By Jacob Wuertz and Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

No. 1 Dell Rapids and No. 2 West Central will host semifinal games in Friday’s Class 11A playoff action. 

The Quarriers (10-0) will host No. 4 Sioux Falls Christian (7-3) at 7 p.m. In other semifinal action, No. 2 West Central (9-1) hosts No. 3 Beresford (8-2) in Hartford at 7 p.m.

Dell Rapids was the lone Class 11A team to go undefeated, outscoring its opponents by 19 points during the season. The Quarriers’ closest contests were against Canton (28-22) and Dakota Valley (22-18). 

The Chargers lost to Canton (27-20) and West Central (27-24) to start the season, but rattled off four straight wins. After a 20-18 setback against Beresford, Sioux Falls Christian strung together three straight victories to reach the semifinal round. 

Dell Rapids and Sioux Falls Christian, a pair of Dak-12 Conference teams, didn’t play this season. The Quarriers did knock off the Chargers, 29-22, last season. 

Dell Rapids is looking for its first trip to the DakotaDome since 2018, a 39-7 loss against Tea Area in the Class 11A state championship. The Quarriers have won five total Class 11A state championships. 

Sioux Falls Christian is gunning for its first-ever Class 11A title game berth. The Chargers last made the DakotaDome in 2017 and ‘18, winning a pair of Class 11B state championships. 

West Central’s lone blemish was a 46-12 setback against Class 11B No. 1 Winner. The Trojans eked out a pair of wins over Sioux Falls Christian (27-24) and Madison (28-25) in back-to-back weeks in early September. 

West Central is scoring 33.2 points per game, while it allows 13.5 points a contest. West Central, which has won 12 total Class 11A titles, is seeking its first trip to Vermillion since 2015. 

Standing in its way is Beresford, a team it hasn’t played since 2004. The Watchdogs two losses this season were against Class 11B No. 1 Winner (22-0) and Class 11A No. 1 Dell Rapids (20-6). 

Beresford has a number of close wins on its résumé this season, including over Canton (7-6), Flandreau (20-12), Sioux Falls Christian (20-18) and Dakota Valley (22-20). The Watchdogs are looking to break a long DakotaDome drought, having only one previous appearance in the state championship game. Beresford claimed the Class 11B title over Flandreau (7-6) in 1987.