(Parkston and Platte-Geddes battle it out for the Class 9AA football title. Photo: SDPB Sports/Josh Jurgens Photography)
First things first: Coverage of the 2026 state championship football games is brought to you by Lloyd Properties. Find your new home today by calling 605-334-RENT.
Simplified: Parkston scored 36 unanswered points and the Trojans claimed their fifth title in school history with a 36-6 win over Platte-Geddes.
Parkston quarterback Brycen Bruening was 6-for-10 passing for 164 yards and three touchdown passes, two to Mason Jervik and one to Sean Deckert.
“This group of seniors, we’re a very tight-knit group, and I’m just very grateful that they’re on my team and they’re my guys by my side,” Bruening said. “The community support is great, and I’m just thankful for it all.”
He also led Parkston’s rushing attack with 64 yards on six carries and was named the Joe Robbie MVP.
“He makes a lot of plays with his brains and his feet, not just his arm,” Parkston head coach Matt Grave said. “He’s a cool, calm customer, and he keeps everybody poised.”
Parkston went for 340 yards in the win and limited Platte-Geddes to 199.
“Couldn’t be more proud of these seniors, how they lead on and off the field,” Grave said. “Most of our seniors are two and three year starters and they’ve gotten to play a lot of games over the years because we’ve been in the playoffs. That exposure to the big game prepared us for this.”
Left some crumbs, actually
Down 28-6 at halftime, Platte-Geddes looked like for a moment that they had some life to start the second half. The Black Panthers took the opening drive in the third quarter and chewed up nearly nine minutes on the clock, only to see the drive end at the Parkston one-yard line.
The long, grinding drive also took its toll on the Parkston roster. On a second and goal from the three-yard line, Parkston lost Bruening, who was playing defensive back for the Trojans at the time, to injury.
After cramping, Bruening returned for just one play when Parkston took over on offense.
But none of that seemed to matter after Parkston built a comfortable lead.
Platte-Geddes opened the scoring on a Landon Keiser 13-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. But Parkston responded in a hurry, scoring twice in the final 77 seconds of the opening quarter, both TD strikes from Bruening.
Keiser led the Platte-Geddes offense with 120 yards rushing on 30 carries.
Platte-Geddes’s last title came in 2021. Platte won the championship in 1986 and 1992 in 11B. Geddes won a title on its own in 1982, a 10-point win over Wood.
Catch up on other championship games
Tom A. Savage
Tom A. Savage
Special thanks to Lloyd Properties!
