A trio of unbeaten area football teams will be looking to take another step on the road to potential state titles when semifinal playoff action takes place Friday. Warner is undefeated in Class 9A, while Herreid-Selby Area and Hitchcock-Tulare remain unbeaten in Class 9B.

Each navigated through quarterfinal victories a bit differently. Hitchcock-Tulare needed just a half of action to record a 52-point win. Warner rallied from a 17-point deficit to secure its victory. Herreid-Selby Area turned to its passing game instead of its potent rushing attack to fuel its win.

Here is a look at each of the area semifinal contests this weekend.

Irene-Wakonda (5-5) at Herreid-Selby Area (10-0)

Herreid-Selby Area, featuring standout running back Brenden Begeman, thwarted the strategy of Avon last week when forced to throw the ball.

“Offensively, we’re at the point now, where teams know what we have,” said HSA coach Clayton Randall. “Priority number one is try to limit our rushing attack. The only way to do that is probably to bring extra guys into the box. We’ve seen that the last three weeks.”

Quarterback Tray Hettick took advantage of that, guiding the Wolverines to another double-digit victory.

“At this point our quarterback is number one, more than capable of recognizing it so he gets us in the right place, and then he’s also talented enough to get the ball where it needs to go,” Randall said. “Seeing it is one thing and actually doing it is another thing. Kids at our level, that’s a rare combination and he’s got it.”

Now, Herreid-Selby Area hosts an upstart Irene-Wakonda squad that has won back-to-back road contests. Randall said the Eagles remind him of his own team that won three straight games on the road to reach the title contest in 2019.

“You go on the road and you win your first one and all of the sudden you kind of believe that hey, anything’s possible,” Randall said. “And then you do it again a second week so now you have a team that’s confident.”

For that reason alone, Irene-Wakonda has his full attention.

“We’re going to have our hands full,” Randall said, “because that kind of momentum, you have to get it stopped early.”

The Wolverines have plenty of motivation as it is, regardless of the foe. The team has lost in the state championship game two of the last three years and in the semifinals the other time.

“Our kids know that we have to come out and we have to play like we have from the first play of the game,” Randall said. “Our season has ended in disappointment every year, and so I don’t think our kids are going to overlook anybody.”

De Smet (7-3) at Hitchcock-Tulare (10-0)

This is a rematch from a game a few weeks ago so there should be few surprises here.

While Hitchcock-Tulare won that contest, Patriots coach Tom Salmen said there will likely be some adjustments made by both teams, plus the first meeting was a competitive contest.

“They have a big front line and good athletes,” Salmen said of the Bulldogs. “It was a tough game last time, so I don’t expect it to be any different. It will be a challenge for us, but we’re ready for it.”

The Patriots have a defense that has produced a whopping 40 turnovers, including a combined 20 interceptions by defensive backs Landon Puffer and Brendan Nowell.

“We’ve got plenty to still work on and improve on, so hopefully we can keep doing that,” Salmen said. “One of our goals was get a turnover a game and we’re way above that.”

Hitchcock-Tulare features a balanced attack on offense that has produced points on every opening drive of the season, except for one.

While the Patriots have won every game by double digits so far this season (including a 34-12 against De Smet), don’t expect them to overlook the Bulldogs as they continue their season-long quest of a state championship.

“I can’t imagine that we’d be any less motivated than we were before,” Salmen said. “We’re ready to go and excited, so we look forward to it.”

Harding County-Bison (8-2) at Warner (10-0)

Warner produced 34-unanswered second-half points to rally for a win over Canistota last week.

Once again Hunter Cramer provided the big plays the Warner offense needed, whether from the quarterback position or the running back spot.

Warner coach Kerwin Hoellein said somebody asked about where Cramer will lineup on the field for Friday night’s game.

“Is Hunter going to play quarterback this week? No. Hunter has rushed for over 1,200 yards and 25 touchdowns,” Hoellein said. “You don’t just take that out of your offense and expect to be normal. Is Hunter going to take some snaps at quarterback this week? Absolutely.”

Of course, a big part of Cramer’s success can be traced directly to the offensive line. Hoellein said the Monarchs wore down Canistota in the second half of their quarterfinal contest.

“Late in the game, their line was just exhausted,” Hoellein said. “When Hunter dropped back and we had four wide receivers and spread the field on them, Hunter was able to pick a spot, pick a hole and hurt them. That’s obviously the game plan again.”

Warner will face a Harding County-Bison team that like the Monarchs rallied for a victory last week, even more dramatically, scoring in the closing seconds to escape Philip.

The Ranchers have a playmaker of their own in Gage Gilbert.

“We know that they have a wide receiver, slot kid, probably their Hunter Cramer-type kid,” Hoellein said. “They move him all over the field, but the problem is he’s 6-5. When they do that they create mismatches.”

Hoellein said his team’s offensive line will need to continue its strong play in the biggest game to date, because the Ranchers will likely be applying some pressure.

“I think they like to stunt a lot,” Hoellein said. “Our linemen have to their heads up, because they’re going to come from here and there and try to put pressure on our quarterback.”

Hamlin (9-1) at Wall (10-0)

While both Hamlin and Wall were involved in many lopsided victories this season, both found the going a bit more difficult last week in the Class 9AA playoffs.

Hamlin needed overtime to slip past Hanson, while Wall (which had scored at least 48 points in every game this season) edged Bon Homme 20-12.

Wall, which had its season end in heartbreaking fashion to eventual state champion Howard in last year’s Class 9A semifinals, will be highly motivated to take the next step this time around. The Eagles have been rated near the top of the 9AA poll all season.

Hamlin is just a possession or two away from being undefeated. The Chargers’ lone loss came in an 8-6 setback to Warner.

Hamlin is no stranger to post-season success with five state titles and five runner-up finishes to its credit, and the Chargers would like to add to that resume this season.