Analysis: Top seeds fare well as SD HS playoffs roll to semifinals

Oct. 30—MITCHELL — It was another great week to be a high seed in the South Dakota high school football playoffs.

Only two teams seeded fifth or lower are still alive across the three nine-man divisions plus Class 11B, the fewest in the current playoff format that has seeded teams 1-16 to start the bracket since 2021.

Expanding to all seven classes, just four lower-seeded road teams won on Thursday night, and three of those were No. 5 seeds over No. 4 seeds. The top-four seeds are all still in it to win it in Classes 11AAA, 11B, 9AA and 9B.

The top seeds in Class 9B were particularly dominant, winning by a combined score of 200-20, with the closest game decided by 40 points. All told, nine of the 16 quarterfinal games in Class 11B plus the nine-man divisions were decided by a margin of at least four scores.

Only one No. 1 seed failed to make the semifinal round, and that was Timber Lake atop Class 9A. The Panthers had the unfortunate distinction of also being the only undefeated team that fell in the quarterfinal round, as the other 12 moved on, including two in Timber Lake’s own class.

And while upsets always stand out and shake up the bracket for the casual observer, there is one obvious positive to a quarterfinal round that wasn’t shrouded in chaos. Teams that have been the best in their respective divisions all season long are still in contention for a coveted trip to the DakotaDome, a reward for their consistency.

Of particular interest are three semifinals to be contested between undefeated teams: Clark/Willow Lake at St. Thomas More in Class 11B; Castlewood at Freeman in Class 9A; and Warner at Dell Rapids St. Mary in Class 9B.

From the four classes that open the playoffs with 16-team brackets, all underdog hopes reside in the upper bracket of Class 9A.

No. 8 Kimball/White Lake and No. 5 Bennett County were the only lower-seeded teams from Classes 11B, 9AA, 9A or 9B to win in the quarterfinals. As luck has it, one will reach the DakotaDome. The Wildkats and Warriors will battle it out on Nov. 6 in Martin to decide who has the honor, but either way, at least one team seeded No. 4 or higher will play for the Class 9A championship for the fourth year in a row. If KWL beats Bennett County, it will mark the third time in four years a No. 7 seed or higher reached the title game, joining Howard last year and Deubrook Area in 2023.

But in truth, neither side fits the mold of a traditional underdog. Bennett County, though seeded No. 5, is now 9-1, with its lone loss all the way back in the season opener against Class 9B No. 1 Wall. That was a game that the Warriors led most of the way before the Eagles swooped in and stole it late. On Thursday, Bennett County held off 4-seed Sully Buttes 28-22 to advance.

A resounding 38-0 victory at top-seeded Timber Lake on Thursday night is evidence enough that KWL is no normal 8-seed. The Wildkats are 7-3, but two of those losses came against Class 9AA No. 1 Parkston and No. 3 Platte-Geddes. KWL has now won four games in a row and is playing its best football of the year at the right time.

While the mix of semifinal teams and classes in the nine-man ranks has been shuffled from last year (largely due to the latest round of class realignment), the same can’t be said for the 11-man classes, where almost everyone is back in a similar spot from 2025.

Of the 16 semifinal teams across the four 11-man classes, 14 were also semifinalists a year ago. Watertown replaces Huron in Class 11AA, and Winner slots in for Deuel in Class 11B, but even the new teams aren’t so unfamiliar. Though they didn’t make a deep run last season, both the Arrows and Warriors won state championships in 2024.

Despite the overlap, there are only two rematches in the semifinal round that occurred in the 2025 brackets. In Class 11B, St. Thomas More and Clark/Willow Lake run it back from the same place and time. The Cavaliers won 50-14 last year in Rapid City en route to their state championship.

The other rematch comes from each of the past two Class 11AAA title tilts, with Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls Lincoln set to do battle once again. The Lynx and Patriots split their meetings in the DakotaDome, with Brandon Valley winning last year 34-27 to avenge a 31-21 loss from 2024.

As many as three championship game rematches are still in play for the DakotaDome.