2026 Week 10 (Dakotas)

Week 10 was not what I thought it was going to be. I knew I was going to be in eastern South Dakota, but South Dakota presented a problem. The playoffs for the smaller schools, and final week of the season for the larger schools, are entirely played on Thursdays.

Which was fine, as I would be in South Dakota. But that would be it. Another week with just one game. There were two All-Nations games taking place in far southwestern South Dakota. Add to that, North Dakota’s playoffs had started for its smaller schools. Class 1A and 9-Man both play on Saturday afternoon. While, 2A and 3A had Thursday or Friday night games.

With plans to be near Aberdeen, I at first thought I would go to Warner. I had seen Warner at Northwestern several years ago. And they were hosting Northwestern now in the playoffs. Not exactly engaging, but it was the closest. The other options were in Waubay. A few years ago, in 2023, I saw Dakota Hills hosts Sisseton. Dakota Hills was an 11-man co-op of Wilmot, Waubay, and Summit. After seeing that game, the three teams parted ways and Wilmot went on their own. While Waubay and Summit continued. Both teams playing 9-man football. Waubay/Summit would be hosting Sioux Falls Lutheran.

The problem was that I was going to be in Watertown. About 90 minutes from Aberdeen, and a huge monkey wrench thrown into my plans. I had been to Watertown before for a game. The Watertown Arrows had hosted Pierre T.F. Riggs in that game. And today, Watertown was hosting O’Gorman, the large private school from Sioux Falls who were a 44-12 favorite over the host Arrows.

Though, I quickly learned, that Watertown had finally opened an on campus stadium. No longer playing at Watertown Stadium on the west edge of town that is, for all intents and purposes, a baseball stadium. Aside from Watertown, I could have headed over to Clark, just west of town, for the Clark/Willow Lake game against Mobridge-Pollock.

While finally deciding at Watertown, as a last minute game without calling ahead, I figured I’d take my chances on if they’d let me on the field. Or not. If not, I’d just watch as a fan from the stands. Given that my game in Warner was not going to happen.

I also discovered that Great Plains Lutheran, were playing their home playoff game at Watertown’s new stadium Thursday afternoon. But I was not able to get there fast enough. Had I had the time, there also was a doubleheader Thursday night in Sioux Falls. But, instead, I opted for just a single game in Watertown. Even if it was predicted to be a blowout.

So, around 5:30, I headed over to the stadium. The main road south of the field was blocked off for the gameday, and I snapped a few photos of the new field’s facade, and made my way to the ticket gate.

I was let in without issue. It was nice to see that programs were free. And tickets were just $6 for adults and $4 for students. And free for seniors 65 and older. I stopped and got a Sprite from the concessions. For $3. Which is quite high for a high school venue.

But, I was ready for a game and looking forward to what looked like one of the best new stadiums I have seen. My only real complain was the mismatched number of LED lights between the home side and the visitor side. An entire row of lights on each visitor pole were missing. Cost-cutting for sure, but it would make the visitor sideline shots darker than shooting from the home side.

As I always prefer the home stands as the background as it helps with the color balance, ISO settings, to not just have ‘nothing’ behind the game at a night. But it was still quite bright. With the vibrant purple and yellow of the team, the bright green fresh turf, and the lack of black uniform colors made the metering work best for such a vibrant game.

#46 – Watertown v. Sioux Falls O’Gorman

I was a bit shocked about this game. I knew that Watertown were underdogs. Watertown was an 11AA team, while O’Gorman were an 11AAA team. The largest class in the state. 11AAA only has nine teams in it. Two Rapid City schools, the four Sioux Falls public schools, O’Gorman, as well as suburban Brandon Valley and not too far from Sioux Falls: Harrisburg.

Watertown’s defense came out with some moxie. A fourth down stop in the redzone set the tone. Two interceptions. But the offense just couldn’t muster a sustained attack. A heavy reliance on the run game made things slow, but a quickly burning clock.

O’Gorman was flashier. Moved the ball with some quickness. But couldn’t punch it in. Scoreless through the first quarter. And finally finding paydirt on a long bomb with 2:10 left in the half to go up, 7-0.

It still felt like it was a game. Both teams exited the lockers and were right back at it. A slugfest. And O’Gorman moved the ball downfield, including a couple of well executed conversions, to score on a short one yard run. Doubling their lead. And with 13:04 left in the game, it felt like it was over.

At least that’s how the O’Gorman side seemed to respond. Watertown wasn’t quite so ready to concede.

Across midfield, Watertown found the endzone on a crazy pass play. A double team was broken, with a pass up the middle, and a quick halt, led to the two defenders to run into another, and the receiver to sidestep the melee and waltz into the endzone. This now wasn’t the one-sided game O’Gorman thought it was. They were slow to respond. Hesitant, even, to go on the offensive. Instead, trying to run out the clock and just get it over with. Thinking they had already beaten Watertown.

Instead, the Arrows took their last possession, and drove downn the field to setup a 5 yard run by Tyson Miller. A two point try was a pass to the right corner of the endzone to a wide openn Hunter Peterson. And a shocking 15-14 lead for Watertown.

O’Gorman was down but not out. A quick 29 yard play setup the ball at midfield. With less than a minute remaining. A first down. And then another. With time running down and a shortage of timeouts, O’Gorman ran for yardage. Forced to spike it as the clock started running and down it with 3 seconds left. A 35ish yard field goal was attempted. And was kicked long, and wide of the uprights. Giving the Arrows a shocking senior night victory, 15-14 over O’Gorman.

South Dakota Spotlight: Watertown upsets O’Gorman, 15-14 in wild 4th quarter comeback (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game, I went and got chicken, and called it a night. In the morning, I had a decision to make. I had planned to see a Saturday game in North Dakota. There were some options in the southeastern corner. Hankinson, Lamoure, Edgerly. But, I really wanted to see a game on Friday. But in North Dakota, that was few and literally far between.

There were just a handful of games between Class 2A and Class 3A. And five of those were played on Thursday. On Friday, the only games that were fairly close to me were in the Fargo area. Nearly 3 hours away from Aberdeen.

Fargo Public Schools has three schools. Years ago, I saw Davies host what would be their first ever home victory. There is also Fargo North and Fargo South. In neighboring West Fargo, there’s West Fargo and West Fargo Sheyenne. Both of whom I had seen play last year in Bismarck. In addition to those, there is also two private schools in the Fargo area: Fargo Shanley and West Fargo Horace.

Of the four games in the Fargo area, only one was with two teams I had yet to see. And was projected to be a close game. If only because both teams came into it at 0-8. But I had already made up my mind. Forgoing Horace v. Shanley, or West Fargo v. Sheyenne, I was going to see one of the two Fargo Public School games. North was hosting Davies. While South was hosting Wahpeton. A small city from far southeastern North Dakota. And that’s what I settled on.

So, on Friday afternoon, after exhausting all other options, I headed out from Aberdeen along US281 to Ellendale, and ND11 east and north through Oakes and Verona on ND1 to ND46. And then ND18 north toward Casselton. Another host of a Friday night game, between Central Cass and Kindred. Though, I had seen Central Cass, aka the Squirrels, just last year in the state semifinal at Minot North.

From there, it was a quick drive east on I-94 across the flood bypass of the Red River, and into Fargo proper. I was running late by this point, so I didn’t stop for dinner. Instead, going straight to the stadium. I got there just twenty minutes prior to kickoff. Far closer than I was ever expecting to be.

#47 – Fargo South v. Wahpeton

I learned that South was the first FPS school to get a turf field. And also with South being a 2A school, their stadium was smaller than I expected. With seating only on one side. It is a nice location in a residential neighborhood surrounding it on all sides. With an arched entry way for tickets and programs. I got a paper printout of the rosters. And then headed onto the field.

With both teams at 0-8, tensions were high. Both teams wanted their first and only win of the season. With 49mph gusting winds, it made the passing games relatively moot. Wahpeton leveraged this with their stellar running attack. Fargo South, however, struggled as their passing games seemed to be their modus operandi.

But not all was lost. An early 8-0 lead by the visits was cut to 8-6, but an errant conversion attempt pass kept Wahpeton in the lead. Another touchdown extended it to 14-6. And you could start to feel the countdown starting. Fargo South needed a score and couldn’t. Wahpeton added one more touchdown with just nine seconds to go. A death knell for a team struggling to pass in impassible winds.

The second half only made it worse. Another Wahpeton touchdown made it 28-6. And the route was one. But Fargo South wasn’t about to go gently into that good night. A nice drive to close out the end of the third quarter yielded points, and they were down 28-12. Still, a struggle. But not insurmountable.

Until another QB run, from 36 yards, made it 36-12. Extinguishing what little flame flickered. A late score added the cherry on top for the visitors, and a 43-12 win to close out the season. The fans that did come out for the game, and mostly stayed to the bitter end, had some choice words for the coaches. But were generally supportive of the team. Only wanting to see improvements on a team that seemed unable to get over the hurdle of finding the win column. Few of their games were true blowouts. Even this one included. A snowballing loss that started slow and got worse as the game, and wind, continued.

North Dakota Spotlight: Wahpeton runs away from Fargo South, 43-12 (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game I finished up photos, and had plans for an off day on Saturday. There wasn’t much in the way for a game too close to Fargo. And it was already a long weekend for just the two games.

But Saturday morning, I looked at my options and made a decision. There were games in LaMoure (LaMoure-Litchville/Marion v. Four Winds), Hankinson (Hankinson v. North Prairie), Edgerley (Ellendale/Edgerley/Kulm v. Grafton), and Hunter (Northern Cass v. Rugby). Of those games, Northern Cass was the closest. And two schools I had never seen prior to Saturday. I had seen Hankinson just last year at New Rockford-Sheyenne. Annd EEK-Grafton was just a bit farther than I wanted to drive. Especially since I had just passed through there on the way to Fargo. So, that left me with Northern Cass. A school located on a county road far from its post office associated town.

But only 30 minutes from Fargo. And a predicted good game as the 1A playoffs had started. And Rugby was always a team I had wanted to see. As they’re located at the Geographic Center of North America.

So, around 11am, I headed out from Fargo. Along I-29 into the more rural confines of North Dakota. Taking the Gardner exit from I-29, it was amusing to see the green signs along the ram simply had two destinations listed: the first not being a town or city, instead it simply said Northern Cass Public School, 6 Miles. With an arrow. I didn’t stop to get the photos of the sign and I was honestly not expecting a sign for the school to be on the exit ramp. However, there’s literally nothing else off this exit except the extremely smaller Gardner, North Dakota and off in the unseen distance to the west, the North Cass Public School.

It’s six miles due west along County Route 26, also labeled 18th St Southeast. Either way, you can’t miss the school when you finally arrive. As it’s surrounded by treelines in what is an endless vista of agricultural fields.

I stopped and got the signs at the front of the school. And then went around back past the bus sheds, to the athletic fields. I arrived earlier than I expected. Only a half hour from Fargo, I didn’t want any delays to bother me. Instead, I was there over an hour early. Even with my establishing shots taken at the front of the school.

#48 – Northern Cass v. Rugby

The football field is nice, but small. For an 11-man team, it’s about as minimal as you can get. There are no fences. Especially on the visitor sideline. The natural grass field has a pronounced crown and then a steep drop from the sideline before rising again to the black track. Without a barrier, the fans mostly stood or sat on chairs around and on the track. Encroaching on the grass just a little. A small bleacher was situated near the 50 behind the track. Though it was low to the ground and mostly viewing the backs of the players than the field itself.

The home side had a small bleacher. But many of their fans opted to stand along the roped off stakes in the ground behind the track. A large pressbox constructed behind the stands dominated the view from the field. Trees lined all three sides away from the school end to the south.

There wasn’t much for player introductions. They had been warming up. And then left to head back to the school. And then returned. No run through. No cheerleader gauntlet. Same for the visiting Rugby players. Prior to the game, the concession stand had a ‘Burger Bash’ for $10 which included a burger and rest of a meal. The aroma of which was still present even at kickoff. I had already eaten so I passed on the opportunity.

For the game itself, it was projected to be fairly close. And it moved quickly. A lack of penalties and many running players kept things going smoothly. North Cass scored first, before Rugby matched it sans the extra point. And another touchdown just before the end of the quarter gave Cass another touchdown lead.

The second quarter was not kind to the visitors. Two more touchdowns and a game that was quickly getting out of hand. In the third, Northern Cass stymied the Panthers with an interception by Brody Zieske, who later scored a touchdown on a reception on the ensuing drive.

With the game now seemingly out of reach, at 32-6, Rugby was still not giving up. Though Northern Cass had relaxed some. A touchdown midway through the fourth made it 32-12. An onside kick recovery, and then another touchdown made it 32-18. Another possession by Rugby was making it interesting, but they could not turn it into points. Northern Cass winning, 32-18.

North Dakota Spotlight: Northern Cass holds off Rugby, 32-18 in First Round Playoff (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game, I waited for traffic to clear. And then headed back to Fargo. Where I was otherwise staying for the weekend. On Sunday, I ate at HuHot. One of the few chains I like to stop at around the country. Though they’re primarily in the midwest and upper plains. Located in small cities especially in college towns.

It was fun getting three games in for the weekend. Especially after only a single game in Week 9. Though I could have gone all the way to Denver for a game on Saturday. It was not worth the drive, I felt.

ECONOMICS

For the week, I spent a grand total of $91.75. Most of that was transportation costs. Only $23.00 was spent on food (not counting HuHot as it was the day after football). And nothing for tickets or miscellaneous.

From Sioux Falls to Fargo, I drove a grand total of 441 miles. Though a mix of work and pleasure there. Mostly being the drive to Fargo for the Friday night and eventual Saturday afternoon games.

Overall, I added three new stadiums as well as five new teams. Having already seen Watertown previously.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

2026 Statistics (after Week 10):

48 Games
93 Teams
37 Stadiums
11 States

39 New Teams
26 New Stadiums

1779 different teams
592 different stadiums

1692 total games

NEXT WEEK

Just like Week 10, my Week 11 plans are entirely in the air. Though I do have an idea of where I’ll be and what games I could see. Just a matter of calling around and seeing what works. But it will be, assuming all goes well, in a very unusual area for me. And one I’m looking forward to.