South Dakota 9B Playoff Preview
SOUTH DAKOTA– It’s the most wonderful time of the year, high school football playoffs in South Dakota! The playoffs will start tomorrow night in Class 9AA, 9A, and 9B. We will look at the teams from each class to get you…
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Continue ReadingSOUTH DAKOTA– It’s the most wonderful time of the year, high school football playoffs in South Dakota! The playoffs will start tomorrow night in Class 9AA, 9A, and 9B. We will look at the teams from each class to get you all set up for 9-man football tomorrow in South Dakota. We start with 9B, where we will look at the matchups, who are some players to watch in each game, etc.
CLASS 9B
#4 Faulkton Area at #1 Herreid/Selby Area
This game may be closer than you might think. Herreid/Selby (7-1) played four of the same teams as Faulkton, and all but one against North Border were similar in the points differential. Players to Watch: Brenden Begeman and Tray Hettlick of Herreid/Selby. One of two H-S prospects on Prep Redzone’s radar from the Class of 2023.
#3 Langford Area at #2 Wolsey-Wessington
Langford might be surprised by the bracket, as they beat #1 seed Herreid/Selby by a 26 point margin in the regular season. My player to watch for is senior WR Tristan Abbott, who had 48 catches, over 1100 yards, and 12 touchdowns to his resume in his junior season. His massive size at wide receiver will be a huge factor along with his crisp route running. Zander Widener is a player to watch from Langford.
#4 Bison at #1 Dell Rapids St. Mary (Forfeit)
Bison’s season ended in a mystery before they could even start the playoffs. Bison notified the state earlier this evening that they would not be playing against Dell Rapids St. Mary; allegedly, players from the Cardinals found out via social media about the forfeit. The Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals, featuring prospects Connor Libis Connor Libis 5'9" | 160 lbs | ATH Dell Rapids-St. Mary's | 2021 State , Ashaun Valandra, and others, will get a week off and play either Colman-Egan or Alcester-Hudson at home on Thursday, October 29th.
#3 Colman-Egan at #2 Alcester-Hudson
Alcester-Hudson got the upper hand on the Hawks already once during the regular season by a 26 point margin, and I think may get the win again tomorrow as their strength of schedule and the quality of their losses lines up better than the Cubs.
#4 Estelline/Hendricks at #1 Corsica-Stickney
This looks to be one of the weakest sections of the first round of the playoffs with Corsica-Stickney (4-4) and Estelline/Hendricks (1-6). The 4-4 Jaguars all four wins came up against teams under 500 as they struggled with Viborg-Hurley, Hanson, Wosley-Wessington Springs, and Burke losing by large margins. As for the Redhawks, their only win on the season came over winless Centerville by a tiny margin. Based on Corsica-Stickney’s strength of schedule, they get my nod to win this one. Player to Watch: Brendan Wentland, QB of Corsica-Stickney.
#3 Irene-Wakonda at #2 Scotland
Scotland Highlanders shutout the Eagles in the first game of the season, and I think they could do it again tomorrow. Irene-Wakonka averaged 3 points per game in their first six games before putting up 63 in their two-game winning streak to close out the season. If those Eagles show up, we might be in for a better game—the advantage to the Highlanders.
#4 Dupree at #1 Kadoka Area
The Kougars of Kadoka are 3-1 this season against teams with a winning record. The Dupree Tigers (3-5) come in rested, not played since October 9th, but had allowed defensively over 50 points per game in their last three contests.
#3 Harding County at #2 Faith
This one might go down as one of the best battles in 9B on Thursday night. These two teams played each other in Week 3, and Faith came away with a 32-26 defeat, which makes me think the small 500 people community of Faith, South Dakota, might be a place to be tomorrow night in 9B football.