- It was an eventful wrap up to the South Dakota High School Football Championships at the DakotaDome Saturday, as both the 11AA and 11AAA champions were crowned in front of near capacity crowds. In Class 11AA, the #1 Pierre Governors defeated #2 Tea Area 35-20 to secure its SIXTH straight state championship, and seventh in school history. Pierre QB Lincoln Kienholz will now prepare for the next level, as he committed as a three-star recruit to the University of Washington as a QB. Kienholz finishes his high school career as the leader in passing yards (all classes), and even set a new South Dakota High School Championship Record in his final game Saturday, completing a 92-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Jack Merkwan, breaking a 80-yard record set in 2011.
Audio courtesy of SDPB. The current Pierre dominance of six straight titles has only been accomplished once in state history, with West Central gathering the same number of titles from 2000-2005.
#1 Sioux Falls Jefferson is only in it’s second year as a school, let alone a football program, but already has a state football title, as it defeated #2 Harrisburg 49-21 in the Class 11AAA Football Championship Saturday evening. Jefferson is the first Sioux Falls public school to win a title since Sioux Falls Washington in 2017.
- The South Dakota Coyote Football team fell flat in Grand Forks this weekend, falling 28-19 to North Dakota. The Coyotes, now 3-7 overall, and 2-5 in conference, conclude their season this Saturday at the DakotaDome versus (5-5) Northern Iowa for a 1pm kickoff.
- The Jackrabbit Football program of SDSU concluded its regular season slate Saturday, defeating Illinois State 31-7. The victory gives South Dakota State their first (non-shared) Missouri Valley Football Conference Title in school history. The Jackrabbits now await their seed assignment as the Division I FCS Playoffs are around the corner.
VOLLEYBALL
- The State Tournament slates are set for all three classes of South Dakota High School Volleyball, which all take place at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls Thursday through Saturday. These are the opening matchups for each classes’ brackets.
Class AA
#8 Rapid City Stevens vs #1 Sioux Falls Washington
#5 Pierre vs #4 Sioux Falls Jefferson
#7 Huron vs #2 O’Gorman
#6 Sioux Falls Lincoln vs #3 Harrisburg
Class A
#8 Elk Point Jefferson vs #1 Wagner
#5 Dakota Valley vs #4 Sioux Falls Christian
#7 Platte-Geddes vs #2 Miller
#6 Belle Fourche vs #3 Elkton-Lake Benton
Class B
#8 Freeman vs #1 Warner
#5 Wolsey-Wessington vs #4 Northwestern
#7 Castlewood vs #2 Burke
#6 Colman-Egan vs #3 Chester Area
