South Dakota Gridiron Report: Three facts to know about each semifinal matchup

Nov. 4—The final week of Friday night lights for the 2026 season is here. Semifinal action takes center stage across the state on Nov. 6, as the seven classes of high school football will decide which programs get to finish their seasons on the turf of the DakotaDome next week. Here's what to know about each semifinal pairing. * Jefferson leads the all-time series between the two schools 5-2, including a 43-20 win from the opening week of this regular season. The Cavaliers and Tigers have only met once before in the postseason, with Jefferson beating Harrisburg in the 2022 Class 11AAA state championship game. * For the season, the Jefferson defense has 95 tackles for loss and 42 sacks. Senior defensive end Anthony Patron, a South Dakota State commit, leads the team in both categories with 16 TFLs and nine sacks. The Cavs allow 13.8 points per game. * The last time the Class 11AAA No. 1 seed didn't make the state title game, Harrisburg was responsible for the upset. A fifth-seeded Tigers squad upended top-seeded Roosevelt 21-19 in 2020. Since elevating to Class 11AAA in 2019, Harrisburg has an 11-6 overall postseason record. * There are no strangers in this fixture, with the Lynx and Patriots set to face off for the 10th time in the past five seasons. The two programs have met twice in each season since 2022, and this is the fourth consecutive playoff meeting that will come in the semifinals or later. Lincoln is 6-3 in the past nine head-to-head meetings, including a 34-25 win this regular season on Oct. 16. * Lincoln lost two of its first three games this season to O'Gorman and Jefferson, giving up 42 points in both defeats. Since then, the Patriots' defense has improved, allowing 14.6 points per game during a seven-game win streak. Offensively, Lincoln is scoring 48.1 points per game over the same span and 42.1 for the whole season, which ranks second in the class. * Brandon Valley's defense ranks atop Class 11AAA with 12.1 points allowed per game for the season. The 34 points the Lynx allowed to Lincoln are the most in a single game to date. Creating turnovers has been key to the recipe, as the Lynx have 22 takeaways, including 15 interceptions. * Pierre has not scored less than 38 points in a game this season and has eclipsed 50 points in a game three times. The Governors lead all of South Dakota high school football at 50.5 points per game. That figure is nearly three touchdowns up on the second-best team in Class 11AA, which happens to be Sturgis at 32.4 points per game. * According to the MaxPreps database, it has been more than two decades since Sturgis last defeated Pierre. Since 2004, the Governors are 15-0 in the series. With a win, the Scoopers would reach the state championship game for just the second time in program history, the last time being 1983. * Pierre, which has the state record for most consecutive state championships at seven from 2017-23, also has an active streak of title game appearances. The Govs can make it a decade straight with a win. It would also be 12 appearances in 14 years. * Yankton is a top-two seed in the Class 11AA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The Bucks are trying to get to the DakotaDome for a second straight playoff appearance and the third time since 2023. * The two schools have traded the past four meetings, with Yankton winning in 2023 and 2025 and Watertown in 2024 and earlier this season 42-14. In that matchup, also at Crane-Youngworth Field, the Arrows sprinted out to a 35-0 halftime lead. * Watertown is 4-0 on the road this season, while Yankton is 3-2 at home. The Arrows are also 4-2 in games against opponents above .500, and only Pierre (5-0) had more wins in that category among Class 11AA teams. * The Chargers are tied with St. Thomas More for the longest win streak in 11-man football with 22 straight victories. SFC, which is 33-1 overall since the start of the 2024 season, is in its fifth straight semifinal and playing for a third straight trip to Vermillion. * SFC boasts the No. 1-ranked defense in all of South Dakota high school football this season by points allowed at 5.6 per game. The Chargers haven't allowed more than eight points in five straight games. Dell Rapids managed 15 points against SFC during the first meeting, and the 28-15 final was the closest margin the Chargers have faced this season. * Dell Rapids is one win away from the program's 10th all-time trip to the DakotaDome. * These two teams tied for the No. 2 seed at the end of the regular season, with West Central getting the nod (and the right to host this semifinal) by way of a 24-12 head-to-head win on Oct. 2 in Hartford. That stands as Lennox's lone road loss of the season, while West Central is also 4-1 at home. * This is a familiar position for Lennox, which is aiming for a third straight state title game appearance. Each of the past two seasons, the Orioles were the No. 3 seed in the Class 11A bracket but went on the road and dispatched of the No. 2 seed (Dell Rapids both times) to reach the DakotaDome. In 2024, Lennox had lost the regular-season meeting before winning the rematch in the semifinals. * Friday will mark the 27th time since 2004 that the Trojans and Orioles meet on the gridiron, with West Central holding a 23-3 advantage in the series, according to the MaxPreps database. This will be the fifth postseason meeting in that span, and West Central is 4-0 previously. * This is the sixth consecutive season in which the Warriors and Huskies have played each other, with EPJ holding a 3-2 series lead. Against all other opponents during that span, Winner is 58-5, while EPJ is 56-7. The Huskies won the last meeting 20-8 on Sept. 12, 2025, in Winner, and they also won the 2022 state championship 21-14 in Vermillion. No matter who wins on Friday, this will be the eighth year in a row that either Winner or EPJ appears in the DakotaDome. * The Warriors have allowed just six points per game for the season, the No. 1 mark in Class 11B and second-best in all of 11-man football. Winner has shut out six of 10 opponents, including four in a row entering the semifinals. For its part, EPJ allows 9.3 points per game, the third-fewest in 11B. * EPJ has rushed for 3,404 yards this season. Brody Van Roekel and Aiden Hammitt both have over 950 rushing yards individually, and both average a first down every time they touch the football. Hammitt boasts a mark of 11.5 yards per carry, while Van Roekel is at 10.2 yards per carry. Notably, the two teams have combined for 101 pass attempts this season, an average of just five per side per game. * This is a rematch from the 2025 semifinals, a contest which STM won 50-14 en route to winning the Class 11B state championship. This is the Cavaliers' third consecutive semifinal appearance. * The Cavs are tied with Sioux Falls Christian for the longest win streak in 11-man football with 22 straight victories. STM has also won 17 consecutive home games dating back to the start of the 2024 season, with an average margin of victory of 34.7 points per game in those contests. * Clark/Willow Lake will be playing for the 12th consecutive week in the semifinal round. The Cyclones were the lone Class 11B team with a nine-game regular-season schedule, meaning they did not get a bye week. * Parkston is one win away from its fourth Class 9AA title game appearance in five years. The Trojans are in the state semifinals for the sixth year in a row. In that span, they have an overall record of 60-8. * This is a matchup of the top two defenses in Class 9AA by points allowed per game, with the Trojans at 7.6 and the Braves at 13.3. Between the two sides, they've held opponents to eight points or fewer in 12 of 20 games. * Britton-Hecla senior Bennett Suther leads the Braves on both sides of the football, totaling 1,332 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns on offense along with 75 tackles, including 55 solo stops and nine TFLs, six passes defensed, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and one recovery. * This will be the first meeting between the Black Panthers and Chargers since the 2020 Class 9AA championship game, which Platte-Geddes won 42-12. Platte-Geddes repeated as state champion in 2021, and since then, Hamlin has been a semifinalist in five straight seasons, including its own state title in 2024. * Though both teams have a loss on their records, they enter Friday night on a combined 17-game win streak. Hamlin lost its opening game to Class 9A No. 3 Castlewood, while Platte-Geddes lost the next week to Class 9AA No. 1 Parkston. * Hamlin quarterback Boden Stevenson has accounted for 44 total touchdowns this season while racking up more than 1,300 yards both through the air and on the ground. * These are the only two nine-man teams left standing that won on the road this postseason. As such, at least one team seeded No. 4 or higher will play for the Class 9A championship for the fourth year in a row. If KWL wins, it will mark the third time in four years a No. 7 seed or higher reached the title game. * Bennett County has never made a South Dakota high school football state championship game. Last season, there were two nine-man football programs that technically made their championship debut in Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy and Elkton-Lake Benton, though Freeman and Elkton each had prior title game history. * Though there are four combined losses in this pairing, only one came against another Class 9A program, as KWL was tripped up by Sully Buttes 26-22 on Aug. 28. Bennett County just defeated Sully Buttes 28-22 in the quarterfinals. The other KWL losses came against Class 9AA No. 1 Parkston and No. 3 Platte-Geddes, while Bennett County's lone setback came against Class 9B No. 1 Wall. * Freeman hasn't played a four-quarter game since Sept. 18. Since then, the Flyers got a forfeit win over Canistota and four straight victories by the 50-point rule. In the playoffs, Freeman has outscored its two opponents 114-6. * Between Castlewood's Kamden Keszler and Freeman's Tayden Kerrigan, the quarterbacks in this matchup have accounted for 91 total touchdowns this season. Keszler has 47 total scores, with 26 coming on the ground, while Kerrigan is at 44 total touchdowns with 33 through the air. Their total offensive output comes out to 4,792 yards. * Both these schools reached the state football championships in 1999. That's the most recent of Castlewood's five trips to Vermillion all-time, and it's also the last time Freeman made it as a standalone program. That year, Freeman edged out Harding County 12-8 for the Class 9A title, while Castlewood fell 44-22 to Stickney/Mount Vernon in the inaugural Class 9AA championship game. * Friday's meeting with Avon will be only the fifth game of the season for Wall against a Class 9B foe, and just the fourth different 9B opponent. The Eagles opened with six straight Class 9AA or Class 9A foes, then closed with two Class 9B teams: Kadoka Area and Jones County. Wall rematched with Jones County in the first round of the playoffs and then played Herreid/Selby Area last week. * Wall is looking for its third state championship game appearance in five years, all in a different class. The Eagles won the 2022 Class 9AA and 2025 Class 9A titles. Since the start of 2021, Wall has an overall record of 62-4. * Avon has played the most difficult schedule in Class 9B this season, with an opponent win percentage of .660. Both teams the Pirates lost to are still alive in the postseason and undefeated on the year: Class 9A No. 2 Freeman and Class 9B No. 2 Dell Rapids St. Mary. * This is a matchup of the top-two scoring defenses in Class 9B. The Cardinals allow 8.4 points per game, and Warner allows 9.3 points per contest. They've combined to hold opponents to one touchdown or fewer in 13 of 20 combined games this season. St. Mary is the top scoring offense in Class 9B at 50 points per game, while Warner ranks fifth (36.9 ppg). * Dell Rapids St. Mary is the only nine-man program in a position to defend its 2025 state championship. Wall moved from Class 9A to Class 9B, while Freeman split from Marion (and Freeman Academy closed) and moved from Class 9AA to Class 9A. The Cardinals are on a 22-game winning streak and one win from a fourth title game appearance since 2020. * After averaging 28 points per game over its first six games, the Monarchs' offense has found a new gear following a bye week. Warner has scored at least 47 points in each of its last four games, including a 103-22 combined score from the first two rounds of the playoffs.