Parity has reigned supreme in Class 9B, but Avon is primed to do something the class hasn’t seen in 20 years.

The Pirates won last season’s Class 9B state championship, and they can be the first team to repeat in the class since Kimball in 2003 and ‘04. 

Avon (7-1) is the No. 1 seed in the class, and will host No. 16 Jones County in its playoff opener. Faulkton Area, which was last season’s Class 9B runner-ups, is the No. 2 seed and will play Sunshine Bible Academy in its playoff opener. 

Dell Rapids St. Mary (7-1), Corsica-Stickney (6-2) and Sully Buttes (7-1) are the third-through-fifth seeds, respectively. 

Most intriguing first-round matchup 

Canistota has made some deep playoff runs in recent years, and it's regularly a tough out for any team.

The Hawks are this year’s Class 9B No. 8 seed and they host No. 9 Oldham-Ramona/Rutland in the playoff opener. 

The Hawks are coming off an 11-6 loss against Hanson in their regular-season finale. Their other two losses were against nine-man powers Viborg-Hurley (40-20) and Howard (32-0). 

The Raiders, meanwhile, are coming off a 32-0 win over Iroquois/Lake Preston in their regular-season finale. The Raiders also lost to Dell Rapids St. Mary (38-0), Castlewood (52-0) and Colman-Egan (54-8). The Raiders have enjoyed a resurgence this season, after finishing 1-7 and 2-6 in the past two seasons.