News

We’re on the home stretch of the season and we’re starting to separate the contenders from the pretenders. The playoffs will be here before you know it and I’ve got the teams in position to make a title run in the top five power rankings.
North Dakota
Class AAA
No changes in my top five this week. Bismarck will prepare for their last road game of the year as they travel to #2 Mandan for their second #1 vs. #2 battle of the year. Grand Forks Red River put up a valiant effort against Mandan and stay in the rankings despite the loss. Minot also lost and stays firm at number four in the rankings.

1. Bismarck (6-0)
2. Mandan (6-0)
3. Century (5-1)
4. Minot (4-2)
5. Grand Forks Red River (4-2)

Class AA
The east continues to be well represented in this class but the west gets a new representative as Carrington makes their first appearance in my top five. The Cardinals shut out Minot Ryan on the road with an impressive 19-0 performance. They meet Bottineau at home this week to try to continue earning respect.  Wahpeton got back on track with an impressive win over Kindred, kicking the Vikings out of the top five.

1. Grafton (6-0)
2. Bottineau (6-0)
3. Fargo Shanley (4-2)
4. Wahpeton (5-1)
5. Carrington (5-1)

Class A
No changes in Class A as Harvey/Wells County put a solid performance together to beat Park River. Hazen put the beatdown on Southern McLean and Stanley-Power Lake is not to be overlooked as they took out Watford City 41-7.

1. Harvey/Wells County (6-0)
2. Hazen (6-0)
3. Stanley-Powers Lake (6-0)
4. Heart River (5-1)
5. Linton (5-1)

9-man
Wyndmere/Lidgerwood passed a big test by beating LaMoure/Litchville/Marion, so with another shaky win by Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter the Warriors vault up to the number one spot. North Star makes their first appearance in the rankings with 56-0 win over Kenmare-Bowbells. The 9-man playoffs should be interesting with so many undefeated teams battling it out. Right now number one and number two are slated to square off on October 14^th in their last regular season game of the year.

1. Wyndmere/Lidgerwood (7-0)
2. Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter (7-0)
3. Cavalier (7-0)
4. Central McLean (7-0)
5. North Star (7-0)

South Dakota
Class 11AA
Yankton didn’t play their best game last Friday when they hosted number one Roosevelt and got beat 41-0. The EDC is still in the GDC’s rearview mirror and will stay there unless something big happens in the playoffs. Roosevelt now sits and waits patiently as they try to get healthy for their matchup against Washington on October 20^th. Lincoln gets a test from Mitchell this Friday as they roll on toward their season ending matchup with O’Gorman on the 20^th.

1. Sioux Falls Roosevelt (6-0)
2. Sioux Falls O’Gorman (5-1)
3. Sioux Falls Lincoln (5-1)
4. Sioux Falls Washington (4-2)
5. Yankton (5-1)

Class 11A
I still believe that Dell Rapids is the best team in this class. Those who rank West Central number one right now have a short memory of what Dell Rapids did to the Trojans on September 9^th (and without Cole Langer for most of the game). Dakota Valley now hits the toughest part of their schedule and Sisseton is coming on strong at the right time of the year. Look for Sisseton LIVE on MidcoSN this Friday Night.  And yes, I have Spearfish in the rankings. They have lost three games to St. Thomas More (a close one), Rapid City Central and Rapid City Stevens (bigger schools) and since then have ripped off three wins in a row including a win over Harrisburg. My other choices were Todd County and Little Wound who haven’t played a tough schedule and are unproven yet.

1. Dell Rapids (4-1)
2. West Central (5-1)
3. Dakota Valley (5-0)
4. Sisseton (3-2)
5. Spearfish (3-3)

Class 11B
Once again I can’t separate Winner and Tri-Valley as number one teams. Winner held Mobridge-Pollock’s high powered attack to just 3 points and Tri-Valley got a week off as they prepare for Tea Area and Dakota Valley in back to back games.  Flandreau impressed with a 43-6 win over a quality Garretson team while St. Thomas More woke up in a big way as they silenced previously unbeaten Custer.

1. Winner (6-0) 1.Tri-Valley (5-0)
2. Flandreau (4-1)

4. Groton Area (6-0)
5. St. Thomas More (4-1)

Class 9AA

The Seahawks continue to show why they are the undisputed number one team in 9AA. Kendal Lindeman and Anthony Huber are the best one-two rushing punch in 9-man football right now. Leola/Frederick struggled most of the game against Faulkton but got the win. Wilmot burst Great Plains Lutheran’s bubble with a 57-0 shutout sending the Panthers out of the rankings. Kimball White Lake jumps from outside the rankings all the way up to number three with a 30-14 win over Class 9A #2 Corsica/Stickney. They’ve won five in a row and are as hot as anyone in the class. Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan faces off with Kimball/White Lake this week.

1. Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (4-1)
2. Leola/Frederick (5-0)
3. Kimball/White Lake (5-1)
4. Deubrook (4-1)
5. Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central (4-2)

Class 9A
Canistota was tested last week by Viborg-Hurley but they came out with a win.  Colman-Egan won but didn’t look like a #3 team beating Arlington just 13-8, so I knocked them down. Meanwhile Wall looked impressive as they beat previously unbeaten Harding County 30-20.

1. Canistota (5-0)
2. Wall (5-0)
3. Hanson (3-3)
4. Colman-Egan (5-0)
5. Irene-Wakonda (6-0)

Class 9B
Going into last week eight teams were undefeated in Class 9B, coming out of Friday’s action just four remain unblemished. On a side note, those four teams who took their first lost on Friday are the only one one-loss teams in 9B. Ironically Harding County has been on the outside looking in all season and finally makes my power rankings after their first loss, of course that loss was a close one to an undefeated team from a bigger class (Wall) so we’ll give them some credit for that. Langford is the only undefeated team yet to make my rankings, but they haven’t nabbed a quality win yet. Their opponents combined record is just 10-17.

1. Avon (6-0)
2. Waverly-South Shore (5-0)
3. Viborg-Hurley (4-1)
4. Sully Buttes (5-0)
5. Harding County (5-1)