Quarterfinals Set for South Dakota 11AAA, 11AA, 11A Football Playoffs
Touchdowns were flying on Thursday night as the regular season came to a close in Class 11AAA, 11AA, and 11A. Here's the quarterfinal matchups.
Class 11AAA went about as elementary as possible. Washington and Roosevelt cruised to the two top seeds of the playoffs after blowout wins. Brandon Valley secured the third seed with a win over O'Gorman, and that put the Knights in the fourth seed. Aberdeen Central and Rapid City Stevens flipped spots, while Watertown and Rapid City Central face another trip to Sioux Falls. The Lincoln Patriots are the team that is left out of this year's field.
Here is the official 11AAA bracket:
Class 11AA was all up for grabs on Thursday night. Four teams were at .500 or better entering the final game, while five teams in the class were at 2-6 with an opportunity to make the post season. Pierre lost a close game to Aberdeen Central, while Harrisburg fell to Lincoln. Even with the loss, Pierre keeps the top seed but Harrisburg fell to the third seed. Mitchell secured the second seed with a 41-0 win over Spearfish, which also knocked Spearfish out of the 11AA playoffs.
The most fun playoff bracket to watch unfold on Thursday night was in Class 11A. Only eight teams make the playoffs out of the 17 team class. The games became competitive, and playoff hopes were on the line all throughout the night.
Madison and Dakota Valley finished the season undefeated and will be the top two seeds in the playoffs. Madison holds the tiebreaker based on opponents average power points. Dell Rapids is the three seed following loss to Madison. Tea Area lost their last four games of the regular season, but they managed to hang on to a playoff spot in the 8th seed.
The quarterfinal round for each class will be played next Thursday (October 26) with the semifinals taking place on November 3rd. The championships are in Vermillion November 10th and 11th.