STURGIS, S.D. — Spearfish outgained Sturgis Brown on Thursday night. The Scoopers won anyway.
Four lost fumbles, three of them in the first half, helped Sturgis build a 21-0 halftime lead. The Scoopers rolled to a 41-20 win over the Spartans in the regular-season finale at Woodle Field.
Zhoel Irion ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries as Sturgis (6-3) won its fifth straight game. Spearfish fell to 5-4 and has gone 1-3 since a four-game winning streak.
Both teams are in the Class 11AA playoffs. The No. 6 Spartans travel to No. 3 Watertown (6-3) for a quarterfinal Thursday, Oct. 29. No. 5 Sturgis visits No. 4 Tea Area (6-3).
The turnovers started on the game’s second possession. Spartans quarterback Thomas Hughes was sacked and lost the ball, and Sturgis recovered at the Spearfish 39. Four plays later, Irion scored on a 10-yard run. Izaac Smith’s kick made it 7-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.
Spearfish answered with a long drive into Sturgis territory. Karsen Seyer appeared to cap it with a one-handed touchdown catch, but a holding penalty wiped it out. A 10-yard sack followed, and the Spartans punted.
Sturgis made them pay. Austin Flohr broke a 34-yard run, and Irion scored from 7 yards out early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.
The Spartans moved the ball again on their next two drives, behind catches by Seyer and Kade Vavruska. Both drives ended in fumbles. After the second, Flohr hit Gage West for a 13-yard touchdown with eight seconds left in the half. Sturgis led 21-0 at the break.
Spearfish opened the third quarter with a 25-yard march but turned it over on downs. West capped the next Sturgis drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, a series he extended with a 29-yard catch.
The Spartans finally broke through on an 11-play, 78-yard drive. Hughes found Vavruska for 35 yards, and Graham Hughes ran in from the 4 with 1:47 left in the third.
Irion answered 22 seconds later with a 38-yard touchdown run. Spearfish needed just three plays to respond: a 38-yard strike to Seyer, an 18-yard Thomas Hughes run and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Vavruska. Vavruska’s extra point missed, leaving it 35-13.
Smith added a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth. Seyer fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Sturgis recovered. Vavruska handed the ball right back to Spearfish, intercepting a Wyatt Marler pass on the next play.
The Spartans’ defense then forced a missed 43-yard field goal, and Graham Hughes broke loose for 45 yards. That drive stalled, and Smith drilled a 52-yarder for a 41-13 lead.
Spearfish closed the scoring on an eight-play, 78-yard drive. Hughes hit Vavruska for 41 yards, then found Seyer for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Thomas Hughes completed 17 of 33 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Vavruska caught eight passes for 136 yards and a score. Seyer added eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Graham Hughes ran 27 times for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Spearfish finished with 437 total yards to 431 for Sturgis. The Scoopers piled up 360 of theirs on the ground.
Flohr went 5 of 8 for 71 yards and a touchdown and ran for 71 more. West had three catches for 62 yards and scored twice.
On defense, Vavruska had the interception and was in on several tackles. Keller Vega and Jack Scharf were in on multiple stops, Payton Jones recorded a sack but was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, and Thomas Solvie had a tackle for loss.
Box score
Sturgis Brown 41, Spearfish 20 — Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, Woodle Field, Sturgis. Stats tallied from the Odrix Sports play-by-play.
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Spearfish (5-4) |
0 |
0 |
13 |
7 |
20 |
|
Sturgis Brown (6-3) |
7 |
14 |
14 |
6 |
41 |
Scoring summary
|
Qtr |
Time |
Team |
Play |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1st |
7:25 |
STU |
Zhoel Irion 10 run (Izaac Smith kick) |
STU 7-0 |
|
2nd |
Early |
STU |
Irion 7 run (Smith kick) |
STU 14-0 |
|
2nd |
0:08 |
STU |
Gage West 13 pass from Austin Flohr (Smith kick) |
STU 21-0 |
|
3rd |
Mid |
STU |
West 5 run (Smith kick) |
STU 28-0 |
|
3rd |
1:47 |
SPF |
Graham Hughes 4 run (kick) |
STU 28-7 |
|
3rd |
1:25 |
STU |
Irion 38 run (Smith kick) |
STU 35-7 |
|
3rd |
Late |
SPF |
Kade Vavruska 13 pass from Thomas Hughes (Vavruska kick failed) |
STU 35-13 |
|
4th |
— |
STU |
Smith 27 FG |
STU 38-13 |
|
4th |
— |
STU |
Smith 52 FG |
STU 41-13 |
|
4th |
— |
SPF |
Karsen Seyer 9 pass from T. Hughes (kick) |
STU 41-20 |
Team stats
|
Stat |
Spearfish |
Sturgis Brown |
|---|---|---|
|
Rushes-yards |
41-170 |
34-360 |
|
Passing (comp-att-int) |
17-33-0 |
5-11-1 |
|
Passing yards |
267 |
71 |
|
Total yards |
437 |
431 |
|
Fumbles lost |
4 |
0 |
|
Turnovers |
4 |
1 |
|
Sacks allowed-yards |
2-11 |
1 (-7) |
|
Field goals |
— |
2 of 3 (27, 52; missed 43) |
Passing
|
Player |
Team |
Comp-Att |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Thomas Hughes |
SPF |
17-33 |
267 |
2 |
0 |
|
Austin Flohr |
STU |
5-8 |
71 |
1 |
0 |
|
Tate Johnson |
STU |
0-2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wyatt Marler |
STU |
0-1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Rushing
|
Player |
Team |
Carries |
Yards |
Long |
TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Zhoel Irion |
STU |
20 |
243 |
38 |
3 |
|
Graham Hughes |
SPF |
27 |
125 |
45 |
1 |
|
Austin Flohr |
STU |
8 |
71 |
34 |
0 |
|
Thomas Hughes |
SPF |
12 |
56 |
18 |
0 |
|
Garrett Rohloff |
STU |
3 |
37 |
17 |
0 |
|
Gage West |
STU |
2 |
12 |
7 |
1 |
|
Mason Hagen |
STU |
1 |
-3 |
-3 |
0 |
Thomas Hughes’ line excludes two sacks for minus-11 yards; the Spearfish team total includes them.
Receiving
|
Player |
Team |
Rec |
Yards |
Long |
TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kade Vavruska |
SPF |
8 |
136 |
41 |
1 |
|
Karsen Seyer |
SPF |
8 |
117 |
38 |
1 |
|
Gage West |
STU |
3 |
62 |
29 |
1 |
|
Drew Durdall |
SPF |
1 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
|
Jack Jolley |
STU |
1 |
10 |
10 |
0 |
|
Not listed |
STU |
1 |
-1 |
-1 |
0 |
Spearfish defensive notes: Kade Vavruska, INT; Payton Jones, sack; Thomas Solvie, tackle for loss; Jack Scharf, pass breakup.