SDPB & SDHSAA State Football Championship Coverage

The Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix co-op began four years ago with questions surrounding the future. But as a Phoenix typically does, it rose from the ashes. SDPB caught up with the team heading to the Class 9AA Championship.

In Avon, their school mascot is the Pirates. While mascot identity is big in all schools, Avon has raised the sails on the effort. For every home game, in the end zone, there's a literal pirate ship. It's something that even Captain Jack Sparrow would be proud of.

Matt Christensen is the definition of a football coach. He also has another passion that connects to football in a special game - video games. We're not talking about Madden Football either, we're talking about 'old school' Tecmo Bowl.

High school football goes much deeper than the scoreboard or stats. In Lakota Tech, excitement is growing with the program and a lot of that is because of new head coach Eriq Swiftwater. From his positive personality to his love of the game, it's clear he's the right man for the job.

In Wall, South Dakota, the population may sit just under 700 — but on game day, it feels like the center of the world. Get a behind the scenes look at how one of the best teams in 9-man football prepares for Friday night.

With seven state football championships at two different schools, and experience coaching basketball and cross country, Arlin Likness has built a legacy as one of South Dakota’s most accomplished high school coaches. He joins Craig Mattick on this episode of In Play.

This week on Game Time, Jason Andera and Nate Wek preview the South Dakota high school basketball season, complete with players to watch and the preseason rankings.