Travis Kriens/KORN News Radio Sports Director
South Dakota high school football teams in Classes 11B, 9AA, 9A and 9B enter the final week of the regular season Friday, with undefeated teams looking to finish strong and several matchups carrying significant playoff seeding implications.
The latest South Dakota media poll features three undefeated teams in Class 11B, one in Class 9AA, three in Class 9A and three in Class 9B. The regular season concludes with several games matching highly ranked teams and others that could determine the final playoff spots.
Class 11B
Three undefeated teams remain in Class 11B. Clark/Willow Lake is 8-0, while Elk Point-Jefferson and St. Thomas More are both 7-0. Clark/Willow Lake will play a nine-game schedule this season.
The three unbeaten teams face challenging matchups Friday. No. 1 Elk Point-Jefferson travels to Wagner, No. 2 St. Thomas More visits Rapid City Christian, and No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake hosts No. 5 Deuel. Winner, ranked fourth in the media poll, travels to Chamberlain.
Those four games feature eight teams ranked in the top 10 of the Class 11B seed-point standings, making Friday an important night for playoff positioning.
Clark/Willow Lake is coming off a 30-28 overtime win over McCook Central/Montrose last week. The Fighting Cougars, who are 4-3 and eighth in seed points, have been competitive against some of the class’s top teams. McCook Central/Montrose lost 8-7 to Deuel and 28-13 to Elk Point-Jefferson to open the season. The 15-point margin against EPJ remains the Huskies closest game of the year.
The Q107.3 Game of the Week features Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central hosting Mount Vernon/Plankinton. Both teams are 1-6 and looking to improve their playoff position. Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central is tied with Parker/Marion for the 16th and final playoff spot, while Mount Vernon/Plankinton is 18th among 20 teams. A win could put either team in position to claim that final postseason berth.
Parker/Marion also plays Friday, facing McCook Central/Montrose.
Class 9AA
Top-ranked Parkston is the only undefeated team in Class 9AA at 7-0. The Trojans close the regular season at home against Gregory after controlling nearly every game on their schedule. Parkston’s closest contest was a 30-6 win at Platte-Geddes on Aug. 28.
Four other teams in the class have one loss: Hamlin, Britton-Hecla, Platte-Geddes and Waubay/Summit. Friday’s schedule includes several ranked teams in action, with No. 2 Platte-Geddes visiting Bon Homme, No. 3 Hamlin hosting Estelline/Hendricks and No. 4 Britton-Hecla traveling to Sisseton. No. 5 Garretson visits Sioux Falls Lutheran.
Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan hosts Hanson in the KORN Country 92.1 Game of the Week. The Seahawks are 1-6 and currently 15th in the seed-point standings after playing the toughest schedule in Class 9AA. Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .672, with two of their losses against undefeated Parkston and undefeated Freeman.
Class 9A
Last year’s Class 9AA champion, Freeman, has been the most impressive team in Class 9A, but Timber Lake enters the final week as the No. 1 seed.
Freeman has scored at least 50 points in every game this season except its opener, a 36-17 win at Alcester-Hudson. The Flyers have a bye Friday.
Timber Lake is 7-0 but has faced several close games. The Panthers beat Lemmon/McIntosh 22-20, Ipswich 12-8 and North Central 12-6 before earning a 44-36 overtime win at previously undefeated Sully Buttes last week. Timber Lake hosts Harding County/Bison on Friday.
Castlewood is also 7-0 and ranks third in seed points. The Warriors travel to De Smet.
Sully Buttes, Centerville and Bennett County are among the teams with one loss.
Howard is currently the eighth seed and could be a dangerous postseason opponent. The Tigers’ only losses have come against undefeated Castlewood, 14-8, and top-ranked Freeman.
Other games Friday include No. 4 Centerville against Avon and No. 5 Sully Buttes traveling to Lemmon/McIntosh. Howard hosts Chester Area, Stanley County faces Kimball/White Lake, and Corsica-Stickney plays Alcester-Hudson.
Class 9B
Three undefeated teams remain in Class 9B heading into the regular-season finale. Wall, Dell Rapids St. Mary and Warner are all 7-0, with Wall and Dell Rapids St. Mary holding the top two spots in the seed-point standings.
No. 1 Dell Rapids St. Mary hosts Arlington, No. 2 Wall faces Jones County, and No. 3 Warner travels to Ipswich. No. 5 Hitchcock-Tulare hosts Wolsey-Wessington.
Avon, last year’s Class 9B runner-up, is 5-2 and ranked fifth in seed points. The Pirates face Centerville on Friday. Centerville is ranked fourth in Class 9A, giving Avon a challenging final test before the postseason.
The regular season concludes Friday for all four classes. The Class 11B, 9AA, 9A and 9B quarterfinals begin Thursday, Oct. 22, as teams prepare for the opening round of the playoffs.