If you’ve spent any time at a Friday night game in South Dakota, you know the atmosphere is basically electric. But once the lights go down and the dust settles, everyone starts arguing about the same thing: who is actually the best? Trying to make sense of sd high school football rankings can feel like trying to track a fumble in a pile-on. It’s messy, people get heated, and sometimes the numbers on the screen don't match what you just saw on the field.
Honestly, the 2025 season that just wrapped up was a prime example of why rankings are both essential and totally frustrating. We saw "sure bets" go down in the Dome and small-town powerhouses like Wall put up point totals that look like video game stats.
The Split Between Media Polls and Seed Points
In South Dakota, we have two different ways of looking at who's on top. You've got the Prep Media Polls, where sportswriters and broadcasters from across the state vote on who they think is the best based on the eye test. Then you've got the SDHSAA seed points, which is a cold, hard mathematical formula.
The seed points don't care about your "momentum" or if your quarterback is a D1 prospect. They care about who you played and if you won. This often creates a weird gap.
Take a look at Class 11AAA this past year. For a huge chunk of the season, Brandon Valley sat at the #1 spot in the media polls. They were 8-0, dominant, and looked untouchable. But Sioux Falls Lincoln was right there, breathing down their neck. When the state championship finally rolled around at the DakotaDome, Lincoln walked away with a 34-27 victory.
The rankings said Brandon Valley. The scoreboard said Lincoln. That's high school football.
✨ Don't miss: Liechtenstein National Football Team: Why Their Struggles are Different Than You Think
Breaking Down the Classes: Who Really Owned 2025?
When we talk about sd high school football rankings, you have to break it down by class because a 9B school in the middle of the prairie is playing a totally different game than a 11AAA school in Sioux Falls.
Class 11AAA: The Big Boys
Lincoln taking down Brandon Valley was the headline, but don't overlook Sioux Falls Jefferson. They spent the year in the top three and have a roster absolutely loaded with talent like Eddie Whiting and Daevion Simonsen. They finished 8-3, but their losses were only to the absolute elite.
Class 11AA and 11A: Mid-Size Dominance
In 11AA, Pierre T.F. Riggs has been the gold standard for years, but 2025 saw a massive shift. Yankton held the #1 seed for a while, and the media poll had Huron at the top for a significant stretch after they started 7-1. In the end, Pierre showed they still have that playoff DNA, though they fell to Yankton in the title game.
Then you have Sioux Falls Christian in 11A. They were a machine. A perfect 12-0 season. They were the unanimous #1 in the sd high school football rankings for almost the entire year. But even they had a scare in the championship, narrowly beating a very tough Lennox team 28-24.
The 9-Man Revolution
If you want high-scoring madness, you look at the 9-man ranks.
🔗 Read more: Cómo entender la tabla de Copa Oro y por qué los puntos no siempre cuentan la historia completa
- Class 9A: Wall was just... unfair. They went 11-0 and set a state record with 656 points scored in a single season. They beat Howard 60-6 in the final. If there was a "pound for pound" ranking, Wall might be #1 in the state, regardless of size.
- Class 9AA: Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy dominated the polls all year, finishing as the top-ranked team and taking the trophy.
- Class 9B: Dell Rapids St. Mary and Avon traded the #1 spot back and forth, but St. Mary's took the crown in a 54-6 blowout.
Why the Rankings Sometimes Get it Wrong
Rankings are inherently biased toward history. If a school has "Brandon Valley" or "Winner" on the jersey, they're probably going to start the season higher in the media polls than a school that's having a "down" decade but a "great" year.
Winner High School is a perfect example. They are a perennial powerhouse. In 11B, they started as the preseason #1. But they struggled more than usual this year, finishing 6-5. Meanwhile, Elk Point-Jefferson and St. Thomas More stayed at the top of the rankings all season long because they simply didn't slip up.
The "Strength of Schedule" factor is another huge variable. A team might be 8-0 and ranked #2, but if they haven't played anyone in the top 10, that ranking is basically a house of cards. The SDHSAA seed point system tries to fix this by awarding more points for beating winning teams, but it’s still not perfect.
Top Prospects Moving the Needle
A big reason teams stay high in the sd high school football rankings is individual star power. Recruiting experts like 247Sports and Prep Redzone keep a close eye on South Dakota now more than ever.
Hudson Parliament from Brandon Valley is a massive 6'4", 320-pound lineman who's an All-American. When you have a kid like that, you're going to be ranked high because teams literally cannot run through him. Then you have Jace Mohr from Wall, who was the Joe Robbie MVP after rushing for over 200 yards in the state title game.
💡 You might also like: Ohio State Football All White Uniforms: Why the Icy Look Always Sparks a Debate
What to Look for Moving Forward
If you're tracking these rankings for the next season, don't just look at the wins and losses. Look at who's returning.
Most people just check the top 5 and assume those are the only teams that matter. But the real value is in the "Receiving Votes" section. That's where the spoilers live. Teams like Tea Area or Harrisburg often linger in the 4-6 range and then pull off a massive upset in the quarterfinals that wrecks everyone's bracket.
Actionable Insights for Following SD Football:
- Watch the "Seed Points" after Week 5: This is when the math starts to actually reflect reality.
- Ignore Preseason Polls: They are almost entirely based on what happened last year, not what the current roster looks like.
- Follow local beat writers: Guys like the crew at SDPB or local newspapers see these teams in person, which is way more valuable than looking at a MaxPreps algorithm.
- Check the 9-man scores: Even if you only care about the big schools, the 9-man game in South Dakota is where some of the most innovative coaching is happening right now.
The rankings will always be a conversation starter, but in South Dakota, the only ranking that truly matters is the one standing at the center of the DakotaDome in November. Everything else is just noise.
To stay ahead of the curve, keep a close eye on the SDHSAA's official point standings as the mid-season schedule gets tougher, as that’s usually where the eventual state finalists begin to separate themselves from the pack.