VERMILLION — Sioux Falls Lincoln and Brandon Valley will collide once again for the Class 11AAA state football championship. 

For the second straight season, No. 1 Brandon Valley (10-1) will play No. 2 Lincoln (10-1) at 5 p.m. CST Saturday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. 

The Patriots outlasted the Lynx, 31-21, in last season’s Class 11AAA state championship and also won the 2023 Class 11AAA state championship. In the regular-season meeting, Brandon Valley edged Lincoln (35-30) in a game that went down to the wire. 

The Patriots have rattled off five straight wins, including playoff wins over Rapid City Central (60-21) and Sioux Falls Jefferson (42-28). 

Against the Cavaliers, the Patriots outgained the Cavaliers, 526-486. Lincoln’s Brody Schafer, a junior quarterback with a recent SDSU offer, rushed for 300 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 13-of-28 passes for 169 yards. Lincoln’s Mikey Roche had nine catches for 112 yards. 

Sioux Falls Lincoln is gunning for the first three-peat in Class 11AAA since Washington won three straight from 2015-17. 

Brandon Valley began the season with eight straight victories, before dropping a 24-21 decision against Jefferson on Oct. 23. The Lynx advanced to the state championship with playoff wins over Roosevelt (41-14) and Harrisburg (38-14). 

Against the Tigers, Brandon Valley racked up 358 yards of offense. Lynx running back Levi Veskrna rushed for 160 yards and scored four touchdowns.  

Briggs Knutson completed 12-of-16 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Jack Blomgren led Brandon Valley with five catches for 43 yards. Austin Dowd chipped in two grabs for 38 yards.

Brandon Valley is looking for its first state championship since 2020, and has two back-to-back finishes (‘21, ‘24) in the past four seasons.