Sully Buttes Uses Power Rushing, Passing to Down Hitchcock-Tulare
The Sully Buttes Chargers came off of their bye week looking rusty early in the first quarter, but found their rhythm as they defeated Hitchcock-Tulare 48-18 Friday night in Onida.
Junior quarterback Wesley Wittler was without senior running back Gavin Barber, but junior Kadyn Westergren picked up the slack rushing 19 times for 99 yards giving Wittler time to rev up his passing game to the tune of 235 yards in the air to try and keep the hard hitting Patriots on their heels.
After a 66 yard pass and catch from eighth grader Neil Salmen to senior Payton Chasing Hawk, Hitchcock-Tulare opened the scoring, 6-0. The Chargers answered two series later with a Westergren run, with a two point conversion to go up 8-6. Wittler then intercepted a pass giving the Chargers the ball on their 40. Wittler scored on a QB sneak, one of three on the night and by halftime it was 32-12 Sully Buttes. The Chargers recovered an onside kick to start the second half, and after going up 48-12, the continuous clock moved the game along to its conclusion.
The 3-0 Chargers will now travel Friday to Hoven to face the Potter County Battlers, who are winless at 0-4. Hitchcock Tulare at 2-2 has their bye week followed by Homecoming against Sunshine Bible Academy.
In another unfortunate incident, senior back Payton Chasing Hawk had to be carted off the field in the second half and taken by ambulance to Pierre for an undisclosed injury after a hit near the goal line. It’s the second time in two home games that a player was injured and had to be taken off the field by the ambulance crew. Tom Salmen, head coach of Hitchcock-Tulare, on Saturday, says it’s a back contusion and Chasing Hawk is sore, but he is up and alright.
