Clark-Willow Lake, Deuel, Hamlin & Faulkton Area gearing up for state semifinal football playoff games

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Four area high school football teams are one win away from making it to the 2025 South Dakota state high school championships Nov. 13-15 at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

Class 11B schools Clark-Willow Lake and Deuel, defending Class 9AA state champion Hamlin and two-time defending Class 9B runner-up Faulkton Area each hit the road on Friday, Nov. 7, for semifinal games in the state high school playoff. Faulkton Area plays at 3 p.m. and all three other games are set for 7 p.m. Central.

The state Class 9B and 9AA championship games are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The state Class 11B championship game is set for 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.

Here’s more on those four area matchups:

Class 11B (No. 2 Clark-Willow Lake at No. 2 St. Thomas More)

All that stands between the Cyclones (9-1) and their first state-championship berth since 2002 are the host 10-0 Cavaliers. This is the first semifinal appearance for the Clark-Willow Lake, which first joined forces in football for the 2009 season. Clark won the state Class 11B title in 2002 and Willow Lake finished second in Class 9B in 1984 in the only state finals’ appearance for either school.

As one might expect, since Clark is getting ready to make the 5 1/2-hour, 330-plus mile trip to Rapid City for the game, the two teams don’t play a lot of similar opponents. The only connection is Sioux Valley, which More defeated 28-14 in its season opener on Aug. 22 at Rapid City.

Clark-Willow Lake actually played back-to-back games against Sioux Valley, losing 22-8 at home on Aug. 29 and winning 26-8 at Volga on Sept. 12.

“I think as long as we go in and play our game, especially play sound defensively, we’ll be right in there,” CWL coach Dave Severson said.

The Cyclones have a variety of weapons including quarterback Joey Ries (1,234 yards passing with 19 touchdowns), running back Jakob Steen (618 yards rushing, seven TDs), running back-receiver Emmerson Larson (526 yards rushing, 305 yards receiving, 12 TDs) and receivers Lincoln Reidburn (389 yards receiving) and Cooper Pommer (368 yards receiving).

“That’s kind of what we’ve lived on all year,” Seversson said. “If a team wants to take away one guy, that’s OK. We have two or three other guys who are of the same caliber.”

Class 11B (No. 4 Deuel at No. 1 Elk-Point Jefferson)

At first glance, the 9-1 Cardinals‘ bid to advance to their first-ever state championship seems to have a major roadblock in the form of a 10-0 EPJ team. The Huskies won the state title in 2022, finished second in 2023 and have been No. 1-ranked most of the season.

Coach Dusty Hourigan is confident that his Deuel team, playing in the semifinals for only the fourth time in program history, will battle.

“They have a confidence about them. It’s not cocky, there’s just a confidence,” Hourigan said of his team. “There’s just something about the way they carry themselves and the way they’ve approached each week along with a little bit of destiny with how they’ve finished out some games.”

Deuel’s ability to run or pass also offers reason for optimism.

Quarterback Aidan Sievers has completed 111 of 186 passes for 1,435 yards and 13 TDs and added 265 yards rushing with six TDs. Receivers Troy Jensen (39 catches for 610 yards and three TDs) and Fieber (47-573 and 7 TDs) are Sievers’ top targets. The running game features Gavin Kloos, who has rushed 1,295 yards and 16 scores.

Carson Marko (95 tackles) and Jaxtin Winter (65 tackles including 17 for a loss) lead the defense. Jensen has five interceptions and three defensive TDs.

“We know who Elk Point-Jefferson is but we feel confident with what we can accomplish,” Hourigan said. “Part of the reason we are where we’re at is because our offense is so balanced. If you load up the box, we’ll throw it on you. If you set back and play coverage, we’ll run it on you.”

Class 9AA (No. 5 Hamlin at No. 1 Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy)

Here’s another area team (9-1 Hamlin) hitting the road to face a No. 1-ranked 10-0 team. FMFA moved up to No. 1 in the rankings with 42-28 win over Elkton-Lake Benton on Sept. 5. Elkton-Lake Benton handed Hamlin its only loss 46-14 on Oct. 17.

Those scores may not matter when you’re talking about a Hamlin team that has only one loss in two seasons and a group of athletes, including senior quarterback Jackson Wadworth, who have played on state championship football and basketball teams.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the state, so they’re pretty darn good,” Hamlin coach Jeff Sheehan said. “We’re playing better than we did when we played Elkton. That was a wakeup call for us and my kids have responded well.”

Wadsworth, a Northern State University basketball commit, is enjoying another stellar season. He has complete 143 of 195 passes for 2,270 yards and 29 TDs against only four interceptions. The receiving corps features Boden Stevenson (63 catches for 1,016 yards and 12 TDs), Jaden Olsen (26-391, 2 TDs), Watson Grantham (27-383, 8 TDs), Riggs Prouty (17-253, 7 TDs) and Aiden Abraham (14-254, 4 TDs). Johnathan Leonardi has rushed for 892 yards and 11 TDs.

Tate Everson (67 tackles) and Abraham (48 tackles including 10 quarterback sacks) lead the defense.

“I just think we’re playing more physical football than we did previously,” Sheehan said. “The kids saw where we were at against Elkton-Lake Benton and have improved.”

Class 9B (No. 4 Faulkton Area at No. 1 Dell Rapids St. Mary)

So this makes it three area teams on the road against a No. 1-ranked 10-0 team. Faulkton Area is 7-3 on the season and pushed their winning streak to five games with a 32-22 win over Sully Buttes, avenging a 30-22 loss to the Chargers on Sept. 26 and a 34-14 loss in last year’s state championship game.

Faulkton Area did advance to the state championship last fall by beating Dell Rapids St. Mary 48-22 in the semifinals. The Cardinals have throttled most of their foes so far this season.

Faulkton Area has never won a state championship. Faulkton recorded state runner-up finishes in Class 9A in both 1981 and 1998 and the coop has produced runner-up finishes in Class 9B in 2014, 2023 and 2024.

Other Games With Area Interest

There are two other games with area interest in the state semifinals and they include No. 3 Parkston (9-1) at No. 2 Elkton-Lake Benton (9-1) in Class 9AA and No. 3 Colman-Egan (7-3) at No. 2 Avon (9-1) in Class 9B. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7.

Elkton-Lake Benton lost twice to eventual state champion Hamlin in 2024, including in the state semifinals. The Elks avenged those losses with the win over Hamlin and have won every game with the exception of a 42-28 loss to No. 1 Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy on Sept. 5. Senior quarterback Colt Beck and senior running back Eliot Erickson are two of the key leaders for ELB. Elkton has only reached the state finals once and that came during a runner-up finish in Class 9AA in 2006. Parkston won the state 9AA title in 2023 and took second in both 2022 and 2024.

Colman-Egan and Avon each have some rich history. Colman-Egan has won four state championships (Class 9B in 1998, 2017 and 2019 and Class 9A in 2016) and Avon five (Class 9B in 2005 and 2013 and Class 9A in 2002, 2004 and 2008).

Other Semifinal Matchups (Nov. 7)

Class 11AAA — No. 5 Harrisburg (6-4) at No. 1 Brandon Valley (9-1) and No. 3 Sioux Falls Jefferson (8-2) at No. 2 Sioux Falls Lincoln (9-1).
Class 11AA — No. 4 Sturgis (6-4) at No. 1 Yankton (8-2) and No. 3 Pierre (7-3) at No. 2 Huron (8-2).
Class 11A — No. 5 West Central (7-3) at No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian (10-0) and No. 3 Lennox (8-2) at No. 2 Dell Rapids (7-3).
Class 9A — No. 4 Philip (8-1) at No. 1 Wall (10-0) and No. 7 Howard (8-2) at No. 3 Alcester-Hudson (8-2).

All Nations Conference State Championships (Nov. 7)

Class 9B — No. 1 McLaughlin (9-0) vs. No. 2 White River (8-1), 4 p.m. in DakotaDome at Vermillion.
Class 9A — No. 1 Winnebago, NE (9-0) vs. No. 2 Todd County (8-1), 7 p.m. in DakotaDome at Vermillion.

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: Preview of state high school football playoff semifinals

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos