FRIDAY SPORTS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels volleyball lost 3-2 to SF Washington on Thursday, 25-15, 23-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-11. Nia Talley led the Kernels with 16 kills and 17 digs, while Ashley Haring added 10 kills. Setter Sloan Stoebner had a career-high 35 assists, along with 16 digs. The Kernels finished with 12 aces, including four from Londyn Hajek and three each from Talley and Macey Bessler. Chloe Peterson led SF Washington with 18 kills. Mitchell falls to 2-6 as they are set to host No. 5 Watertown on Saturday at 1 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys soccer played to a 3-3 tied on Thursday at Vermillion to move to 2-4-1 on the season. Mitchell hosts Dakota Valley on Saturday at 1 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels girls soccer host Dakota Valley on Saturday at 11 am at Joe Quintal Field.
— Mitchell Kernels boys golf returns to action on Friday at the Yankton Invitational.
— Mitchell High School will honor its 2026 Hall of Fame class during Kernel Bowl weekend. Dan Carlson, Raven Ellwein, Amelia Endres and Lonnie Moody will be inducted Sept. 11 and 12. Carlson has been involved with Mitchell athletics for 34 years. Ellwein helped lead the Kernels to the 1994 Class AA state basketball championship. Endres won eight individual state gymnastics titles and helped Mitchell win two team championships. Moody was a standout in track and baseball, winning three state sprint titles and helping Mitchell win the 1999 state American Legion championship. The inductees will be honored at a Friday night open house and during halftime of Saturday’s Kernel Bowl game against Douglas.
— Mitchell Kernels football, 1-1 on the season, hosts Douglas on Saturday for the annual Kernel Bowl at 6 pm. Mitchell is coming off a 47-27 at Spearfish last Friday. A tailgate meal will be served from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. for $10. The meal includes a pulled pork sandwich, chips, a cookie and water. All proceeds from the tailgate will benefit the Mitchell Athletic Booster Club.
— Mitchell Kernels girls tennis host Yankton and SF Lincoln on Tuesday starting at 10 am at Hitchcock Park.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan volleyball, 12-1 overall and 1-0 in the GPAC, hosts No. 20 Morningside at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Christen Family Athletic Center.
— Dakota Wesleyan football, 1-1 on the season, will be at Waldorf on Saturday at 6 pm. The Tigers are coming off a 34-21 win over Doane last week.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s golf returns to action on Monday at the Siouxland Invitational.
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s soccer hosts Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday at 6 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s soccer used three first half goals to pick up at 3-2 win at Weber State on Thursday. The Jackrabbits scored three goals in the first 33 minutes, to take an early 3-0 lead. SDSU improves to 5-1-1 on the season as they will be at Utah State on Sunday at 2 pm.
— South Dakota State volleyball, 4-3 on the season, will compete at the Kansas Invitational this week taking on the 22nd ranked Jayhawks on Friday at 1 pm.
— South Dakota State football, 1-1 on the season, host New Haven on Saturday at 6 pm. It will be the first meeting between the two programs. SDSU has won its last eight Beef Bowl games and 12 of the last 13.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD volleyball was swept 3-0 at Colorado State on Thursday, 25-17, 25-14, 25-19. The Coyotes fall to 5-2 on the season and will be at Wyoming on Friday at 7 pm.
— No. 11 ranked USD football, 2-0 on the season, host Eastern Washington on Saturday at 1 pm. The Coyotes are 2-0 for the first time since 2017, while Eastern Washington is 1-1. USD won at Northern Colorado last week 38-23.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— The Minnesota Twins host the Cleveland Guardians in a three-game series starting on Friday at 7:10 pm. The Twins sit at 69-77 on the season, 4 ½ game behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot with 16 games remaining.
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL – THURSDAY
No. 1 Harrisburg 3, No. 2 Dell Rapids 1
Parkston 3, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 0
Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 3, Hanson 0
Scotland 3, Mitchell Christian 0
Bridgewater-Emery 3, Irene-Wakonda 0 – The Huskies improve to 5-0.
Ethan 3, Menno 0
No. 1 Chester 3, McCook Central/Montrose 0
Platte-Geddes 3, Bon Homme 0
Tripp-Delmont/Armour 3, Kimball/White Lake 2
Wagner 3, Gregory 0 – The Red Raiders improve to 8-1.
Wessington Springs 3, Howard 0
Gayville-Volin 3, Freeman 0
Avon 3, Alcester-Hudson 1 – Rilyn Thury with 20 kills and 19 digs. Kaydence Metzger added 19 kills and 16 digs.
No. 2 O’Gorman 3, Tea Area 0
No. 3 SF Lincoln 3, Huron 0
SF Jefferson 3, Yankton 1
NBA
— Federal prosecutors are investigating the Los Angeles Clippers over allegations the team circumvented the NBA salary cap to compensate star Kawhi Leonard. The New York Times reports the investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is in its early stages, and at least one subpoena has been issued. The investigation follows the NBA’s finding of multiple rules violations. The league fined the Clippers $30 million, took away five future first-round draft picks and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. Leonard was fined $700,000. The allegations involve an endorsement deal tied to a massive Intuit Dome scoreboard contract. Daktronics also said it was contacted by the SEC about its dealings with Leonard.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— LSU will not face sanctions from the SEC after conference presidents and chancellors met Thursday over the school’s attempt to add former NFL players to its roster. The SEC said discussions will continue toward a resolution. The threat of expulsion eased after LSU backed off plans to roster Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, who had signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents. The SEC had sued LSU over the dispute, but a federal court hearing was postponed.
NFL
— QB Tua Tagovailoa is day-to-day with an oblique injury suffered during Thursday’s practice, just three days before the Atlanta Falcons open the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tagovailoa was limited in practice and did not throw again after grabbing his back during the media viewing period. Backup Cooper Rush took all the first-team reps and could start Sunday if Tagovailoa cannot play. Rush has started 16 games in his eight-year NFL career. Tagovailoa was named Atlanta’s starter Monday after signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract in the offseason.
— Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has a muscle injury near his hip and his status for the team’s next game at Arizona remains uncertain. Darnold was injured on Seattle’s opening series in Wednesday night’s season-opening win over New England and did not return. Coach Mike Macdonald says the team should have a better idea of Darnold’s availability when practice resumes next week.
— WR A.J. Brown is expected to miss at least four weeks with a high ankle sprain suffered in the New England Patriots’ season-opening loss to Seattle. An MRI confirmed the injury Thursday, while X-rays showed no fracture. Brown is expected to miss games against Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Buffalo, with a potential return for New England’s Oct. 11 game against the Raiders.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
— The U.S. women’s basketball team is in the FIBA World Cup semifinals after routing Hungary 108-56 on Thursday. Napheesa Collier led the way with 19 points, while Caitlin Clark had 10 points and nine assists. The Americans set a World Cup quarterfinal record with 108 points and 31 assists. The U.S. has now won 34 straight World Cup games and will face the winner of Spain and Australia in Saturday’s semifinals.
TENNIS
— Aryna Sabalenka is one win away from a third straight U.S. Open championship after beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in Thursday’s semifinal. The top-seeded Sabalenka has now won 19 straight matches at the U.S. Open. A victory would make Sabalenka the first woman since Serena Williams from 2012 through 2014 to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles. Elena Rybakina reached the U.S. Open women’s final, rallying past Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Rybakina has already secured the No. 1 ranking, taking over from Sabalenka on Monday after Sabalenka held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks.
MLB
— Jared Jones pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, while Oneil Cruz added a solo home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 to complete a three-game series sweep. The White Sox had just two hits in losing for the eighth time in 11 games. Chicago’s AL Central lead over Cleveland is down to 1 ½ games.
— Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs as the New York Yankees beat the Colorado Rockies 10-3. Max Fried struck out seven in his third start since coming off the injured list but needed 80 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings.
— Cam Smith hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning off Jhoan Duran, while Cristian Javier combined on a three-hitter to lead the Houston Astros over the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. Philadelphia dropped four games behind NL East-leading Atlanta heading into a three-game series at the Braves starting Friday.
— Jacob deGrom retired his first 15 batters and struck out 12 for his highest total since 2022, but Julio Rodríguez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in a four-run seventh that lifted the Seattle Mariners over the Texas Rangers 4-3.
— Tampa Bay was prevented from possibly becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth as Martín Pérez threw seven scoreless innings in Atlanta’s 3-1 win over the Rays.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL – SATURDAY
Michigan vs. No. 11 Oklahoma, 11 am on FOX
Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Oregon, 11 am on ABC
Minnesota vs. Mississippi State, 2:30 pm on CBS
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Rice, 2:30 pm on NBC
Kentucky vs. No. 12 Alabama, 2:30 pm on ABC
Nebraska vs. Bowling Green, 6 pm on FS1
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 1 Ohio State, 6:30 pm on ABC
No. 21 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 6:30 pm on NBC
NFL – SUNDAY, WEEK 1
Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills, Noon on CBS
Carolina Panthers vs. Chicago Bears, Noon on FOX
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers, 3:25 pm on CBS
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders, 3:25 pm on FOX
New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys, 7:20 pm on NBC
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos, 7:15 pm, Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – FRIDAY
CLASS 11AAA
1. Brandon Valley at Rapid City Central
2. SF Jefferson vs. 4. SF Lincoln – Saturday
3. O’Gorman vs. 5. Harrisburg – Saturday
SF Washington vs. SF Roosevelt – Saturday
CLASS 11AA
1. Pierre vs. Aberdeen Central
2. Tea Area vs. 3. Watertown
4. Yankton at Sturgis
5. Huron vs. Brookings
Spearfish at Rapid City Stevens
Douglas vs. Mitchell – Saturday
CLASS 11A
1. Sioux Falls Christian at 3. West Central
2. Dell Rapids at Canton
4. Lennox vs. Tri-Valley
5. Madison vs. Belle Fourche
CLASS 11B
1. Elk Point-Jefferson vs. Dakota Valley
2. St. Thomas More vs. 3. Winner
4. Deuel at Aberdeen Roncalli
5. Clark/Willow Lake vs. Groton Area
Wagner at Parker/Marion
Sioux Valley vs. McCook Central/Montrose
Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central vs. Mobridge-Pollock
CLASS 9AA
1. Parkston
2. Bon Homme at Garretson
3. Viborg-Hurley vs. Irene-Wakonda
4. Hamlin at De Smet
5. Platte-Geddes
Sioux Falls Lutheran vs. Bridgewater-Emery
Scotland/Menno vs. Hanson
Gregory vs. Tripp-Delmont/Armour/Andes Central/Dakota Christian
CLASS 9A
1. Freeman vs. 4B Avon
2. Castlewood at Waverley-South Shore
3. Centerville
4. Sully Buttes
5. Howard
Corsica-Stickney vs. Kimball/White Lake – Q107.3
Canistota vs. Alcester-Hudson
CLASS 9B
1. Dell Rapids St. Mary vs. 5. Colman-Egan
2. Wall vs. Harding County/Bison
3. Warner vs. Wolsey-Wessington
4. Avon at 1A Freeman