Johnston at Yankton QB Club

South Dakota State women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston spoke to a larger-than-average crowd at the Yankton Quarterback Club on Wednesday, Nov. 4. James Grotenhuis, the emcee for the weekly gathering, even joked that “AJ” will be speaking again next week because the gathering was so much bigger than it had been in recent weeks.

That’s what making the second round of the NCAA Tournament will do for you.

All kidding aside, I know that most of the SDSU fans in attendance would have been there even if the Jackrabbit women would have had just three wins instead of the three losses they had. They are very loyal, even in down times, but they have had plenty to cheer about the past few years.

Here is the video of Johnston’s talk. He covers a number of basketball-related things, as well as touching on the success of other sports on campus and the changes to campus itself. Be patient, as the player needs to completely load the video before it starts playing.

 

Quarterfinal Updates

We will be doing score updates for the South Dakota Football Quarterfinals on our website.

Here is the link.

Second Round Picks

We are on the eve of the quarterfinals of the South Dakota football playoffs, and I am watching the Vikings and Packers square off. (Not a fan of either, just saying “GIVE THE BALL TO AP!”) No that that’s out of the way … here are my second round picks. (Home teams are in bold)

CLASS 11AA: Aberdeen Central over Stevens; O’Gorman over Roosevelt; Washington over Yankton; Brandon Valley over Pierre. (Hope I’m wrong on one, and I’ll let you guess which one.)

CLASS 11A: Sisseton over Milbank; Dakota Valley over Harrisburg; Todd County over Pine Ridge; St. Thomas More over Belle Fourche

CLASS 11B: Aberdeen Roncalli over Redfield-Doland; Tri-Valley over Flandreau; Wagner over Platte-Geddes-Dakota Christian; Winner over Mobridge-Pollock

CLASS 9AA: Leola-Frederick over Langford-Roslyn; Howard over Chester Area; Emery-Ethan over Canistota-Bridgewater; Herreid-Selby Area over Lyman

CLASS 9A: Arlington over Castlewood; Hanson over Mount Vernon; Avon over Irene-Wakonda; Harding County over Sully Buttes

CLASS 9B: Hitchcock-Tulare over Waverly-South Shore; Viborg over Dell Rapids St. Mary; Gettysburg over Sunshine Bible; Warner over New Underwood

For reference sake, I was 35-13 in the opening round, with 11A and 9B (5-3 each) giving me the most trouble. Assistant Sports Editor Jeremy Hoeck also went 35-13, including a perfect 8-0 in Class 11AA. Scott Morrison was 33-15, though he hurt himself by forgetting to circle 3 games.

First Round Playoff Picks

With all of the excitement around the South Dakota football playoffs starting today, I haven’t had much time to post my picks for the post-season.

Here they are, with my picks in bold. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Class 11AA

No. 16 Huron (1-8) at No. 1 Aberdeen Central (9-0), 8 p.m.
No. 9 Rapid City Stevens (4-5) at No. 8 Sioux Falls Lincoln (4-5), 8 p.m.
No. 13 Watertown (3-6) at No. 4 Sioux Falls O’Gorman (7-2), 6:30 p.m.
No. 12 Brookings (2-7) at No. 5 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (6-3), 2 p.m.
No. 15 Douglas (4-4) at No. 2 Sioux Falls Washington (9-0), 5 p.m.
No. 10 Rapid City Central (4-5) at No. 7 Yankton (5-4), 7:30 p.m.
No. 14 Mitchell (2-7) at No. 3 Brandon Valley (8-1), 6:30 p.m.
No. 11 Sturgis (2-7) at No. 6 Pierre (6-3), 7 p.m.

Class 11A

Region 1
*Sisseton (4-4) at West Central (8-0), 7 p.m.
Dell Rapids (5-3) at Milbank (5-3), 6:30 p.m.
Region 2
*Canton (4-4) at Harrisburg (5-3), 7 p.m.
Vermillion (3-5) at Dakota Valley (5-3), 7 p.m., DakotaDome
Region 3
*Chamberlain (1-7) at Todd County (6-2), 7 p.m.
Little Wound (3-5) at Pine Ridge (3-5), 7 p.m.
Region 4
*Lead-Deadwood (3-5) at St. Thomas More (7-1), 6:30 pm MT
Hot Springs (5-3) at Belle Fourche (4-4), 6:30 p.m. MT

Class 11B

Region 1
*Britton-Hecla (4-4) at Aberdeen Roncalli (8-0), 5 p.m.
Redfield/Doland (5-3) at Groton Area (6-2), 7 p.m.
Region 2
*McCook Central/Montrose (4-4) at Tri-Valley (8-0), 7 p.m.
Garretson (5-3) at Flandreau (7-1), 7 p.m.
Region 3
Elk Point-Jefferson (5-3) at Wagner (8-0), 7 p.m.
*Stanley County (5-3) at Platte-Geddes/DC (6-2), 7 p.m.
Region 4
*Red Cloud (6-2) at Winner (8-0), 6:30 p.m.
Mobridge-Pollock (7-1) at Bennett County (7-1), 6 p.m. MT

Class 9AA

Region 1
*Deubrook Area (4-4) at Leola/Frederick (8-0), 7 p.m., Frederick
Langford/Roslyn (5-3) at Hamlin (6-2), 6:30 p.m.
Region 2
*White Lake/Plankinton (3-5) at Howard (7-1), 7 p.m.
Chester Area (5-3) at Wessington Springs/Woonsocket (5-3), 7 p.m., Wessington Springs
Region 3
South Central (4-4) at Emery/Ethan (7-1), 7 p.m., Emery
*Eureka/Bowdle (5-3) at Canistota/Bridgewater (6-2), 6:30 p.m., Canistota
Region 4
*Lemmon/McIntosh (7-1) at Lyman (8-0), 6:30 p.m.
Philip (6-2) at Herreid/Selby Area (8-0), 3 p.m., Herreid

Class 9A

Region 1
*Arlington (7-1) at Tri-State (3-5), 6:30 p.m., Rosholt
Castlewood (5-3) at Wilmot (6-2), 7 p.m.
Region 2
*Mt. Vernon (6-2) at Estelline (8-0), 7 p.m.
Hanson (5-3) at Corsica/Stickney (7-1), 7 p.m., Stickney
Region 3
*Andes Central (4-4) at Avon (8-0), 7 p.m.
Irene-Wakonda (5-3) at Tripp-Delmont/Armour (5-3), 7 p.m., Tripp
Region 4
*Colman-Egan (4-4) at Harding County (8-0), 7 p.m. MT
Wall (5-3) at Sully Buttes (7-1), 7 p.m.

Class 9B

Region 1
*Waverly/South Shore (5-3) at Grant Deuel (8-0), 7 p.m.
Faulkton (5-3) at Hitchcock-Tulare (8-0), 7 p.m., Hitchcock
Region 2
*Sanborn Central (5-3) at Dell Rapids St. Mary (7-1), 7 p.m.
Menno (5-3) at Viborg (6-2), 7 p.m.
Region 3
*Scotland (2-6) at Gettysburg (5-3), 7 p.m.
Jones County(3-5) at Sunshine Bible Academy (5-3), 2 p.m.
Region 4
*Warner (2-6) at Faith (6-2), 6:30 p.m. MT
Dupree (4-4) at New Underwood (4-4), 6:30 p.m. MT

Ten Area Teams Make Nebraska Football Playoffs

Ten teams from northeast Nebraska earned post-season berths in the Nebraska State Football Playoffs, which begin Thursday at sites across the state.
In Class C1, Crofton (7-1) will host Cozad (3-5) in the first round.
Several area teams qualified in Class C2.
Hartington Cedar Catholic (6-2) is the highest seed among them — fifth — and will host Thayer Central (6-2) in the opening round. Creighton (6-2) will also host in the opening round, drawing Stanton (5-3).
On the road in the opening round in Class C2 are Laurel-Concord (5-3) at Archbishop Bergan (6-2) of Fremont, and Randolph (4-4) at top-seeded Elm Creek (7-1).
Hartington (5-3) snuck into the playoffs in Class D1, and will face second-seeded Howells (7-1) in the first round.
In Class D2, Bloomfield (8-0) drew a second seed and will face Shickley (4-4) in the opening round. Wynot (7-10 also gets a first-round home game, facing Cedar Rapids (6-2). Allen (5-3) hits the road to face Falls City Sacred Heart (7-1), while Newcastle (5-3) travels to Humphrey St. Francis (8-0).
First round games in all small-school classes — C1, C2, D1 and D2 — will be held Thursday, with second round games on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Quarterfinals will be on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Schedules will be split in the semifinals, with D1 and D2 games on Monday, Nov. 16, and C1 and C2 games on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
The championship games will be held Nov. 23 and 24 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The Class D2 final will start play at 10:15 a.m., followed by Class D1 at 2:45 p.m. and Class A at 7:15 p.m. The Class C2 final begins play on Tuesday, Nov. 24, with a 10:15 a.m. start, followed by Class C1 at 2:45 p.m. and Class B at 7:15 p.m.
Follow all area teams in the post-season in the Press & Dakotan and online at www.yankton.net.