Parkston and Freeman ended the regular season undefeated, securing the top spots in the final South Dakota Prep Media football polls for Class 9AA and Class 9A. Parkston’s Trojans finished 8-0 and remained the unanimous No. 1 in Class 9AA, a ranking they have held since September 21. Freeman’s Flyers, also 8-0, claimed 20 of the 21 first-place votes in Class 9A, narrowly edging out Castlewood, who received the remaining top vote.
Parkston’s perfect record earned them the No. 1 seed in the Class 9AA playoff bracket, setting up a first-round home game against No. 16 Hill City on Thursday, October 22. The final Class 9AA poll placed Platte-Geddes second, followed by Hamlin, Britton-Hecla, and Garretson rounding out the top five. The Trojans have dominated the division, standing alone as the only unbeaten team in their class.
In Class 9A, Freeman shares the undefeated record with Castlewood and Timber Lake, all at 8-0 entering postseason play. Despite Castlewood’s and Timber Lake’s flawless records, Freeman secured the No. 1 ranking with a strong majority of first-place votes. Timber Lake took the No. 1 seed in the playoff bracket, with Freeman seeded second and Castlewood third. Freeman’s first playoff game will be against Scotland/Menno on Thursday. The rest of the top five in Class 9A includes Sully Buttes in fourth and Centerville in fifth. Centerville recently lost to Class 9B Avon in the Great Plains Conference championship game, which led to Sully Buttes moving ahead in the rankings.
Other classes also saw undefeated teams finish atop the polls. Elk Point-Jefferson leads Class 11B with an 8-0 record but shared votes with St. Thomas More, also undefeated. Dell Rapids St. Mary tops Class 9B, with Wall trailing closely; both teams are 8-0. The races in Classes 11AAA, 11AA, and 11A remain open as they have one more week of regular-season games before finalizing playoff brackets.
Sioux Falls Lincoln climbed to No. 2 in the Class 11AAA poll after winning five straight games following a 1-2 start, including a 34-25 victory over then-No. 2 Brandon Valley. Sioux Falls Jefferson maintained the top spot with an 8-0 record after defeating then-No. 3 O’Gorman 59-35. Harrisburg held onto fourth place, while O’Gorman dropped to fifth.
The final polls, released on October 19, reflect these shifts and set the stage for postseason play. Classes 11AA, 11A, and 11AAA will release their final rankings next Monday following the conclusion of their regular seasons. The playoff brackets will be determined accordingly.
According to Yahoo Sports.
