The road to the Class 11B championship runs through a familiar foe yet again this season. The Winner Warriors are once again at the top of the class and are looking for their third straight Class 11B state championship. The Warriors are on a 31-game winning streak dating back to the beginning of the 2020 season and show no signs of slowing down. The top-seeded Warriors host No. 16 seed Lead-Deadwood in a rematch of a game earlier this season in which Winner came out victorious, 44-0.

Hoping to knock Winner off its championship throne are Aberdeen Roncalli and Elk Point-Jefferson, both of whom are also undefeated. The Cavaliers have rolled through the regular season, averaging 36.3 points per game on offense, while giving up only 3.1 points per game on defense. Aberdeen Roncalli has given up only four touchdowns all season and have pitched four shutouts. The Cavaliers are the No. 2 seed and host No. 15 Mobridge-Pollock in a rematch of a 56-6 Cavaliers win earlier this season.

Elk Point-Jefferson is the third unbeaten team entering the 11B playoffs. The Huskies have used a high-powered offense that averages 47.8 points per game and a defense that averages 3.5 points per game to cruise through the regular season. Like the Cavaliers, Elk Point-Jefferson has only given up a handful of touchdowns all season — four to be exact — while pitching five shutouts.

Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Drew Gerlach (22) carries the ball against Jim River on Sept. 9 in Mount Vernon. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Other teams to keep an eye on include Mount Vernon/Plankinton and McCook Central/Montrose, who each hold a 7-1 record, and perennial power Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan, who, despite a 5-3 record, is looking to punch its ticket to a sixth straight Class 11B title game appearance.

Most intriguing first-round matchup

Two Big East Conference foes will meet in a rematch in the opening round of the Class 11B playoffs.

McCook Central/Montrose and Sioux Valley met back on Sept. 23, a game which resulted in an 18-14 win for MCM. Since then, both teams have finished the season with two more wins. The Fighting Cougars rely on a potent balanced offense that averages 29.5 points per game, while allowing just 7.9 points per game on defense. MCM’s lone loss this season came at the hands of Elk Point-Jefferson, 35-0.

Sioux Valley averages 31.8 points per game on offense and allows 20.1 points per game defensively. The Cossacks began the season with two straight wins before losing to Elk Point-Jefferson, 50-0. After their third win, Sioux Valley dropped two in a row, including the loss to MCM, before rallying to win their last two contests to finish the regular season 5-3.

The teams have had four common opponents on their respective schedules, which include Flandreau, Baltic, Elk Point-Jefferson, and Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan.

Winner, Elk Point-Jefferson chasing first time feats

Winner and Elk Point-Jefferson are looking to make history for their respective schools.

The Winner Warriors are four wins away from capturing their third straight championship, something that the Winner football program has not accomplished during the playoff era, which began in 1981. Winner won Class 11A championships in 1987 and 1989, while finishing runner-up in 1986 and 1990, failing to win back-to-back titles in that span. The Warriors finally  captured back-to-back titles in 2015 and ‘16 and again in 2020 and ‘21, but have yet to claim three state football titles in a row. They have the chance to do just that should the Warriors win their last four games this season.

Elk Point-Jefferson is also chasing history. The Huskies are looking to earn their first trip to the DakotaDome in school history. Elk Point-Jefferson has reached the playoffs many times, including two semifinal appearances in 2006 and 2021, but has yet to break through the semifinal round and into the state championship game. The Huskies lost in the semifinal round last year to Winner by a score of 52-14. Elk Point-Jefferson enters this year’s 11B playoffs as the No. 3 seed and hosts No. 14 Rapid City Christian in the opening round.

Class 11B First-Round Pairings

Note: Times are Central

No. 16 Lead-Deadwood (4-4) at No. 1 Winner (8-0), 6 p.m.

No. 9 St. Thomas More (5-3) at No. 8 Deuel (7-1), 6 p.m.

No. 13 Tri-Valley (4-4) at No. 4 Mount Vernon/Plankinton (7-1), 7 p.m.

No. 12 Sioux Valley (5-3) at No. 5 McCook Central/Montrose (7-1), 7 p.m.

No. 15 Mobridge-Pollock (4-4) at No. 2 Aberdeen Roncalli (8-0), 7 p.m.

No. 10 Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (5-3) at No. 7 Hot Springs (6-2), 7 p.m.

No. 14 Rapid City Christian (4-4) at No. 3 Elk Point-Jefferson (8-0), 6 p.m.

No. 11 Redfield (5-3) at No. 6 Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central (6-2), 7 p.m.