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BALL FIVE: Teams have experience disparity


When comparing the differences in the amount of state tournaments between Timber Lake and Sully Buttes, I noticed there is great disparity among all eight teams in the Class B tournament.
We’ll do this by matchup.
First the seven seed Timber Lake Panthers and the two seed Sully Buttes Chargers.
The Panthers are playing at state for just the second time in school history and the first time since 1996.
The Chargers are in the final eight for the 17th time, which includes state titles in 1953, 1969 and 2008. The Chargers took third last year in their 11th trip to state since the turn of the century.
The number one seed and defending champion Bridgewater-Emery Huskies play the eight seed Lower Brule Sioux.
The Huskies won last year in their first time at state as a two-school conglomerate. But when they were two separate schools, they spent a lot of time at state. Bridgewater and Emery each went to state nine times. Bridgewater won the 1961 title, while Emery won the 1973 title.
Lower Brule will be stepping onto the floor in a state tournament for the first time in school history tomorrow.
The four seed Clark/Willow Lake Cyclones play the five seed Canistota Hawks.
Clark/Willow Lake is playing at state for the fourth time and the first time as a Class B team. When it was just Clark, they went to state plenty of times, but never won a state title They were the 2004 Class A runners-up. Between A and B, Clark went to 17 state tournaments. The first two were way back in 1916 and 1917. Willow Lake went to state once, taking second in 1960.
Canistota won the state title in 1958. The Hawks are at state for the sixth time, the first since 2011.
The three seed White River Tigers play the six seed Langford Area Lions.
Let’s start with Langford. The Lions, who finished second last year are playing at state for the sixth time as an Area. Just Langford went to state three times. Most of the success has been recent. The first trip to state was in 1939. The last seven have all come since 2007. But that’s nothing.
White River is playing the State B tourney for the 13th straight year! Think about that. The last time White River was not at state, our seniors were five-year-olds. White River won state titles in 1955, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Their first trip was in 1949. Like Sully Buttes, they are playing on the state’s last weekend for the 17th time.
Class A has some of the same disparities, but it is an entirely different breed of animal. Three teams that have had a ton of success in recent years are relatively new schools in Sioux Falls Christian, Tea Area and Dakota Valley.
The one seed Sioux Falls Christian Chargers play the eight seed Red Cloud Crusaders.
Sioux Falls Christian is playing at state for the eighth time. They took third last year and won the title in 2016.
Red Cloud is playing at state for the ninth time. The Crusaders won the 1995 title.
The four seed Crow Creek Chieftains play the five seed Tea Area Titans.
Crow Creek is playing at state for the seventh time. The Chieftains have never won a state title but did take second in 1982 and 1991.
Tea Area is in just its fourth trip to state, but the Titans are the defending champions and all four trips have come since 2013.The two seed Madison Bulldogs play the six seed Pine Ridge Thorpes, two teams that have played at state a combined 46 times in the past.
Madison is at state for the 26th time. The Bulldogs won their first state title in 1921 and have won five more since, including 2009, 2011 and back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.
The Thorpes are making their 22nd state appearance. They hold claim to three state titles, winning the B title in 1936 and 1962 and the A title in 1987.
The three seed Sioux Valley Cossacks play the six seed Dakota Valley Panthers in a game that has no glamour after describing the previous one.
Sioux Valley is playing at state for the 12th time. The Cossacks have never won it all. Their most recent success was the consolation title in 2016.
Dakota Valley is playing at state for the fifth time. They took third in 2016.

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