Top-rated teams hold their ground in state's football & volleyball ratings

Sioux Falls Jefferson (Class 11AAA), Pierre (Class 11AA) and Sioux Falls Christian (Class 11A) remain No. 1 in their respective classes in the final South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll of the 2026 season.Class 11B, 9AA, 9A and 9B teams opened the playoffs last week and are not included in this week's poll. The Class 11AAA, 11AA and 11A teams open the playoffs this week.Yankton moved up to No. 2 and Watertown to No. 3 and Tea Area dropped to No. 4 in Class 11AA. Lennox (now No. 2) and West Central (now No. 3) switched positions this week in Class 11A.High School FootballThe South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll for the week of Oct. 26 is listed below, ranking the top-five teams in each class, record, total points and previous ranking. First-place votes are listed in parentheses. These are the final rankings for Class 11AAA, 11AA and 11A, while the final rankings for Class 11B and the nine-man classes were released last week.CLASS 11AAASioux Falls Jefferson (20) 9-0 100 1Sioux Falls Lincoln 7-2 80 2Brandon Valley 7-2 60 3Harrisburg 5-4 40 4O’Gorman 5-4 20 5CLASS 11AAPierre (20) 9-0 100 1Yankton 7-2 78 3Watertown 6-3 53 4Tea Area 7-2 47 2Sturgis 6-3 22 5CLASS 11ASioux Falls Christian (20) 9-0 100 1Lennox 7-2 73 3West Central 7-2 48 2Canton 7-2 44 4Dell Rapids 7-2 35 5LAST WEEK'S POLLS: Playoffs begin this week for state's Class 11B & nine-man football teamsVolleyballThere are no changes in the latest South Dakota Prep Media Volleyball Poll released on Monday, Oct. 26.All of the teams remained in the same positions in the poll, including top-ranked Harrisburg (25-4) in Class AA, Sioux Falls Christian (22-9) in Class A and Warner (25-3) in Class B.This is the final week of the regular season for Class A and B teams.High School VolleyballHere is the South Dakota Prep Media Volleyball Poll for the week of Oct. 26, 2026. Teams are listed with first place votes in parenthesis, record, points and previous ranking. NOTE: The final poll for the season will be released on Monday, Nov. 2.CLASS AA1. Harrisburg (12) 25-4 64 12. Brandon Valley (1) 23-5 53 23. Sioux Falls Lincoln 14-4 37 34. Watertown 17-7 14 45. S.F. Washington 14-6 12 5Receiving votes: Rapid City Stevens (23-7) 8; and O'Gorman (16-8) 7.CLASS A1. Sioux Falls Christian (12) 22-9 64 12. Dell Rapids (1) 23-3 53 23. Dakota Valley 21-10 34 34. Clark-Willow Lake 22-1 27 45. St. Thomas More 28-7 13 5Receiving votes: Hamlin (18-3) 4.CLASS B1. Warner (12) 29-3 64 12. Chester Area (1) 22-4 52 23. Bennett County 30-1 37 34. Colman-Egan 24-3 23 45. Gayville-Volin 29-2 10 5Receiving votes: Northwestern (29-5) 6; Dell Rapids St. Mary (24-2) 2; and Harding County (26-1).Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.comThis article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Top-rated teams hold their ground in state's football & volleyball ratings