Must-Watch Matchups South Dakota: Week 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Dakota's Must-Watch Matchups of the week are here! We've got some smaller division matchups this week, dipping into the smaller school 11 man football in the Mt. Rushmore State. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11A Canton vs 11A Dell Rapids</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams come in with a clean 2-0 record. Dell Rapids opened up with a nail biter against Madison, winning 15-14. Canton won by two scores in both of their games. This should be a great matchup of two teams who's identity is to run the football and then run it again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Canton's got a couple great two way athletes on the perimeter in [player_tooltip player_id='2149756' first='Ryder' last='Thompson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1320821' first='Jaden' last='Folkens']. The 6'3" WR/DB Thompson ran an impressive 4.77 as an incoming junior this summer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SDSU commit [player_tooltip player_id='1273539' first='Beckett' last='Nelson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1622001' first='Charles' last='Becker'] are a great duo on the Offensive Line at Dell Rapids. [player_tooltip player_id='1320044' first='Jace' last='Brende'] at LB/ATH is an excellent athlete and they have a good group of young talent in the 2029 class as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11AA Watertown vs 11AA Tea Area</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams have both played really close games already and I'm anticipating another one coming up this week when they clash. Right up there in 11AA with Pierre T.F. Riggs, this is a big matchup for both teams to establish themselves as a clear contender in that division. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offense runs through 2029 QB/DB [player_tooltip player_id='1740904' first='Devyn' last='Rhodes'] for the Tea Area Titans. Expect a heavy dose of QB run behind senior Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1617836' first='Trey' last='Krell']. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1649621' first='Hayden' last='Bialas'] is an explosive pass rusher and Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1601729' first='Thiik' last='Lual'] is a force on the defensive line as well at 6'2" 225. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watertown has NDSU commit and senior TE [player_tooltip player_id='1575917' first='Hunter' last='Peterson'] leading them. [player_tooltip player_id='1293075' first='Lincoln' last='Schutt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2159306' first='Tyson' last='Miller'] tote the rock behind big Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id='2110136' first='Andrew' last='Dahl'] and Connor Christianson, who are both around 6'3" 280. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11B St. Thomas More vs 11B Winner</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Thomas More and Winner have both bulldozed their way to this matchup, both sitting at 3-0 with very impressive margins of victory. Winner have given up only six points all season! STM has scored at least 40 in each game. This previews as a heavyweight fight. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Winner is a team, admittedly that I don't know a lot about. It's hard to see jersey numbers and get names when a team runs a tight single wing! [player_tooltip player_id='1293086' first='Ash' last='Kaiser'] is an athlete to watch out for in this backfield and any Offensive line that runs the single wing this successfully deserves a shoutout. This team may be undersized but they play hard and play as a team. There is a reason that this team is 3-0. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Thomas More has a few guys on the radar at PRZ Dakotas. [player_tooltip player_id='1293174' first='Rush' last='Turner'] is a 6'6" OL committed to Lindenwood. The connection between juniors, QB [player_tooltip player_id='1601551' first='Noah' last='Wald'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1601661' first='Cooper' last='Sales'] is very strong. [player_tooltip player_id='2162126' first='Zander' last='Zandstra'] may be a 5'7" Sophomore but he is impressive in the backfield. Coming off a State Championship campaign last season, STM is rolling again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fan Thoughts?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let me know if there is a player that you think should be highlighted from one of these excellent teams. Especially if you are from the great city of Winner, South Dakota! Also, if there is a matchup idea you want to see for South Dakota's week 4 Must-Watch Matchups, tweet me <a href="https://x.com/Rye_Storrs" data-type="link" data-id="x.com/Rye_Storrs">@Rye_Storrs</a>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->