Must-Watch Matchups South Dakota: Week 6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've hit the half way point in the season! It has gone by pretty quickly but there is still a lot of football to be played. There is nothing guaranteed in the race for the state championships at every level. Defending champions and teams who are looking to take that next step to the mountain top are playing big games this week! Here are the Must-Watch matchups of the week in South Dakota. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11AAA Harrisburg vs 11AAA Brandon Valley</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams are top 5 in South Dakota 11AAA right now. Both teams share a loss to Sioux Falls Jefferson, who are still undefeated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Harrisburg (4-1)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an earlier week, we talked about [player_tooltip player_id='1596619' first='Bryson' last='Esser'] and Dyland Frederick for Harrisburg. This week I will highlight 2028 WRs [player_tooltip player_id='1597615' first='Kasen' last='Meyer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1597616' first='Hudson' last='Hillman']. Hillman is a bigger body and a red zone threat at 6'2" 180 pounds. Meyer is a sure-handed, high football IQ guy. These two are already good players and have room to grow next year as a dominant duo. Another guy I'm looking at as an impact player is [player_tooltip player_id='2092854' first='Cooper' last='Hodge'] on the DL at 6'1" 280 pounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Brandon Valley (4-1) </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an earlier week, we talked about the DL/TE [player_tooltip player_id='1617596' first='Austin' last='Dowd'] and the trio of 2029 OL they have in<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/landon-voight/"> </a>[player_tooltip player_id='2234696' first='Landon' last='Voight'], [player_tooltip player_id='2239230' first='Grant' last='Blomgren']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/grant-blomgren/"></a><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/grant-blomgren/"></a> and [player_tooltip player_id='2072435' first='Wyatt' last='Sitzman']. This week I will highlight seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2092842' first='Anneyso' last='Ahmed'] off the edge and [player_tooltip player_id='1152876' first='Miles' last='Fokken'] at LB. I also want to talk about senior playmaking duo QB [player_tooltip player_id='1300019' first='Will' last='VanLeur'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1264214' first='Jonah' last='Juhl']. These guys all have great size for their respective positions and contribute to one of the strongest senior classes in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11A Lennox vs 11A West Central</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams also share a loss to the top team in their division, Sioux Falls Christian, who also have a difficult matchup this week against Madison. These four teams are battling for top seeding spots in 11A in big games this week that will give a big boost to the two programs that come out on top. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Lennox (4-1) </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I mentioned the size and speed that Lennox showcases in the box with [player_tooltip player_id='1212272' first='Drake' last='Mikkelsen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1622004' first='Leif' last='Karlson'] the last time I talked about this team this season. That trend continues with senior LB [player_tooltip player_id='1568290' first='Jevyn' last='Lefers'] at 6'0" 205 pounds and junior OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1421399' first='Klayten' last='Thoreson'] at 6'3" 275 pounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">West Central (4-1) </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6'5" 225 pound TE/Edge rusher [player_tooltip player_id='2054941' first='Tanner' last='Wagner'] is a force for West Central as a junior. [player_tooltip player_id='2081571' first='Boche' last='Knight'] is a shifty senior WR who my colleague Nate Wahl described as extremely twitchy this summer. [player_tooltip player_id='853340' first='Elliot' last='DeJong'] is another athlete that creates matchup nightmares at 6'4" 205 pounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11A Sioux Falls Christian vs 11A Madison</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison lost a close one in their opener to Dell Rapids and haven't looked back since, cruising to 4-1. Speaking of cruising, Sioux Falls Christian hasn't sniffed a one score game this year, absolutely dominating up to this point. Will this be the first one score game of the year for them? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Sioux Falls Christian (5-0) </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an earlier week, we talked about the monster OL for Christian, [player_tooltip player_id='763887' first='Andersen' last='Semchenko'] and Rowen VanderStouwe. We also highlighted the trio of 2028 athletes who are all top 5 ranked players in their respective positions. [player_tooltip player_id='1397495' first='Cooper' last='Strande'], [player_tooltip player_id='1597641' first='Jude' last='Prins'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1602496' first='Darieon' last='Smith'], <a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/darieon-smith/"></a> who will be flying around on both sides of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id='1597642' first='Jesse' last='Witte'] is another perimeter playmaker in the junior class for Christian. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Madison (5-1) </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison is led by a couple of stud offensive lineman in South Dakota commit [player_tooltip player_id='1293155' first='Ashten' last='Dorhout'] along with [player_tooltip player_id='1601579' first='Nolan' last='Fischer']. They protect the stellar junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='1597644' first='Henry' last='Veenhof'] who throws missiles all over the field, really using the entire 53 and a third. He is the #1 2028 QB in the state of South Dakota and at 6'4" 200 pounds he really does look the part. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fan Thoughts? </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're at the half way point in the season! Let me know what your game of the year has been so far in South Dakota. As always, if there is a matchup that should be talked about in the coming weeks, you can reach me at <a href="https://x.com/Rye_Storrs">@Rye_Storrs</a> on twitter/X. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->