Sioux Falls Closed Out on Hosting Football Semifinal Night

When kickoff happens on semifinal night across South Dakota, Sioux Falls' football fields will be dark for the first time in a long time.

The quarterfinals for all seven football classes in South Dakota have concluded with teams moving one step closer to the championship game. Over the last decade-plus, it was almost a sure guarantee that there would be a semifinal game played in Sioux Falls with the then three Sioux Falls public schools and O'Gorman.

Add in Jefferson this year and cut 11AAA down to Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Brandon Valley, and Rapid City, and it felt like chances of that streak continuing were pretty high. As Lee Corso would say though, "not so fast my friend."

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Harrisburg and Brandon Valley (and yes, for this we are taking Jeff Thurn's definitions out of this) moved on to the semifinals as the top two seeds in 11AAA. Both schools will host a semifinal game next week and that means Sioux Falls is left in the dark.

How long has it been? Long enough for me to tell you that when I was still doing play-by-play for the Sioux Falls schools that I would automatically mark down semifinal night as a doubleheader at Howard Wood Field.

Harrisburg will host Lincoln and Brandon Valley will host O'Gorman as part of semifinal night on Friday, November 5th. The winners will advance to the 11AAA Championship game on Saturday, November 13th at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

Ten Most Disappointing Minnesota Sports Seasons

The 2021 Minnesota Twins entered the season with high expectations, but unfortunately, they've made the list of most disappointing Minnesota teams of all time.

Disappointment is a common feeling for Minnesota sports fans as the years continue. Following the NBA Championship win for Milwaukee, SportsCenter was quick to point out that Minnesota has the current longest streak of seasons without a championship appearance in the four major sports (MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL). The Minnesota Lynx also chimed in on the stat after claiming four championships since 2011.

The ten teams that are on this list all follow a similar pattern. The year prior was either a great season with a playoff run or one that featured a strong core of players that appeared to have taken the next step. Offseason/preseason expectations were high with even Las Vegas oddsmakers believing in a deep run. Unfortunately, those preseason expectations fell short for the following teams. None of the teams listed below made the playoffs.

Filed Under: High School Sports