By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

Sioux Falls O’Gorman has proven to be a high-powered offensive unit this season. The Knights erupted for a 77-20 win over Sioux Falls Roosevelt, a 47-0 romp over Rapid City Stevens, and picked up quality wins over Brandon Valley (24-21) and Tea Area (41-30).

Last week against Rapid City Stevens, Hayden Groos completed 16 of 26 passes for 228 yards and threw two passing touchdowns. Maverick Jones rushed 14 times for 110 yards and four of the Knights’ touchdowns.

Wall at Lyman

PRESHO — Wall will take the 115-mile trip down Interstate 90 to face West River foe Lyman on Friday.

Class 9AA No. 4 Wall (4-1) will play at Lyman (4-0), and will look to extend its winning streak against the Raider. The Eagles, who won last season’s Class 9AA state championship, have won seven straight games in the series, including a 42-6 decision a year ago. 

Wall dropped a 22-12 decision against Philip on Aug. 25, but has since rattled off wins over New Underwood (52-0), Kadoka Area (54-12) and White River (48-6). 

Against White River, Burk Blasius completed 15 of 21 passes for 132 yards and threw three passing touchdowns. Blasius added 177 rushing yards on 12 carries and scored three more scores. 

Lyman, which is honorable mention in the latest Class 9A poll, has defeated Jones County (36-16), New Underwood (36-12), Kadoka Area (28-26) and White River (34-32, OT). 

Against White River, Brayden Oldenkamp’s game-winning two-point conversion lifted Lyman to an overtime win. Oldenkamp’s touchdown in overtime evened the score at 32-32. 

Oldenkamp logged two rushing touchdowns, one passing and hauled in a 61-yard touchdown reception. 

Pierre at Watertown 

WATERTOWN — Another week, another top-five matchup for Pierre.

The Governors, who have won 19 straight games and the past six Class 11AA state championships, are the last undefeated team standing in the class. 

The No. 1 Governors (4-0) will take their unblemished record on the road against Class 11AA No. 4 Watertown (3-1).

Pierre is coming off a 27-14 win over No. 2 Yankton on Sept. 15. Against the Bucks, Pierre finished with 480 total yards. 

Cade Kaiser paced the Governors with 170 passing yards on 12 of 25 passing, while rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown. Trey Lewis added 164 rushing yards on 16 carries and a score. George Stalley caught four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Watertown dropped a 31-20 decision against Yankton on Sept. 8. But responded with a 41-27 win over Sioux Falls Washington on Sept. 15, snapping a 12-game losing streak against the Warriors. 

The Arrows also feature a high-powered offensive attack. Against Washington, Treyton Himmerich completed 9 of 15 passes for 227 yards and threw four touchdown passes. Nathan Briggs caught three catches for 127 yards and had two touchdown receptions for Watertown. Running back Juven Hudson added 27 carries for 125 yards and one touchdown. 

Corsica-Stickney at Avon 

AVON — This week’s Class 9B marquee game takes place in Avon.

No. 3 Avon (4-1) hosts No. 4 Corsica-Stickney (4-1) in a Great Plains Conference football contest. 

The teams are nearly identical in points per game and points allowed per game. The Pirates average 41.2 points per game, while the Jaguars score 44.8 points per game.

Defensively, Avon surrenders 27 points a contest and Corsica-Stickney allows 19.4 points per game. 

The Pirates’ lone defeat was a 52-18 setback against Freeman-Marion-Freeman Academy on Sept. 1. Avon has since picked up wins over Gayville-Volin (52-22) and against Hitchcock-Tulare (32-28) in another top-five contest. 

Against Hitchcock-Tulare, Aziah Meyer scored a pair of touchdowns in the win. Against Gayville-Volin, Meyer piled up 234 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Avon's Paxton Bierema, right, carries the ball against Freeman-Marion-Freeman Academy earlier this season. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Tyler Tjeerdsma added 92 rushing yards and had a rushing score. Paxton Bierema passed for 45 yards and threw a passing touchdown to Landon Thury. Bierema added 35 rushing yards. 

Corsica-Stickney’s lone hiccup was a 38-8 defeat against Alcester-Hudson on Aug. 25. The Jaguars have since rattled off wins over Oldham-Ramona-Rutland (52-0), Centerville (54-14) and Burke (50-15). 

Against Burke, Wayon Bolle had another monster game for the Jaguars, finishing with 214 rushing yards on eight carries and scoring four total touchdowns. Carter Wright added a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. Tate Tolsma tallied two touchdown runs, while he hauled in 80 rushing yards on eight carries. 

Warner vs. Faulkton Area

ABERDEEN — Northern State University’s Dacotah Bank Stadium will host a highly-anticipated nine-man matchup.

Class 9B No. 1 Faulkton Area (5-0) plays Class 9A No. 2 Warner (4-0) in a Lake Region Conference contest, with all the makings of a classic nine-man contest.

The Monarchs are sporting an eight-game winning streak in the series, and haven’t lost to the Trojans since 2014. The LRC foes mirror each other on the field. 

Warner scores 51 points per game, while Faulkton averages 44.4 points per game. The Monarchs have given up seven points per game on defense, while the Trojans (6.8) are just as sound defensively. 

The contest is also oozing with elite playmakers on the field. Last week against Castlewood, Warner’s Hunter Cramer had a hand in five touchdowns. Cramer rushed 10 times for 121 yards and four touchdowns, while he also completed 11 of 14 passes for 225 yards and another score.

Last week against Northwestern, Garrett Cramer scored three rushing touchdowns to pace the Trojans. 

West Central at Canton 

CANTON — Dak-XII foes will meet in a top-five Class 11A tilt on Friday.

No. 2 West Central (4-0) plays at No. 3 Canton (3-1) in a key Class 11A matchup. 

Canton is coming off a 48-30 loss against No. 1 Dell Rapids, but owns quality wins over Sioux Falls Christian (30-16) and Lennox (28-20).

Against Dell Rapids, Braxton Mulder completed 10 of 15 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. Cain Wallner rushed for 58 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown. Matt Anderson hauled in a touchdown reception. 

West Central joins Dell Rapids as the last two undefeated teams in Class 11A. The Trojans are coming off a 41-7 win over Vermillion.

Against the Tanagers, Caden Alfson completed 4 of 10 passes for 72 yards and threw three passing touchdowns. Aiden Bartmann added 141 rushing yards on 14 carries. Jude Jarding rushed for two touchdowns, while Chet Carda had 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. Layton Johnson, Crew Heier and Benjamin Vuong hauled in touchdown catches.

Vermillion also owns wins over Custer (50-13), Sioux Falls Christian (14-6) and Madison (35-7).

Yankton at Tea Area 

TEA — Yankton will continue its demanding Class 11AA schedule. 

The Bucks will play their fourth straight game against a Class 11AA ranked opponent, this time against Tea Area. 

Yankton (3-1) is coming off a 27-14 loss against No. 1 Pierre last week. But prior to that, the Bucks defeated top-five teams Spearfish (42-7) and Watertown (31-20).

This week, Yankton will face No. 3 Tea Area to continue its schedule against top-five teams. 

Last week against Pierre, Lucas Kampshoff threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Titans are coming off a 66-8 win over Douglas. Tea Area owns wins over Huron (27-26) and Aberdeen Central (28-7), while dropping a 41-30 decision against Sioux Falls O’Gorman. 

Against Douglas, Cole McKinney paced the Tea Area rushing attack with eight carries for 109 yards while scoring two touchdowns. Keegan DeYoung finished with 90 yards on the ground with three touchdowns, while Brenner Konrad rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns.