Brian's look at the Final Four's

Well, only two game days left, and the football season will be over. I don't know what's harder to believe - how quickly the football season seems to go every year, or how quickly two and a half months seems to go. I guess they're one and the same, so one thing's for sure - time is fun when you're having flies. :)
You know what's fun? Going 23-1 in game picks for the quarterfinal round, and the one I picked wrong shouldn't surprise anyone. I don't think anyone picked Dakota Valley to go into Harrisburg and come out a winner, let alone with a shutout! I don't suppose they can travel 425 miles and beat St. Thomas More now, can they? Nahhh....

My picks will be pretty mundane for Saturday's semifinals - as it turns out, my money is on the home teams in all 12 games, but that doesn't mean there won't be some good ones.

In 11AA, Aberdeen has looked as good as anyone, and their unbeaten run started with a win over O'Gorman, who they will host on Saturday. And I just don't think there is a better team than SF Washington, although if anyone can upset them, it might be Brandon Valley. This game might have about 80 points on the board when it's over.

11A now seems to be St. Thomas More's to lose, although I might have said that about Harrisburg last week. STM just seems to be as strong this year as they were when they were dominating 11B, at least for the first 11 games of the season. With all the really heavy hitters gone, I'll be glad to see Coach Sully get that first championship trophy. Meanwhile, it's been a great run for Todd Co., but Milbank seems to be peaking here in the postseason and will be very tough at home.

In 11B, how cool is it that we have four unbeatens still going in the semifinals? Still, say what you want, 11B has been the Tri-Valley and Winner Show all season long. Tri-Valley has won the last two championships, and this year might be their best team, but Winner hasn't lost their 11A touch, even though they dropped to 11B this year. Roncalli and Wagner have great seasons and great programs, but not enough to move on to the Dome. Although, Roncalli might be able to play enough defense to pull out a low-scoring stunner. (just thought I'd put that out there)

9AA is looking a lot like many people probably thought it would 8 weeks ago, with one exception - were we supposed to know that Leola/Frederick would be unbeaten at this time? Like I've said before, they're the quietest undefeated team we've seen in quite a while. Unfortunately, Howard is too good, and too experienced, not to expect them to move on. Howard, like Winner, moved down a class this year, but they're still playing with the quality of the upper class. But of course, it's still Lyman controlling their own destiny. And the thing I love the most about Lyman is that they've given Central South Dakota something to be really excited about, as have our other area teams that are still alive. Keep it going, Raiders!! (KPLO)

In 9A, just like last year, I don't think there is anyone who can hold a candle to Avon. Early in the year, I thought Hanson would, but a 30-0 shutout by the Pirates ended that thought. Still, Hanson has to be feared. Look at their 3 losses: Avon, Howard, Emery/Ethan - two combined losses among those three teams, all still playing in tomorrow's semifinals. But you know, Sully Buttes went a long way in proving how good they are on Monday night, beating Harding Co., who might have had one of their better teams in recent years. Hanson has shown some vulnerability in two of their losses, so maybe there are things that the Chargers will be able to exploit. This should be a good one, and some us will be there to see it. ;oP (KGFX)

And 9B, I'll reiterate what I've been saying for quite a while - Hitchcock-Tulare and Dells St. Mary are the class of the class. H-T should have no trouble with Warner, who got a gift in going out west as an at-large team and winning two games. But DRSM should have their hands full with Gettysburg. The Battlers may have played their best game against Scotland, but they looked like they might have been looking past a very good Sunshine Bible team on Monday night. With some focus, maybe the Battlers can win with their extensive experience on Saturday afternoon. (KMLO)

So that's a preview of Saturday for you. Best of luck to our area teams! I'd also like to remind folks to listen to the games on the website, and feel free to use the chat room that we've got set up now. The chat room was busy Monday night, and we love to see that, and who knows, maybe your old high school sweetheart will be listening and chatting away - (cue Love Boat Theme). Have a great football Saturday!!
- Radiooo