Area high school football teams Hamlin (Class 9AA), Sioux Valley (Class 11B) and Faulkton Area (Class 9B) are each heading south this week in an attempt to take care of some unfinished business.
Hamlin and Sioux Valley (each 11-0) and Faulkton Area (9-2) are each playing in state football championships Thursday and Friday in the DakotaDome.
Second-rated and second-seeded Hamlin is trying to complete a perfect season and settle a score with top-rated and top-seed Parkston (also 11-0) in the state Class 9AA championship at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Sioux Valley, like Hamlin, is part of a No. 1-2 matchup between unbeaten teams in the Class 11B championship scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday. The Cossacks, playing in the state championship for the first time since 1988, are top-seeded and second-rated and will face second-seeded and top-rated Winner (11-0).
Second-rated and second-seeded Faulkton Area continues its quest to win its first state football title when it faces fifth-seeded and fourth-rated Sully Buttes (10-1) in the state 9B championship at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The two teams met Sept. 27 in Onida and Faulkton Area won 28-8.
Here's a closer look at each of the games:
Parkston is playing in the state championship for the third-straight year. The Trojans finished second in 2022 and then won the state title last year after beating Hamlin 26-3 in last year's semifinals.
It's that win last year that has kept Parkston rated No. 1 and Hamlin No. 2 in the South Dakota Prep Media Poll all season long.
"You don't win 23 games in a row if you're not good," Hamlin coach Jeff Sheehan said of Parkston. "They have some skill guys who are good and they've got a solid defense.They know what they want to do defensively and they make sure they get it done."
The Trojans have outscored their foes by a 472-131 margin this fall, but it's likely Hamlin is the best team they've faced. The Chargers have outscored their foes by a 563-93 margin behind junior quarterback Jackson Wadsworth and group of talented offensive players.
Now there is a catch. Wadsworth suffered a separated shoulder in the first quarter of Hamlin's 20-16 semifinal win over No. 3 Elkton-Lake Benton on Friday and didn't return. Senior Evan Stormo took over at QB and the Chargers held off a second-half rally by the Elks.
"We're in the dark right now as to what Jackson's status is going to be on Friday. There's still a lot to be determined. We'll just play it as the next guy up."
STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS: Seven state high school football champions to be crowned Nov. 14-16 in Vermillion
Wadsworth has completed 74-percent of his pass attempts this fall for 1,847 yards with 34 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Top targets have included Stormo (35 catches for 482 yards, 16 TDs), senior Zac VanMeeteren (16-272, 5 TDs), senior Easton Neuendorf (11-202, 2 TDs), senior Turner Stevenson (17-230, 3 TDs) and sophomore Boden Stevenson (10-192, 5 TDs). Senior Mason Trowbridge leads the rushing attack wth 570 yards and eight TDs.
Hamlin is back in the state championship for the first time since 2020 when it lost to Platte-Geddes 42-12 in the 9AA title game. Standout running back Jackson Noem got hurt in the semifinals and was limited in the finals that season, but the Chargers aren't thinking about Déjà vu.
Hamlin won four Class 11B titles in the 1980s and 1990s and a 9B state title in 2014 has a rich history of success. A number of the team's standouts were also key players for a Hamlin team that won the state Class A boys basketball championship in March.
"Parkston imposed its will on us (last year in the semifinals) and they have three seniors who returned, but they're really a young team," Sheehan said. "We're exited to be where we're at and excited to get the opportunity to play them.
"I like our team, I really do. They know what it takes to win as evidenced by the state basketball championship and that may have helped pull us through in the semifinals. They just never gave up."
Thirty-six years ago, the Cossacks won their only state championship appearance by beating Bon Homme 34-28 on a Hail Mary pass in the closing seconds.
The long wait to get back to the DakotaDome will end this week. It's not as if the Cossacks, especially in recent years under head coach Dan Hughes, haven't come close. They've been an annual playoff team with a handful of semifinal appearances.
One of those came in 2020 when they lost 28-14 at Winner. They'll get another chance against the Warriors on Friday.
"Everyone is really excited and getting ready to head down to Vermillion," Sioux Valley assistant coach Jordan Fast said.
SEMIFINAL GAMES: Hamlin, Sioux Valley and Faulkton Area advance to state championship football games
There may be no secret as to what each team is going to try to do. Winner will run its traditional double-wing attack and look to run the ball behind 6-foot-7, 260-pound Nebraska reruit Shawn Hammerbeck.
Sioux Valley also features a run-heavy attack that has produced 3,897 yards on 476 attempts, an average of 8.2 yards per carry. Senior running back Donovan Rose (1,675 yards, 17 TDs) and senior quarterback Brock Christopherson (1,136 yards, 15 TDs) lead the attack.
"Winner is going to try to spread us out and hold the ball. Getting them off the field is going to be a big key for us," Fast said.
After a dominant run in Class 11A that included three state titles in the 1980s and seven runner-up finishes through 2008, Winner has won six state titles along with two runner-up finishes in Class 11B since 2009.
They've always given up only 55 points all season (one game was a forfeit). Still, the Cossacks are ready for the challenge.
"We're a very run-heavy team with a very good offenive line that communicates very well," Fast said.
This a matchup between Faulkton Area, which has two state runner-up finishes in 9A (1981 and 1998) and two in 9B (2014 and 2023) and Sully Buttes, which on a state Class 9A title in 1989 but has three runner-up finishes in 9A (1983, 1990 and 2015) and two in 9B (2017 and 2018).
The Trojans lost a 32-30 barnburner to Avon in last year's championship, lost senior quarterback Spencer Melius to injury during a 2-2 start and is carrying a seven-game winning streak into the DakotaDome.
Sully Buttes lost the regular-season matchup between the two teams but the Chargers have since rebounded with six-straight wins to earn a rematch.
Junior running back Tristen Baloun has become a force for coach Shayne Geditz's squad. Sophomore running back Landon Coyle has also been solid. Senior Gian DiMaria is the quarterback with senior tight end Charlie Deiter one of his main targets.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com