South Dakota Semifinals

Class 9B

#4 Corsica-Stickney (9-1) at #1 Langford (10-0)

Saturday, November 7 at 6:30 pm  -  Langford, SD

What You need to know

Corsica-Stickney

What a turnaround for the Jaguars. They went 2-6 last year and missed the playoffs, this season they lost their opener against Colome and haven’t lost since.

Team chemistry and senior leadership have played a big part in our success, teams can’t really key on one player with us we have three good backs and several good players to throw ball to, we are very balanced in pass and run.- Jason Broughton, Corsica-Stickney Head Coach

The big-play passing game is one of the best in 9B. Landon Bruinsma (39/68, 1006 yards, 12 TD) averages 25.7 yards per completion. The Jaguars will rely on Eli Van Roekel (123 att, 1082 yds, 12 TD) and Clayton Menning (78 att, 871 yds, 7 TD) to move the ball up and down the field.

Langford

The Lions start up front with Brady Wieker (6-2, 245) and Jordan Carson (6-4, 220) paving the way. Not many teams can matchup with the strength in the trenches. Quarterback Chance Olson (96 att, 1017 yds, 12 TD) and Lincoln Gibbs (168 att, 1909 yds 32 TD) take advantage of the big line and churn out yards. Gibbs gained 291 yards in the quarterfinals against the defending champions. Langford has more depth than most 9B schools but lost Garret Knebel in the final regular season game, so they’ll need to stay healthy to make a championship run.

#3 Colome (9-1) at #2 Harding County (9-1)

Saturday, November 7 – 4:00 pm (MT)  – Buffalo, SD

What you need to know:

Colome

Colome has possibly the best player in this class in Reed Harter (626 yds passing, 1209 yds rushing). The three year starter has become a great leader and made the talent around him even better.  Will Cahoy (373 yds 8TD), Kelly O’Bryan (314 yds 5 TD) and Jackson Kinzer (185 yds 2 TD) make up an explosive backfield and Holden Thieman and Nate Krumpus give the passing game some punch. Up front the line is experienced and mobile. Isaac Kortan is a three-year starter and Allan Varilek has two years starting experience. Defensively Wiley Heath makes things happen and they’ve been pleasantly surprised with the play of two freshmen Beau Bertram and Dawson Varilek.

Harding County

The Ranchers are never afraid the throw the ball around and this year is no different. Junior quarterback Sam Podzimek (101/174, 2012 yds, 24 TDs) is the top passer in 9B. Clayton Koch (31 rec, 747 yds, 12 TD) is his top target.

I believe our passing game has been effective this year because our offensive line had done an amazing job in their pass pro.  We have a lot of athletes at the WR and TE spots who can make plays.  We are very fortunate to also have one of the better QBs in 9-man football also.

- Jay Wammen, Harding County Head Coach

In the playoffs you often need to run the ball because of weather and tougher defenses. If the Ranchers take it to the ground they’ll have three guys who share carries to go to. Riley Jensen (89 att, 491 yds, 3 TD), Garrett Boylan (77 att, 463 yds, 8 TD) and Clayton Koch (49 att, 379 yds, 6 TD) all can tote the rock. On defense Jarett Jenson and Garrett Boylan lead the team in tackles while Mason Teigen will put a lot of pressure on the quarterback.