Roger MerriamWatertown Public Opinion
Things are starting become clearer as we head into Week 4 of the South Dakota high school football season.
The schedule of Week 4 games involving Watertown and Aberdeen area teams features three battles between unbeaten teams, including a Class 11AA showdown between Yankton and Watertown on Friday night at Watertown Stadium.
Here's what's on the agenda this week:
Undefeated Matchups
Yankton at Watertown: 7 p.m. Friday at Watertown Stadium. The Eastern South Dakota Conference game will match the No. 3 Bucks (2-0) and the No. 4 Arrows (2-0). It's a big test for each team. This story was written before the new polls were released on Tuesday, so it's possible one or both teams have moved up a spot.
Perennial Class 11AA champion Pierre holds the No. 1 rating and is off to a 2-0 start. We'll still find out if not having Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz means the Governors may be more beatable than recent years.
The bigger question might be who is No. 2 in Class 11AA? Second-rated Tea Area opened the season by barely holding off Huron, a team Watertown handles convincingly 32-13 last week. Yankton has posted 42-0 and 42-27 wins over Mitchell and Spearfish, respectively. The Arrows opened with a 33-0 win over Brookings.
Watertown is trying to become 3-0 for the first time since 2018. In case you're wondering, the Arrows last started 4-0 as part of an 8-0 stretch to open the 2010 season.
Britton-Hecla at Hamlin: 7 p.m. Friday in Hayti. The second-rated Class 9AA Chargers are off to a 3-0 start and haven't even used all of their key players yet. The Class 9A Braves are also 3-0.
It'd be easy to think the Chargers have an advantage, but it'd say a lot about Britton-Hecla if it was competitive or better on Friday.
Deubrook Area at Elkton-Lake Benton: 7 p.m. Friday in Elkton. The Dakota Valley Conference rivals square off again at the home of the fourth-rated Class 9AA Elks, who are off to a 3-0 start. So is Deubrook Area.
Last year, Deubrook Area started 3-0 before losing the game and some key players in a loss to Elkton-Lake Benton. The Dolphins will be ready for the rematch.
Games Involving Other Rated Teams
Potter County at Warner: 7 p.m. Friday in Warner. The No. 2 Monarchs may have moved up to No. 1 in Class 9A by the time you ready this and carry a 2-0 record into their homecoming game.
Potter County also started 2-0 before losing to top-rated Class 9B Faulkton Area last week. That's a tough back-to-back stretch on the schedule.
De Smet at Oldham-Ramona-Rutland: 7 p.m. Friday in Rutland. Second-rated Class 9B De Smet bounced back last week to improve their record to 2-1. The host Raiders fell to 0-2.
Waverly-South Shore at Hitchco*ck-Tulare: 7 p.m. Friday in Tulare. The Patriots (2-1) were rated fourth in Class 9B last week. They'll host the 0-3 Coyotes in Tulare's homecoming game.
Hill City at Sioux Valley: The Cossacks (3-0) were third-rated last week when they beat second-rated and defending state Class 11B champion Elk Point-Jefferson. They'll shoot for 4-0 if they can beat the 1-1 Rangers.
Castlewood at Dell Rapids St. Mary: 7 p.m. on Friday. It's possible fifth-rated Class 9B Dell Rapids will drop out of the ratings after a 1-2 start. They'll host the 1-1 Warriors, who won last week after enjoying a bye week.
Other Unbeaten Teams
Sturgis at Aberdeen Central: 5 p.m. on Saturday. The 0-2 Golden Eagles need a win and will try to get it against a Sturgis team that is enjoying a 2-0 start.
Faulkton Area at Sully Buttes: 3 p.m. on Friday. The No. 1-rated Class 9B Trojans are for real, having proved it with a 3-0 start. Sully Buttes is 1-2.
Vermillion at Milbank: 6 p.m. Friday in Milbank. Milbank coach Brian Allmendinger is at it again, having led the Class 11A Bulldogs to a somewhat surprising 2-0 start that included a big comeback during an overtime win at Madison last week. There's a good chance the Bulldogs will be 3-0. Vermillion is 0-2.
Webster Area at Deuel: 7 p.m. Friday in Clear Lake. The Class 11B Cardinals are again off to a solid 3-0 start and will look for more when they host the 1-2 Bearcats in a Northeast Conference game.
Florence-Henry at Canistota: 7 p.m. on Friday. The visiting Falcons are off to an 0-2 start, but both losses came to 3-0 teams. Host Canistota is also 3-0.
Other 11-Man Games
Dakota Hills at Aberdeen Roncalli: 7 p.m. on Friday. The Cavaliers (2-1) are set to host the Grizzlies (0-3) in a Class 11B matchup.
Clark-Willow Lake at Groton Area: 7 p.m. on Friday. Here's another Northeast Conference matchup featuring the host Tigers (2-1) and the visiting Cyclones (1-2).
Sisseton at Tri-Valley: 7 p.m. on Friday in Lyons. The Redmen (1-2) travel south to take on the 2-1 Mustangs.
Mobridge-Pollock at Redfield: The host Pheasants (0-3) will attempts to break into the win column against the 1-1 Tigers.
Other Nine-Man Games
Great Plains Lutheran at Leola-Frederick Area: 3 p.m. in Leola. Leola's homecoming game has been moved up to the afternoon because of the state's referee shortage. The Titans (2-1) will take on the 1-2 Panthers, whose two losses have come to undefeated Britton-Hecla and Deubrook Area.
Tiospa Zina at McLaughlin: 3 p.m. on Friday. The All-Nations Conference game will be the opener for McLaughlin. Tiospa Zina opened with a close loss to Lower Brule in a rematch of last fall's ANC B Division championship.
Chester Area at Arlington: 7 p.m. on Friday. The Cardinals slipped to 1-1 with a loss to Castlewood last week and will look to rebound against the 2-1 Flyers.
Herreid-Selby Area at Newell: The defending state 9B runner-up Wolverines (2-1) could be back in the rankings prior to their visit to Newell (0-3).
Iroquois-Lake Preston at Estelline-Hendricks: 7 p.m. Friday in Estelline. The early-season schedule hasn't been kind to either team. The host Redhawks have lost to two 3-0 teams (Deubrook Area and Elkton-Lake Benton). The visiting Sharks are 0-3 with losses to 3-0 Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy and rated teams Hitchco*ck-Tulare and Wolsey-Wessington.
Ipswich at Northwestern: 7 p.m. in Mellete. The Lake Region Conference game matches the 1-2 Tigers against the host Wildcats (0-3).
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
