Brandon Valley Wins First Football Title Since 1998, Ends Sioux Falls Streak
Brandon Valley claimed its first state football championship since 1998, and they also ended a long streak of titles for Sioux Falls schools.
The Lynx jumped out to an early lead on Sioux Falls Washington in the Class 11AAA Championship game this past Saturday (November 10) night and never faltered in a 28-22 victory. Brandon Valley forced three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble) and turned each turnover into a touchdown to help lead them to the town's first title since 1998.
Back in 1998, there was still only a Class 11AA. That year started a run of Eastern South Dakota Conference schools winning championships from 1998-2002. Spearfish then defeated Aberdeen Central to win in 2003.
Class 11AA was taken over by Sioux Falls schools in 2004 and teams from the city reached the finals and won for nine straight years in 11AA. Six of those nine years saw a Sioux Falls vs. Sioux Falls matchup in the final. That prompted much discussion about the competition level of Sioux Falls against the rest of the state and led to the creation of Class 11AAA.
Lincoln claimed the first two championships followed by a three-peat for Washington in the new Class 11AAA. Now six years into Class 11AAA, Brandon Valley is the only non-Sioux Falls team to make the finals in that class (2016/2018). Combining the 11AA/11AAA appearances, a Sioux Falls school won 14 straight championships from 2004-2017.
That streak came to an end on Saturday night when Brandon Valley beat Washington at the DakotaDome. The Lynx brought down the Washington dynasty, ended the Sioux Falls streak that divided our high school football classes into seven total, and ended the narrative that only Sioux Falls schools have a real chance to win a title.
With all of that factored in, this championship for the Lynx is one they'll never forget and one that will live in South Dakota football history forever.