Sioux Falls Christian gets even with Lennox in Class 11A football finale
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VERMILLION — Sioux Falls Christian had to the go the distance to complete a perfect season and settle a score with Lennox.
The top-seeded and top-rated Chargers overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 28-24 victory over third-seeded and second-rated Lennox in the state Class 11A football championship in the DakotaDome on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
The victory wasn’t official until a fourth-down pass by Lennox in the red zone fell incomplete with 13 seconds remaining.
Sioux Falls Christian completed a 12-0 season and avenged a 14-6 loss to Lennox in the 2024 state championship game. The Chargers, who won state Class 11B titles in 2017 and 2018, won their first state Class 11A championship.
Lennox takes control early
Lennox (9-3) lost 17-0 to Sioux Falls Christian early this fall and grabbed control early in the championship game.
Jhaimann Harrington tossed touchdown passes of 20 and 21 yards to Drake Mikkelsen in the first quarter and kicker Cloy McVey added 32-yard field goal at the quarter expired to put Lennox ahead 17-0.
Mikkelsen, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound junior, entered the game with 59 catches for 868 and 15 touchdowns for the defending state champions.
Sioux Falls Christian begins its comeback
The Chargers began their rally in the second quarter, getting a 2-yard TD run from Canyon Prins with 6:45 remaining and trimming the deficit to 17-14 with Jensen Pixler’s 4-yard TD run with 1:21 left in the first half.
Lennox stretched its lead early in the third quarter when Huntington scored on a 6-yard run.
The Chargers answered with a 45-yard TD pass from Cooper Strande to Nicholas Popkes with 5:46 left in the third quarter and grabbed the lead at the 6:39 mark on the fourth quarter on a 45-yard halfback pass from Canyon Prins to Jude Prins.
After a couple change of possession, Lennox got the ball back on Sioux Falls Christian’s 2-yard line with 1:39 left. A 23-yard pass on fourth down from Harrington to Mikkelsen and another 17-yard completion to Talen Eich got Lennox to SFC’s 16-yard line the closing seconds.
After spiking the ball to stop the block, Lennox’s scoring threat ended with three-straight incomplete passes.
Final numbers, post-game awards
Sioux Falls Christian held a slim 327-311 advantage in total offense. The Chargers passed for 199 yards and ran for 128. Lennox gained 48 yards on the ground and 263 through the air.
Cooper Strande rushed 17 times for 60 yards and also completed 11 of 17 passes for 154 yards for SFC. He teamed with Canyon Prins four times for 60 yards and Brant Wassenaar three for 61.
Prins, who also the game-winning halfback pass for a TD, earned the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player Award and the South Dakota Football Coaches Association’s outstanding back of the game honor. Papkes was named the SFBCA’s outstanding lineman of the game.
Huntington went 17-for-35 passing for Lennox. Mikkelsen caught nine passes for 130 yards and Tate Gerdes four for 57.
Lincoln Olseth and Tate Connell each made eight tackles and Jude Prins six for SFC. Jevyn Lefers had 15 tackles, Ramsey Williams nine and Gerdes eight for Lennox, which got an interception from Cole Spieler and a fumble recovery from Gerdes.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: State Class 11A high school football championship South Dakota
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