Class 9A Football Playoff Preview: Timber Lake, Freeman secure top-two seeds in Class 9A
Timber Lake's Broc Bauer (4) catches a pass in front of Lead-Deadwood's Blake Janssen (10) on Sept. 25 in Deadwood. (Duncan Martin / 605 Sports)
A new slew of top teams sit atop the Class 9A football playoff bracket.
After a combined seven wins over the past two seasons, Timber Lake (8-0) has earned the No. 1 seed in Class 9A this season. It is Timber Lake’s first season earning the No. 1 seed since 2018.
Timber Lake and No. 2 seed Freeman (8-0) were tied atop the Class 9A seed points standings with 47.438 points apiece. The Panthers, however, earned the No. 1 seed based on average of opponents’ seed points average. Timber Lake’s opponents’ seed points average was 40.445, while Freeman’s was 40.164.
It is Freeman’s first season on its own since 2014, and the Flyers were ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire in the South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll.
No. 3 seed Castlewood (8-0) is the other undefeated team in Class 9A.
Most intriguing first-round matchup
For the second time in seven days, Bennett County and Lyman will battle it out on the gridiron. No. 5 Bennett County, fresh off a 28-21 win over Lyman on Oct. 22, will look to pick up a second straight win over the Raiders on Thursday.
BC is currently 7-1 on the season with its lone loss coming against Wall (40-32) to open the year.
Lyman is one of the more dangerous No. 12 seeds you’ll find in football. While sitting with a 4-4 record, three of the Raiders’ four losses were by just one score, including narrow losses to Sully Buttes (42-34), Philip (19-18) and Bennett County. The Raiders will look to rebound against the Warriors and win when it matters most.
Freeman eyeing first state title since 1999
After dissolving the Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy co-op last season, Freeman is eyeing its first state title on its own in over a quarter century.
The Flyers last state football title was in 1999 when it won four straight titles across Class 9A and 9B. Since then, Freeman has won state titles with Canistota/Freeman (2017-19) and Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy (2025).
The Flyers are the No. 2 seed to open the playoffs and will host No. 15 Scotland/Menno in the first round.
Class 9A First-Round Pairings
No. 16 Elkton-Lake Benton (3-5) at No. 1 Timber Lake (8-0), 6 p.m., MT, Timber Lake
No. 9 Faulkton Area (5-3) at No. 8 Kimball/White Lake (5-3), 7 p.m., MT, Kimball
No. 13 Corsica-Stickney (5-3) at No. 4 Sully Buttes (7-1), 6:30 p.m., CT, Onida
No. 12 Lyman (4-4) at No. 5 Bennett County (7-1), 7 p.m., MT, Martin
No. 15 Scotland/Menno (4-4) at No. 2 Freeman (8-0), 7 p.m., CT, Freeman
No. 10 Philip (5-3) at No. 7 Howard (5-3), 6 p.m., CT, Howard
No. 14 Ipswich (4-4) at No. 3 Castlewood (8-0), 7 p.m., CT, Castlewood
No. 11 De Smet (4-4) at No. 6 Centerville (6-2), 7 p.m., CT, Centerville