Pierre capped a perfect 12-0 season on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, defeating Watertown 45-21 in the state Class 11AA high school football championship at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, Yahoo Sports reported.
The top-seeded and top-rated Governors secured their ninth state Class 11AA championship in the last 10 years, though the victory demanded a heavier lift than their 55-14 regular-season win against Watertown back in mid-September. Junior running back Porter Hunsley shouldered the offensive load with 227 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, earning both the game’s outstanding back honors and the Joe Robbie award.
“Our guys learned a lot about who they are this season and what they’re capable of and in this game, they came out and showed it,” Watertown head coach John Hodorff told Yahoo Sports.
The first quarter ended in a scoreless deadlock before Hunsley broke through with a 30-yard touchdown run with 7:42 remaining in the second quarter.
Watertown answered swiftly when Kaeden Himmerich connected with Tyson Miller on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Facing a critical third-and-22 late in the half, Pierre quarterback Jerren Deal found Penn State tight end recruit Cooper Terwilliger for a 26-yard gain, setting up a 13-yard scoring run by Hunsley that restored a 14-7 halftime advantage for the Governors.
Pierre maintained its momentum into the second half, adding another score on a 4-yard run by Hunsley. Watertown refused to fold, pulling within 21-14 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Himmerich to Kye Paulson late in the third quarter, and later narrowing the gap to 31-21 when Himmerich heaved a 66-yard scoring strike to Gavin Robison with 8:28 left on the clock.
“I think our guys competed for a lot of the football game. It was 7-7 after the first quarter, could have been tied at halftime and was 31-21 in the fourth quarter before a couple of missed assignments led to scores,” Hodorff said.
Hunsley answered Watertown’s late surge immediately, bursting for a 66-yard touchdown run on the very next play from scrimmage. Pierre sealed the 45-21 final margin when Deal tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Carter Schiefelbein with 1:39 remaining in the contest.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Watertown, which finished its campaign at 8-4 and settled for the runner-up trophy in a rematch of the 2024 state title game where Watertown edged Pierre 14-13.
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