O'Gorman football shocks Brandon Valley, and themselves, in 55-20 win in Pigskin Classic

Ryland Satter doesn't remember how many hands he caught his fifth touchdown with. The O'Gorman junior fullback was fighting off a Brandon Valley defender on his right side with just a few seconds gone by in the fourth quarter. Maybe he extended just one hand at the ball on the left side of the end zone. He's not sure.

But the throw, the sixth touchdown pass out of the hands of Knights senior quarterback Bennett Dannenbring, was perfect. Everything about O'Gorman's Saturday at Brandon Valley high school was. The Knights (1-0) started their season with a 55-20 win over the Lynx that shocked both sidelines.

O'Gorman head coach Jayson Poppinga said Brandon Valley could flip the same score on them tomorrow. Brandon Valley head coach Matt Christensen, of course, didn't want to be content with the score. Everything went right for the Knights on Saturday, with their do-everything receiver Satter catching five scores, Dannenbring throwing six, junior running back Maverick Jones adding a long touchdown of his own and junior defensive back Jack Hove even pulled in an interception that he took back for a pick-6.

"It was one of those games where things went well for us," Poppinga said. "Our defense got a couple of huge stops for momentum and our offense just kept making plays."

Lynx senior quarterback Lucas Slack had two rushing touchdowns for Brandon Valley and threw a touchdown to senior wide receiver Dylan Langerock.

O'Gorman needed just a minute and five seconds to begin its explosion. The Knights made little progress on its first couple snaps, but not long after, Dannenbring threw a short pass to Satter, who found a seam on the outside and took it.

About 10% of O'Gorman's first drive was spent on Satter's five-to-six-second run to the end zone. Brandon Valley came down the field and led a more complete drive — about five times as long as O'Gorman's opening drive — and Lynx senior quarterback Lucas Slack hit Langerock to make it 7-6. But the Knights came right back, and Dannenbring again hit Satter for a touchdown.

More: South Dakota high school football scores

Both offenses looked good early in the game, but the Lynx started to slow. The Knights started a trend. With 7:37 left in the first half, after a drive with big plays from the legs of Jones and Dannenbring, Satter got loose again and Dannenbring found him again for his third score of the first half.

Satter would be done scoring touchdowns for the half, but Dannenbring wouldn't. The Lynx led a strong drive down the field to make it 20-13 on a Slack quarterback sneak into the end zone. But with just 3:42 to work with, O'Gorman came down the field, chipping away first down after first down, before Dannenbring found an open senior wide receiver Peyton Hage in the back-right corner of the end zone to make it 27-13 with just 19 seconds left to go in the first half.

Christensen said he knew his team was in trouble looking at their communication in the first half, but by halftime, he thought the game was salvageable. Brandon Valley, with a few big runs by Slack, led a strong opening drive down the field into the red zone.

But then, it got "out of hand," Christensen said. The Lynx fumbled. O'Gorman turned it into a touchdown from Dannenbring to Satter (his fourth). A few possessions later, Hove jumped a Slack pass for his pick-6. Hage was hurt, so the Knights had Dannenbring take the kickoff. He "just didn't hit it right," but it bounced into the chest of a Brandon Valley player and O'Gorman recovered the muffed kick. The Knights turned that into another Satter score. Slack scored his second touchdown, then Jones broke free for a touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter.

At that point, the celebration was more muted from the O'Gorman sideline. On each side of the field, there was shock. Satter happened to have five of the touchdowns. Even he couldn't describe it.

"It's crazy. I only can thank the line, and Bennett (Dannenbring), because they're the ones's that did it for me," Satter said. "They doubted us in the beginning, but we just proved that we came to play. That's all I've got to say."

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.

South Dakota high school football scores

Pierre 54, Aberdeen 15

Rapid City Stevens 26, Sioux Falls Washington 21

Standing Rock, N.D. 40, Red Cloud 37

Sioux Falls Jefferson 43, Harrisburg 12

Tripp-Delmont/Armour/Andes Central/Dakota Christian 37, Lakota Tech 20

West Central 43, Custer 0

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: O'Gorman football shocks Brandon Valley in Pigskin Classic