Canistota, Howard headed to title games with semifinal wins

The Canistota and Howard high school football teams cruised in the semifinals of playoffs Saturday evening to advance to their respective championship games.

Howard, playing in Class 9AA, defeated Clark/Willow Lake 50-0 in Clark, while Canistota, looking for its second straight 9A title, defeated Arlington 56-6 on its home field.

Another local 9-man football team, Gregory, lost in its 9AA semifinal game to Deubrook Area 44-37 after being shut out in the second half.

To lead Howard to a victory, Luke Loudenburg had 18 rushes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. The game ended with 5:49 remaining due to the mercy rule.

Canistota’s Alex Robertson had 10 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown to lead the Hawks to victory. Quarterback Cody Bunger added three touchdown runs and one passing score.

Gregory, which led 37-22 at halftime, was led by Jaden Bartling, who had 150 passing yards, 170 rushing yards and four combined TDs.

The 9-man state champion-ship day is Thursday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The day starts with the 9A state title between Canistota and Warner at 11 a.m.

At 2:30 p.m., Howard takes on Deubrook Area and Colome plays Harding County at 7:30 p.m. for the 9B title.

For more in-depth coverage of Saturday’s semifinal round, see Monday’s edition of The Daily Republic.

Tags: sports, howard, canistota, football, updates