Pierre won its seventh straight state football championship and four teams completed perfect seasons in the state title games held at the DakotaDome in Vermillion Thursday through Saturday.
Top-seeded Pierre ousted second seed Yankton 35-7 in the Class 11AA championship. The Governors, which finished with an 11-1 mark, also defeated the Bucks a year ago in semifinal action.
Warner, Parkston, Dell Rapids, and Sioux Falls Lincoln ran the table on the way to titles, each finishing with perfect 12-0 records.
Number one seed Warner won a shootout over seventh seed Deubrook (8-4) 7654 in the 9A contest that saw the Monarchs leading 42-36 at halftime. Warner was runner up a year ago. Top seed Parkston downed third seed Howard in a defensive battle 12-7 for the 9AA crown. Parkston had lost to Wall a year ago in the championship game.
Top-seeded Dell Rapids battled West Central (10-2) for the second straight year in the title game and rolled to a 42-6 win for its second straight title. Sioux Falls Lincoln topped the 11AAA ranks all season and downed Sioux Falls O’Gorman (9-3) 31-7 for the championship after both clubs lost in semifinal play last season. The Patriots nearly duplicated their regular season win margin over the Knights which was 23 points.
Number one Avon (102) won a nail-biter over #2 Faulkton Area (10-2) 32-30 for the 9B title. Avon had also downed Faulkton Area in the first round of the playoffs last season. Hot Springs (11-1) won its first title in the 11B contest, defeating defending champion Elk Point-Jefferson (10-2) 13-7. The win also avenged Hot Springs’ loss to Elk Point-Jefferson in the state semifinals a year ago.
