Across the Dakotas, State Semifinals: The Bests

DAKOTAS- With so much to uncover with state semifinal games going on across North Dakota and South Dakota last night, we wanted to take in as much as we can by watching as many games as we can in a short span of time. We watched most of the games that had live streams for at least one quarter or more if it was a tight game in the later quarters. With making the switch from Harrisburg to Bismarck, to Avon, to West Fargo, to Selby, to Pierre, and everywhere else! These were "The Bests" I saw from Friday night in the 701 and the 605. Best Upset: West Fargo (ND): The Packers upset the back-to-back defending 11AA state champions, Bismarck Century in a controlling low-scoring victory, 15-0. The Packers return to the Fargo Dome for the first time since 2017 and will face their crosstown rivals, West Fargo Sheyenne in the 11AA championship next Friday night. Best Pass: Burk Blasius, Wall (SD) (2024): Burk had South Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id="56465" first="Jace" last="Sifore"] right in his face with heavy pressure but he still was able to get the ball off for a 20+yard pass to big brother WR Blair Blasius (2023) to get the Wall Eagles on the Howard Tigers 1-yard line. In the end, it wouldn’t be enough to advance them to the 9A state finals, but look for Burk to be a QB to watch in the 2024 class of the West River. Best Run: [player_tooltip player_id="56447" first="Jacob" last="Knuth"], QB, Harrisburg (SD) (2022): In the first game we watched of the evening we saw the future University of Minnesota star put his 4.6 40 yard dash to the test, as he sprinted for a 50+ yard gain for a touchdown straight up the gut of the Patriots defense in which he could not be kept up with. The Class of 2022’s #1 player in the Dakotas is getting exactly what he wants with his Harrisburg Tigers team, a trip back to the 11AAA state championship game to hopefully get revenge again on the Brandon Valley Lynx, who beat the Tigers last year. Best Comeback: Herreid-Selby Wolverines (SD): After trailing 14-0 at the half to a really good De Smet Bulldogs team, the Wolverines started their second half with a bang. It started with the ground & pound down the field with RB [player_tooltip player_id="56549" first="Brenden" last="Begeman"] and the top FB in the Dakotas, [player_tooltip player_id="56526" first="Trey" last="Sayler"] as they got the Wolverines their first points of the game. After getting the two-point conversion, Wolverines kickoff-man Hunter Friend pinned an excellent onside kick for Herreid-Selby to get the ball back quickly. Young sophomore TE/DE Trevor Gill (2024) was the man on this entire drive. He recovered the onside kick, brought in a long-pass from [player_tooltip player_id="56550" first="Tray" last="Hettick"] to get the Wolverines deep in Bulldogs territory, and sealed the deal to get Herreid-Selby ahead for good with a short receiving touchdown. I would give that young man the MVP for just how crucial he was on that game-sealing drive! The Wolverines head back to Vermillion for the first time since 2019. [embed]https://twitter.com/605_sports/status/1456866682589351940[/embed] Best Stockriser: [player_tooltip player_id="223092" first="Josh" last="Balstad"], LB/FB, West Fargo (2023): I said it on Twitter last night, Balstad was one of the biggest stockrisers up our board based on last night’s game alone. I just loved this young man’s motor and his ability to quickly climb up into the backfield and make tackles on the ball carrier. He also has a very high physical contact level when making plays on the ball carrier. I’m not surprised that he’s had some double-digit games this season as far as tackles go, as I think the Packers will add another Division I prospect in my eyes with their 2023 class. Watch his midseason tape to find out: <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15492551/615e61f0b534d4053c317b41" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Best Two-Game Performance: [player_tooltip player_id="56566" first="Rugby" last="Ryken"], QB, Yankton (SD) (2023) To my count, Ryken has tallied nearly 800 yards of offense for the Yankton Bucks in the last two games, going for 329 yards and six touchdowns in the Bucks win over Mitchell last week and a whopping 439 yards this week in a hard-fought 35-28 loss to Tea Area in the 11AA state semifinals. I also learned last night that it took until these state semifinals for Ryken to throw an interception. We already have Rugby pretty high on a prospect list, but don’t be surprised if he moves even higher with our next rankings update. Ryken was a Big Dog of the Week last week too! Best Flip of the Script: [player_tooltip player_id="56537" first="Noah" last="Thompson"], DB, Brandon Valley (SD) (2022) It should be no secret to Prep Redzone Dakotas subscribers that South Dakota State commit and Brandon Valley’s [player_tooltip player_id="56537" first="Noah" last="Thompson"] is the best defensive back in both states. However, the Lynx used him not only defensively but moved him into a wildcat formation on Friday night against Sioux Falls O’Gorman in which he was extremely effective. If you watch Noah’s film, you see a lot of speed and someone who flys to and around the football in a speedy amount of time. On Friday night, he cashed in offensively against the Knights, logging 10 carries, 112 rushing yards, and three key touchdowns to get the Brandon Valley Lynx a matchup with the Harrisburg Tigers for the second straight year. Speed has always gone well with the Lynx rushing attacks, so do not be surprised to see them use this Wildcat formation in the Dakota Dome next Saturday night. Check out his midseason tape below: <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11551837/615b422c5b474906b8ec4934" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Other Bests: Best Effort in the State Semifinals: Sioux Falls Lincoln (SD) Effort gets you a long way and if there is one thing I know about this young Patriots team is that they love to battle. Despite being a #5 seed they gave Harrisburg all they could handle in both meetings this season. This team will graduate some key pieces like RB [player_tooltip player_id="56478" first="Angel" last="Jurshge"], DE [player_tooltip player_id="151169" first="Jackson" last="Geerts"], WR Gage Gardner WR Johnny Cooper, DE [player_tooltip player_id="151261" first="Gavin" last="Brison"], RG Cody Egger, amongst others, but I see this squad right in next year’s state race in 11AAA, no doubt about it with a loaded junior and sophomore class that already big-time contributors in the 2021 season. Best Surprise in State Semifinals: #7 seeded Aberdeen Central (SD) I came away really surprised when the Golden Eagles were able to knock off #2 seed Brookings in the state quarterfinals. Despite starting their season 3-0, Aberdeen Central would go onto to lose their last six games to close out the regular season hoping for a rebound in the playoffs. After winning at Brookings, the Golden Eagles played a Pierre team that they once again played tough throughout the game. They ended up sending the Pierre Governors back to the state finals for the 5th year in a row, but the Golden Eagles didn’t go down without a fight, losing just 28-21 in a game that was very even for most of the game. The Golden Eagles will lose a handful of seniors in [player_tooltip player_id="93092" first="Sam" last="Rohlfs"], Ashton Lening, Alec Voegele, Colin Huff, Jacob Merxbauer, Peyton Bauer amongst others, but they will return in the 2022 season with a 1000 yard rusher in Karson Carda, [player_tooltip player_id="101182" first="Aiden" last="Heimann"], [player_tooltip player_id="161295" first="Brian" last="Johnson"], and others.