35 points (3.5) all season with six shutouts.