Oct. 6—PLATTE, S.D. — When Landon Keiser made the decision to leave Gregory for his final high school football season, he knew exactly what he was looking for.
A fresh start. A chance to be a focal point. And, most importantly, an opportunity to chase a state championship.
“I’ve always dreamed of competing for a state championship, and I just wanted to give myself the best possible chance to do that,” Keiser said of his decision to transfer from Gregory to Platte-Geddes. “To come out here with a great coaching staff, a great team, and just a great program has been awesome. I loved my time in Gregory and wouldn’t change a thing about that, but I wanted a fresh start.”
Six games into his senior season, it is difficult to argue that Keiser hasn’t found what he was looking for. The Platte-Geddes running back has quickly established himself as the focal point of the Black Panthers’ offense, scoring 17 touchdowns, 15 rushing and two receiving, while helping Class 9AA No. 2-ranked Platte-Geddes to a 5-1 record and four consecutive victories.
And while Keiser arrived with plenty of familiarity with P-G, having faced the Black Panthers during his three seasons at Gregory, his transition into the program was about more than simply stepping onto the field and taking over.
“We have played against Landon the last three years with him at Gregory, so him deciding to come over was a big deal,” Platte-Geddes head coach Bruce Hanson said. “I think he knew what was in front of him, but I know that was probably a tough decision for him, too. But he’s a big deal to us, and we have a lot of great running backs but he’s a little different.”
Keiser could have arrived expecting to immediately become the centerpiece of the offense. Instead, Hanson said, the senior took a different approach.
“Landon could have come in and acted like he was the guy, but he came in, put his head down and was humble from Day 1,” he said. “We even had to almost pull him into the starting position during fall camp because he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries and build relationships first. That’s a testament to the type of player, teammate and person he is.”
Once the season began, though, Keiser’s production made it clear why Platte-Geddes wanted him to be a major part of its offense. He has scored in every game this season, finding the end zone in a variety of ways while becoming the Black Panthers’ go-to option on the ground and, at times, through the air.
In a 50-14 win over Sioux Falls Lutheran, Keiser scored five rushing touchdowns, breaking loose for scores of 49, 22, 28, 22 and 18 yards. The following week, after Platte-Geddes’ bye, he delivered another five-touchdown performance in a 55-28 victory over Viborg-Hurley. Keiser rushed for touchdowns of 4, 83, 10 and 2 yards while adding an 80-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Nelson. He finished with 162 rushing yards on 16 carries and 100 receiving yards on three catches.
Even against his former team, Keiser made his presence felt, ripping off two long touchdown runs against Gregory, including an 88-yard score on the opening drive.
Last week against Kimball/White Lake, Keiser added three more rushing touchdowns in a 25-8 victory, scoring from 4, 20 and 11 yards. He also provided a spark on special teams with a 43-yard kickoff return that set up his 20-yard touchdown run nearly back-to-back in the first half.
The production has made Keiser much more than a newcomer filling a role. He is the Black Panthers’ lead kick returner, plays linebacker and has quickly become the most important piece of an offense that has leaned heavily on his ability to make plays.
But Keiser is quick to point elsewhere when asked about his success.
“It has really been a credit to the offensive line, I mean, they do great every single play for me to do what I am able to do in this offense,” Keiser said. “It’s also a credit to my coaches, and yeah, I just feel really comfortable and I believe in what we run here. I love how we just run the ball and nobody can stop it. That’s the memo here, and I love it.”
The path to a state championship, however, remains a long one. Platte-Geddes sits at No. 2 in Class 9AA, with top-ranked Parkston standing in its way after handing the Black Panthers their lone loss of the season by 24 points.
But before Platte-Geddes can turn its attention toward the postseason, it still has regular-season games against Stanley County on Friday, Oct. 9 in Fort Pierre, and Bon Homme on Oct. 16. Then comes the Class 9AA playoffs. For Keiser, that is ultimately why he made the move to Platte-Geddes in the first place.
So far, the fresh start has produced exactly the kind of impact Keiser and the Black Panthers had hoped for. Now, Keiser and P-G have to turn that individual production into something bigger.
“We just have to keep getting better week after week,” Keiser said. “We know what the end goal is, and we have to keep working toward that. We have the team to do it.”
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