South Dakota Gridiron Report: Revisiting recent semifinals that outshined the championship games

Landon Dierks, Zech Lambert, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·10 min read

Nov. 1—MITCHELL — Sometimes, the best isn't saved for last. The most competitive, entertaining games aren't always played with a state title on the line. It happens.

In this edition of the South Dakota Gridiron Report, six of the seven classes are represented as we revisit state semifinal contests played since 2018 that wound up being more compelling than the title game that followed.

Most recently, you couldn't go wrong with either Class 9A semifinal from 2021.

Both matchups were highly-touted coming in, as all four reached the semifinal stage undefeated at 10-0, and they lived up to the billing.

The road team carried a lead into halftime, with Wall in front of Howard, 17-14, and De Smet up on Herreid/Selby Area, 14-0. But in both cases, the higher-seeded team adjusted and shut out the visitors in the second half to come from behind and win (Howard, 21-17; HSA, 16-14). That pair of results prompted Howard coach Pat Ruml to say at the time: "[Class] 9A is the best class in nine-man football this year and it showed tonight. That game was a two-point game, this was a four-point game so I think we got it right this year — the four best teams played."

Then, Ruml's Tigers ran over, around and through HSA on the way to a 55-18 win in the DakotaDome.

A COVID-impacted season produced more than its fair share of semifinals that outshined the championship round.

In its second season in the state's largest division, Harrisburg took Class 11AAA's No. 5 seed into a semifinal with No. 1 Sioux Falls Roosevelt. The Tigers scored a 21-19 upset of the Rough Riders that night to reach the state championship, where they were ultimately rebuffed by Brandon Valley, 35-14.

Pierre's pursuit of what was then a fourth-straight Class 11AA title was as a No. 3 seed, and No. 2 Yankton stood in the path of a return to Vermillion. The final margin was still two scores (the only such outcome you'll find on this list), but a 21-12 Governor win over the Bucks was much more competitive than the 38-6 drubbing Pierre put on top-seeded Brookings in the title game.

Coming off a 2019 state championship in Class 9AA, Viborg-Hurley was in position to repeat, but Platte-Geddes had other ideas. The No. 4 Black Panthers eliminated the No. 1 Cougars, 28-22, before rolling past Hamlin, 42-12, for the program's first of two consecutive championships.

Similarly to Class 9A last year, both Class 9B semifinals in 2020 were closely-contested, but they differed in that both lower-seeded teams emerged victorious. Fifth-seeded Dell Rapids St. Mary edged No. 1 Kadoka Area, 30-28, while No. 3 Wolsey-Wessington took out No. 2 HSA, 20-14. In the championship, the Warbirds ran away with a 32-14 win.

After eighth-seeded West Central upset No. 1 Dell Rapids in the quarterfinal round, a late missed extra point was the difference in the semifinals, as No. 4 Lennox clipped the Trojans, 34-33, to cut their run short. However, that also proved to be the high-water mark for Lennox.

With Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings hosting the championships that season during the renovation of the DakotaDome, the Orioles fell prey to the No. 3 Canton C-Hawks, who ran away with a 46-8 title game victory.

Fresh off a quarterfinal win that ended second-seeded Madison's chances of a Class 11A four-peat, No. 7 seed Dell Rapids took down another higher-seeded foe in third-seeded Dakota Valley. The Quarriers took their last lead with less than eight minutes remaining and held on to win, 25-22, and earn the right to play for a state title.

But the result of that contest wasn't so sweet, as No. 1 Tea Area smashed its way to the championship, taking out Dell Rapids, 39-7, in Vermillion.

While we'll continue to hope for instant classics in the upcoming state title games, this exercise begs the question: What will be 2022's addition to this list?

For Classes 11B, 9AA, 9A and 9B

* The longer trip in each class is at least 280 miles, while the shorter is 160 miles or fewer.

* Hot Springs' 401-mile jaunt to Elk Point-Jefferson is longer than the total one-way travel in Class 9A (353) and 9B (372) and isn't far off from Class 9AA (432).

* There's a pair of sub-75-mile trips, as De Smet visits Hitchcock-Tulare (72 miles) and Gregory visits Lyman (73). The latter is the only semifinal pitting two West River schools against one another.

* The eight semifinals total 1,702 miles of one-way travel, which is still less than the 1,750 miles that just the Class 11B schools faced in the first round.

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

* Irene-Wakonda does it again: After rolling up 61 points in a first-round upset of fifth-seeded Corsica-Stickney, No. 12 seed Irene-Wakonda pulled off another upset, taking out fourth-seeded Sully Buttes, 36-30, in the quarterfinals. The Eagles have a chance to make history as the lowest-seeded team to make a state championship contest with a win on Friday in the Class 9B semifinals against No. 1 Herreid/Selby Area.

* Hot Springs blanks Roncalli: The Bison hadn't won a playoff game in a decade prior to the Class 11B first round, and now they have two in a row. Seventh-seeded Hot Springs shut out No. 2 Aberdeen Roncalli, 28-0, to move within one win of the DakotaDome, with No. 3 Elk Point-Jefferson standing in the way.

* Parkston thumps Howard: Taking advantage of five turnovers, the

sixth-seeded Trojans eliminated the third-seeded Tigers with a 34-7 score

over the defending Class 9A champions. Parkston is back in the Class 9AA semifinals for the second-straight season, where No. 2 Elkton-Lake Benton awaits.

Recognizing the top performances of the week:

* Gregory's Rylan Peck was responsible for four touchdowns and nearly 300 yards in the third-seeded Gorillas' 34-19 win over sixth-seeded Wolsey-Wessington. He threw for 120 yards and two scores on 7-of-17 passing and added 175 yards with his legs, crossing the goal line twice on 12 carries.

* Boston Katzer led the No. 4-seeded McCook Central/Montrose in a 38-6 win over No. 5-seed Mount Vernon/Plankinton. He threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, completing 18 of his 28 pass attempts. He connected with Will Cleveland eight times for 177 yards and two scores.

* In No. 6-seed Parkston's 34-7 win over third-seeded Howard, Luke Bormann accounted for three touchdowns, hauling one in through the air and rushing for the other two. Kaleb Weber went 3-for-4 passing for 82 yards and added a team-best 61 yards rushing on 11 tries.

* Lyman's Teagan Gourneau completed 12 of his 19 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, but added three scores and 76 yards with his legs in the No. 2 seed's 34-16 win over seventh-seeded Castlewood.

* Despite ninth-seeded Canistota falling to top-seed Warner 48-31, Tage Ortman threw for 190 yards and a touchdown and added 95 yards rushing and a score on 12 totes. Noah Kleinsasser chipped in 146 yards on the grounds and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while also adding six catches for 55 yards. Hunter Cramer had 125 passing yards and two touchdowns, as well as 122 rushing yards and two scores for Warner in the win.

* Jackson Jarding posted 148 yards on the ground and a score on 29 totes in No. 5-seed Hanson's 26-20 overtime loss to fourth-seeded Hamlin.

* Eighth-seeded Bon Homme's Riley Rothschadl was responsible for two touchdowns in a 20-12 loss to No. 1-seed Wall. He threw for 141 yards and a score and rushed the ball 23 times for 108 yards, crossing the goal line once on the ground as well. Cedar Amiotte had 17 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns, while adding four receptions for 78 yards for Wall in the win.

* One of Kelby Hett's three passing touchdowns for No. 4-seed Harding County/Bison came in the form of an 18-yard strike as time expired to give the Ranchers a 20-15 walk-off win over fifth-seeded Philip. In total, Hett had 216 yards through the air and a trio of scores.

* Pierre's Lincoln Kienholz was efficient in the top seed's 42-14 win over No. 8-seed Sturgis. He completed 13-of-18 passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns, and found the end zone with his legs, too, rushing three times for 37 yards and a score.

* Brenden Begeman posted five touchdowns for top-seeded Herreid/Selby Area in its 44-14 win over No. 8-seed Avon. He ran for 167 yards and three scores on 19 attempts and added 115 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns on three receptions.

* Ryan Krog completed four passes for Elkton-Lake Benton and three of them went for scores. All told, he finished 4-for-7 through the air for 174 and the three touchdowns, while also running for three more touchdowns on 10 carries for 131 yards in the No. 2 seed's 52-14 win over seventh-seeded Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy.

* No. 2-seed Tea Area rolled to a 41-0 win over No. 7-seed, with Chase Van Tol pacing the offense with 16 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns.

Here are three games on next week's schedule (non-postseason this week) we're fired up for:

* Class 11AAA — No. 3 Harrisburg at No. 2 O'Gorman: This matchup happened two weeks ago on the final night of the regular season, with Harrisburg watching the game slip away in the final moments on a late scoop-and-score by the Knights. The Tigers will be looking for revenge as well as a third-straight trip to Vermillion, plus a chance to back up its 2021 state championship performance.

* Class 11A — No. 3 Beresford at No. 2 West Central: Oddly enough, neither of the Class 11A semifinals (Dell Rapids vs. Sioux Falls Christian) are rematches from the regular season. But a clash between the No. 2 Trojans and No. 3 Watchdogs, the clear top-two challengers to No. 1 Dell Rapids, should be fun to watch. The pair have three losses between them, each falling on the road to Class 11B No. 1 Winner, with Beresford also being tripped up by the top-ranked Quarriers.

* Class 9AA — No. 6 Parkston at No. 2 Elkton-Lake Benton: Both sides made emphatic statements in their quarterfinal wins, combining to win 86-21 and setting up for quite a semifinal tilt. The ELB co-op has never been to the DakotaDome and Elkton was last there in 2006 in its only appearance. Since moving down to nine-man, Parkston has not played for a state championship like it did four times in Class 11B, most recently in 2014.