Nov. 7 — PARKSTON, SD — As the No. 1 seed and carrying a 22-game winning streak into Friday’s state football semifinals, the Parkston Trojans are poised for a third consecutive appearance in a Class 9AA title game.
And Friday night, a familiar foe stands in the way, fifth-seeded Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix.
This is a matchup of two of the most explosive offenses in Class 9AA, as both teams average over 43 points per game. Buoyed by 276 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns from star running back Kolter Kramer, Parkston’s offense held strong 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 will look to keep the FMFA in check once again. That unit also came off a five-point takeaway effort in a 40-6 rout of Leola/Frederick Area in the quarterfinals.
As the Phoenix (8-2), who ventured west to defeat No. 4 Hill City 36-26 in the quarterfinals for a seventh straight victory, attempt to overcome Parkston’s steadfast defense, they will look to rely on a prolific, balanced attack that produced 258 passing yards and 154 rushing yards per game.
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 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions leading the team, FMFA has five players with at least three receiving touchdowns, including leading rusher Dominic Sperling. As a leader, Sperling has 917 yards from scrimmage with 15 total touchdowns.
In the third year as a program, FMFA played in its first ever state semifinal and the team had accumulated a record of 22-8 during that span.
HOWARD, SD — It will be a battle of two 10-0 teams when No. 2 Howard takes on No. 3 Warner Friday night for a spot in the Class 9A championship.
Both teams are eager to return to the DakotaDome after their trips last season. Warner is the defending Class 9A champion, finishing 2023 with a perfect 12-0 record. Since the start of 2022, the Monarchs have accumulated a 33-1 record, with their only loss coming against Gregory in the 2022 title game.
Meanwhile, Howard is playing with added motivation after failing at the Dome last year. The Tigers were still in Class 9AA in 2023, heading to Vermillion before falling 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 had a rough outing as of late, going 49-4 since 2020.
Both teams qualified for the semi-finals. Howard has outscored his opponents 114-6 in the playoffs, including a 54-0 shutout of Ipswich last week with 527 total offensive yards. Meanwhile, Warner also has a high score differential with an 86-14 advantage over his opponents in the playoffs, including a 37-8 victory over Philip in the quarterfinals.
Both defenses have been nothing short of dominant this season. The Tigers have allowed just five points per game, including four shutouts this year. Among Howard’s defensive leaders, Tate Miller has four interceptions this season, Luke Koepsell is the team leader in tackles (62) and also has five sacks. The Tigers defense as a whole has 12 interceptions, 19 sacks and has not allowed more than 200 yards in a game this year. For the Monarchs, they only allowed 6.4 points per game with three shutouts.
Offensively, Howard will have to rely on his crushing running game to force his way to Vermillion. The Tigers’ running game has relied on a constant convoy of tough runners, with Miller with 1,091 yards and 18 touchdowns, Kolt Becker with 855 yards and nine touchdowns, and Carson Hinker has thrown for 820 yards and is just shy of less than 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 an average of 40.4.
ONIDA, SD — Looking to double up after an upset of No. 1 Avon last week, eighth-seeded Canistota (7-3) faces No. 5 Sully Buttes (9-1) in the semifinals class 9B for a spot at the DakotaDome. .
The Hawks pulled off a stunner of the South Dakota high school football playoffs so far last week, limiting an Avon team averaging more than 60 points per game against Class 9B opposition in a victory from 16-8.
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 to score the winning score.
On the season, Scott – who started the season at quarterback, then moved to receiver before moving back behind center – has 692 passing yards, 445 rushing yards and 201 receiving yards with a hand in 18 total touchdowns. Miller leads the team 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 duo in tackles and interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, while the team that limited Avon’s explosive offense will now have to deal with a run-heavy Chargers offense by dual-threat junior quarterback Wesley Wittler. Against No. 4 Corsica-Stickney in the quarterfinals, Wittler totaled 296 yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 36-6 game.
Canistota has been seeking 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 back-to-back second-place finishes in 2017 and 2018.
WINNER, SD — While both teams are in great shape after big wins in the Class 11B quarterfinals last week, winner No. 2 (10-0) and No. 11 St. Thomas More (8- 2) will meet in the semi-finals with a trip. at DakotaDome online.
The Warriors are eyeing a fifth trip to Vermillion in six seasons, after falling short on their last trip in the 2022 title game against Elk Point-Jefferson.
The two teams had drastically different quarterfinal matches, but both are riding big waves of momentum heading into the semifinal skirmish. The winner had no trouble 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 finally ended with a 38-34 victory, the eighth for the Cavaliers. -consecutive victory after a 0-2 start.
Rivals with regular matchups across multiple sports, the Warriors and Cavaliers have not fought on the court since 2021. In the series, Winner has racked up 11 straight wins, including two playoff meetings.
The winner relied on stable balance on both sides of the ball. The Warriors have allowed a class-low 5.3 points per game with four shutouts. Offensively, the ground attack led the Warriors to 34.4 points per game, and they also scored 38 points or more in three consecutive games.
This has been a battle by committee with multiple players carrying the load. Among them is Karson Keizer, who had a big game last week with 112 yards, alongside Eli Vobr’s 105 yards and Zac Olson’s 46 yards.
STM allowed 11.8 points per game, which included a streak of five straight shutouts during the regular season. On the other hand, they averaged 39.3 points per game and scored 38 points per game in seven straight games.
If the Cavaliers, who were state semifinalists in Class 11A in 2016, can earn a third straight road playoff victory, they would make the trip to Vermillion for the first time since finishing second in class 11B in 2014.
