Freshman Shadow Red Owl from the Little Wound School on the Pine Ridge Reservation is seen stretching before the game.
Custer crushes undermanned Little Wound
By James Giago Davies
Native Sun News correspondent CUSTER –– When you start the game against an always tough rival with your third string quarterback, and end the rain soaked, fumble plagued contest with your fourth string quarterback, expect the results to be disappointing, and they were for Little Wound in boys high school football Friday night in Custer, as they fell to the once beaten Wildcats, 44-6. “It was a tough game,” Little Wound Coach Russell Childree said. “I think a lot of guys showed a lot of resiliency, learned some tough lessons.” The Wildcats mostly stayed on the ground, and on their first possession, behind the running of seniors Graysen Trandem and Caleb Furse they quickly moved upfield and scored a quick touchdown. Little Wound had to start their best running back, 5-11, 170 lb senior Shilo Tallman at quarterback. They had lost starting quarterback senior Jeremiah Hopkins to injury a couple weeks back and backup quarterback sophomore Tyrone Pourier and despite breaking Custer tackles with some hard running, Tallman lost a fumble to Custer’s Cole Rothleutner, and that would be the story of the first half, as fumbles and penalties kept Little Wound from moving the football. They trailed 26-6 by halftime, and Tallman was hobbling into the huddle, clearly hurting, but he came back out for the second half.
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On Little Wound’s first possession, 1-and-10 from their own 20, 5-10, 180 lb junior running back William Flying Earth gained 6 inside yards for the Mustangs. He then gained 6 more and the Mustangs appeared capable of running the football. It was a good time to surprise the Wildcats with a long first down pass, and sophomore wide receiver Severt Long Soldier was wide open but the 15-yard pass from Tallman sailed just beyond his fingertips. The ball, slick as a greased pig from the relentless drizzle, was fumbled away to Custer on the next play. All night long Little Wound managed to turn their fumbles into lost opportunities which the Wildcats managed to score on. Tough tackling and a fumble recovery by senior linebacker Dave McBride could not keep the Wildcats from busting big plays that eventually threatened the mercy rule. Custer repeatedly went for the 2-pt conversion, trying to reach the 50 point lead mark to end the game, given how wet and miserable the playing conditions were. Little Wound’s lone score came at the end of the first half when Tallman rolled left, then cut back inside to score from five yards out. Flying Earth’s 2-pt conversion run was stopped short and the Mustangs had the only 6 points they would see that night. After a terrific second half tackle breaking run on a sweep to the left, Tallman came up limping for the third time and was taken from the game. Coach Childree was forced to bring in a freshman to play quarterback, 5-9, 160 lb Kauy Black Crow.
The Mustangs mascots of the Little Wound School warm up before the game.
By this time the Custer defensive line was giving Black Crow little time to hand off let alone pass and the freshman did an admirable job just keeping things under control and preventing the mercy rule ending. After successive recovered fumbles, Black Crow was tackled on a quarterback keeper and the game was finally over, players and spectators both drenched in cold rain. The aggressive athleticism of the Mustangs was apparent, but the inability to hold onto the football, avoid costly penalties, or keep people healthy on the field, ruined any chance they had against a well-schooled Custer team smarting from an embarrassing loss to St Thomas More the week before, and eager to get back on the winning track for a playoff run. Injuries had resulted in successive defeats for once promising Little Wound, but Childress believes some of his injured starters may return for next week’s match-up against Lead/Deadwood. The 1-3 Golddiggers have had a disappointing season, being mercy ruled by St Thomas More, and already losing to Red Cloud, 19-6 at Pine Ridge, and they will have to go down to Little Wound next week, where the Mustangs will be hungry to deliver a win for the home crowd. The Goldddigers upset Bennett County in a squeaker, 22-18 some weeks back, and Bennett County has already upset Little Wound. It should be a close contest and a critical win for the 2-3 Mustangs. “We’ve got a lot of talent,” Childress said. “We just have to stay healthy.” (James Giago Davies can be reached at skindiesel@msn.com)
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