Listen "Thirsty Thursday Football Forecast, State Championship Edition"
Episode Synopsis
The Lamborghini or the F-450 Super Duty? Which fully-loaded vehicle will win Saturday's rematch race to the Class 11AAA state football championship, an expected barnburner you can watch live free of charge on the Midwest Sports Plus app and MidwestSportsPlus.com, with coverage starting at 4:30 p.m.? No. 1 Brandon Valley is the heavy duty pickup truck full of power and strength and size and durability and reliability and the capability of plowing over everything in its way. The Lynx, with their 275 lb.-average offensive line anchored by (arguably?... inarguably?...) South Dakota's best-ever lineman Hudson Parliament, barge down their opponents' throat on offense while rarely letting anything past them on defense. No. 2 Lincoln is the sports car with the souped-up engine — soon-to-be record-shattering quarterback Brody Schafer and his skilly weapons — that can go from 0 to 60 in three seconds and leave you biting dust and struggling to catch up. They're both 10-1. It's a rematch of Lincoln's 31-21 win, when a 63-yard fourth quarter touchdown strike from Schafer to the state's fastest wideout Mikey Rouche put the Lamborghini out of striking distance. It's also a rematch of BV's 35-30 win six weeks ago in a battle of 5-0 squads, when the Patriots' blazing fourth quarter comeback broke town just before the finish line with a fumble on the two-yard line with 10 seconds left. The Patriots seek the second three-peat in the 13-year history of Class 11AAA and the first in eight years. The Lynx, in their sixth final in 10 years, clamor for their first title in five years. For a thorough preview of the matchup, click here. Will we have another photo finish? Gentlemen, start your engines. Sioux Falls Live prep sports reporter Trent Singer and veteran prep play-by-play voice Gaskins — who will be on the live call you can watch on Midwest Sports Plus — grease the wheels for a fun matchup of contrasting styles, then give glimpses into some of the other six state football finals — like the Lennox-Sioux Falls Christian rematch in 11A, Pierre's pursuit of an eighth 11AA title in nine years, and a couple of DakotaDome rookies in 11B. A half-beer later in the Orion Pub, Singer and Gaskins sink their teeth into a pair of high-stakes Top 25 showdowns for South Dakota's Div. I squads. No. 16 South Dakota State (7-3) looks to snap its three-game losing streak against No. 14 Illinois State (7-3) in Brookings, while No. 17 South Dakota (7-4) heads to No. 21 Southern Illinois (6-4). Wins for the Jackrabbits and Coyotes ensure playoff bids, if they haven't already earned them. But they will be hard to come by against opponents with similar records also vying to postseason berths. The Orion Pub pals also pick the Vikings-Bears and Iowa-USC battles. Don't bet on them!
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