Four classes of high school football playoffs begin tonight (Tuesday) in SouthDakota. Class 11-B and the state’s three Nine-Man classes play first-round games to start their work toward the Championship Weekend at the Dakota Dome.
The Newell Irrigators come to the playoffs with a two-win, six-loss record. The only wins for Newell came against Timber Lake and McLaughlin. The Irrigators’ opponent, Hanson, is two-and-six as well. But the Beavers get a first-round home game on the strength of their opponents having better records, which gives Hanson more power points. Hanson played four teams that ended unbeaten, or only lost once, this fall. Newell only met two teams with winning records—Hill City and Harding County. Irrigators’ Coach Tyler Ferris says despite the difficult year, interest is now pretty high at the Nine-A school.
“Last year, we only had 14 or 15 kids out, and this year, at our high, we had 24 kids. So that helps a lot, you have a little deeper bench. So, having a little more numbers up helped to help our success this year.”
Newell faces a 340-mile one-way trip to Alexandria for a First-Round game. Ferris says he has a plan for his players to shake off the long bus ride.
”We’re gonna stop along the way a couple times,—get ‘em off the bus as much as we can to stretch and stuff. We’re gonna leave at 8 in the morning Mountain Time and make the trip across there. It’s definitely a good trip across there—but they’ll be ready to play. They’re ready for this. Our seniors are ready to come and play a playoff game.”
The teams that made up the championship round in 11-B, and Nine-Man Class Double A, A and B have all qualified for the playoffs. Winners of tonight’s games play in the quarterfinals next Monday. Classes 11-Triple-A, 11-Double-A and 11-A open their playoffs this Thursday.