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Simplified: Sioux Falls Jefferson is charging forward with a win over O'Gorman and an 8-0 record. Meanwhile, No. 5 Lincoln defeated No. 2 BV as the postseason picture becomes clearer leading into the last week of regular season games.

Jefferson hangs 59 on O’Gorman as they continue undefeated season

Top-ranked Sioux Falls Jefferson made it very clear that they deserve the state’s No. 1 ranking in Class 11AAA with an overwhelming second half Friday at No. 3 O’Gorman.

The Cavaliers, 8-0, scored 35 second-half points and cruised to a 59-35 over O’Gorman. With the scoring punch, Jefferson is now averaging 46.8 points per game, by far the most in the state’s largest class.

Jefferson amassed 504 yards of total offense on Friday, led by quarterback Cason Mediger’s 363 in the air. He finished an efficient 30-for-38 that included three touchdown strikes, one each to Jase Unzen, Tyson Tycz and Quentin Hudelson. DeVonte Wilson led the Jefferson rushing attack with 56 yards including a 45-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

The loss drops O’Gorman, 5-3, to No. 5 in the prep media poll after No. 5 Lincoln jumped in the rankings with their win over No. 2 Brandon Valley.

O’Gorman quarterback Chace Hermanson was 17-for-23 for 325 yards passing against the Cavs. He threw three touchdown passes, two to Tanner Charron and one to Isaac Myers. Braylon Treasure also threw a touchdown pass for the Knights, a 52-yard strike to Myers to cut it to 17-14 before Jefferson went on their run. 

What about other local teams?

Movin' on up: No. 5 SF Lincoln 34, No. 2 Brandon Valley 25

After being ranked No. 1 in the preseason media poll, Lincoln lost two of three to fall to No. 5. Now, the Patriots have won five straight and jumped to No. 2 in the current rankings with an impressive win over No. 2 Brandon Valley at Howard Wood Field on Friday.

In last week’s Sioux Falls Simplified preview story of this game, we focused on how Lincoln had shifted its offensive approach from passing to rushing.

The Patriots fooled us, and the Lynx.

Lincoln quarterback Brody Schafer finished 14-for-23 passing for 239 yards and four touchdown strikes, two to Jace Weber and one each to Ike Weiss and Darryl Jackson. Lincoln rushed for 195 yards in the win, led by Jackson’s 155.

Brandon Valley’s Ryder Mueller opened the scoring with a 77-yard run in the first quarter, but the Lynx missed the extra point. Brandon Valley chased those points the rest of the night, failing on two two-point conversions. 

Mueller finished with 129 yards rushing on and two scores. Quarterback Jack VenLeur was 15-for-22 passing for the Lynx for 228 yards, but was also picked off three times, twice by Dexter Johnson.

Brandon Valley dropped to No. 3 in the rankings with one regular season to play.

A win for the Rough Riders: SF Roosevelt 21, Class 11AA No. 2 Tea Area 14

Although playing a smaller class in Tea Area’s 11AA, Roosevelt won for the fourth time this year, a vast improvement over their one-win season a year ago.

Lester Cholopray rushed for 130 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns for the Rough Riders, 4-4. Quarterback Weslee Werkmeister rushed for 94 yards including a 63 yard touchdown run in the second quarter to tie it 7-7.

Mitch Grant was 15-for-22 passing for 184 yards for the Titans, 6-2. Grant also ran for two scores while Brayden Gniffke finished with 52 yards to lead Tea Area’s ground attack.

Tea Area scored late to cut it to 21-14 and orchestrated a successful onside kick with three minutes to play. They got the ball back, but a quarterback sack by Wakangli Knight on fourth down sealed the win for Roosevelt. 

Knight started the season on Roosevelt’s running back depth chart, but has clearly found a home at linebacker.

“He plays with a lot of energy and a lot of passion,” Roosevelt head coach Jason Stahlberg said. “We’ve leaned a lot on our defense this year. I’m really, really proud of them. They played hard and they found a way to close out the game. Credit to the players. They showed up when their backs were against the wall. I think in previous years we’d probably take that as a dagger and wouldn’t have responded the way we did.”

Left no crumbs: Class 11A No. 1 SF Christian 52, Milbank 0

Class 11A top-ranked SF Christian continued its march through the 2026 schedule with an emphatic 52-0 win over Milbank, 3-5.

Cooper Strande was 21-for-31 for 344 yards passing with six touchdown strikes, four to  Mason Snyder. Jude Prins, Darieon Smith Jr., and Ryder Meehan caught the others for the Chargers, 8-0.

Scores from around the state

Class 11AAA

• No. 1 SF Jefferson 59, No. 3 O’Gorman 35
• No. 5 SF Lincoln 34, No. 2 Brandon Valley 25
• No. 4 Harrisburg 49, RC Central 0
• SF Roosevelt 21, Class 11AA No. 2 Tea Area 14
• SF Washington 49, RC Stevens 0

Class 11AA

• No. 1 Pierre 42, Brookings 20
• SF Roosevelt 21, No. 2 Tea Area 14
• No. 3 Yankton def. Douglas, forfeit
• No. 4 Watertown 50, Huron 20
• No. 5 Sturgis 35, Mitchell 7
• Spearfish 28, Aberdeen Central 20

Class 11A

• No. 1 SF Christian 52, Milbank 0
• No. 2 West Central 34, Vermillion 6
• No. 3 Lennox 56, Belle Fourche 6
• No. 4 Canton 49, Madison 26
• No. 5 Dell Rapids 22, Dakota Valley 13
• Beresford 30, Tri-Valley 14
• Hot Springs 47, Custer 14

Class 11B

• No. 1 Elk Point Jefferson 27, Wagner 8
• No. 2 St. Thomas More 42, RC Christian 32
• No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake 14, No. 5 Deuel 7
• No. 4 Winner 20, Chamberlain 0
• McCook Central-Montrose 26, Parker-Marion 7
• Mt. Vernon-Plankinton 44, Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central 0
• Beresford 30, Tri-Valley 14
• Groton Area 28, Aberdeen Roncalli 0
• Mobridge-Pollock 46, Miller-Highmore-Harrold 16
• Sioux Valley 49, Flandreau 32
• Hot Springs 47, Custer 14

Class 9AA

• No. 1 Parkston 60, Gregory 6
• No. 2 Platte-Geddes 30, Bon Homme 16
• No. 3 Hamlin 35, Estelline-Hendricks 0
• No. 4 Britton-Hecla 50, Sisseton 0
• No. 5 Garretson 50, SF Lutheran 28
• Hill City 45, Lead-Deadwood 35
• Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan 22, Hanson 16
• Tripp-Delmont-Armour-AC-DC 12, Canistota 8
• Waubay-Summit 52, Webster Area 14
• Kimball-White Lake 49, Stanley County 18
• Redfield 50, Florence-Henry 12
• Baltic 42, Viborg-Hurley 18
• Great Plains Lutheran 58, Waverly-South Shore 8

Class 9A

• No. 1 Freeman, idle
• No. 2 Castlewood 54, De Smet 0
• No. 5 Timber Lake 50, Harding County-Bison 8
• Class 9B No. 4 Avon 48, No. 4 Centerville 40
• No. 5 Sully Buttes 42, Lemmon-McIntosh 6
• Howard 60, Chester Area 6
• North Central 42, Northwestern 0
• Bennett County 28, Lyman 21
• Scotland-Menno 56, Irene-Wakonda 6
• Tripp-Delmont-Armour-AC-DC 12, Canistota 8
• Faulkton Area 50, Leola-Frederick Area 0
• Kimball-White Lake 49, Stanley County 18
• Corsica-Stickney 46, Alcester-Hudson 24
• Redfield 50, Florence-Henry 12
• Class 9B No. 3 Warner 47, Ipswich 6
• Kadoka Area 32, Philip 23
• Great Plains Lutheran 58, Waverly-South Shore 8

Class 9B

• No. 1 Dell Rapids St. Mary 64, Arlington 0
• No. 2 Wall 53, Jones County 0
• No. 3 Warner 47, Ipswich 6
• No. 4 Avon 48, Class 9A No. 4 Centerville 40
• No. 5 Hitchcock-Tulare 48, Wolsey-Wessington 16
• Gettysburg 52, Sunshine Bible Academy 0
• Howard 60, Chester Area 6
• North Central 42, Northwestern 0
• Scotland-Menno 56, Irene-Wakonda 6
• Faulkton Area 50, Leola-Frederick Area 0
• Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 54, Wilmot 24
• Colman-Egan 32, Deubrook Area 8
• Burke 51, Gayville-Volin 0
• Kadoka Area 32, Philip 23

All Nations

• Tiospa Zina 36, McLaughlin 14
• Mahpiya Luta 52, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte-Tiospaye Topa 22
• White River 50, Walthill 0
• Lower Brule 50, Crazy Horse 0
• Dupree-Takini 62, Marty 0
• Lakota Tech 20, Pine Ridge 18 2OT

Updated SD Prep Media Football Poll for the week of Oct. 19

The media football poll ranks the top-five teams in each class, record, total points and previous ranking. First-place votes are listed in parentheses. 

Class 11AAA

1. SF Jefferson (21) 8-0 105 1
2. SF Lincoln 6-2 79 5
3. Brandon Valley 6-2 63 2
4. Harrisburg 5-3 37 4
5. O’Gorman 5-3 31 3

Class 11AA

1. Pierre (21) 8-0 105 1
2. Tea Area 6-2 80 2
3. Yankton 6-2 63 3
4. Watertown 5-3 44 4
5. Sturgis 5-3 22 5

Class 11A

1. SF Christian (21) 8-0 105 1
2. West Central 7-1 83 2
3. Lennox 6-2 62 3
4. Canton 6-2 44 4
5. Dell Rapids 5-3 21 5

Class 11B

1. Elk Point-Jefferson (15) 8-0 99 1
2. St. Thomas More (6) 8-0 90 2
3. Clark/Willow Lake 9-0 62 3
4. Winner 7-1 42 4
5. Deuel 6-2 16 5

Class 9AA

1. Parkston (21) 8-0 105 1
2. Platte-Geddes 7-1 80 2
3. Hamlin 7-1 67 3
4. Britton-Hecla 7-1 40 4
5. Garretson 6-2 14 5

Class 9A

1. Freeman (20) 8-0 104 1
2. Castlewood (1) 8-0 84 2
3. Timber Lake 8-0 57 3
4. Sully Buttes 7-1 34 5
5. Centerville 6-2 16 4

Class 9B

1. Dell Rapids St. Mary’s (14) 8-0 98 1
2. Wall (7) 8-0 90 2
3. Warner 8-0 61 3
4. Avon 6-2 42 4
5. Hitchcock-Tulare 7-1 23 5

Special thanks to CorTrust Bank!

Since 1930, CorTrust Bank has served the financial needs of individuals and business across 37 locations. What began as a small bank supporting local farming families in Artesian, S.D., has grown into a fourth-generation, family-owned community bank offering a full array of financial products and services. Be sure to check-out their new Sioux Falls location at 1315 S Minnesota Avenue - their friendly team is ready to serve you!

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