The last time O'Gorman faced Harrisburg in the Dakota Bowl was in 2017. The circumstances were different then. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the game was played at Howard Wood Field.
But both programs are in similar positions to where they were in 2017 now entering the 2024 South Dakota high school football season.
Much like this year, the Tigers entered that 2017 matchup as the favorite while O’Gorman was still trying to find its team identity. Harrisburg went into halftime leading by a couple touchdowns but the Knights responded in the second half and mounted a comeback to win the game.
“I think that's going to be a very similar feel where Harrisburg has the better team coming in and they see an early lead and it's going to be a matter of how our kids respond," said O'Gorman football coach Jayson Poppinga. "If we can make adjustments and figure out the speed and be able to come back (we can) make it a football game."
Harrisburg starts the 2024 high school football season as the preseason favorite to win the Class 11AAA state title. The Tigers return many key pieces from the team that went 8-3 a year ago. Sam Knuth, arguably the top quarterback in the state, is back to lead what should be a pretty explosive offense. The senior committed to St. Thomas in July.
The Tigers' biggest losses come at the wide receiver position where they graduated some of the most talented players in the state, but White is confident they have players ready to step into larger roles.
O’Gorman is a largely young and inexperienced team after graduating a key group of seniors that accounted for the majority of its offensive and defensive production. They’ll return just two starters on offense and three on defense. Poppinga is also still weighing who will start at quarterback for the Knights, although he did say both Hunter Sayasavanh and Talen Black will likely play.
Much like the 2017 Dakota Bowl matchup, even if they appear to be two programs heading in opposite directions, you never know which way a game between the Knights and Tigers will go. Over the past few years, Harrisburg and O’Gorman have developed a fierce rivalry after playing tightly contested games, both in the regular season and in the playoffs.
“This is always a test. Doesn't matter if we play in Week 1, Week 9, Week 8,” White said. “It's going be a good game. That's how these Harrisburg-O’Gorman games are.”
Over the last three years, the Knights and Tigers have met multiple times, near the end of the season and in the playoffs, in the span of a few weeks. Last year the Tigers beat the Knights by two points in the final game of the regular season only to get knocked out of the playoffs by O'Gorman a couple weeks later, 49-34, in the state semifinal.
“I know they're excited, just like we are,” O’Gorman senior Sullivan Schlimgen said. “They remember last year and we have to come out ready to play, just like they do.”
The Knights will host the Tigers in the Dakota Bowl at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 2024 Dakota Bowl: O'Gorman, Harrisburg football programs set to rekindle rivalry
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