The Rise of the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers Football Team

Sioux Falls Christian has only played football since 2009 and the school now has the opportunity to play for their first state championship.

The Chargers opened up as their own program at the start of the 2009 season. The first few seasons went about as expected for a new school. A mix of a couple of tough years with some bright looks at the future.

After going a combined 9-39 over the first six seasons, Sioux Falls Christian turned the corner in 2015 posting their first winning record at 9-2 overall (7-1 regular season). They fell that year in the semifinals to Madison. The Chargers would return to the Class 11A playoffs last year but fell to Dell Rapids in the opening round.

This season saw a return to Class 11B for Sioux Falls Christian. The Chargers opened up with three straight wins before seeing their only defeat of the season at the hands of Sioux Valley. Following that loss, Sioux Falls went on to outscore their opponents 140-38 to close out the regular season.

Sioux Falls Christian opened up the 11B playoffs with a narrow 28-22 win over Canton. They followed that up with a 48-14 win over Groton Area, and then punched their ticket to the DakotaDome with a 21-7 decision over Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central.

Just eight seasons into the school playing football, Sioux Falls Christian will now have the chance to win a state championship. They will face Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan on Friday at 1:00 for the Class 11B title.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools this season, and the third meeting between the two teams. Sioux Falls Christian has won both games.

The 11B championship game can be heard on ESPN 99.1 Friday afternoon at 1:00.