News

Hot Springs at Dell Rapids 5:00

Dell Rapids is not the team they were last year. That’s the mantra you’ve heard over and over this season. But the fact is that Dell Rapids’ season looks very similar to last year. And with a win on Saturday they’ll find themselves in position to capture a third straight Class 11A title. Head Coach Steve Hansen said the team’s health is good with just a few dings here and there. Running back Cole Langer’s ankle seems to be doing fine and he’ll be able to carry the load for the Quarriers. Hansen is focused on this game and has his team ready,

“We want to execute well and keep the pressure on them.  We have to keep turnovers and penalties to a minimum.  Defensively we need to focus on our responsibilities and when they make plays we need to rally to the ball,” said Coach Hansen.

Hot Springs is a team on the rise and Head Coach Ben Kramer believes the best is yet to come,

“We havent played our best game yet this season. We're a very young team and we're in a new and excititng situation. We've continued to improve week to week and thats all I can ask from my team this week. "Do everything better this week than you did last week,” said Kramer.

Hot Springs features a young quarterback Justin Harkless (Jr.) who has thrown for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns this year. But they feed their offense through junior running back Jake Oberpriller who has churned out 1,042 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. Sophomore Jared Harkless leads the way on defense with 91 tackles and an interception.

Hot Springs is on a roll, they’ve won their last five games by a combined score of 221-40. But Dell Rapids is a whole different quality of opponent than Hot Springs. Quarriers should win by 30 or more points.

Spearfish at Harrisburg 6:00

Spearfish is among the most physical teams in the class. They’ll need to use that physicality and aggressiveness to get off to a better start than last time they faced Harrisburg. Spearfish lost 31-7 on September 28^th on a cross-state trip to Tiger Nation. Harrisburg is a balanced team with 1430 yards rushing and 1009 yards passing. The Tigers will use that balance to keep Spearish guessing. Andrew McCuen has rushed for 613 yards and 7 touchdowns and he’s thrown for 8 Tds.

I expect Spearfish to put up more of a fight than they did in September but the Tigers are on a roll and home-field advantage will earn them a trip to the Dakota Dome.