The rankings are determined by total points with first-place votes noted in parentheses (below). The poll has been expanded to 16 voters, who include Craig Mattick, KWSN; Chris Tubbs, KWSN; Eric Thorstenson, KSFY-TV; Matt Peterson, KSFY-TV; Dan Genzler, KSFY TV; Vic Quick, KOTA TV; Ben Root, KGIM; Dellas Cole, KBRK; Jeff Duffy, KOKK; Tim Smith, KMIT; Steve Morgan, KORN; Rod Fisher, KFGX; Nate Brown, KIMM/sdsportsbuzz.com; John Thayer, KVHT; Todd Enderson, KWAT; and Chris Doski, KWYR
11AAA
1 – Sioux Falls Lincoln (8-0), 80, (16)
2 – Sioux Falls Roosevelt (7-1), 64
3 – Brandon Valley (5-2), 43
4 – Rapid City Central (4-3) 36
5 – Sioux Falls O’Gorman (2-5), 8.5
Others Receiving Votes: Aberdeen Central (3-4), 5; Sioux Falls Washington (3-4), 3.5
Blog Notes: For the seventh straight week. Lincoln retained control at the top of 11AAA poll. The Patriots, which defeated SF Washington, 43-7, had unanimous support for the fifth straight week. Caden Quintanilla had 182 yards rushing and 3 TDs in the win as he surpassed 3K rushing in his career (3,154 yards, 48 TDs). Lincoln is 8-0 record for the first time since 1972. #2 Roosevelt stayed on the winning trek with a fifth straight win – 31-7 over SF O’Gorman. Taryn Christion had 197 yards rushing and two TDs along with 149 yards passing. Roosevelt led, 24-0, at halftime and allowed only a second half defensive TD to O’G, twice stopping the the Knights at the doorstep of the end zone with goal line stands. #3 BV, which hosts 11AA #5 Harrisburg on Thursday, held onto the #3 spot despite a 16-0 loss to 11AA #1 Pierre, which ended the Lynx five-game winning streak. Blake Stone had 118 yards rushing to lead #4 Rapid City Central past city rival RC Stevens, 14-7. The Cobblers, which have been outscored 183-to-147, has turned things around after a 1-3 start. The win over Stevens gave RCC a third straight win with O’Gorman on the schedule Thursday (Oct. 24). Despite a loss to Roosevelt, O’Gorman held onto the #5 spot. Both Aberdeen Central (3-4), which defeated Huron, 14-12, and now have won two of the last four games, and Sioux Falls Washington (3-5), earned votes in this week’s rankings.
11AA
1 – Pierre (6-1), 80, (16)
2 – Watertown (4-3), 63, #3 previously
3 – Yankton (4-4), 42, #2 last week
4 – Brookings (3-4), 32
5 – Harrisburg (3-4), 21, unranked
Others Receiving Votes: Mitchell (3-4), 2, #5 last week
Blog Notes: #1 Pierre, which barely edged out Yankton a week ago for the top spot, was the unanimous choice this week. The Governors had a huge bounce-back win as they shutdown 11AAA #3 Brandon Valley, 16-0, limiting the Lynx to 44 yards in total offense. Pierre, which has a 210-to-100 point differential, closes the regular season with a home tilt with Aberdeen Central. Shay Bratland had 101 yards rushing and a 71-yard TD reception with three combined TDs to lead the Watertown Arrows to their third win in four games, a 34-14 win over Mitchell. With the sudden hot streak, the Arrows moved into the #2 spot in the 11AA poll. Watertown closes the regular season on the road against #4 Brookings (3-4). After three-straight wins, including a 29-26 verdict over Pierre last week, Yankton fell to 4-4 on the season after dropping a 26-18 decision to new #5 Harrisburg, which built a 26-10 lead and held on against the Bucks. The Tigers have 2-of-3, including wins over both Brookings and Yankton. With a loss to Watertown, Mitchell fell out of the rankings.
11A
1 – Madison (8-0), 80 (16)
2 – West Central (5-2), 60
3 – Hot Springs (6-1), 45
4 – Dell Rapids (5-2), 35
5 – Dakota Valley (5-3), 11
Others Receiving Votes: Tea Area (4-3), 9
Blog Notes: Madison, which rolled to a 44-8 win over Vermillion, was the unanimous choice for the top spot for a fourth straight week. The Bulldogs, which owns a 310-to-97 scoring edge, has outscored two straight opponents by a 90-to-22 margin and concluded its best-ever regular season finish. #2 West Central won a second straight game, a 56-0 win over Milbank Area as they had 368 yards rushing. Through seven games, the Trojans, which face Tea Area on the road Thursday, have a 264-to-66 scoring differential. #3 Hot Springs picked up a 41-6 win over Spearfish for a sixth-straight win. The Bison have rolled up a 286-to-32 point edge (301-to-67 overall) in the winning streak. A 32-yard halfback TD pass from Riley Schmidt to Beau Carpenter with six seconds to play lifted #4 Dell Rapids to a 13-6 win over Tri-Valley, snapping a two-game losing streak to the Panthers. Tri-Valley had delivered the only losses to the Quarriers in their championship seasons of 2011 and 2012. With a 46-yard TD pass from Isaac Faldmo to Brody Van Ginkel with 42 seconds left, #5 Dakota Valley picked up a third straight win (fourth in five games) with a 20-14 win over Beresford. Tea Area, which has a 209-to-89 point differential, received votes in the poll after rebounding from two straight losses to take a 44-13 win over Lennox.
11B
1 – Aberdeen Roncalli (7-0), 75 (11)
2 – Winner (7-0), 66 (4)
3 – St. Thomas More (6-1), 42
4 – Canton (6-1), 39 (1)
5 – Parkston (6-1), 19
Blog Notes: Class 11B remain unchanged as #1 Aberdeen Roncalli rolled to a 56-to-6 win over Sioux Valley as junior QB Zach Lundquist had 125 rushing yards and hit on 9-of-13 passes for 187 yards and two TDs. Dalton Cox had four total TDs and 131 yards receiving for the Cavaliers, which has been in the top spot since preseason. Roncalli, which closes with Milbank Area, has a 307-to-40 scoring differential. Winner, the defending 11B champion, picked up their state-best 19th straight win with a 56-6 decision against Crow Creek. Winner owns a 261-to-54 point differential, allowing just a combined 20 points over the last four games. #3 St. Thomas More picked up its second straight win with a 38-6 victory over 11AA Sturgis. STM, has outscored the last two opponents, 82-to-13, and own a 237-to-71 overall point differential. They finish the regular season with Mobridge-Pollock. While they didn’t record a fourth straight shutout, Canton won big again with a 50-20 victory over a solid Wagner team. Canton, which received a first-place vote this week, rolled to a fifth straight win with its second straight game of 50 points or better. In the winning streak Canton has a 206-to-54 (256-to-76 overall) scoring margin over opponents. Four different players scored rushing TDs to key #5 Parkston’s 30-0 win over Redfield-Doland and end the Pheasants six-game winning streak. The Trojans, which travel to Bon Homme (5-2) on Thursday, has a 166-to-40 scoring differential.
9AA
1 – Garretson (7-0), 76 (13), #2 previously
2 – Gregory (6-1), 58 (1), #3 last week
3 – Arlington (7-1), 47 (1), #1 last week
4 – Deubrook (7-1), 38
5 – Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (7-1), 21
Blog Notes: There was a shake-up in Class 9AA as previously top-ranked Arlington dropped a 38-30 road decision to 9B #3 Dell Rapids St. Mary, 38-30. After their first loss of the season, Arlington fell to #3 in the 9AA poll. However, the Cardinals still received a first-place vote this week. The new #1 is Garretson, which has successfully made the transition from 11B to 9AA this season. Garretson, which closes on the road against three-time 9-man champion Canistota, defeated Irene-Wakonda, 38-6 as Austin Mathiesen recorded 10 carries for 153 yards and a 52-yard TD run. QB Jesse Brockhouse had four total TDs, two by pass, a 44-yard run and a 92-yard kickoff return. The Blue Dragons have allowed only 20 points in the last three wins. Overall, they have a seven-game streak to open the season when they own a 286-to-74 margin. Gregory, the preseason #1 is getting healthy (Brady Boes has a couple of others have returned) and have five straight wins since a 34-14 loss to Avon in week two. The Gorillas moved up to #2 in the poll and received a first-place vote. Gregory, which plays Tripp-Delmont/Armour on Thursday to close the regular season, owns a 287-to-114 overall scoring margin vs. opponents. #4 Deubrook wrapped up the regular season with a 52-14 win over DeSmet-Iroquois, winning for a seventh straight game after losing the opener to Arlington. The Dolphins are one of the most explosive teams in 9-man football, scoring 50 points or more four times. In 6-of-8 games, they have surpassed 40 points, led by Riley Hansen, who has a state-best 1,768 rushing yards (two games over 300 yards rushing) and 26 TDs. #5 BEE finished the regular season with a 49-14 win over Kimball-White Lake as the Seahawks won for the fifth consecutive time. Wade Miller led the way with 17 carries for 182 yards and two TDs and has 151 carries for 1,207 yards and 19 TDs in 2013. In five straight wins, BEE has a 207-to-42 scoring margin and has two shutouts. Overall, they own a 309-to-113 edge in points.
9A
1 – Howard (7-0), 80 (16)
2 – Leola-Frederick (7-0), 61
3 – Wolsey-Wessington (7-0), 39, #4 last week
4 – Colome (6-1), 37, #3 last week
5 – Potter County (6-1), 19
Also Receiving Votes: Alcester-Hudson (6-1), 2; New Underwood (6-0), 2
Blog Notes: While Howard was tested by three-time 9-man champion Canistota, the Tigers prevailed, 32-24, and again was the unanimous choice for #1 in 9A. Luke Loudenberg (150-1,564-27 TDs) had 25 carries for 354 yards and four TDs to lead Howard to a seventh straight win to open the season. Howard owns a 306-to-93 scoring differential vs. opponents and closes the regular season against Freeman. Leola-Frederick, which was idle, will close the regular season with a game with Langford Area. The Titans own a 312-to-47 scoring edge over opponents, including 149-to-12 over the last three games. #3 Wolsey-Wessington, which owns a 318-to-56 scoring differential, moved up to #3 after a 7th straight win, a 30-6 decision against Hitchcock-Tulare. Lorenzo Williams, who went over 1K rushing for the first time in his career (90-1,131-11 TDs), had 25 carries for 213 yards and two TDs. Ryne Johnson (1,350 rushing yards, 19 TDs) added 16 carries for 142 yards and two TDs. Wolsey-Wessington has a pair of 1K rushers for the second straight year and have recorded at least 400 yards rushing in six of seven games. Despite another win, Colome dropped to #4 in the poll. Colome, which recorded a 52-30 win over Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian, closes the regular season with a game vs. South Central. The Cowboys have six straight wins, putting up 48 points or more in four of the last five games. Potter County won a third straight game to move to 6-1 with a 56-0 win over McLaughlin/Wakpala. The Battlers have a 222-to-68 scoring differential.
9B
1 – Hamlin (8-0), 75 (11)
2 – Avon (7-0), 69 (5)
3 – Dell Rapids St. Mary (6-1), 40, #5 last week
4 – Wall (6-0), 31
5 – Faith (6-1), 17, #3 last week
Also Receiving Votes: Kadoka Area (6-1), 5; Faulkton Area (6-1), 1; South Central (5-2), 1; Harding County (5-2), 1
Blog Notes: Top-ranked Hamlin held onto the #1 spot after its closest call of the season in a 28-20 win over Webster Area. The Chargers led, 20-6, before Webster Area rallied in the fourth quarter. Brody Grantham had 23 carries for 150 yards and Dusty Quiram had 26 carries for 153 yards and two TDs to lead the Chargers to an eighth straight win this season. Hamlin, which hasput together an 8-0 regular season for the second straight season, owns a 365-to-50 scoring margin this season. #2 Avon, which closes the regular season against Andes Central, has put together a 327-to-77 point differential this season. The Pirates have scored at least 34 points in every game this season and have five games with over 40 points with a high of 70 two weeks ago. After losing for first time this season, Faith dropped from #3 to #5 in the poll. Faith was defeated by Lemmon-McIntosh (4-3) as Brody Peterson rushed for 252 yards and three TDs. Moving into the #3 spot was Dell Rapids St. Mary, which defeated 9AA #1 Arlington, 38-30. The Cardinals have scored 38 points or more in all seven games and 40 points or more five times. They close the regular season on Thursday against Lake Preston. With a 31-6 win over Philip, #4 Wall won for a sixth straight time this season as they have built a 305-to-72 point differential. Wall will play unbeaten New Underwood on Monday (Oct. 21) and Stanley County on Thursday. In the past three wins, they own a 152-to-32 edge. Also receiving votes was Kadoka Area (6-1) which stayed hot with a fifth straight victory. They have put together a 295-to-147 scoring edge, including 156-to-48 in the past three games. Despite a loss, Harding County (5-2) received poll support as did victorious South Central (5-2) and Faulkton Area (6-1).