BILLINGS — After decades of football at Todd County (South Dakota) High School, athletic director Chuck Wilson was worried not long ago whether the Falcons' time on the gridiron was running out.
The school, in the town of Mission on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota, was facing problems familiar to many high school football programs on or near reservations.
Lopsided defeats, dangerously low turnout rates and worries about even finishing the season were all prevalent a few years ago for Todd County, which was down to as few as 14 players — while playing an 11-Man schedule — during its final season under the South Dakota High School Activities Association's (SDHSAA) umbrella.
Bruises, breaks and batterings were commonplace for the Falcons, who were concerned less about wins and more about whether they had enough healthy bodies to hold practices some weeks.
"You're talking about program survival," Wilson said, "and kids being able to go out for a sport that a lot of kids love, but it's no fun to get out there and go up against schools that are football schools. It's just not a fun situation."
While that was going on, a second option became more and more appealing to Todd County.
Todd County's (S.D.) Ty Valandra is taken down by Winnebago's (Neb.) Jared Doxey during the All Nations Football Conference championship at The DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. on Nov. 4. A similar all-Native football league is being proposed in Montana, per The Billings Gazette and 406mtsports.com reporting. - JESSE BROTHERS, Sioux City Journal