Week 1 Games to Watch

Now that I'm getting my South Dakota lingo and scheduling down, we can have an actual Week 1 Games to Watch article! A lot of impressive games in the opening week, a couple of upsets and a lot of good games across the State! This week Classes 11AAA, 11AA, and 11A open their seasons so Friday night will be twice as busy. A lot of intriguing games across the State to mention so here are my picks for Week 1.   Our Game:   Deuel (1-0) @ Aberdeen Roncalli (1-0)   Both these teams had a physical brawl last season that was decided by one score. Run-first offenses for both and well-disciplined defenses vote for a good game for these two squads again. With both teams graduating a lot of their rosters from a season ago, this game will be very even split again this season.   Players to Watch   Deuel Cardinals:   '25 OL/LB Reed VanWormer   '26 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='929917' first='Ethan' last='Prins']   '26 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='929809' first='Oliver' last='Fieber']   '26 RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='670032' first='Owen' last='Haas']   '26 RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='929811' first='Carson' last='Marko']   Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers:   '24 OL/LB Josh Shaunaman   '24 OL/DL Joey Johnson   '24 OL/DL Landon Zikmund   '25 QB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='800370' first='Zane' last='Backous']   '25 RB/LB Brody Weinmeister   Sioux Falls Christian @ Canton   These two teams always finish near the top in Class 11A every year. Traditional good teams that are always finishing close to trips to the Dome every season. Both have explosive playmakers and good defenses to have a good game. Offensively, two different styles of play, but still produce good results. May be a slugfest in Week 1.   Players to Watch:   Sioux Falls Christian Chargers:   '24 LB Kade VanEgdom   '24 RB/DB [player_tooltip player_id='294168' first='Johnny' last='Skyberg']   '24 LB Kaden VanOtterloo   '25 OL [player_tooltip player_id='321168' first='Lincoln' last='Semchenko']   Canton C-Hawks:   '24 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='80114' first='Matthew' last='Anderson']   '25 WR/DB Cain Wallner   '25 DL [player_tooltip player_id='666104' first='Rylan' last='Larson']   '24 RB Canaan McCracken   Canistota (1-0) @ Howard (1-0)   Another game featuring Howard after a convincing26-0 win last week against a tough team. Canistota also had a good week hitting a 55-0 victory in Week 0. Similar styles of offense that produce big plays and good scores. Not slouching on the defensive side either, both pitching shutouts a week ago.   Players to Watch:   Canistota Hawks:   '24 QB [player_tooltip player_id='205269' first='Tage' last='Ortman']   '24 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='89277' first='Brandon' last='Kjetland']   '24 WR/LB Ty Nathan Doblar   '25 WR/DB Brady Scott   Howard Tigers:   '24 QB Taiden Hoyer   '25 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='800484' first='Luke' last='Koepsell']   '25 WR/DB Will Maier   '25 OL/DL Carson Hinker   Flandreau (1-0) @ Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan (1-0)   This game will answer a lot of questions from Week 0. Flandreau hitting the first big upset of the season against a tough 11B team a week ago. An always tough Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan team opened up the season last week hot. Flandreau made the most of key opportunities on offense for their victory. BEE dominated from start to finish. Both teams' defenses pitched shutouts as well.   Players to Watch:   Flandreau Fliers:   '24 WR/DB Brendan Peterson   '25 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='800333' first='Ben' last='Ballard']   '25 RB/DL Karter Headrick   '26 QB Paul Parsley   Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan Seahawks   '24 QB/DB Taite Klumb   '24 WR/DB Drake Gustafson   '25 WR/DB Macklan Weber   '24 OL/DL Sage Mendoza   Madison @ Dell Rapids   This is going to be an exciting game to watch! Both teams love to spread out and chuck the football around. With the amount of athleticism between the two teams, it could be a shootout, or a tightly wound brawl until the end. Big lines, athletic skill players and good QB's will stand for a game to keep a close eye on.   Players to Watch   Madison Bulldogs:   '25 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='472843' first='Israel' last='Ouverson']   '25 QB Ben Brooks   '26 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='848975' first='Shane' last='Veenhof']   '24 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='294139' first='Parker' last='Johnson']   Dell Rapids Quarriers:   '24 QB [player_tooltip player_id='294169' first='Jack' last='Henry']   '24 RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='294170' first='Mason' last='Stubbe']   '24 LB [player_tooltip player_id='294167' first='Aiden' last='Geraets']   '25 OL/DL Brandon Schmidt

Now that I'm getting my South Dakota lingo and scheduling down, we can have an actual Week 1 Games to Watch article! A lot of impressive games in the opening week, a couple of upsets and a lot of good games across the State! This week Classes 11AAA, 11AA, and 11A open their seasons so Friday night will be twice as busy. A lot of intriguing games across the State to mention so here are my picks for Week 1.