Brock Tuttle barreled over the end zone line with 2 minutes and 18 seconds remaining in Parkston on Friday to give his Hanson Beavers team a 22-16 lead. Following a two-point conversion by Tuttle, Hanson led 24-16 and capped off 16 unanswered points in the second half.
Parkston started the ensuing drive on the 28-yard line. After Parkston Trojans quarterback Cole Prunty had a would-be 32-yard completion dropped by Sam Benson on the first play, Prunty looked to throw again on second down. Flushed out of the pocket, Prunty fired to his right on second down, and Hanson’s Kade Waldera jumped the route and intercepted the ball to seal Hanson’s victory.
Hanson was led offensively by Waldera’s nine completions for 172 yards. Jackson Jarding led Hanson in rushing (85 yards) and receiving (five catches for 110 yards) and caught a hail-Mary touchdown on the final play of the second quarter to tie the game at 8-8.
Cole Prunty led Parkston on the offensive side of the ball with 169 rushing yards on 13 carries. Prunty gave Parkston leads of 8-0 and 16-8 on rushing touchdowns of six and 95 yards.
Hanson (1-0) will be on the road next week to take on Garretson (1-0), which is coming off a 43-42 overtime win over Viborg-Hurley on Friday. Parkston (0-1) takes on Stanley County (0-1) on the road. The Stanley County Buffalos were shut out 40-0 on Friday at Timber Lake.