VERMILLION For the eighth time in nine years, Pierre is the state Class 11AA football champion.
The third-seeded and second-ranked Governors (9-3), who had a seven-year reign as champion halted by Watertown in 2024, took advantage of a huge performance by sophomore running back Porter Hunsley to knock off top-seeded and top-rated Yankton 56-35 on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in the DakotaDome.
Hunsley rushed 23 times for 171 yards and scored five touchdowns for Pierre. He scored on runs of 3, 9, 13 and 18 yards and also caught a 19-yard TD pass from Jerren Deal.
Yankon (9-3) was gunning for its first state championship since 2015.
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Pierre avenged a 35-28 regular-season loss to Yankton with the win. This time, Pierre led 35-28 after only two quarters.
The Governors benefitted from Samuel Larson’s fumble recovery at Yankton’s 12-yard line on the opening possession of the game and also added another first-quarter score after recovering an onside kick.
Hunsley scored on two TD runs, Carter Schiefelbein hauled in a 78-yard scoring pass from Jerren Deal and returned a kickoff 95 yards for another TD and Pierre took a lead into halftime when junior tight end Cooper Terwilliger (a top NCAA Division I recruit) hauled in a 51-yard Hail Mary pass from Deal as time expired.
Yankton also had its share of big plays, scoring on an 88-yard kickoff return by Tegan LaCroix, a 28-yard pass from Tate Beste to Owen Eidness and on TD runs of 2 and 9 yards by Jace Sedlacek.
Scoring on the last play of the half gave Pierre the momentum and it definitely carried over into the second half.
Hunsley scored on the TD pass from Deal and added his final two TD runs in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to push Pierre’s lead to 56-35 with 7:59 remaining.
Hudson Stoeser ended Yankton’s next possession with an interception and the Governors salted away the win.
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Hunsley received the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player Award and also was named the South Dakota Football Coaches Association’s outstanding back of the game.
Pierre’s 56-point outburst also set a new state Class 11AA championship game record, topping the mark of 44 that O’Gorman set in 1988. The state football playoffs started in 1981.
Pierre compiled 491 yards of total offense in the game, rushing for 204 yards and passing for 287. Yankton ran for 172 and threw for 261, a total of 433.
Deal, also a sophomore, ran for 44 yards on 13 carries and completed 14 of 20 passes with three TDs. Schiefelbein hauled in seven passes for 172 yards and Terwilliger five for 79.
Sedlacek produced 141 rushing yards on 24 carries for Yankton. Tate Beste went 20-for-32 passing for 261 yards. Eidsness had seven catches for 96 yards and Cale Haselhorst five for 56.
Sutton Sonnenschein, William Eilers and Hudson Shaffer each notched six tackles for Pierre.
Shayce Platt finished with nine tackles, Carter Boomsma eight and Karson Kral seven for Yankton.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: State Class 11AA high school football championship