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Just one game left for North Dakota Class A and 9-man football. Not much time left for teams to make the playoffs or position themselves for home games as we prepare for a title run. In the other North Dakota classes there are games on Thursday and Friday night then they have their last games in the middle of next week. In South Dakota teams have two weeks left to jockey for playoff position. Soon my rankings won’t mean much as the playoffs take shape but for now I give you an idea of the top power teams in each class of North Dakota and South Dakota football.
North Dakota
Class AAA
Mandan used a great defensive performance and some key plays by quarterback Devin Coyle to get the best of previous number one Bismarck winning 20-19 in a battle of unbeatens. This week the top four teams square off again for some playoff previews including Bismarck vs. Minot which is LIVE on Midco Sports Network Thursday at 7pm. Devils Lake takes the lead in the east and makes their first appearance in the power rankings.

1. Mandan (7-0)
2. Bismarck (6-1)
3. Century (6-1)
4. Minot (5-2)
5. Devils Lake (4-3)

Class AA
Three of the top five teams lost last Friday. Bottineau lost a close one to Carrington, Shanley was beat up by injuries and lost to Valley City and Wahpeton went down to the hottest team in the Class, Grafton. Class AA will be a wide open playoff chase and Carrington could be a team to watch, they always seem to be at their best this time of the year.

1. Grafton (7-0)
2. Carrington (6-1)
3. Bottineau (6-1)
4. Minot Ryan (5-2)
5. Fargo Shanley (4-3)

Class A
Second week in a row that all five teams stay put in the rankings and I’m going to go out on a limb and say they’ll remain that way next week too. These are clearly the best teams in Class A right now and the top three are very close to interchangeable.

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 and Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter were set to face off as the #1 and #2 teams in my rankings, that is until Hankinson came in and beat the Imperials in a close 6-0 game. Divide County put the rest of the class on alert with a convincing win over Mott-Regent 28-6. That sets up another big battle of unbeatens as Central McLean takes on Divide County for a Region four crown on Friday.

1. Wyndmere/Lidgerwood (8-0)
2. Cavalier (8-0)  
3. Central McLean (8-0)
4. North Star (8-0)
5. Divide County (8-0)

South Dakota
Class 11AA
Roosevelt continues to put the rest of the state on alert as they rode their way to a 67-0 win over Sturgis. Roosevelt now return home for their final two games against Rapid City Central and Sioux Falls Washington. Mitchell won a thriller with two scores in the final nine minutes to beat Lincoln by a single point. That win puts the Kernels back on the radar as they get ready to host Yankton this week.

1. Sioux Falls Roosevelt (7-0)
2. Sioux Falls O’Gorman (6-1)
3. Sioux Falls Washington (5-2)
4. Mitchell (6-1)
5. Sioux Falls Lincoln (5-2)

Class 11A
Dell Rapids confirmed what I already believed, they are the best team in this class. I predicted a two-score win over previously unbeaten Dakota Valley and they served up a 20-6 win. When they get Cole Langer back at full strength they’ll be untouchable. West Central also continues to amaze, they beat #10 Jackson County Central (MN) soundly 47-7. And I finally decided to put unbeaten Todd County in the power rankings after a 50-0 drubbing of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte.

1. Dell Rapids (5-1)
2. West Central (6-1)
3. Dakota Valley (5-1)
4. Sisseton (4-2)
5. Todd County (7-0)

Class 11B
I still haven’t seen anything out of Tri-Valley or Winner that exposes any weaknesses. They are still my co-number ones, Tri-Valley polished off Tea 36-7 and Winner put another shutout on the board 50-0 over Chamberlain. If Tri-Valley beats Dakota Valley on the road this Friday it will be hard for me not to put them at number one by themselves. Flandreau, Groton and St. Thomas More all are at the top of their games as well.

1. Winner (7-0) 1.Tri-Valley (6-0)
2. Flandreau (5-1)

4. Groton Area (7-0)
5. St. Thomas More (5-1)

Class 9AA

Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan passed a test against Kimball/White Lake with a 42-14 win. Their running game is unmatched in 9AA and I’d be surprised if anyone in their class beats them this year. They do have a matchup with Corsica/Stickney on October 20^th which should help see just how good this team is. Clark/Willow Lake proved that they are significantly better than Great Plains Lutheran with a 61-13 win on Friday which vaults them back into my rankings. Leola/Frederick continues to quietly win and could pose a threat to other 9AA teams in the playoffs.

1. Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (5-1)
2. Leola/Frederick (6-0)
3. Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central (4-2)
4. Clark/Willow Lake (5-1)
5. Kimball/White Lake (5-2)

Class 9A
The Hawks continue to impress. They weren’t challenged by the Chester Flyers as the Hawks won 62-8 last Friday. Colman-Egan confirmed they belong in the rankings with a nice win over Deubrook18-12. Corsica/Stickney didn’t surprise me that much by beating Avon, but the fact they had no trouble with them did surprise me. Adam Bormann ran and passed his way to a 34-6 win over 9B #1 Avon. I knocked Corsica/Stickney out of my power rankings last week after losing to Kimball/White Lake but put them back in after beating Avon. We’ll see just where the Jaguars belong after their next two games with Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central and Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan.

1. Canistota (6-0)
2. Wall (6-0)
3. Hanson (4-3)
4. Corsica/Stickney (5-1)
5. Colman-Egan (6-0)

Class 9B
Another undefeated team went down in shocking fashion as Avon lost to Corsica/Stickney 34-6. Waverly South Shore assumes the number one spot as they continue to dismantle defenses across Northeastern South Dakota. Their latest win was against Waubay/Summit 60-8. Sully Buttes needed a miracle finish to beat Gettysburg/Hoven on the last play of the game and to keep their unbeaten mark.

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