West Central. Pierre.
Since the SDHSAA began hosting an official state championship for football, those two aforementioned schools are the only two programs who have won 6 straight championships.
But now the Pierre Governors look to do what has never been done and raise the trophy for a 7th straight season.
That journey to the DakotaDome began first at Oahe Downstream.
“That’s a major part of our strength,” said Head Coach Steve Steele of the Govs’ preseason camp. “Every team works hard, has success and has a good scheme. But the focal point of our preseason camp is the players coming together and working together. Three days with no cellphones and working with our teammates.
“It allows us to trust their teammate going forward.”
The Govs will put their trust in quarterback Cade Keiser this season. Keiser looks to transition from a key wide receiver role last season in which he caught 13 touchdown passes.
Now at a new position, Coach Steele expects his signal caller to just be himself.
“He’s had a great spring and now a great summer. He just wants to be Cade Keiser.”
Surrounding Keiser offensively will be a talented group led by tight end Jett Zabel (842 yards, 13 TD). The North Dakota State commit has wreaked havoc the past two seasons, and looks to capitalize on this senior campaign.
“Jett’s flexibility is a big part of our offense. He’s a size mismatch and we can utilize him in a lot of different areas.”
Running back Brock Moser also looks to be a dual-threat option out of the backfield for Pierre while Matthew Coverdale returns to the offensive line after recovering from a broken leg to help bolster an already solid offensive line.
“Brock, he’s had another great summer and great spring. He’s really built on his receiving game and I think your going to see him run the ball a lot more. It allows us to be flexible so that he can run routes.
“On the o-line Matthew Coverdale broke his leg last year and adding him back into the mix will help this year. And we have been very pleased with our sophomore class that has gotten a year older.”
Defensively, the Govs look to continue on an excellent 22′ campaign.
“We feel really good about our defense. I think our defense will lead the way and our defense is in for a good season.”
The linebacker core for the Govs looks to be a hallmark for the program, and features a senior duo in Chance Carda (52.5 tackles) and Trey Lewis (45 tackles) leading the way.
“The linebacker core is going to be one of the biggest strengths on our team. They are both big, they’re strong and they are fast. They are absolutely everything you want at linebacker.”
Bolstering the defense will be All-State Sturgis transfer Tyan Buus, as well as seniors Titian Winkler (4 sacks) and Spencer Easland (2 INT).
“Tyan is a pleasant surprise. We are still learning where he fits best and he certainly helps on the defense end. He’s going to help us out.”
Now the Govs will prepare for their opening night matchup at Aberdeen, and continue to improve each week as they make their way towards the DakotaDome and that elusive 7th straight ring.
“We’ve got a lot of experience back; we are as deep as we have been. Now our main goal is to continue to play our best football going into November.”
You can check out the Governors complete schedule below.
Follow along for more coverage of the 11AA season on our:
Twitter (@DigitalZSD)
Facebook (Digital Z SD)
Instagram (Digital Z Sports)
Website (Digitalzsports.com)
