This blog is part of Jeff Fisher's High School Football America network that's dedicated to providing high school football fans in South Dakota with the most up-to-date news and information.
Lincoln claimed its first-ever South Dakota high school football championship Saturday night. The Patriots (11-2) beat Washington, which finishes runner-up for the second straight year, 27-20 for the state's Class 11AA championship. The win avenged Lincoln's 41-22 regular season loss to the Warriors. Click here for the game story.
Dell Rapids wore the moniker "Road Warriors" throughout the South Dakota 11A high school football playoffs. Friday, the Quarriers won their first state football title beating Winner 34-6. It was Dell Rapids third consecutive postseason road victory. Along the way, the Quarriers outscored its playoff opponents 123-50, including a 70-30 win in the opening round. Click here for a game story.
Tri-Valley became only the fourth South Dakota school to defend its Class 11B football title Friday. The Mustangs dominated from start to finish in beating Groton Area 41-3 to cap an 11-1 season. Running back Nate Kirby was named the game's MVP. 
Avon head coach George Culver won his 100th game Thursday, which gave the Pirates the school's fourth South Dakota high school football championship since 2002. Avon beat Gettysburg 37-8 in the 9A championship at the Dakota Dome behind running back Earv Archambeau, who rushed for 213-yards on just 15-carries. It was a very emotional win for Culver, who just returned one month ago to the United States after being deployed overseas with the National Guard.
Hanson beat Hitchcock-Tulare 50-24 in a battle of unbeaten to claim South Dakota's 9B high school football championship Thursday afternoon. The winning Beavers (12-0) were led by senior running back Matt McManus, who rushed for 133 yards and three touchdown. McManus was named the game's Most Valuable Player. 
South Dakota will crown three state champions on Thursday at the Dakota Dome. In the 9B championship game, unbeaten Hitchcock-Tulare faces top-ranked Hanson in a game that starts at 11 A.M. CST. Hitchcock will be playing its second game since Monday when it beat Harding County 46-6 in a postponed semifinal match-up. Click here for a game preview.
All but one of the South Dakota high school football championship games are now set for next weekend at the Dakota Bowl. All of the semifinals, except for the 9B semifinal between Harding County and Hitchock-Tulare (played Monday) were decided on Saturday. The state's biggest class, 11AA, will feature the #3 and #4 seeds as Washington and Lincoln were able to pull-off surprises on Saturday. It will be the Lincoln Patriots first appearance in a state championship game.
West Central will not be adding another high school football trophy to the school's hardware case later this month. Monday night, Dell Rapids upset the top-seeded Trojans 19-14 to advance to the semifinal round of the Class 11A playoffs. West Central ended the 2008 post-season as the winner of seven of the last eight 11A titles. Click here to read how the Quarriers pulled-off the upset.
Two-time defending South Dakota Class 11AA football champ Roosevelt will be looking for its fifth straight trip to the state semifinals Monday night when the Rough Riders take on Lincoln in the quarterfinal round. It will be a rematch of a September 5th game that saw Lincoln (8-2) take down the champs 21-6. Click here for a preview story.
Four of the six defending South Dakota high school football champs have taken their first steps toward defending their 2007 titles. Roosevelt (11AA), West Central (11A), Tri-Valley (11B) and Emery-Ethan (9AA) won their opening round games on Tuesday night. 2007 9A champ Scotland and 9B champ Colome lost their opening round games.
