The first 2009 SD Sportswriters Association football polls came out today and we thought it would be a good idea to publish how the Journal voted. Obviously, this early in the season this is far from an exact science, but we do take this responsibility somewhat seriously. Here are our votes.

- Padraic

Class 11AA
1. SF Washington
2. SF Roosevelt
3. Aberdeen Central
4. Brandon Valley
5. Yankton

Class 11A
1. West Central
2. Dell Rapids
3. Harrisburg
4. St. Thomas More
5. Vermillion

Class 11B
1. Tri-Valley
2. Winner
3. Wagner
4. Aberdeen Roncalli
5. Platte

Class 9AA
1. Howard
2. Emery-Ethan
3. Chester
4. Lyman
5. Hurley-Marion

Class 9A
1. Avon
2. Hanson
3. Mt. Vernon
4. Estelline
5. DeSmet-Iroquois

Class 9B
1. Hitch-Tulare
2. Gettysburg
3. DRSM
4. Grant-Deuel
5. Sanborn Central

Football season is upon us and first off, congratulations to Rapid City Stevens for starting the season 1-0 after a win over Brookings. Before we get too excited it’s probably wise to point out that the Bobcats were not expected to be all that good this season, but nonetheless, it’s a good way for the Raiders to start the season.

Also, the Sturgis Scoopers were beaten by Brandon Valley on the road this weekend, but it almost looked to be one of those “good” losses. The Lynx have a stellar QB in returning all-stater Austin Sumner, the type of player that the Scooper defense is not going to have to worry about seeing again this season (at least until the playoffs). Leading the Lynx 7-0 at the half was probably a pretty good sign. The Scoops just need to finish.

As for Rapid City Central? Ouch. Bad loss. I can’t really say I was surprised to see the Cobblers give up a point total in the mid-30s after watching their defense in the pre-season (to be fair it sounded like the defense was put in some tough spots by a couple of early blocked punts and turnovers) but I was more than a little surprised to see their offense struggle so much. Hopefully they can get things turned around a bit. It sounded like Coach Pikula was a little disappointed in his team’s intensity and effort after the game. That’s a little worrisome in the season-opener, when players are usually as healthy as they’ll be all season and chomping at the bit to hit somebody other than a teammate.

- Padraic

Just six weeks out from the start of the Central Hockey League season and Rapid City’s second run. The Rush announced a pair of signings this past weekend, adding player-assistants Brendan Cook and Scott Wray. Cook skated last year in the Elite Ice HL in England, and was with Austin in 2007-08. Wray was with the Rocky Mountain Rage last year and joins former Rage teammate Colt King with the Rush. Both Cook and Wray are expected to have 30-plus goal seasons. It’ll be interesting to see how the lines develop and how the new guys fit in with the core players from last year. — Jim H.

Jay Cutler thought he would get a “mixed” reaction.
He would have been lucky.
Denver fans booed their former QB during Sunday’s preseason game at Invesco Field. As a guy who hated to see Cutler shipped to Chicago during the offseason, I was happy to see fans at the game give Cutler a lot of grief. Even better, I was happy to see the Denver defense playing well.
Andrew

I have to admit, the game I saw last night at O’Harra Stadium was not the one I expected.

One quarter into Stevens’ football game against Brookings last night, I saw a different game than what I expected to see from a team that was 1-9 last year.

Quarterback Hayden Hast was able to do a good job moving the ball down the field, especially with three touchdown throws, two to TE Alex Litzen. Demetrius Ryan, starting for the first time, looked like an experienced running back. On one play, he was able to backtrack two yards and elude three Bobcat defenders on is way to a big gain. Later in the same quarter, the Raiders were able to execute a sweet reverse play, as Ryan gave the ball off to Litzen for an 18-yard gain.

As the game wore on, I could see a different body language from the Stevens players. You could see the confidence building from the end of the first quarter on. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders’ defense looked like anything but a 1-9 team with two stops within the Raiders’ 7-yard line.

Sure, I took some heat after the game from some Raider fans about the ‘West River’s Best Hope” headline we had on our football preview with a picture of Sturgis’ Jay Kizer. But it was only one game against a Brookings team that lost a lot to graduation. The real test of the pseudo prediction will come next weekend.

This Stevens team is vastly improved and it should be a good game against Sturgis next week on the same field. The Raiders are ready to prove they are West River’s Best Hope. Stay tuned.

- Russo

Check out the Journal as it follows the action during the opening night of high school football throughout the state.

Chat with the Journal about the first Friday night of the high school football season at 3 p.m. on Friday.

I suppose this could be sincere, but former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler’s attempt to make nice with current Denver coach Josh McDaniels looks to be a thinly-disguised attempt to dampen what is sure to be a less-than-friendly reception from the Bronco faithful when Cutler and the Chicago Bears come to Invesco Field on Sunday.
Cutler dissed Denver fans in a radio interview in Chi-town during training camp, and he’s sure to get the brunt of “affection” from the stands for his public breakup with McDaniels and the Broncos in the off-season.

Cutler probably needs to smooth things over with his former team and fans. After all, he’s still trying to sell his house in Denver. — Jim H.

I wrote a story for Sunday’s paper in regards to the challenges of one-sport athletes and their efforts to get college scholarships.

Sunday’s story

Most of the athletes in the story chose to play their one sport because they succeed in it and the sport gives them a singular focus. However, my story did not mention a group of athletes that have no specific college plans. Lyman Mahaffy, a Stevens wrestler, fits this mold. Here is the part of Sunday’s story that mentioned Mahaffy that did not print because of space issues:

Lyman Mahaffy, a Rapid City Stevens wrestler, enjoys playing one sport because he fares well and it is the only one he enjoys. Mahaffy, who competed at the Disney Duals wrestling tournament this past summer, hopes to get a wrestling scholarship, but he is not doing anything else outside of the season to earn one.
“If it happens, then that’s good. If it doesn’t, I’ll go do something else,” said Mahaffy, who also helps his family on the ranch, lifts weights and watches his cousin at rodeos. “I’d like one, but it doesn’t always happen. I wrestle year round because that is just what I like to do I guess.”
Mahaffy used to play football, but injury concerns pushed him to focus on being healthy for the wrestling season.
But, the Disney Duals were a great step.
“I think any time you can go out of state and wrestle prime level of competition, you will improve,” Mahaffy said. “I’ve already been to a big, big show. It makes some of the tournaments we go to not seem so large. It gets us ready for the experience.”
But, if you ask him if he gets burned out of wrestling, he has a quick answer.
“No. It’s my passion. I want to wrestle year round. It’s kind of like addicting. I started out wrestling when I was four and I have wrestled ever since.”

One sport athletes in western South Dakota are rare.

- Russo

Because we only have a certain amount of space in each day’s paper, we are limited to what we can say in an article. For instance, I attended last Saturday’s Rapid City Stevens intrasquad football scrimmage and took plenty of notes for an eight-inch story.

Sunday story

Here are some of my observations from the game that may - or may not - have made the paper:

- Head coach Paul Ferdinand said the decision on a starting quarterback has not been made, and he will depend on his other coaches and a study of scrimmage film to make the decision. Last year’s starter, The two quarterbacks in competition are Hayden Hast and Kris Klapprodt.
In the three starting-offense series during the scrimmage, Hast led the first and third drives, and Klapprodt was in on the second drive. All three drives led to points.
Hast did a good job of connecting with his receivers. He opened the first drive with a seven-yard run, and later completed a 20-yard pass to Jake Bohne and a 22-yard pass to Casey Nordine. On the third drive, he threw a 36-yard strike to Bohne, and a pass to Alex Litzen for 32 yards and a score.
Klapprodt also engineered a drive for points. His first and only completed pass was a 27-yard strike to Nordine. Alex Ferdinand connected on 32-yard field goal to end the drive.
At running back, Demetrius Ryan showed that he is at the top of the depth chart. In two series, Ryan gained 48 yards and had a run in which he eluded three tacklers in the backfield.

- The surprise of the scrimmage was Cameron Halverson. He may have earned the No. 2 spot for the team with his work Saturday. The runner scored a touchdown on 3-yard carry and gained about 12 yards on two runs before busting out for a 19-yard gain.
“At times you only look good on one play,” Paul Ferdinand said. “But (Halverson) moved up the ladder today.”

- Ferdinand came away from the scrimmage excited about the offense, but he anticipates working with the defense more. The defense took over right where the starting offense left off, keeping the scout team from moving the ball. But it showed lapses at times, including one play in which a receiver beat a Cover-3 scheme with a deep catch.

- Ferdinand said his players need to work on blitzing, and take a renewed approach to fundamentals. One of the focuses in the offseason was tackling. Ferdinand’s team gave up 42 plays last season of 20 or more yards, and his entire defensive secondary is new this year. His team spent 40 minutes of practice solely working on tackling fundamentals.

- Ferdinand was happy with the effort of his linebackers – Denton Stephens, Alex Schnell, Kris Klapprodt and Kevin Ficken – and they are a sign of good things to come for the team.
“We look good. I think we will be better than we than we were last year,” said Ferdinand, adding that his team has been active running and lifting weights. “We’ve earned the right to do better.”

- Jake Bohne, on defense, was able to take an interception for a touchdown, which made Ferdinand happy.
“If the defense scores it’s that much easier for the offense,” Ferdinand said. “I don’t think I’ve coached a game and lost when the defense has scored.”

- The scrimmage was also the first time the players have competed in heat in excess of 90 degrees.

- Russo