Jerry Palleschi’s Class 11AAA, 11AA Football Poll October 19

The high school football regular season comes to a close on Thursday. As the playoffs approach, here are the latest rankings from Jerry Palleschi for Class 11AAA and 11AA.

There was a few surprises during last weekend's games. If you missed any of the scores from Friday night, be sure to visit our local scoreboard.

In Class 11AAA there wasn't any surprises at the top. Sioux Falls Roosevelt dominated Rapid City Central (68-26) while Sioux Falls Washington handed Rapid City Stevens their 6th loss of the season (42-0). Sioux Falls O'Gorman shutout Huron 51-0. At Howard Wood Field it was Sioux Falls Lincoln defeating Brandon Valley (24-19) to shakeup the middle section of 11AAA. Last week I said I'd keep Roosevelt as my top team, but after this past weekend it's hard to justify based on this:

Brandon Valley defeated Roosevelt (+1 WHS)
Washington defeated Brandon Valley (+2 WHS)
Lincoln defeated Washington (+1 WHS)
Roosevelt defeated Lincoln (Even)
Lincoln defeated Brandon Valley (+1 WHS)

Yes, it's an interesting way to try and look at it. We'll get a much clearer look after this Thursday when Washington and Roosevelt meet for the right to own the top seed in the 11AAA playoffs.

11AAA:
1) Sioux Falls Washington (7-1). Last Week #2. Win vs. Rapid City Stevens 42-0
2) Sioux Falls Roosevelt (7-1). Last Week #1. Win vs. Rapid City Central 68-26
3) Sioux Falls O'Gorman (6-2). Last Week #3. Win vs. Huron 51-0
4) Sioux Falls Lincoln (5-3). Last Week #5. Win vs. Brandon Valley 24-19
5) Brandon Valley (5-3). Last Week #4. Loss vs. Lincoln 24-19

Class 11AA finally feels like it has some clarity after this past weekend. Pierre has clinched the ESD football title after defeating Mitchell 29-21. Harrisburg continues to win, even if it has been in overtime the last two weeks. This time Harrisburg send Brookings home with a one point loss. Yankton continued to get back to form defeating Douglas.

Pierre has solidified the top spot in Class 11AA with wins over Mitchell, Yankton, Harrisburg, and Brookings. Positions two and three are debatable with Mitchell losing a close game to Pierre and Harrisburg sneaking by Brookings and Douglas over the last couple of weeks. At this point with the loss to Pierre, I'm going to give Harrisburg the edge over Mitchell due to strength of schedule.

11AA:
1) Pierre (6-2). Last Week #1. Win vs. Mitchell 29-21
2) Harrisburg (5-3). Last Week #3. Win vs. Brookings 21-20 OT
3) Mitchell (5-3). Last Week #2. Loss vs. Pierre 29-21
4) Yankton (5-3). Last Week #5. Win vs. Douglas 34-14
5) Brookings (3-5). Last Week #4. Loss vs. Harrisburg 21-20 OT

The regular season comes to a close on Thursday night. Many scenarios are still in play for seeding, but the eight teams in AAA and AA are set. Here are the current standings based on seed points.

AAA Playoff Teams:
Washington
Roosevelt
O'Gorman
Brandon Valley
Lincoln
Aberdeen Central
Rapid City Stevens
Watertown
(Rapid City Central has been eliminated from playoff contention)

AA Playoff Teams:
Pierre* (top seed)
Yankton
Harrisburg
Mitchell
Brookings
Spearfish
Huron
Douglas
(Sturgis has been eliminated from playoff contention)

I will have a breakdown of playoff scenarios later in the week.

Games This Week:
Roosevelt vs. Washington (Winner gets top seed in 11AAA playoffs)
Lincoln @ O'Gorman
Brandon Valley @ Aberdeen Central
Rapid City Central @ Rapid City Stevens
Watertown @ Brookings
Pierre @ Sturgis
Yankton @ Harrisburg
Huron @ Mitchell
Spearfish @ Hot Springs
Douglas @ Belle Fourche