First things first: This newsletter is brought to you by Hook & Ladder Kitchen and Bar.

  • Hook & Ladder is bringing bold flavors, refreshing drinks, and a firehouse-inspired atmosphere come together to create a dining experience like no other. Stop in their location off West 12th Street near Tea/Ellis Road, and check out their menu online.

Simplified: It's the last week of the regular high school football season for 11-man schools in South Dakota, and the playoff picture getting clearer. But anything can happen with the state power point seeding.

Tell me more

It’s the regular-season finale for the largest 11-man schools around the state, and for the most part, the AAA playoff picture is coming together – sort of.

Barring a massive surprise on Thursday, the Top 8 teams in the state’s largest class are set with top-seeded Sioux Falls Jefferson in the driver’s seat.

The Cavaliers, 8-0, get 2-6 Washington this week, which should go Jefferson’s way. 

But what the first round of the playoffs might look like for next week is still a bit convoluted. The formula - or power point calculations - to determine seed points for the Top 8 teams is still in question.

However, should things play out this weekend, an educated guess would have the playoff picture looking like this:

Our predictions for the Class 11AAA Quarterfinals

Thursday, Oct. 29

  • No. 1 SF Jefferson vs. No. 8 RC Central
  • No. 2 SF Lincoln vs. No. 7 SF Washington
  • No. 3 Brandon Valley vs. No. 6 SF Roosevelt
  • No. 4 Harrisburg vs. No. 5 O’Gorman

The one game this week that could potentially shake things up is the first game on Thursday at Howard Wood Field when Harrisburg, 5-3, travels to SF Lincoln, 6-2. If Harrisburg can pull the upset, it would likely move the Tigers up in seed points, which could alter the playoff picture.

  • But the Patriots are on a five-game winning streak and look primed to hang onto the No. 2 seed with hopes of a return to the DakotaDome next month for the fourth straight season.

Roosevelt hoping to avoid ‘butt-whoopin’

One game this week that’s intriguing is Roosevelt at Brandon Valley. On paper, the Lynx are the clear favorite and were the No. 1 ranked team for much of the season before losses to both Jefferson and Lincoln. A week after their six-point loss to Jefferson on Sept. 18, Brandon Valley took it out on Washington in a 49-14 victory.

Brandon Valley, 6-2, lost last week to Lincoln by nine, so the Rough Riders could have their hands full on Thursday when they get a Lynx team that typically responds solidly after a loss. Over the last three seasons, Brandon Valley has outscored its opponents 107-20 in the following game after a loss. The last time the Lynx lost two straight was to open the 2023-24 season.

But Roosevelt, 4-4, has improved drastically this year. They won just one game last year and twice - once in the regular season and in the opening round of the playoffs - lost to the Lynx by a combined score of 96-28. But there’s enthusiasm this year at Roosevelt, and head coach Jason Stahlberg said his crew of Rough Riders are ready for the challenge.

“We’re going to go in there and they’re going to get everything we got,” he said. “Last year, we played them twice, and those games have served as a lot of motivation for us. They dealt us a pretty good butt-whoopin’. So the fact that we get another opportunity, we’re really looking forward to it. They’re a really good football team and it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”

Brandon Valley head coach Matt Christensen said the Lynx are certainly not looking past the Rough Riders with a No. 3 seed in the balance with a win.

“That’s the lowest we can be, if we take care of business,” he said. “The Roosevelt game is a massive game now. We treat them like they’re all gigantic. We pour in time regardless of the opponent. That’s the way to function and the only way to go is win tomorrow, win Thursday, go to practice Monday with our best habits.”

What else we're watching:

Playoffs open this week for 9-man and 11B class schools

The road to the dome opens on Thursday for much of the state. Some playoff games with local interest include:

Class 9AA

No. 6 Garretson vs. No. 11 Baltic

  • Garretson looks to return to the DakotaDome for the first time since 1991. They won the 9A title in both 1990 and 1991. Baltic has never qualified for the title game.

No. 12 SF Lutheran vs. No. 5 Waubay/Summit

  • SF Lutheran has also never qualified for the title game in Vermillion, but the Eagles did get a first round victory in last year’s playoffs, a 48-6 win over Iroquois/Lake Preston.

Class 9B

No. 2 Dell Rapids St. Mary’s vs. No. 15 Irene-Wakonda

  • Although St. Mary’s has been No. 1 all season in the prep media poll, the Cardinals slide in at No. 2 for the playoffs as Wall takes the top spot in the power point calculations. Both St. Mary’s and Wall are defending champions in a unique twist. St. Mary’s won it all in Class 9B last year, Wall won it in 9A. Per enrollment numbers, Wall moved down to 9B this year. Should the two meet next month in Vermillion, it’s a strange matchup with two defending champions meeting in the championship game. 

No. 6 Colman-Egan vs. No. 11 Gettysburg

  • Colman-Egan looks to get back to the DakotaDome for the first time since 2019 where they claimed their fourth state title. The Hawks also won titles in 1988, 2017 and 2019 in Class 9B. They won a Class 9A title in 2016. Colman-Egan advanced to last year’s 9B semi-final before a 38-28 loss to Avon.

Special thanks to Hook & Ladder!

Hook & Ladder's menu features a wide range of flavorful, house-made dishes, thoughtfully prepared to satisfy every craving. Find them near Family Park and Fire Station 10 at 323 S Whitewood Cir., or call ahead at (605) 271-0643. Check out their full menu here.