Oct. 20—Playoff football is officially upon us in South Dakota.
First-round games for Class 11B and the three nine-man divisions are set to kick off across the state on Thursday, marking the start of a three-week sprint toward the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
Ahead of the 32 playoff games this week, this edition of the South Dakota Gridiron Report breaks down the brackets, identifying a high seed to watch, a middle seed capable of making a run and a potential upset.
One high seed to watch: Clark/Willow Lake. The Cyclones are 9-0, but have had their share of close calls, including three wins by two points. Entering the postseason, CWL's three most recent games were decided by a total of 11 points, including one against the Mobridge-Pollock squad coming to Clark for a rematch on Thursday. The Cyclones eked past the Tigers 26-24 on Oct. 2. Further, compared to Class 11B's other top seeds Elk Point-Jefferson, St. Thomas More and Winner, CWL has something to prove in terms of football pedigree.
Dark horse (seeds 5-10): McCook Central/Montrose. The Fighting Cougars have played top-five seeds Elk Point-Jefferson (28-13), Clark/Willow Lake (30-28) and Deuel (8-7) all close. Plus, after a 0-2 start, MCM has found its stride and won five of six down the stretch. MCM hosts Chamberlain on Thursday in the opening round.
Upset watch: Sioux Valley over Rapid City Christian. The Cossacks have been competitive with Elk Point-Jefferson (36-20), Clark/Willow Lake (30-28) and McCook Central/Montrose (27-26). They're facing a Rapid City Christian team that fared well against St. Thomas More in the regular-season finale, but Sioux Valley should pose a stiff challenge to the Comets even with one of the longest road trips of the first round.
One high seed to watch: Parkston. In what is traditionally a very talented, tough Class 9AA, the Trojans were the only team to navigate the regular season without a loss. They were dominant in doing so, posting an average scoring margin of plus-40.5 points per game. Though last season marked the first time that Parkston didn't make it to the DakotaDome in a half-decade, the Trojans' roster has a wealth of playoff experience to lean on.
Dark horse (seeds 5-10): Garretson. The Blue Dragons get the benefit of facing a Baltic team they already defeated earlier in the year to open the playoffs, and perhaps that sparks a run. Garretson, which has beaten five of the Class 9AA playoff teams seeded No. 9-14, also avoids having Parkston on its side of the bracket.
Upset watch: Sioux Falls Lutheran over Waubay/Summit. Fifth-seeded Waubay/Summit owns a 7-1 record, but only one of those wins is over another playoff team (Great Plains Lutheran). Notably, the Mustangs played the easiest schedule in Class 9AA by opponent win percentage (.347). Conversely, Sioux Falls Lutheran faced the fifth-most difficult schedule in the class (.583).
One high seed to watch: Castlewood. The Warriors spent much of the season alongside Freeman as the top dogs in the South Dakota Prep Media poll for Class 9A, but the seed-point standings ended up telling a different story. Timber Lake slotted in at No. 1 with Freeman at No. 2, leaving unbeaten Castlewood as the odd team out in the race for home-field advantage. The Warriors still have two of the most impressive wins in the class, having beaten Hamlin and Howard to start the season, but the schedule hasn't been the same since. Castlewood finished with the lowest opponent win percentage (.431) in the class.
Dark horse (seeds 5-10): Centerville. The Tornadoes' explosive offense, which puts up points at a clip of 44.4 per game, can strain even the best defenses in the class. It's a unit that has posted at least 40 points in three-straight weeks ahead of the playoffs, including once in defeat. Centerville's losses this season were to No. 1 Freeman and Class 9B No. 4 Avon; otherwise, a top-four seed likely would've been in the cards.
Upset watch: Lyman over Bennett County. The Raiders have a couple of factors working in their favor. First, they just got a look at the Warriors last week in the regular-season finale. The contest came right down to the wire, with Bennett County getting a crucial late stop inside the red zone to preserve a 28-21 final score. Lyman also played a schedule that was tied for the most difficult in the class, with an opponent win percentage of .639.
One high seed to watch: Wall and Dell Rapids St. Mary. Plotting a collision course for these two has felt inevitable all season, and as such, it's impossible to pick between them. Fittingly, they tied for the No. 1 seed in the final standings and had to be separated by tiebreaker. Both teams had a scare or two during the season but haven't been challenged in many weeks. It feels a little unfair to Warner, Class 9B's third undefeated squad, to not be included in the discussion, but it would take a significant upset to interrupt either course that has been charted for the DakotaDome.
Dark horse (seeds 5-10): Hitchcock-Tulare. The Patriots are the only one-loss team in Class 9B, and their lone loss was 17-6 to No. 3 Warner on the road. They can clearly play some defense, too, giving up 13.6 points per game.
Upset watch: Kadoka Area over Oldham-Ramona-Rutland. The Kougars looked positioned to head into postseason play with six-straight losses, but a win at Class 9A Philip last week has them trending up at the right time. Kadoka played the second-most difficult schedule in Class 9B, with an opponent win percentage of .583. After a 0-2 start, ORR has won six games in a row. However, three of them were against teams that did not qualify for the postseason, and the other three came against No. 9 Deubrook Area, No. 12 Wolsey-Wessington and No. 13 Iroquois/Lake Preston. That equates to the fourth-easiest schedule in the class by opponent win percentage (.417).
Here's a look at the rematches from the regular season taking place in the postseason:
Aug. 21 in Hill City Class 9AA — No. 1 Parkston 54, No. 16 Hill City 24
Aug. 21 in Garretson Class 9AA — No. 6 Garretson 35, No. 11 Baltic 6
Aug. 21 in Mellette Class 9B — No. 3 Warner 48, No. 14 Northwestern 8
Aug. 28 in Hot Springs
Class 11B — No. 6 Wagner 28, No. 11 Hot Springs 3
Oct. 2 in Mobridge Class 11B — No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake 26, No. 14 Mobridge-Pollock 24
Oct. 2 in Irene Class 9B — No. 2 Dell Rapids St. Mary 50, No. 15 Irene-Wakonda 0
Oct. 16 in Presho Class 9A — No. 5 Bennett County 28, No. 12 Lyman 21
Oct. 16 in Tulare Class 9B — No. 5 Hitchcock-Tulare 48, No. 12 Wolsey-Wessington 16
Oct. 16 in Wall Class 9B — No. 1 Wall 53, No. 16 Jones County 0
These results from last week's action caught our attention.
Sioux Falls Lincoln 34, Brandon Valley 25: The Patriots put themselves firmly back in the Class 11AAA state title contender conversation by knocking off the Lynx in a rematch of the past two state championship contests. Don't look now, but Lincoln has won five games in a row after a 1-2 start to the year.
Avon 48, Centerville 40: The Pirates outlasted the Class 9A Tornadoes in a battle for the Great Plains Conference championship. It proved important for playoff seeding, too, as Avon landed in the top four of Class 9B, while Centerville slipped to No. 6 in Class 9A.
Kadoka Area 32, Philip 23: Another Class 9B over Class 9A result also had significant implications for the first round. The Kougars and Scotties both landed at No. 10 in their respective class standings, though the two sides likely feel quite different about the final week that put them there.
Have these 11-man regular-season finales on your radar this week.
Harrisburg at Sioux Falls Lincoln: If the Patriots want to stay near the top of the contender conversation for more than one week, they'll have to turn around and fend off the Tigers. On top of a five-game win streak this season, Lincoln has beaten Harrisburg four straight times.
Yankton at Tea Area: It appears the No. 2 seed in the Class 11AA playoffs will go to the winner of this one. The Titans are 4-0 at home, while the Bucks are 4-0 on the road. Plus, Yankton has won four straight in the Eastern South Dakota Conference series.
West Central at Dell Rapids: The Trojans have established themselves as the No. 2 team in Class 11A behind Sioux Falls Christian during the second half of the season. But Dell Rapids, which has won five games in a row in the rivalry series, could reopen the top challenger question with the playoffs looming.