VOLGA Sioux Valley football is back in a familiar position as the Cossacks are getting set to take on Elk Point-Jefferson in the Class 11B semifinals on Friday night.
The Cossacks have made it to at least the quarterfinals in four of the past five seasons but this is the first time since 2020 that theyre one win away from playing for a state championship. It will also be a familiar opponent that Sioux Valley is going up against, as the Cossacks just played against the Huskies on Oct. 18.
Sioux Valley came away with a 17-14 victory that night and that gave the Cossacks the No. 1 seed in the Class 11B Playoffs. Sioux Valley head coach Dan Hughes said the two teams meeting two and a half weeks ago shouldnt really play a factor on Friday night.
I dont know if it really matters. All of the teams in the final four are pretty good and EPJ is no exception. We all know each other pretty well. Were kind of the usual suspects in Sioux Valley, Winner and EPJ, Hughes said.
The first game between the two teams was a defensive battle as the Cossacks led 3-0 at halftime. EPJ then took a 7-3 lead a minute into the second half, but Donovan Rose was able to push Sioux Valley back in front early in the fourth quarter with a 94-yard touchdown run.
The Huskies responded with a long touchdown drive and took a 14-10 lead with 5:30 play. However, Rose struck again on the next drive as he scored from 54 yards out on a run and then the Cossack defense forced a three-and-out to seal the game.
Hughes said he thought his defense played great in the intial match up and the Cossacks are going to be focused on stopping EPJs rushing attack.
We did a good job of getting hats to the ball on defense. We played fast and physical. We did a good job attacking all different areas of the field on offense. Fundamentals were done at a pretty high level with good tackling and good blocking. Theyre a predominant running team, so were going to have to stop the run and force them to throw the ball, Hughes said.
Sioux Valley fumbled the ball four times in the victory over the Huskies but only lost the ball once. The Cossacks turned EPJ over on downs three times, including two times in the first half that were inside the Sioux Valley 20 yard line.
Turnovers will most likely be the deciding factor in the game, Hughes said. Itll be a real tight game and whoever commits the fewest or creates the most will most likely come out on top.
Playing in the DakotaDome has eluded the Cossacks over the past decade and is something that every team in South Dakota aims for at the beginning of the season. Hughes said he doesnt want his team to feel too much pressure on Friday night, but they know whats at stake.
This is just another game, but we play one play at a time. We just focus and do our best at our current play and then move on, Hughes said.
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