This will be a test right out of the gate.

Aberdeen Roncalli earned home-field advantage for its opening round playoff football game, but that doesn’t necessarily make the Cavaliers the clear-cut favorite on Thursday night at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

Roncalli’s first round foe is Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central, a team that has been rated among the top five teams in Class 11B the entire season.

“They’re a good solid football team. Physically, I think they’re comparable to a Milbank as far as size,” said Roncalli coach Billy Young. “Their quarterback is one of the better ones we’ve seen in a while, at least since I’ve been here. He’s got some weapons to throw to on offense, and defense they’re almost a mirror image of what we do as far as the scheme with running a 3-3. They bring pressure, which we’ve seen. They’ll be one of the better teams we’ve seen in the last couple of years.”

Both teams enter the contest with identical records of 6-2, and both had similar results against common opponents Miller-Highmore-Harrold and Webster during the regular season.

The Cavaliers have also had a solid season, with their two losses coming by two points (against Clark-Willow Lake) and in double overtime (against Groton), to squads who are also in the playoffs.

“Once we made the few little tweaks we made during our bye week, we changed some stuff around with what we were running offensively, things have really been clicking,” Young said. “Even in the game we lost to Groton, we moved the ball pretty well. We just came up a little short there, but I’m happy with where we’re at going into the playoffs.”

WWSSC also lost to a pair of teams in the playoffs, unbeaten Winner and by two points to Mount Vernon-Plankinton, also rated in the top five.

“You look at their schedule, and they played a really hard schedule, just that part of the state is really good in football this year,” Young said. “Even the teams, a couple of them that didn’t even make the playoffs, were good competitive teams.”

Young said the contest will come down to who plays better when kickoff takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday night.

He said the Cavaliers will need to make plays on both sides of the ball and play mistake-free football.

“From a defensive standpoint, it’s going to be not giving up long pass plays, and then getting off the field on third down. Offensively, we’re going to have to sustain drives, not shoot ourselves in the foot. They’re too good for us to get into third and 12, third and 15, and try to get out of that, so we’re going to have to stay ahead of the chains,” Young said. “Then with any football game, it’s limiting turnovers. In a game of this magnitude one fumble, one interception here or there could make the difference.”

Roncalli is undefeated in four home games this season and should benefit from having played five games on turf this fall.

“I think that is kind of our reward for playing well down the stretch, and being able to host a playoff game,” Young said. “Obviously, it’s a good opponent, but that happens all the time. We played Beresford a couple years ago and they were the 15 seed and end up getting to the semifinals.”

Young said his players will be ready to go come kickoff on Thursday night.

“We shouldn’t have any butterflies going into this. I don’t think our guys are nervous or up tight,” Young said. “They know what we’re up against. They know it’s a good opponent, but at this point everybody in the playoffs deserves to be there.”

Here is a glance at other area teams involved in playoff games on Thursday:

CLASS 11B

Deuel (2-6) at Sioux Valley (8-0), 7 p.m.

Sioux Valley has pieced together an undefeated season, including a 47-14 win over Deuel earlier this fall. The Cossacks have scored more than 40 points five times this season.

Mobridge-Pollock (6-2) at McCook Central-Montrose (6-2), 6 p.m.

Mobridge-Pollock has been a roll the second half of the season winning its last four games. The Tigers have allowed just 19 points total during that stretch. McCook Central-Montrose also has won its last four games. Both teams defeated Webster by similar margins during the regular season.

Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan (5-3) at Clark-Willow Lake (6-2), 7 p.m.

Clark-Willow Lake has been rock solid defensively in its six wins, allowing just 26 total points. However, it has given up 77 points in its two losses. Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan is 3-1 on the road this season, its only loss against Class 11A top-rated and unbeaten Sioux Falls Christian.

St. Thomas More (6-2) at Groton (6-2), 6 p.m.

St. Thomas More brings a six-game winning streak into this contest. The Cavaliers have outscored their opponents 289-6 during that stretch. Groton is unbeaten at home this season and will try to take advantage of home-field advantage.

CLASS 9AA

Kimball-White Lake (6-2) at Leola-Frederick (6-2), 7 p.m.

Leola-Frederick lost its last two games after winning six straight to start the season, but the Titans are unbeaten at home this fall. Kimball-White Lake also lost its final game of the regular season. Its two losses are against opponents that are a combined 15-1.

Waubay-Summit (3-5) at Hamlin (8-0), 7 p.m.

Hamlin has been an offensive machine this season. The Chargers, who beat Waubay-Summit 50-0 in a prior matchup, has scored 432 points for an average of 54 points per game.

Britton-Hecla (6-2) at Viborg-Hurley (6-2), 6 p.m.

Britton-Hecla lost its first two games to start the season, but has gone 6-0 since. The Braves have outscored their opponents 298-20 in those contests. Viborg-Hurley has played four playoff teams and lost two a pair of teams with a combined record of 15-1.

Great Plains Lutheran (4-4) at Elkton-Lake Benton (7-1), 6 p.m.

Elkton-Lake Benton defeated Great Plains Lutheran 54-8 during the regular season. The Elks, who fell to unbeaten Hamlin in their final game, are averaging more than 46 points per outing this season.

CLASS 9A

Castlewood (5-3) at Alcester-Hudson (4-4), 7 p.m.

Castlewood lost its first three games to start the season before winning its last five games entering the playoffs. The Warriors have outscored their foes 210-9 during that stretch. Alcester-Hudson played a solid schedule, facing five games against playoff teams.

Lemmon-McIntosh (5-3) at Wolsey-Wessington (7-1), 7 p.m.

Wolsey-Wessington has been among the top four rated teams all season. The Warbirds’ only loss came to unbeaten Class AA top-rated Parkston. Lemmon-McIntosh has won just one of four road games this season.

Estelline-Hendricks (4-4) at Ipswich (6-2), 7 p.m.

Ipswich lost two of its first three games to start the season, but the Tigers have closed the season with a flurry and are undefeated at home so far this fall. Estelline-Hendricks lost its first two games, won four straight, then dropped its final two contests heading into the playoffs.

Gayville-Volin (4-4) at Warner (8-0), 7 p.m.

Warner is looking to defend its Class 9A state championship this season. The Monarchs have been tough to score against this fall. In its eight games so far this season, Warner has allowed just 50 total points with three shutouts.

CLASS 9B

Herreid-Selby Area (3-5) at Corsica-Stickney (6-2), 6 p.m.

Herreid-Selby Area has lost four of its last five games heading into the postseason, but all of them came to teams that are in the playoffs. Corsica-Stickney has lost just two games total, coming to opponents with a combined record of 14-2.

Arlington (4-4) at Sully Buttes (7-1), 6 p.m.

Sully Buttes has racked up 41 points or more in all seven of its victories this season. The Chargers lone loss this season came to second-rated Faulkton. Arlington lost three of its last four contests to conclude the regular season.

Sunshine Bible (2-6) at Faulkton (6-2), 7 p.m.

Faulkton started out the season 2-2 before closing out the regular season with four straight victories. The Trojans, who finished runner-up in the Class 9B championship game last season, are unbeaten at home this fall.

Colman-Egan (4-4) at Hitchcock-Tulare (4-4), 7 p.m.

Hitchcock-Tulare went 4-4 this season with all four setbacks against teams currently competing in the playoffs. The Patriots faced a total of six playoff squads on their schedule this season. Colman-Egan finished the season strong with three straight wins by a combined margin of 162-14.