Nov. 15—VERMILLION — It’s not often that someone outside the offensive backfield receives Joe Robbie MVP honors at the South Dakota high school football championships.
But on Friday at the DakotaDome, Howard tight end/defensive end Luke Koepsell joined the elite club by placing his fingerprints all over the Tigers’ 38-30 victory over Wolsey-Wessington in the Class 9A title tilt.
“This is definitely something I’ve dreamed about,” said Koepsell, who was also recognized as the most outstanding lineman of the championship contest. “It just feels good to have the team trust me in those situations to make a play. I’ve worked really hard for that, so I just got to thank my coaches and teammates.”
No. 24 in black and orange was all over the field on Friday, terrorizing the Warbirds as he made title-winning contributions in all three phases of play.
On offense, Koepsell hauled in four receptions for 100 yards, including touchdowns covering 17 and 42 yards, and made a nifty one-handed snag on a two-point conversion that put Howard up by 16 points late. That’s not to mention his contributions blocking for Howard backs, who gained 275 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder sacked the Warbirds’ elusive quarterback once and collected six more tackles. On special teams, Koepsell converted a fourth down with a 21-yard run as an up-man on a fake punt, extending a drive that resulted in a touchdown. Later, he recovered an onside kick to give the Tigers an extra possession and also pounced on an attempted onside kick by Wolsey-Wessington.
“I think most people would say it was an incredible day, and it was, but we know Luke. That’s just a Friday night because that’s how he plays,” said Howard head coach Pat Ruml. “We just expect that out of him, but this year, you could feel there was just a little more urgency.
“With that guy, nothing surprises me. He’s soft-spoken, but has a whole lot of talent,” Ruml later added. “He was spending a lot of energy, but that guy never leaves the field. He’s an all-stater, and I’m going to put him up for (Class 9A) MVP later on because I think that’s how good he is.”
Among the many plays Koepsell made on Friday, he identified his second touchdown reception — a 42-yarder on third-and-18 — as one that stands out.
“We’ve had that play a long time. We don’t run it very often, but when we do, it usually works,” Koepsell said. “It was a big play, and to have (Howard quarterback) Carson Hinker roll out and drop a dime to me, that one felt pretty cool.”
An all-state defensive end selection last season as a junior (and almost certainly again this year when the all-state squads are announced), Koepsell’s place in a long lineage of standout Howard players and the end position was secured before he took the field on Friday morning, but he saved one final premier performance for his final high school football game.
Koepsell credits learning from Jace Sifore, the outstanding lineman from Howard’s 2021 Class 9A championship team and now an interior defensive lineman at South Dakota State, for shaping him into a player capable of putting on such a performance on the biggest stage.
“My freshman year, I was on the scout team and Jace Sifore was my practice buddy. He would just beat me up every day, but he made me so much better and taught me so much,” Koepsell said. “There have been so many great players who have come through Howard, who set the culture for us and paved the way. To do this for them, too, it feels really good.”
