Nov. 7—PARKSTON, S.D. — As the No. 1 seed and carrying a 22-game win streak into Friday’s state football semifinals, the Parkston Trojans are on the doorstep of a third consecutive Class 9AA title game appearance.
And standing in the way on Friday night is a familiar foe in the fifth-seeded Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix.
It’s a matchup of two of the most explosive offenses in Class 9AA, as both sides average upward of 43 points per game. On the strength of 276 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns from star running back Kolter Kramer, the Parkston offense held up its end while the defense derailed FMFA in a 42-14 Week 1 victory.
On the season, the Trojans (10-0) have allowed just 10.9 points per game, the third-best mark in the class, as they’ll look to keep FMFA in check once again. That unit is also coming off of a five-takeaway effort in a 40-6 rout of Leola/Frederick Area in the quarterfinals.
As the Phoenix (8-2), who ventured west to knock off No. 4 Hill City 36-26 in the quarterfinals for a seventh-straight win, attempt to overcome Parkston’s staunch defense, they’ll look to lean on a prolific, balanced attack that has produced 258 passing yards and 154 rushing yards per contest.
Junior quarterback Riley Tschetter leads the way with 2,328 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air, along with 447 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. With Chris Aasen’s 773 yards and nine scoring receptions as tops on the team, FMFA has five players with at least three receiving touchdowns, including leading rusher Dominic Sperling. As the lead back, Sperling has 917 yards from scrimmage with 15 total touchdowns.
In Year 3 as a program, FMFA is playing in its first-ever state semifinal, and the team has amassed a record of 22-8 in that span.
HOWARD, S.D. — It’ll be a battle of two 10-0 squads when No. 2 Howard battles No. 3 Warner on Friday night for a spot in the Class 9A championship.
Both teams are eager to get back to DakotaDome after trips last season. Warner is the defending Class 9A champion, ending 2023 with a perfect 12-0 record. Since the start of 2022, the Monarchs have amassed a 33-1 mark, with their only loss coming against Gregory in the 2022 title game.
Meanwhile, Howard’s been playing with extra motivation after just falling short in the Dome last year. The Tigers were still in Class 9AA in 2023, marching their way to Vermillion before coming up short against Parkston in a 12-7 loss. The last time the Tigers competed in Class 9A, they won the 2021 championship. Like Warner, Howard has been a difficult out in recent memory, with a 49-4 record since 2020.
Both teams have rolled on their way to the semifinals. Howard has outscored its opponents 114-6 in the playoffs including a 54-0 shutout over Ipswich last week with 527 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, Warner also has a high-scoring differential with an 86-14 advantage over opponents this postseason, including a 37-8 victory over Philip in the quarterfinals.
Both defenses have been nothing short of dominant this season. The Tigers have only allowed five points per game, including four shutouts on the year. Among Howard’s defensive leaders, Tate Miller has four interceptions on the season, Luke Koepsell is the team leader in tackles (62) and also has five sacks. The Tiger defense as a whole has 12 interceptions, 19 sacks and hasn’t allowed more than 200 yards in a game this year. For the Monarchs, they have only allowed 6.4 points per game with three shutouts.
Offensively, Howard will need to lean on its overwhelming running game to carve its path back to Vermillion. The Tigers’ running game has relied on a consistent convoy of tough runners, featuring Miller with 1,091 yards and 18 touchdowns, as Kolt Becker has 855 yards and nine touchdowns, and Carson Hinker has thrown for 820 yards and is just shy of 80% completion percentage. The Tigers have averaged 47.1 points per game this season, while Warner has also averaged over 40 points per game with a 40.4 average.
ONIDA, S.D. — Looking to double down on an upset of No. 1 Avon last week, eighth-seeded Canistota (7-3) battles No. 5 Sully Buttes (9-1) in the Class 9B semifinals for a place in the DakotaDome.
The Hawks pulled off the stunner of the South Dakota high school football playoffs so far last week, limiting an Avon squad averaging upward of 60 points per game against Class 9B opposition in a 16-8 win.
Brady Scott and Easton Miller have been the Hawks’ leaders all season long, and it was no different in the quarterfinals. Scott threw a touchdown pass to Miller and Scott used his legs for the game-winning score.
On the season, Scott — who started the season at quarterback, then moved to receiver before going back behind center — has 692 passing yards, 445 rushing yards and 201 receiving yards with a hand in 18 total touchdowns. Miller tops the team charts with 473 rushing yards and 368 receiving yards, scoring 12 times. Levi Schroeder, with 490 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns, provides a quality third option.
Miller and Scott are also the Hawks’ leading pair in tackles and interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, as the crew that limited Avon’s explosive offense will now have to contend with a Chargers offense headlined by dual-threat junior quarterback Wesley Wittler. Against No. 4 Corsica-Stickney in the quarterfinals, Wittler accounted for 296 yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 36-6 romp.
Canistota is in pursuit of its first state championship berth as a standalone program since winning Class 9A in 2015. Sully Buttes last made the trip to Vermillion as part of consecutive runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018.
WINNER, S.D. — With both teams riding high following big wins in the Class 11B quarterfinals last week, No. 2 Winner (10-0) and No. 11 St. Thomas More (8-2) will meet in the semifinals with a trip to the DakotaDome on the line.
The Warriors eye a fifth trip to Vermillion in six seasons, having fallen short during their last journey in the 2022 title game against Elk Point-Jefferson.
Both teams had drastically different quarterfinal matchups, but both are riding large waves of momentum into the semifinal skirmish. Winner had no issue with Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central last week in a dominant 44-0 victory. For STM, it was a back-and-forth game with third-seeded Mount Vernon/Plankinton that came down to the final minute of the fourth quarter when a go-ahead touchdown eventually ended with a 38-34 victory, the Cavaliers’ eighth-straight win after an 0-2 start.
Rivals with regular matchups in several sports, the Warriors and Cavaliers haven’t battled on the gridiron since 2021. In the series, Winner has stacked up 11 straight wins, including a pair of postseason meetings.
Winner has relied on a steady balance on both sides of the ball. The Warriors have allowed a class-low 5.3 points per game this season with four shutouts. Offensively, the ground-and-pound attack has led the Warriors to 34.4 points per game, and they have also scored 38 or more points in three straight games.
It’s been a backfield-by-committee with multiple players carrying the load. Among them is Karson Keiser, who had a big game last week with 112 yards, alongside Eli Vobr’s 105 yards and Zac Olson’s 46 yards.
STM has allowed 11.8 points per game, which includes a run of five straight shutouts during the regular season. On the other side, they’ve averaged 39.3 points per game and have scored 38 points per game in seven straight contests.
If the Cavaliers, who were last a state semifinalist in Class 11A in 2016, can score a third-straight postseason road victory, they’d make the trip to Vermillion for the first time since ending as Class 11B runner-up in 2014.
