Watertown Arrows Rally to Beat O’Gorman 15-14, Secure Home Football Playoff Game
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Fourth-rated Class 11AA Watertown erased a 14-point deficit to defeat fifth-rated Class 11AAA O'Gorman 15-14 on Thursday night, earning a home game for the opening round of the state playoffs.
The Arrows improved to 6-3 with their third consecutive victory and their first win over a Class 11AAA school since 2023. O'Gorman dropped to 5-4 following its second straight loss.
Watertown's defense kept the game scoreless early after O'Gorman drove deep into Arrows territory on its first three possessions, with Kutler Swenson and Caden Corey recording interceptions and a fourth-down stop at the five-yard line.
O'Gorman took the lead in the first half on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Chase Hermanson to Tanner Charron and made it 14-0 in the third quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Brady Majeres.
Watertown began its rally with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Kaeden Himmerich to Braden Jenc. Following another defensive fourth-down stop, the Arrows marched 75 yards and scored on a five-yard touchdown dive by Tyson Miller. Trailing 14-13, Watertown converted a two-point pass from Himmerich to senior Hunter Peterson to take a 15-14 lead.
O'Gorman drove to the Watertown 20-yard line on its final possession, but Rylan Cody's 26-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left went wide left.
The victory moved Watertown up to the No. 3 seed in the Class 11AA playoffs, keeping the Arrows on the opposite side of the bracket from No. 1 seed Pierre until the state championship game. Watertown will host No. 6 seed Spearfish on Thursday, Oct. 29, after defeating the Spartans 26-20 in the season opener.
Caden Corey makes a tackle
