2020 South Dakota State Football Championships Recap

11AAA:

Brandon Valley 35, Harrisburg 14

The 11AAA state title went to the number two seeded Brandon Valley Lynx with the team’s 35-14 victory over the Harrisburg Tigers. The win gives Brandon Valley their second state title in three years after the Lynx’s loss to O’Gorman in last year’s state title game.

“Especially after last year losing in the state championship, it just feels good to be champs again,” Tate Johnson, senior running back for Brandon Valley, said. 

Johnson was partly responsible for the 21 point victory for the Lynx as he rushed for a total of 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Johnson was not the only player for Brandon Valley to have a dominant performance Saturday night. The Lynx’s senior quarterback, Joe Kolbeck, also finished the game with 188 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns.

Kolbeck was named the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game and Johnson was named the Most Outstanding Back of the game. Brandon Valley senior, Jaxon Mullet, was named the Most Outstanding Lineman of the game.

11AA:

Pierre T.F. Riggs 38, Brookings 6

In dominant fashion, the Pierre Governors upset the number one seeded Brookings Bobcats 38-6 on Friday, Nov. 13. The win gave the Governors their 4th straight state title.

The Governors were led by sophomore quarterback, Lincoln Kienholz who completed 10-of-19 passes for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kienholz also got help from his senior running back, Maguire Raske, who ran for 164 yards and 1 touchdown.

Kienholz was named the Joe Robbie Most Valuable player of the game and Raske the Most Outstanding Back of the game. Preston Taylor, a senior nose tackle for the Governors, was named the Most Outstanding Lineman of the game.

11A:

Tea Area 35, Canton 16

In a matchup between the 2019 state champions, the Canton C-Hawks, and the 2018 state champions, the Tea Area Titans, Tea Area was able to clinch their 2nd state title in 3 years with a 35-16 victory over the C-Hawks.

In Tea Area’s 19 point victory, senior running back Kaden Johnson and senior quarterback Austin Lake combined for 386 total yards and 4 touchdowns. In addition, Tea Area junior wide receiver Cael Lundin had 3 receptions for 74 yards and Tea Area running back Connor Mulder had 2 receptions for 36 yards.

The Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game and the Most Outstanding Back of the game was Lake. The Most Outstanding Lineman of the game was senior Luke Rettedal.

11B:

Winner 18, Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan 14

In a battle of the unbeaten, the Winner Warriors were able to edge the Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan Seahawks 18-14. Winner’s victory avenged the team’s loss in the state title game last year to give the team its third state title in the past six years.

The game between the Warriors and the Seahawks came down to the final play when the Seahawks had the ball on Winner’s 26 yard line with 6 seconds remaining in the contest. However, the Seahawks’ quarterback, Kaden Klumb’s pass was broken up by Winner’s Riley Orell to clinch the state title for the Warriors.

The Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game was Riley Orell, who rushed for 101 yards and 1 touchdown. The Most Outstanding Back of the game was Sam Krueger, who had 48 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards. The Most Outstanding Lineman of the game was Charley Pravecek.

9A:

Canistota-Freeman 12, Warner 0

The Canistota-Freeman Pride won its third straight state title against the Warner Monarchs 12-0. The loss gave the Monarchs their first loss of the season.

The Pride defense only allowed the Warner offense a total of 146 yards in the contest, the lowest of the season for the Monarchs. The Pride’s offense was led by senior quarterback Tyce Ortman, who ran for a total of 253 yards and 2 touchdowns and threw for 42 yards.

Ortman was the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game and the Most Outstanding Back of the game. The Most Outstanding Lineman of the game was senior Cole Papendick.

9B:

Wolsey-Wessington 32, Dell Rapids St. Mary 14

In a matchup between the three seeded Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds and the five seeded Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals, Wolsey-Wessington prevailed to a 18 point victory giving the Warbirds its second state title in school history.

Wosley-Wessington’s success was largely due to the Warbirds strong first half. After two quarters, the Warbirds held an 18-0 lead over the Cardinals. In the second half, the Warbirds continued their offensive prouse with two more touchdowns but allowed the Cardinals to score two passing touchdowns to make the final score 32-14.

The Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game and Most Outstanding Back of the game was quarterback Corbin Haarmeyer of Wolsey-Wessington, who finished with 173 passing yards, 57 rushing yards, 1 passing touchdown and 1 rushing touchdown. The Most Outstanding Lineman of the game was Sterlin Bonin of Wolsey-Wessington.

9AA: 

Platte-Geddes 42, Hamlin 12

In a battle between two unbeaten, the fourth-seeded Platte-Geddes Black Panthers defeated the second seeded Hamlin Chargers in a dominant 42-12 final. 

Platte-Geddes won its first state title since the two communities formed into one school in 2007. The Black Panthers’ win was partly due to their strong defensive performance in which they were able to limit Hamlin’s top rusher, Jackosn Noem who averages over 200 yards rushing per game, to just 29 yards on 11 carries.

The Black Panthers’ offense was led by Grayson Hanson, who had 78 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns and 13 yards passing with 1 touchdown. Hanson was named the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game and the Most Outstanding Back of the game. Caden Foxley, a junior tight end of the Platte-Geddes, was named the Most Outstanding Lineman of the game.