IN 1964, RONCALLI – PREVIOUSLY KNOWN as Catholic High School — suited up for their first ever football game. At that time, only freshmen and sophomores played, since only those grades were enrolled in the school. Two years later, Roncalli would go on to play their first official varsity football match in 1966 as the school transitioned into a four-year high school. In the beginning, their games were played at Simmons Junior High fields, in the southwest part of Aberdeen. In 1969, The Roncalli Cavaliers played under a new conference called the Northeast Conference (NEC). They competed against teams all over the region with their first game taking place against Britton.
On the other hand, the public Aberdeen Central High School were well ahead with their football games, having played since the beginning of the Old Central High School’s building opened up in 1911. They faced big teams in the state from Brookings to Rapid City.
A game played between Roncalli’s junior varsity and Central’s sophomore team in 1973. Photos courtesy of Roncalli
In their early days, Roncalli opened the seasons against nonconference teams such as North Dakota’s Mandan and Fargo Shanley, but 1973 was a season full of firsts. That season turned out to be the first time that Roncalli played against Central for their non-conference opening game of the season.
Under new head coach Francis Zacher, Roncalli came off an impressive 1972 season where they went 7-1-1 — their best season yet. They defeated the non-conference team of Howard in their route to finish second in the conference.
But that momentum didn’t carry into their first game of the season. An ankle sprain kept player Tom Schmidt from playing in their first game. In their openers, played under sweltering 90-degree heat, both teams struggled with stamina. It was Central who ultimately gained the upper hand at Simmons Field. The heat turned out to be so intense that Roncalli’s Schreiber collapsed after a long run from the screen pass, but he recovered after the game. Eventually, Central used its size advantage — a problem that would benefit Central in years to come — and won with the score of 8 to 24.
The two Aberdeen teams often faced off under the harsh early weeks of September sun, with practices starting even before the school year began. For years, Central dominated the rivalry, backed by stronger resources and a deeper roster. Central shut out Roncalli for three years straight, beginning in 1976. During the 1979 school year, Roncalli went undefeated in their conference, only losing to the nonconferenced Aberdeen Central during the first game of the season.
Tom Gisi tries to find an opening against the Golden Eagles in 1979
Pat Rohl takes down a Central ball carrier in 1978.
After years of frustration and disappointment, the 1980 school year was a year unlike any other for the Cavaliers. Roncalli’s Kelle Hickman intercepted a Burt Beattie pass on the Roncalli 20-yard line and returned it to the Cavaliers’ 34. That would turn out to be the winning touchdown for Roncalli. For the first time in their program, they had won against their rivals. As they were down 13 to 9 during the beginning of the fourth quarter, Roncalli came back and defeated Central with a score of 16 to 13. For Roncalli, it felt like it had more of a meaning for not just the school, but for the community.
According to the Aberdeen American News, “Coach Coghlan felt that it was better for the Aberdeen community, as a whole, to see Roncalli win the game. He feels the pressure is off now since there is no winning streak for Central to uphold.”
The following season, Coach Coghlan stepped down and moved to North Dakota. Mark Murphy became coach for the Roncalli Cavaliers.
Murphy explained that he was hired at Roncalli as a social studies teacher, head football coach, assistant basketball coach, and athletic director the following year. Murphy was previously a head football coach at Hurley, South Dakota, and an assistant football coach at Miller, South Dakota. Roncalli definitely was a step up in his class from previous head coaching experience. Murphy said he was very appreciative of the administration giving him the opportunity to lead a very successful program.
The following seasons, the same story of Central dominance continued. The Golden Eagles beat the Cavaliers again. Roncalli lost by a score of 7 to 41 and then the next season by 7 to 21.
In 1983, Roncalli won for the first time in 3 years with a score of 9 to 0. That was the first time that the Cavaliers had shuttered out the Eagles from scoring. Murphy was thrilled by both the win and the team as they finished 7-2.
Mark Murphy.
In 1985, Murphy left his role and became a coach again for Central after deciding to pursue his teachings.
“When I came to Central for the first time, I was not teaching in my undergraduate field so I was looking for a better teaching fit and the job came open at Roncalli. The coaches and administration at Central understood and wished me well, and I retained my friendship with those coaching colleagues even though I moved across town,” Murphy said.
He eventually returned to Central when a teaching position opened up in the Social Studies department.
Terry Dosch came in and had a lot of work to do. He started coaching at Faulkton, South Dakota, and took his team to second place in 1981. Dosch had almost pursued real estate in town, but after an old teacher had called him about a teaching position at Roncalli, he decided to pick up where Murphy left off. Dosch made real estate a side job.
His first challenge was against Central.
“I was just excited because it was an opportunity to go out and try to see who we were and what we could do,” Dosch said.
The first game was a loss, but Dosch still had a lot to prove. He continued to coach his team with his playstyle and earned a 6-4 record in his first season, followed by a 6-3 record in 1986.
In 1987, in a shocking upset few saw coming, Dosch’s Roncalli squad stunned Central with a 20 to 12 victory at Swisher Field. Roncalli dominated Central with a halftime score of 20 to 0 but with Mark Costello’s injury late into the game, the Eagles came back to score 12 points. Still, the Cavaliers won the game — a first for Dosch. He often jokes about how winning against Central is one of the greatest days along with marrying his wife. Dosch felt proud of the team’s effort, and he could feel the pride from the school as they united from the win.
“You know, I think for our fanbase and our parents, there certainly was [pride]. Our athletes looked forward to it… it was always like, hey we don’t have anything to lose. We’re going to always be the underdogs. They’re like four times, five times bigger than we are. They should theoretically have better players, but I think our kids took a lot of pride in who they were and what they did,” added Dosch.
That year became a historic one for Roncalli. After an undefeated 8-0 regular season record, they made it to the State Championship for the first time ever. They eventually lost to Winner at the DakotaDome – a milestone for a school with limited resources.
Dosch said that humbleness comes from his background.
“I didn’t really grow up with a ton in my life and my world. My parents were not well to do, blue class. Blue collar working class people. We didn’t have a telephone until I was a junior in high school. So it really wasn’t a big deal to go without stuff. You just work hard and you can improvise. The only limit is your imagination.”
And imagination they had for the next season. Their opener against the Eagles had competition from both sides. Roncalli had been in control for most of the game with Central losing the ball three times. That was until Central mounted a comeback to force overtime. The game stayed tight, and in double overtime, Dosch made a bold call to go for a two-point conversion instead of kicking a field goal for the win – a decision that was influenced by Central’s late-game momentum and depth. The pass came up just short, and Roncalli fell in a heartbreaking 21 to 20 double overtime loss. With that, the Cavaliers moved on and never looked back. They went undefeated until their playoff exit in the first round to Sisseton.
After the last season’s classic battle, many expected 1989 to bring another close matchup. But once the schedule was released, it became clear that wouldn’t be the case. For the first time since 1972, there were no rivalry openers in the 1989 season. Roncalli’s first game came from Fargo Shanley while Central’s was with North Sioux City. So what brought the end to this? Ultimately it was with both Roncalli and Central pulling the plug.
According to Murphy, the South Dakota High School Activities Association started the high school football playoffs and determined that if Central played against a lower football class, they would not receive full power points during the process that determined who would play where during playoffs. Roncalli and Central had to go out and find a new home opener opponent.
Roncalli also struggled to pull in students for their academic year, which made things difficult in regard to their own power points. With the dominance of the Eagles, the game didn’t get as many eyeballs around town like in the early days. On top of this, Roncalli had an enrollment problem at that time which made their football team lose more players.
For both coaches, the rivalry games were bragging rights that felt nice to play against each other, for the ultimate title of best team in Aberdeen. Ultimately it was a decision that was understood with such a different class size. Murphy believed that the dominance of Central caused the excitement to fade away. It didn’t help that it was during the first game of the season in the extreme heat.
Murphy said that the rivalry had run its course. The numbers game that pertained to quality, depth, and having to throw young players up against seniors was no longer worth it, especially since that ran the risk of injuries to key personnel that might affect the entire season.
Aberdeen Central strives against the Roncalli Cavaliers.
Despite this, with the technology of today, Dosch believes that if this rivalry were to be played now, it would have a greater impact with social media making the schools more united than they were when telephones were hard to get. Thanks to sports and social media, more people from the two schools are friends with each other now.
Meanwhile, both managers agreed it would take a lot to bring the rivalry back, and that ship has likely sailed. They say the matchups belong to the past, with the game evolving, schedules shifting, and Central still having a much larger student body than Roncalli’s.
“For the safety of athletes, it would not be a good match because the number of athletes available to each program is so different,” Murphy said. “The SDHSAA sets the football game schedules for all classes. They try to get each school a full eight – or nine-game schedule in their class while trying to maintain existing rivalries. Central plays in Class 11 – AA and plays eight games in that class and goes up to play one Class 11 – AAA opponent to help fill a nine-game schedule. Roncalli can get a full eight-game schedule in their own Class 11 – B category.”
“It’s definitely one of those talks you have when you’re hanging with friends — what if the 1980s Steelers went up against the 1990s Cowboys? But ultimately you can’t really do anything about it because that ship has sailed just like this rivalry that happened 40 years ago now,” explained Dosch.
Whatever it may be, this rivalry football game may no longer light up Friday nights at the Golden Eagle Field, but its legacy still lingers in conversations, photo albums, and fading newspaper clippings. Some say the rivalry should stay in the past as a relic of a different era. Others wonder what it might look like today if the energy, pride, and passion could be reignited in a new generation. The legacy remains etched in Aberdeen’s history; a reminder of how even a high school football game could once unite and divide a town. Could the sparks of an old rivalry ever return, or is it destined to remain just a story passed down?…
View more articles about:
Back- Share
