Class AA Watertown, Class A Great Plains Lutheran to play in basketball the next two seasons

For lack of an official label, let's just say "The Battle of Watertown" is coming.

For the first time, the city's two high schools (Watertown and Great Plains Lutheran) have signed an agreement to square off in high school boys and girls basketball games in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

"I think it'll be a good thing for the community," Great Plains Lutheran athletic director and head girls basketball coach Matt Bauer said. "Our two schools are in the same town but live in different worlds as far as activities and sports go."

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It was actually Bauer who approached Waertown Activities Director Craig Boyens about a potential matchup involving the Class AA Arrows and the Class A Panthers.

"Matt reached out last year and I think we had an opening for girls, but not for the boys. The timing didn't seem right," said Boyens. "This year, I reached out to him and told him we had an opening in both boys and girls if he'd be interested in revisting the idea."

Some hoops history

The South Dakota High School Activities Association starting holding sanctioned state boys basketball tournaments in 1912 and Watertown made its first state-tourney appearance in 1917.

The Arrows competed for many years in boys basketball under a one-class system (1912-1935) and in Class A afer a two-class system was adopted in 1936 and continued through 1985. The current three-class system began in 1986 and Watertown has been in Class AA since that time.

Girls basketball in South Dakota, at least as a sport sanctioned SDHSAA, began in the fall of 1975 with two classes. Watertown played in Class A before moving up to Class AA when the three-class system was adopted in 1986. Girls basketball also moved from the fall to the winter in 2002-03.

Great Plains Lutheran opened as a high school in the fall of 1996 and began its first official seasons of girls and boys basketball in 1998. The Panthers have spent the majority of these past 28 years in Class B, but have since moved up to Class A and appear likely to stay there.

The GPL teams have yet to qualify for a state tournament.

The ADM (Average Daily Membership) in grades 9-11, which the SDHSAA uses for classification purposes in activities, listed Watertown at 953 and Great Plains Lutheran at 101 as far as the numbers that were used for 2022-23 and 2023-24 alignments.

Reasons for the matchups

Watertown has had schedule issues the past few seasons with some West River Class AA schools declining to sign contracts that would require them to travel this far east.

So as part of a weekend trip west this winter, the Arrows scheduled boys-girls' doubleheaders with Class A Belle Fourche and Class AA Douglas.

When Belle Fourche declined to play the Watertown's boys, the Arrows instead scheduled a game against Class A St. Thomas More. Both Watertown teams also played against Class A Tea Area this year. Tea Area is moving up to Class AA and into the Eastern South Dakota Conference this fall.

"The nice thing (about the games with GPL) is it's a night where our kids can have a home or away game and not have to travel," Boyens said. "We've played Class A schools like Tea Area, Sioux Falls Christian and West Central in recent years, so why not play a Class A school that's located only a couple of minutes away?"

It should be noted that both Watertown teams lost to two Class A teams this winter and in the process, did lose some seeding points but Boyens said that's not the reason for adding the cross-town matchups.

It's time to mark your calendar

The two-year series will open this December when Watertown's girls visit Great Plains Lutheran on Friday, Dec. 6. The two schools will meet in boys basketball on Saturday, Jan. 11 (2025) in the CIvic Arena.

The venues for the two games will switch in the 2025-26 school year.

Watertown's boys enjoyed a successful season this winter, going 14-10 and qualifying for the state Class AA tourney for the first time since 2015 (taking sixth last week in Sioux Falls). The Arrow girls, who ended a long state-tourney drought the previous winter, went 7-14 but didnt qualify for state. Watertown's boys graduate eight seniors, all five starters and the top three reserves. Watertown's girls lose six seniors, including four seniors.

State AA Boys: Watertown boys close out first state AA tournament appearance since 2015

Great Plains Lutheran's teams both had successful years. The Panther girls set a school record for wins in a 15-6 season and the boys went 13-8. The Panther teams lose two senior starters (girls) and three senior starters (boys).

"I'm, not going to lie," said Bauer. "I think we're getting better. We still might get on the court and get annihilated. We've competed with them in the summer and they're willing to give it a shot. Aside from the outcome of the games, it should be good for the community to realize these two schools can do something together athletically."

Both Watertown head coaches Chad Rohde (girls) and Pat McClemans (boys) also are in support of the matchups. Rohde cited Sioux Falls where the city's Class AA public schools have squared off with Class A Sioux Falls Christian and out west where AA schools like Sturgis, Spearfish and Rapid City Stevens and Central have battled against Class A St. Thomas Moree.

"I think its pretty exciting for the community and it's a great opportunity for our program," Rohde said. "Great Plains Lutheran has been having a lot of success lately. I'm looking forward to it, it should be fun. It'll be a home and away game for everybody."

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown, Great Plains Lutheran baskeball teams to meet for the first time