A high school football team in South Dakota put up a near record-setting rout in the first round of the state playoffs, inspiring their coach to beg his stars to stay off social media to avoid abuse from the online Twitterati.
As reported by the Pierre Capital Journal, T.F. Riggs High School (Pierre, S.D.) rolled to a 103-0 rout of opponent Spearfish (S.D.) in the first round of the Class 11AA state playoffs.The win may be the second-largest margin of victory ever in South Dakota history, and largest since 1918, when Miller (S.D.) defeated DeSmet, 118-0.
Yet the winding path to Riggs’ current spot in the second round of the playoffs is much more striking because of the context. Teams outside of 8-man football just don’t score 100 points in a game. And if they do, they certainly don’t hold opponents scoreless.
Riggs does, or at least hd did once. And while there has been no overt criticism of the school and its head coach Steve Steele, at least in the media, that day could be coming. If it does, everyone can rest assured in the knowledge that Steele and co. won’t have seen it because the head coach all but forced his players off social media to avoid getting even a whiff of the negativity sent towards them.
The theory was a good one, though hardly realistic in any comprehensive way. Now Riggs and Steele are trying to figure out how to capture … without giving up on dessert.
“It was one of the most polarizing mixture of emotions we’ve ever had at the conclusion of any game,” Steele told the media “Being so proud of every kid that stepped onto the field for us for giving every play their very best and earning the success that they experienced throughout the game, while also feeling sick for how the other sideline had to be feeling. Knowing what it feels like to be on that sideline really makes your heart hurt for their players, coaches, and community. But at the same time again, you are so proud of each and every Gov that represented our community in a great way as well.”
