Brian's Week8 Review; Second Season Preview

Well, there you have it - the football regular season is history, full of dominating performances (Lyman, Herreid/Selby, Winner), pleasant surprises (Pierre, Stanley Co., Jones Co.), and some head-scratchers (that I won't pick on), all in our DRG listening areas. We've been saying for a while now, the postseason could shape up to be anyone's ball game, and I think we're in for a fun ride that is only now just beginning. Before looking at all the playoff pairings, here's a look at Week 8 in review, as well as the regular season totals and percentages of all of our weekly picks:

Week 8 Overall: 56-11......494-108 (.821) for the season
11AA: 7-1......60-12 (.833)
11A/B: 19-3......170-34 (.833)
9-man: 30-7......264-62 (.810)

I'm not quite sure what to make of that, but those would be good softball batting averages, so I'll take it. Some of the games I picked incorrectly obviously spoiled some of the playoff predictions, as far as who would be playing whom, that I made last week, but at least now we know this week's schedule for sure, and here's what we're looking at.

11AA (pretty much gotta go with all the home teams in the first round):
16)Huron at 1)ABERDEEN CENTRAL -- our hope for a State Champion from the ESD
9)RC Stevens at 8)SF LINCOLN -- RCS beat SFL a few weeks back, but blew chance for home game last week
12)Brookings at 5)SF ROOSEVELT -- might be close for a half
13)Watertown at 4)SF O'GORMAN -- speaking of head-scratching disappointments....
15)Douglas at 2)SF WASHINGTON -- Washington scores 70+, half from JV's
10)RC Central at 7)YANKTON -- Bucks could still pull an upset, if not paired with SFW
11)Sturgis at 6)PIERRE -- love the Govs here, but Scoops might be confident
14)Mitchell at 3)BRANDON VALLEY -- Lynx must have rested players last week (??)

11A:
Region 1:
Sisseton at WEST CENTRAL -- here we go again...
DELL RAPIDS at Milbank -- Quarriers diligent in quest to repeat
Region 2:
Canton at HARRISBURG -- I still think Tigers have what it takes
VERMILLION at Dakota Valley -- DV is home team, but took opportunity to play in Dome
Region 3:
CHAMBERLAIN at Todd Co. -- Cubs to win the region??
Little Wound at PINE RIDGE -- Neither as good as Todd Co.
Region 4:
Lead-Deadwood at ST. THOMAS MORE -- write Cavs into the semis
Hot Springs at BELLE FOURCHE -- BF won 31-28 in regular season

11B:
Region 1:
Britton-Hecla at ABERDEEN RONCALLI -- Roncalli is baaaack (but 11B is a 2-team race)
Redfield/Doland at GROTON AREA -- Redfield impressing, but Groton rolling
Region 2:
McCook Central/Montrose at TRI-VALLEY -- pencil Mustangs in Dome for 3rd straight year
Garretson at FLANDREAU -- Fliers won at Garretson 4 weeks ago
Region 3:
Elk Point-Jefferson at WAGNER -- Wagner stays unbeaten (for two more games)
*Stanley Co. at PLATTE-G/DC -- Buffs should be inspired, but Platte will be mad
Region 4:
Red Cloud at WINNER -- too bad mercy rule will have to wait till halftime
MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK at Bennett Co. -- Tigers easily in this one - do NOT count them out

9AA:
Region 1:
Deubrook at LEOLA/FREDERICK -- the quietest unbeaten team in the state
Langford/Roslyn at HAMLIN -- tradition still there in Hamlin, just fewer players on the field
Region 2:
White Lake/Plankinton at HOWARD -- Howard still among Big 3 in 9AA
CHESTER AREA at Wess. Spgs/Woonsocket -- I keep picking against WS/W, and they keep winning ;)
Region 3:
South Central at EMERY/ETHAN -- another of the Big 3...very strong team!
*Eureka/Bowdle at CANISTOTA/BRIDGEWATER -- I've been high on C/B all along
Region 4:
Lemmon/McIntosh at LYMAN -- don't have to say much - Raiders are the favorite
PHILIP at Herreid/Selby -- only a hunch - my toughest game to pick Tuesday

9A:
Region 1:
*ARLINGTON at Tri-State -- Arlington is an at-large, but top seed in the region
CASTLEWOOD at Wilmot -- experience wins this one
Region 2: (best region of all, from 1-4)
Mt. Vernon at ESTELLINE -- whoever misses a 2-pt. conversion will lose by 2
HANSON at Corsica/Stickney -- they might be 5-3, but they're still Hanson
Region 3:
Andes Central at AVON -- Andes has really come on, but Avon's been on for 6 years
Irene-Wakonda at TRIPP-DELMONT/ARMOUR -- close one here before a season-ending blowout
Region 4:
*Colman-Egan at HARDING CO. -- 450 miles one way to close the season - gotta love it!
Wall at SULLY BUTTES -- Chargers out to prove themselves now

9B:
Region 1:
Waverly/South Shore at GRANT-DEUEL -- G-D is 9B's most consistent team over the years
Faulkton at HITCHCOCK-TULARE -- I wouldn't want to play Faulkton, but HT's goin' all the way
Region 2:
Sanborn Central at DELL RAPIDS ST. MARY -- DRSM to the Dome, too
Menno at VIBORG -- Still wondering how Viborg lost to Scotland last week...
Region 3:
*Scotland at GETTYSBURG -- a little redemption for Battlers from a recent Dome defeat
Jones Co. at SUNSHINE BIBLE -- should be a fun one, and some of us will be there :o)
Region 4:
*WARNER at Faith -- I think the at-large reaps the benefits of a light region here
Dupree at NEW UNDERWOOD -- I'll take the Tigers in this one (that's a win-win pick)

There you go - 24 stone cold locks (for entertainment purposes only). If you want quick Dome picks...well, okay.
11AA: SF Washington over Aberdeen Central
11A: West Central beats Harrisburg
11B: Winner upends Tri-Valley
9AA: Lyman beats Howard again
9A: Avon over Hanson
9B: Hitchcock-Tulare over Dell Rapids St. Mary

Congrats and good luck to all who play Tuesday night. Don't forget about the 7 games we'll have on 5 stations and one website, complete with chat room!
Peace!