Harrisburg Tigers football is ready for the postseason
HARRISBURG, S.D. (BVM) — The Harrisburg Tigers football team entered this season on a mission to get back to the Dakota Dome, but this time they plan to win it all.
“They want to erase what happened last year,” Harrisburg head coach Brandon White said about his team’s desire to finish its season differently than they did last year.
The Tigers finished their 2020 campaign with a loss to Brandon Valley in the state championship and because of that, they planned on getting back to the Dakota Dome.
“Our expectations were pretty high,” White said. “We brought back a ton of contributors from that game.”
Leading that group of returning Tigers has been the 25 seniors on the Harrisburg team this year. They have helped bring the rest of the team up to speed and show everyone what being a Tiger is all about.
“Anytime you have a large group of seniors, your practices are going to be more efficient,” White said. “We’re fortunate to have those guys on squad right now.”
It’s allowed Harrisburg to build off of what they did last year and survive the ups and downs of this season, in particular a three-game time span that tested the Tigers resolve.
“At any point in any of those games we could’ve folded, no doubt about it, and our kids just didn’t do that,” White said.
Close games against Sioux Falls Washington, Sioux Falls Lincoln and Sioux Falls Roosevelt challenged Harrisburg in different ways. The Washington game even went into double overtime before the Tigers were able to finish it. However, Harrisburg overcame each obstacle and set themselves up to handle whatever was thrown at them in the playoffs.
“Our kids handled those three games really well and I think that we’re going to project and you’re going to see that in the playoffs,” White said. “They’re going to fall back on those experiences.”
Along with the lessons learned, the games have given Harrisburg a chance to enter the postseason playing its best football.
“I like where we’re at,” White said. “We’re starting to play more complete games.”
Last week against Sioux Falls Jefferson after a close first half, the Tigers pulled away to win 42-24. The defense shored up and the offense began to take over as it has all season.
In their seven games, the Tigers have only scored less than 35 once. Led by three-star quarterback and University of Minnesota commit Jacob Knuth and a bevy of weapons like junior running back Gavin Ross for him to work with, the Tigers offense has led the way.
“He’s one of the most competitive we’ve ever coached here,” White said of Knuth.
“He’s just dead set on being a Tiger and trying to get us a state championship.”
The Harrisburg defense and special teams have been able to be more aggressive and risk mistakes with the confidence that their offense will be able to score almost every time they step onto the field.
“It relieves a little pressure defensively,” White said.
That’s not to say the Tigers’ defense hasn’t played well this season. They have consistently come up with stops when they’ve needed them to.
Along with the on-field strengths Harrisburg has showcased this year, the return of fans to the stands has made Harrisburg a tough place to come into to try and get a win.
“It’s really good to have our fans back,” White said. “I really feel our fans are the best in the state.”
For their homecoming game against Washington, they had around 6,800 fans cheering them on and that same atmosphere can be expected for any postseason home games.
The Tigers are playing great football at the right time. They entered the season with a goal to get back to the state championship, but this time win. With the postseason right around the corner, Harrisburg is on the right path to the Dakota Dome.
