By Jacob Wuertz and Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

Hanson at Chester Area (Thursday)

It's an air attack vs. ground game in this top-five matchup. 

When Hanson plays at Chester on Thursday, it will feature two different styles of offense trying to impose their will. 

The Class 9AA No. 5 Beavers are led by a three-headed rushing attack of Jackson Jarding, Hadley Wallace and Brock Tuttle. Jarding has rushed for a team-high 140 yards and has two rushing touchdowns. Jayce Slaba has thrown for 157 yards and three passing touchdowns. 

The Class 9A No. 5 Flyers counter with a passing attack that features quarterback Layke Wold and wide receiver Jovi Wolf. The duo powered Chester Area to a 58-52 win over Centerville last week. 

Wold threw for 449 yards and seven touchdown passes, while Wolf hauled in 328 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions. Through two games, Wold has thrown for 559 yards and nine touchdowns. Wolf, who is a state champion sprinter, has 420 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions. 

Hanson won last season’s meeting, 22-20. 

Kadoka Area at Lyman 

Two teams with early season momentum are set to face off in Presho on Friday.

Kadoka Area began the season with a 38-0 win over White River, but pulled off one the season’s bigger upsets thus far, knocking off Class 9A No. 3 Harding County/Bison, 40-22, last week. The Kougars are led by quarterback Garrett Hermann (199 passing yards, three touchdowns) and running backs Gus Stout (138 rushing yards), Tyus Williams (four rushing touchdowns), and Reece Ohrtman (three touchdowns).

Lyman has also gotten off to a hot start this season, claiming wins against Jones County (58-8) and New Underwood (40-0). The Raiders are led by the triple threat of quarterback Teagan Gourneau (341 passing yards, four touchdowns), running back Tance Wagner (304 rushing yards, six touchdowns), and wide receiver Cooper Long (229 receiving yards, three touchdowns).

Lyman defeated Kadoka Area in last season’s meeting by a score of 36-16. 

Parkston at Wolsey-Wessington

Two Missouri Valley Conference foes will clash in Wolsey on Friday.

Parkston is ranked No. 4 in this week’s Class 9AA poll. The Trojans have wins against Kimball/White Lake (36-8) in its first game and two-time defending Class 9AA champion Platte-Geddes (22-14) last week. Parkston is led by quarterback Kaleb Weber (147 passing yards, two touchdowns) and running backs Brayden Jervik (126 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Luke Bormann (124 rushing yards, two touchdowns). Jesse Newton leads the Trojans with two touchdown receptions.

Wolsey-Wessington began the season with a win against Iroquois/Lake Preston, 66-14. Last week, however, the Warbirds suffered their first loss of the season against conference foe Gregory, 60-34. Wolsey-Wessington is led by quarterback Blaze Herdman, running back Keegan Haider, and wide receivers Joey Hoverson and Caleb Richmond.

Last season, Parkston won a high-scoring affair between the two teams, 66-40.

Gregory at Platte-Geddes 

Class 9A No. 2 Gregory will travel to Platte to take on the two-time defending Class 9AA champions in Platte-Geddes on Friday.

The Gorillas started the season with a high-scoring victory over Wolsey-Wessington, 60-34. Gregory is led by quarterback Rylan Peck (103 passing yards, two touchdowns; 131 rushing yards, three touchdowns), along with running backs Eli Fogel (two receiving touchdowns) and Owen Hansen (92 rushing yards).

Platte-Geddes began the season rated No. 3 in Class 9AA; however, the Black Panthers lost their season opener last Friday to Parkston, 22-14. Dawson Hoffman threw for 135 yards and one touchdown, while Oakley Kott rushed for a touchdown and Joey Foxley caught a touchdown pass in the loss.

Gregory won last season’s meeting, 28-8.

De Smet at Dell Rapids St. Mary 

Two ranked Dakota Valley Conference teams will square off in Dell Rapids on Friday.

De Smet comes in at No. 5 in this week’s Class 9B poll. The Bulldogs had a 20-14 setback against Castlewood in Week 1, but rebounded last week with a 36-7 win over Stanley County. De Smet is led by quarterback Britt Carlson, who threw for 109 yards and three touchdowns last week, and running back Kadyn Fast, along with offensive and defensive lineman Damon Wilkinson.

Dell Rapids St. Mary began the season as the No. 1 team in Class 9B and remained the top team in the poll after defeating Waverly-South Shore, 52-20, in Week 1. Last week, however, the Cardinals fell to Class 9AA No. 3 Hamlin, 52-12. The Cardinals are led by quarterback C.J. Smith (113 passing yards, one touchdown last week) and running back Nic Gaspar.

De Smet won last season’s meeting by a score of 34-16.

Sioux Valley at Elk Point-Jefferson

Class 11B pundits will have their eyes set on this game in Elk Point on Friday.

Elk Point-Jefferson has outscored their opponents 105-0 in the first two games of the season, with wins over Parker and Baltic. Quarterback Noah McDermott (246 passing yards, six touchdowns) leads the offense for the Class 11B No. 3 Huskies, along with running backs Lucas Hueser (107 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and Benjamin Swatek (80 rushing yards, three touchdowns). Running back Devon Schmitz leads the team with 91 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Christian Mueller (9.5 tackles) and Swatek (8.5 tackles) lead the team on defense.

Sioux Valley has picked up wins against Jim River (34-14) and Sisseton (35-12) to begin the season. The Class 11B No. 4 Cossacks are led by quarterback Jace Christensen (133 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns), running backs Lane Liebsch (138 rushing yards, one touchdown), Brock Christopherson (113 rushing yards, two touchdowns), and Boden Schiller (110 rushing yards, two touchdowns), and wide receiver Hudsyn Ruesink (57 receiving yards, two touchdowns). 

Sioux Valley won last year’s contest, 34-28.