South Dakota Gridiron Report: Midseason check-in with Class 11AAA, 11AA and 11A

Sep. 26—MITCHELL — With the start of fall come and gone and the calendar soon to turn to October, the programs within the three largest South Dakota prep football classifications have reached the approximate midpoint of their nine-game regular-season schedules.

Four weeks of play remain before seeding is finalized for the playoffs, which start on Oct. 27. While the top of each class has programs that have clearly separated themselves through more than a month of play, fierce competition wages on in the middle of each pack as teams battle for positioning.

In this Gridiron Report, the Mitchell Republic takes a look at how programs across those three classes have started their seasons. This includes a focus on how the South Dakota Prep Media polls have evolved over the course of the past month and how the media rankings compare to the seed-point standings, which ultimately decide the playoff seeding.

As the name suggests, the media rankings are done by at-will voting among South Dakota media members and are subjective measures of where teams stand. By contrast, the seed-point standings are calculated using every team's results (win or loss) from each game on their schedule and weighted based on each opponent's winning percentage, providing a more objective evaluation. This fundamental difference is what can result in significant disparities in a team's place in each ranking model, though the ways in which the rankings vary often change from class to class.

Here's a class-by-class look at the midseason standings (Note: Class 11B and all three nine-man divisions were broken down on a past edition of the South Dakota Gridiron Report.):

Preseason top five: 1. Brandon Valley (5); 2. Harrisburg (7); 3. Sioux Falls Jefferson (3); 4. O'Gorman; 5. Sioux Falls Lincoln (2).

Also receiving votes: Sioux Falls Washington (1); Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

Current top five (Sept. 19 media poll): 1. Sioux Falls Jefferson (20), 5-0; 2. O'Gorman, 4-1; 3. Harrisburg, 4-1; 4. Sioux Falls Lincoln, 2-3; 5. Brandon Valley, 3-2.

Also receiving votes: Rapid City Stevens 3.

Current top five (seed points): T-1. Sioux Falls Jefferson; T-1. O'Gorman; 3. Harrisburg; 4. Brandon Valley; 5. Sioux Falls Washington.

To start the season, Brandon Valley and Harrisburg — the two schools that met in the state title game in 2020 and 2021 — were expected to be tops among the state's largest schools once again. But during the first five weeks, two new programs have risen to the top of the rankings and seed-point standings.

In just its second season as a program and following a modest Year 1, Sioux Falls Jefferson has stormed to the front of the pack, going 5-0 (the lone undefeated remaining in Class 11AAA) and winning by an average of nearly 36 points per contest.

Stalking the Cavaliers has been O'Gorman, which boasts perhaps the state's best offense as the Knights are lighting up the scoreboard for more than 48 points per outing. O'Gorman's only misstep was a three-point loss to Class 11AA No. 2 Tea Area, though the Knights still posted 41 points in that contest.

Recovering from a season-opening 43-12 defeat to Jefferson, defending champion Harrisburg has recovered to lead the group chasing the Cavaliers and Knights, with Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls Washington not far behind at 3-2.

In the bottom half of the nine-team standings, Sioux Falls Lincoln and Rapid City Stevens have both flashed an ability to compete and been ranked at one time or another, but have fallen well off the pace at 2-3. Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Rapid City Central are both winless to date, and the final postseason place could well be decided when the Rough Riders and Cobblers meet out west on Sept. 30.

Preseason top five: 1. Pierre (18); 2. Tea Area; 3. Yankton; 4. Brookings; 5. Mitchell.

Also receiving votes: Watertown, Aberdeen Central, Sturgis, Spearfish.

Current top five (Sept. 19 media poll): 1. Pierre (20), 5-0; 2. Tea Area, 5-0; 3. Yankton, 3-2; 4. Brookings, 4-1; 5. Sturgis, 2-3.

Also receiving votes: Aberdeen Central, Huron, Mitchell, Watertown.

Current top five (seed points): T-1. Pierre, 45.60; T-1. Tea Area, 45.60; 3. Brookings, 41.20; 4. Yankton, 40.80; 5. Spearfish 39.80.

Unlike its larger counterpart, predicting Class 11AA has proven to be a much easier task, at least thus far. Pierre has maintained a stranglehold on the top position in the media poll, as the Governors have scored at least 47 points in every game and have not played a game decided by fewer than 34 points.

While Tea Area has matched Pierre's every step and owns arguably the single most impressive win by a Class 11AA team — the aforementioned shootout win over O'Gorman — the Titans haven't been able to steal any first-place votes. However, they are level with the Governors in terms of seed points and comfortably ahead of third-place Brookings. Pierre and Tea Area are set to meet on Oct. 14 in Pierre, with both teams looking good to be 7-0 entering that contest.

Speaking of Brookings, the Bobcats and Yankton look likely to battle for the No. 3 seed, with a Sept. 30 meeting on the campus of South Dakota State to go a long way in deciding that race.

The rest of the class has been defined by its inconsistency. No team outside the top four has a winning record and, as such, looks unlikely to play a major role in deciding how the postseason plays out. The battle will be which combination of four teams from the seven to choose from rounds out the playoff qualifiers.

As of Sept. 25, there is a 1.2-point gap between eighth-place Watertown and ninth-place Huron. The Arrows would be in, as would Spearfish, Aberdeen Central and Mitchell, while the Tigers would be left out along with Sturgis and Douglas.

Preseason top five: 1. Madison (11); 2. West Central (1); 3. Canton (4); 4. Dell Rapids (2); 5. Dakota Valley.

Also receiving votes: Milbank 11, Beresford 10, Lennox 10, Sioux Falls Christian 5, Vermillion 3.

Current top five (Sept. 19 media poll): 1. West Central (14), 5-0; 2. Dell Rapids (6), 5-0; 3. Beresford, 4-1; 4. Canton, 2-3; 5. Dakota Valley, 4-1.

Also receiving votes: Lennox, Sioux Falls Christian.

Current top five (seed points): T-1. West Central, 44.40; T-1. Dell Rapids, 44.40; 3. Beresford, 43.00; 4. Canton, 42.20; 5. Sioux Falls Christian, 40.80.

Off a championship performance from 2021, Madison was the popular choice to reprise that role in 2022, but the reality has been far different.

West Central and Dell Rapids have both taken advantage of favorable early schedules to post identical 5-0 records that also have produced matching seed points. Both programs are likely to be tested over the next month, though any meeting between the two will have to come in the postseason.

Behind the Trojans and Quarriers, Class 11A newcomer Beresford has bested the likes of Canton and Lennox on the way to a 4-1 start, the lone hiccup coming on the road against Class 11B No. 1 Winner.

A difficult schedule featuring five straight games against opponents with winning records, including the current top three, to start the season has left Canton with a 2-3 record. But that strength of schedule has allowed the C-Hawks to stay at No. 4 ahead of three teams — Sioux Falls Christian, Dakota Valley and Lennox — with winning records in the seed-point race.

As it stands, Madison would be left out of the postseason, as the Bulldogs trail Vermillion for the eighth and final place in the playoff field. Belle Fourche isn't far behind Madison and could still find its way into the mix, but the bottom four of Chamberlain, Custer, Milbank and Lakota Tech have some work to do in order to keep playing into the final week of October.

Three wins from the weekend of high school football that deserve your attention:

* Hamlin speeds past Castlewood: Hamlin left little doubt as to which nine-man No. 3 was superior, as the Class 9AA Chargers drubbed Class 9A's Warriors. The game was tied at 6 early on before Hamlin scored 33 of the game's next 41 points to gain firm control. Emblematic of the dominant showing, Chargers quarterback Tyson Stevenson completed all nine of his passing attempts for 216 yards with five going for touchdowns.

* Tea Area wins a back-and-forth affair: Tied at 28 after three quarters, second-ranked Tea Area scored the final 10 points of the contest to knock off third-ranked Yankton on its home field. In doing so, the Titans won their 22nd consecutive regular-season game (dating back to their time in Class 11A) and cemented themselves as the top challenger to Pierre, as the Class 11AA pecking order is coming into focus.

* Corsica-Stickney wins offensive showcase with Avon: Corsica-Stickney supplanted Avon in the Class 9B rankings in this week's media poll and backed it up on Friday. Though Avon's recent form will take some luster away from the win, the Jaguars have a new best win under their belt.

Recognizing the top performances of the week:

* Tea Area put up 38 points in a win against Yankton with Chase Van Tol running for 255 yards and a score, while Blake Thompson crossed the goal line three times for the Titans as a part of his 15 carries for 155 yards. Rugby Ryken was 20-for-27 for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

* The combination of Waylon Bolle and Carter Wright helped lift Corsica-Stickney to a 36-28 win over Avon. Bolle had 14 carries for 150 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown run, while Wright had 59 yards and a score on the ground, as well as five catches for 106 yards and a score.

* All four of Ryan Krog's completions went for touchdowns in Elkton-Lake Benton's 50-0 win over Iroquois-Lake Preston. He compiled 186 yards through the air and also ran for 174 yards and a pair of scores on 11 carries.

* Harding County's Kelby Hett connected on three touchdown passes and 211 yards on 5-of-8 passing in a 52-0 win over Dupree. Rylee Veal, who hooked up with Hett on a 13-yard score, had three touchdowns on the ground in addition to his receiving score.

* Reed Rus ran for four touchdowns, toting the ball 22 times and racking up 259 yards in a 32-6 win for Mount Vernon/Plankinton over Tri-Valley.

* Elkton-Lake Benton didn't have an incomplete pass in a 61-7 win over Flandreau. Noah McDermott went 12-for-12 with 204 yards and three touchdowns, while Keaton Gale completed his only pass for a 61-yard touchdown.

* In a 21-6 win over Baltic, Parker's Charlie Patten carried the ball 22 times for 121 yards and a pair of scores and caught a pass for 30 yards.

* Howard had three players rush for over 100 yards in a 56-22 win over Irene-Wakonda. Griffin Club tallied 149 on five carries, Karsyn Feldhaus had 107 on 12 rushes and Taiden Hoyer picked up 103 on six attempts. Hoyer ran for a score and was 4-of-7 through the air for 127 yards and two touchdowns, while Feldhaus had two rushing touchdowns and Clubb added one of his own.

Here are three games on next week's schedule we're fired up for:

* Sioux Falls O'Gorman at Sioux Falls Jefferson: It doesn't get any better than No. 1 versus No. 2. Top-ranked Jefferson has dominated all five of its opponents and is the only Class 11AAA without a blemish on its record, while the No. 2 Knights dropped a close call to Class 11AA Tea Area for their only loss but have scored at least 35 points in every game.

* Winner at Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan: Another one in the 1-versus-2 category. The No. 1 Warriors and No. 2 Seahawks both had this last week off to prepare for this important Class 11B showdown. Winner has defeated BEE in each of the last three meetings, including two state title game tilts, but the Seahawks will look to reverse that trend playing on their home field.

* Hamlin at Warner: In this northern nine-man showdown, Class 9AA No. 3 Hamlin looks to run through a second-straight ranked Class 9A opponent on their home field in a trip to No. 2 Warner. Someone has to lose, as both teams put undefeated records (6-0 for Hamlin, 5-0 for Warner) on the line.