The highly anticipated 2024 South Dakota high school football season will pick up steam on Friday, Aug. 30 as Class 11A-AAA football teams open their season, and the Argus Leader has 10 bold predictions to share as we get closer to kickoff.
The Sioux Falls-area high school football scene had big offseason storylines: Sioux Falls Roosevelt hired a new head coach, Sioux Falls Christian senior Lincoln Semchenko, Lincoln senior Luke Krempges, and O’Gorman senior Sullivan Schlimgen all committed to South Dakota State while Canton senior Cain Wallner committed to South Dakota, and Brandon Valley transfer Dveyoun Bonwell-Witte will now lead the receiving room at Washington.
Let’s preview the SDHSAA football scene in the Sioux Falls area with these 10 bold predictions.
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Lincoln repeats as state champion despite losing significant offensive talent
The Patriots won the 2023 11AAA state championship behind superior offensive talent and a record-breaking defense. If they want to repeat as champions this season they’ll have to do it without the likes of Tate Schafer, Jack Smith, Isaac Jarovski, Dreavin Hodge, and others. Lincoln only returns one starter on offense from last season, but they do have young, largely inexperienced talent that is ready to step into larger roles this season. Blaise Showers and Brody Schafer are competing for the starting quarterback position, senior Josh Smith should be dangerous out of the backfield, and junior Mikey Roche showed flashes of his ability in limited playing time last season.
On defense, the Patriots should be just as dangerous as they were last season, or pretty close to it. They return key pieces in South Dakota State commit Luke Krempges at defensive end, as well as Edison Noll, and Cole Knutdson in the secondary. Those three will be leaders on an experienced Lincoln defense. The Patriots will have to lean on that side of the ball, especially early in the season while the offense finds its footing, to build another run at a state championship.
Braeden Feeldy will step up and fill the production left by previous Harrisburg wide receivers
The Tigers lost a couple of All-State caliber wide receivers Tytan Tryon and Max Carlson to graduation. Tryon and Carlson contributed over 1,600 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions on a team that went 8-3 and made it to the Class 11AAA State Semifinals. While the wide receiver room may lack the star power it had last season, there’s still plenty of substance and a lot of that has to do with Braeden Feeldy, who contributed last season as the No. 3 receiver and is now ready to shine in the lead role.
Last season Feeldy ranked third in the team receiving yards, with 387, and touchdowns, with three. This season he’ll be thrust into the number-one role and play alongside arguably the top quarterback in the state, Sam Knuth. Harrisburg football coach Brandon White has also been creative in how he gets the ball in the hands of his top receiver, often letting them attack opposing defenses as a runner. That should help Feeldy bolster his rushing stats as well.
Jefferson quarterback Ethan Swenson will have a stellar second varsity season
In his first season at the helm of the Cavaliers offense last year, Swenson was one of nine first-year varsity starters on that side of the ball. He threw for 1,481 yards on a 58.91% completion rate and posted 11 touchdown passes in 2023. I’d bet on Swenson to vastly improve on those numbers in his second varsity season.
This year Jefferson returns nearly everyone on offense. The Cavaliers return nine starters and two others who received rotational varsity snaps. That familiarity and the added year of experience should help Swenson improve in pretty much every aspect of his game. It would not surprise me to see him reach nearly 2,000 passing yards on a completion rate higher than 60% and amass around 20 touchdowns.
Harrisburg quarterback Sam Knuth will surpass 35 touchdowns and 3,000 passing yards
Knuth was already fantastic as the Tigers’ lead play-caller last season, tallying 25 touchdown passes and over 2,500 yards while leading Harrisburg to the SDHSAA State Semifinals as a junior. As impressive a season as that was, Knuth should only get better in 2024.
The St. Thomas commit has Division I talent, and with the added trust and experience of another year breaking down defensive coverages, his stats should jump off the charts. Harrisburg lost its top two receivers in Tryon and Carlson, but Feeldy will be a capable No. 1.
If the Tigers can win the 11AAA state championship in 2024, Knuth will play a starring role.
Roosevelt will enter the playoffs riding a three-game winning streak under new head coach Jason Stahlberg
The Rough Riders will be an interesting watch this year with the addition of new head coach Jason Stahlberg. Roosevelt has struggled over the past couple of seasons, posting a combined 6-14 record over that span, but Stahlberg has brought a renewed intensity to a competitive Rough Riders team.
Before accepting the position with Roosevelt, Stahlberg was an assistant coach with Washington under Ryan Evans.
The Rough Riders have question marks after graduating quarterback Jackson Brouwer, running back Jaxson Grevengoed, and wide receiver Tayden Nave, but they have seniors who are ready and excited to lead this team into the next era. Senior Talon Stief returns with two years of starting varsity experience, well-prepared to step into the No. 1 back position and contribute on defense at linebacker. Senior two-way player Austin Markman, who plays both wide receiver and defensive back, is another player who has two years of starting varsity experience under his belt.
Although they might struggle early, Roosevelt will start to gel late and put together a string of wins entering the playoffs.
Tea Area will dethrone Pierre, keeping the Governors from winning their eighth consecutive state title
Pierre is in the midst of a historic run. The Governors have won each of the past seven 11AA state championships and have won 23 of their last 24 games. Just looking at their record it wouldn’t appear as though they’re slowing down, but Pierre was not as dominant in 2023 as they have been in previous years.
The door feels open for Yankton and Tea to have a real shot at the title. The Titans return a more experienced group than the 2023 squad that went 7-4 and advanced to the Class AA State Semifinal. They’ll have plenty of talent in key positions including offensive linemen Jacob Jongejeugd and Cody Petersen, wide receiver Riley Svanda, and tight end Brenner Konrad.
Lennox quarterback Boston Katzer will lead the Orioles to a deep playoff run
Katzer had a breakout season for Lennox last season under first-year head coach Shawn Flanagan. He was the top quarterback in 11A, leading the class in passing yards with 2,449, and touchdowns with 31, all while maintaining a 61% completion rate. In addition to leading the Orioles’ explosive offense, Lennox pulled off maybe the upset of the SDHSAA playoffs, defeating Canton on a last-second touchdown pass to advance to the semifinal against West Central.
Katzer loses his favorite target in Porter Ihnen, but 6-foot-5 sophomore wide receiver Drake Mikkelsen should play a larger role after compiling 500 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions as a freshman. That explosiveness of that duo, in addition to the team being in their second year under Flanagan, should help the Orioles improve on their 6-5 record from a year ago and make another deep run in the playoffs.
West Central will still contend for the state championship even without Chet Carda
Both offensively and defensively, Chet Carda was at the center of everything the Trojans did. He led the squad in tackles in his junior and senior seasons and even took on an expanded role as the team’s lead running back on offense. They leaned on him heavily.
This isn’t the first time the Trojans have had to retool after making a run to the 11A state championship game. There were similar question marks entering last season when West Central lost over 67% of their offensive production due to graduation.
But still, there’s a sentiment that West Central is consistently good regardless of the names on their roster, and that’ll probably stay that way because of the infrastructure of the program. Part of it is the sheer numbers the Trojans draw; they’re able to pit teams of each class against each other during practices, allowing underclassmen to get reps and develop.
This year they return a strong senior class that will be hungry to win a state title after falling in the final game of the season in each of the last two years.
Cain Wallner will amass over 100 tackles and 1,300 rushing yards
Wallner was already one of the best players in the state last year, one of few juniors to be named to the 2023 Elite 45. The South Dakota commit ran for over 1,000 yards last season and scored 18 touchdowns while also leading his team with 80 tackles.
It’s scary to think about, but this season should be even better for the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder. He spent the offseason working out five days a week and told the Argus Leader he’s felt faster and stronger as a result. With a first-year varsity quarterback suiting up for the C-Hawks, they’re sure to rely on Wallner even more than they did last season.
Sioux Falls Christian quarterback Lincoln Prins will be the Chargers’ MVP
Prins was featured in the Argus Leader Athlete of the Week nomination list on multiple occasions throughout 2023. When the Chargers started rolling in the latter half of their schedule, scoring 30+ points consistently, their starting quarterback was the one that sparked their offense. Prins even threw seven touchdown passes in a single game.
If the Chargers are to compete for a state title, as many expect them to, they’ll need more of that from Prins. For his part, the senior quarterback seems poised, along with a strong receiving core and offensive line in place, to take another step toward being one of the most productive players in the state.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at@JFERN31
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Publish date : 2024-08-28 00:01:00
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