ELK POINT, S.D. (KCAU) – The high school football playoffs continue to roll on in all three of our states, with our newest SportsZone Player of the Week having a big game to kick off the Elk Point-Jefferson Huskies’ title defense in Class 11B. This week’s winner is sponsored by Nelson Commercial Construction.

Elk Point-Jefferson junior quarterback Keaton Gale totaled 270 yards and four touchdowns in the Huskies’ 48-13 win over Groton Area in the first round of the Class 11B SDHSAA Playoffs.

Gale has paced a Huskies offense that’s averaged 35.4 points per game to go with the team’s 8-1 record.

For Gale and EP-J, they understand the increasing magnitude of the games as they move deeper into the playoffs. But, it’s about sticking to what works for the Huskies while adapting each game that they feel is going to help them be successful.

“The goal was to pass a little more, so I was pretty excited. We’re trying to get a little bit more balanced. We had fun out there. It was pretty nice knowing we have another home game coming up here. If you lose, you go home. We know what we’ve got to do, just take care of business one play at a time and we just have to trust each other.” Gale said.

Elk Point-Jefferson will take on Tri-Valley at home on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the second round of the Class 11B playoffs.