2023 MN High School Football season


Tuesday Stats


A: 25 games with average margin of 28 pts. per game. 4 one score games (4 1v8 games)
AA: 19 games with average margin of 23 pts. per game. 3 one score games (2 1v8 games)
AAA: 22 games with average margin of 25 pts. per game. 5 one score games (2 1v8 games)

Mostly 4/5 and 3/6 games.
AAAA: 13 games with average margin of 17 pts. per game. 4 one score games. (1 2v7 game)
AAAAA: 13 games with average margin of 23 pts. per game. 1 one score game. (1 2v7 game)

17 one score games out of 92 games.

By the way in 9-Players there were 72-0 and 95-0 scores
 

^^ this is why football is religion in the south. You can be (and more often down there, are) dirt, country poor, couldn’t ever afford to play any “fancy” sports and it doesn’t matter. Just go be a freak on the field and create chaos and mash/maul people. Easier on the defense, but regardless.

You don’t need year round play. In fact, can’t really do that, unlike the other sports. Too hard on your body.

Really not many other sports can compare to that, with a strong exception I think for Rugby. But that has such low participation/interest here that I know very little about how kids come up in that sport. Is it year-round too? Is year-round youth sports a thing outside the US?? Canadian hockey obviously, but Europe? I could see getting thrown into national Olympic development programs perhaps.

Skill players (QB, WR, DB) do play all year. Winter & summer 7x7 leagues are very common in the south.
 




Too many injuries?

the first forfeit was reportedly for low numbers due to injuries. but LSH played the next week after the forfeit.

here's what makes this a little odd:
in Sect 3-AA, LSH went 1-7 this season. their only victory was over Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial 35-7.

so LSH should have been the #7 seed and played #2 seed Redwood Valley, while LCWM should have been the #8 seed and faced #1 seed Jackson County Central in the 1st round. But LSH chose to forfeit out of the section tournament. that meant JCC received a bye, LCWM wound up as the #7 seed and lost to #2 Redwood Valley.

if you want to know why, you're going to have to find someone connected to LSH to explain.
 

the first forfeit was reportedly for low numbers due to injuries. but LSH played the next week after the forfeit.

here's what makes this a little odd:
in Sect 3-AA, LSH went 1-7 this season. their only victory was over Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial 35-7.

so LSH should have been the #7 seed and played #2 seed Redwood Valley, while LCWM should have been the #8 seed and faced #1 seed Jackson County Central in the 1st round. But LSH chose to forfeit out of the section tournament. that meant JCC received a bye, LCWM wound up as the #7 seed and lost to #2 Redwood Valley.

if you want to know why, you're going to have to find someone connected to LSH to explain.
I was just surprised for a school with an enrollment of around 300. Low numbers, lots of injuries and maybe ineligibility maybe.
 





I don't have a scientific or socio-economic explanation for this - and yes, open enrollment has had an impact.

but from my vantage point, it just seems as if some school districts just have better athletes. that's not something you can legislate. some programs just seem to have kids who are bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic.

Yes, coaching matters, off-season work in the weight room matters. having a generally positive attitude about sports matters.

but in the end, if the other team just has better athletes than your team, your team is probably going to lose. and I don't know how to fix that.

***P.S. - personal salute to Windom. went 2-6 this year playing a 1A schedule. 1st game in Section 3-AA playoffs, Windom as the #6 seed beats #3 seed Pipestone. 1st win over Pipestone in 13 years. 1st time Windom has advanced to the next round of the Section since 2015.
I agree with this completely. Some communities just have better genetics than others. I know of some schools around ours that continuously grind out 6'1" to 6'4" kids that are strong, lean and can run like deer, along with the occasional big bodied kid. Heck, their girls' VB front line always has 2 or 3 6'0" girls. Meanwhile, the average height of a graduating boy in our school is approximately 5'9" and girls are about 5'7". I understand that if kids don't work, it doesn't matter how big they are, but that 6'2" boy that is naturally fast can put in a moderate amount of weight room work and still be bigger and faster than that 5'9" boy with little fast twitch muscle fiber no matter how hard they work.
 

As someone that played high school sports against FL, I agree. They were bad at almost everything.
We have horrible football historically but we do well in tons of sports. The past several years we won state in Softball, runner up in Softball twice, baseball runners up, go to state semi regularly in wrestling, skiing, swimming, girls hockey and track. Pretty much just football we suck in year in and year out.
 

We have horrible football historically but we do well in tons of sports. The past several years we won state in Softball, runner up in Softball twice, baseball runners up, go to state semi regularly in wrestling, skiing, swimming, girls hockey and track. Pretty much just football we suck in year in and year out.
5 seed in FB last year at 6-2 and beat 4 seed Eagan last year to advance to round of 16 and losing to State Champ Maple Grove by 30.

This year 5-3 and a 3 Seed hosting Wayzata tonight.

15-6 over 2 years is a nice turnaround for the coach.

Heck they were 9-16 in 2019 to 2021 losing to Hopkins 2 out of those 3 years.

Softball coach has won at every stop of his coaching career.
 

We have horrible football historically but we do well in tons of sports. The past several years we won state in Softball, runner up in Softball twice, baseball runners up, go to state semi regularly in wrestling, skiing, swimming, girls hockey and track. Pretty much just football we suck in year in and year out.
I'm going back to the late 80's and early 90's. FL was bad at pretty much everything but wrestling, maybe.
 



16 games tonight in 6A.

looking at the records, there are no games where both teams have winning records.

the 'best' or closest matchups appear to be:
Mounds View 4-4 vs Prior Lake 4-4
Woodbury 4-4 vs Buffalo 5-3
Minnetonka 6-2 vs Eastview 4-4
Rosemount 4-4 vs Blaine 3-5

the 'worst' matchups on paper:
Eden Prairie 8-0 vs Osseo 0-8
Stillwater 6-2 vs Hopkins 0-8
Lakeville South 7-1 vs Roseville 1-7
Centennial 7-1 vs Burnsville 2-6
Lakeville North 7-1 vs Coon Rapids 2-6
 

looking ahead to Saturday with Section Semi-finals from 9-pl to 5A:

some of the best matchups on paper: 16 gms in each class
(as noted below - 5A only has 3 of 16 gms where both teams have winning records)

9-pl: (13 gms - both teams with winning records)
--- Littlefork-Big Falls 8-1 vs Cherry 8-1
--- LeRoy-Ostrander 8-1 vs Spring Grove 7-2
--- Ogilvie 8-1 vs Cromwell-Wright 7-2

1A: (13 gms - both teams w/winning records)
---Springfield 8-1 vs TMB 8-1
---Fillmore Central 9-0 vs Goodhue 7-2

2A: (7 gms - both teams w/winning records)
---Mesabi East 8-1 vs Moose Lake-Willow River 8-1

3A: (8 gms - both teams w/winning records)
---Dassel-Cokato 7-1 vs Rockford 8-1
--Pequot Lakes 7-1 vs Two Harbors 7-2

4A: (9 gms - both teams w/winning records)
---Becker 8-0 vs Princeton 7-2
--Detroit Lakes 7-1 vs Rocori 6-2

5A: (3 gms - both teams w/winning records)
--- Two Rivers 8-1 vs St. Thomas Academy 6-2
 

16 games tonight in 6A.

looking at the records, there are no games where both teams have winning records.

the 'best' or closest matchups appear to be:
Mounds View 4-4 vs Prior Lake 4-4
Woodbury 4-4 vs Buffalo 5-3
Minnetonka 6-2 vs Eastview 4-4
Rosemount 4-4 vs Blaine 3-5

the 'worst' matchups on paper:
Eden Prairie 8-0 vs Osseo 0-8
Stillwater 6-2 vs Hopkins 0-8
Lakeville South 7-1 vs Roseville 1-7
Centennial 7-1 vs Burnsville 2-6
Lakeville North 7-1 vs Coon Rapids 2-6
I'll be trekking to Rosemount tonight. Both played Shakopee over the last two weeks. Blaine losing 56-52 and Rosemount 35-12, but the match-up is intriguing.

Winner of Blaine/Rosemount gets winner of Woodbury/Buffalo so opportunities for all 4 teams as one of them will make final 8.

Eastview got scheduling relief they will get rolled.
 


If 6A is 32 teams that only play each other and it's all seeded so that best play worst down to middle playing middle ... I don't think you can have a game with two winning records in the first round??

Maybe it is mathematically possible, but unlikely?
 

If 6A is 32 teams that only play each other and it's all seeded so that best play worst down to middle playing middle ... I don't think you can have a game with two winning records in the first round??

Maybe it is mathematically possible, but unlikely?
2 seeds shouldn’t be 4-4. Some sections are tougher. Section 5 took it on the chin outside of Maple Grove and Centennial. 2-6 on the night.

Section 3 was 5-3
Section 4 was 4-4
Section 5 was 2-6
Section 6 was 5-3
 
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6A scores

Centennial 61, Burnsville 6
Prior Lake 17, Mounds View 15 (5 seed over 4 seed)
Rosemount 51, Blaine 7
Woodbury 42, Buffalo 0
Lakeville South 56, Roseville 0
Shakopee 34, Champlin Park 12
East Ridge 35, Anoka 28 (6 seed over 3 seed)
Minnetonka 37, Eastview 6
Eden Prairie 41, Osseo 12
Eagan 45, White Bear Lake 27
Forest Lake 31, Wayzata 7
Lakeville North 28, Coon Rapids 12
Stillwater 56, Hopkins 6
Rochester Mayo 28, St. Michael-Albertville 21 (5 seed over 4 seed)
Edina 42, Farmington 0
Maple Grove 53, Park of Cottage Grove 21
 

I'll be trekking to Rosemount tonight. Both played Shakopee over the last two weeks. Blaine losing 56-52 and Rosemount 35-12, but the match-up is intriguing.

Winner of Blaine/Rosemount gets winner of Woodbury/Buffalo so opportunities for all 4 teams as one of them will make final 8.

Eastview got scheduling relief they will get rolled.
So what did you think of the sequence before the half....one of the craziest 25 seconds of game time I have ever seen.

0:37 seconds left in the half Rosemount throws a 29 yard TD pass

On the ensuing kickoff the wind blows the ball off the tee so another player has to hold the kick. He screws up and holds too tight which results in a 100% unintentional pop up onside kick

Next play Rosemount runs the exact same pass play again and gets another TD with 0:30 left in the half.

Normal kickoff this time

Blaine's first play, they fumble and the Rosemount player that caught both TD passes, scoops up the fumble and scores with 0:17 seconds left in the half.

Rosemount was well in control at that point but those 21 points put the game totally out of reach.
 

So what did you think of the sequence before the half....one of the craziest 25 seconds of game time I have ever seen.

0:37 seconds left in the half Rosemount throws a 29 yard TD pass

On the ensuing kickoff the wind blows the ball off the tee so another player has to hold the kick. He screws up and holds too tight which results in a 100% unintentional pop up onside kick

Next play Rosemount runs the exact same pass play again and gets another TD with 0:30 left in the half.

Normal kickoff this time

Blaine's first play, they fumble and the Rosemount player that caught both TD passes, scoops up the fumble and scores with 0:17 seconds left in the half.

Rosemount was well in control at that point but those 21 points put the game totally out of reach.
Craziest thing I’ve ever seen since last week’s 56-52 loss with 3 lead changes in last minute. I was not surprised by tonight’s outcome.

Teams on schedule that run the ball.

Centennial 45pts
Maple Grove 55 RB 7 TD’s
Shakopee 56
Rosemount 51
 

Honestly, I was happy to see Forest Lake win big. They've been so down for years and while Wayzata was bad this year, it was good to see FL beat up on a big west metro power. Had I gone to the game I'd have sat on the visitor side, since I coach in Wayzata, but I'd have been secretly rooting for my alma mater.
 

just because I don't have anything better to do - all the Semi-Final scores from Saturday.....

9-player:
Sect 1: Kingsland 45, Houston 28 // Spring Grove 27, LeRoy-Ostrander 20
Sect 2: Red Rock Central 20, Renville County West 6 //Cedar Mountain 32, New Ulm Cathedral 14
Sect 3: Hills-Beaver Creek 28, A-C-G-E 0 //Edgerton 56, Mt Lake Area 16
Sect 4: Ottertail Central 52, Hancock 24 //Border West 14, Underwood 6
Sect 5: Nevis 53, Verndale 8 // Ogilvie 44, Cromwell-Wright 14
Sect 6: Fertile-Beltrami 50, Blackduck 18 // Clearbrook-Gonvick 28, Park Christian 6
Sect 7: Mt Iron-Buhl 40, Cook County 0 // Cherry 52, Littlefork-Big Falls 12
Sect 8: Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke 37, Win-E-Mac 12 // Stephen-Argyle 32, Kittson Cty Central 26

1A:
Sect 1: Fillmore Central 24, Goodhue 17 // Kenyon-Wanamingo 22, Bethlehem Academy 18
Sect 2: Mayer Lutheran 42, United South Central 0 // Lester Prairie 22, G-F-W 0
Sect 3: Sleepy Eye United 40, Adrian-Ellsworth 16 // Springfield 50, T-M-B 14
Sect 4: B-B-E 60, A-C-GC 8 // Upsala-Swanville 24, Browerville-Eagle Valley 14
Sect 5: Minneota 39, Canby 6 // BOLD 40, Dawson-Boyd 7
Sect 6: Parkers Prairie 47, Lake Park-Audubon 22 //New York Mills 26, Breckenridge 18
Sect 7: Deer River 34, Chisholm 0 // Braham 43, Mille Lacs 0
Sect 8: Mahnomen-Waubun 11, Polk County West 8 //Ada-Borup 38, Red Lake County 15

2A:
Sect 1: (being played Monday)
Sect 2: Maple River 21, Blue Earth 0 //Triton 40, St. Clair-Loyola 16
Sect 3: Jackson County Central 55, MN Valley Lutheran 13 // Redwood Valley 49, Windom 20
Sect 4: St. Agnes 42, Randolph 6 //Cannon Falls 52, Norwood-Young America 30
Sect 5: Eden Valley-Watkins 52, Royalton 6 //Holdingford 34, Kimball Area 26
Sect 6: Osakis 49, Wadena-Deer Creek 0 //Staples-Motley 24, Pillager 14
Sect 7: Barnum 41, Aitkin 0 // Moose Lake-Willow River 28, Mesabi East 14
Sect 8: Barnesville 48, Frazee 0 // Pelican Rapids 50, Park Rapids 21

3A:
Sect 1: Stewartville 42, Lake City 14 // Rochester Lourdes 38, LaCrescent-Hokah 14
Sect 2: Litchfield 47, Glencoe-Silver Lake 16 // Dassel-Cokato 27, Rockford 14
Sect 3: Fairmont 32, Luverne 0 // Waseca 21, Jordan 7
Sect 4: Mpls North 41, Breck 0 // Holy Family Catholic 35, St. Croix Lutheran 28
Sect 5: Annandale 48, St. Cloud Cathedral 8 // Foley 49, Mora 14
Sect 6: New London-Spicer 48, Sauk Centre 14 // Albany 28, Montevideo 0
Sect 7: Esko 56, Pierz 8 // Pequot Lakes 21, Two Harbors 15 (ot)
Sect 8: D-G-F 21, East Grand Forks 7 // Morris/Chokio-Alberta 32, Perham 8

4A:
Sect 1: Kasson-Mantorville 35, Faribault 0 // Byron 21, Winona 17
Sect 2: Hutchinson 52, New Ulm 14 // Marshall 21, Willmar 7
Sect 3: Hill-Murray 51, St. Paul Johnson 0 // Chisago Lakes 31, Simley 7
Sect 4: St. Anthony Village 13, Mpls Henry 6 // Totino-Grace 46, Fridley 19
Sect 5: Holy Angels 45, DeLaSalle 8 // Benilde-St. Margaret's 65, Mpls South 0
Sect 6: Orono 37, Providence Academy 15 // Delano 31, Mound-Westonka 13
Sect 7: North Branch 28, Grand Rapids 0 // Hermantown 10, Duluth Denfeld 6
Sect 8: Becker 45, Princeton 6 // Rocori 30, Detroit Lakes 28

5A:
Sect 1: Owatonna 33, Rochester John Marshall 7 // Northfield 24, New Prague 21
Sect 2: Chanhassen 36, Waconia 6 // Mankato West 17, Chaska 6
Sect 3: St. Thomas Acad 47, Two Rivers 13 // Bloomington Jefferson 17, Apple Valley 13
Sect 4: Mahtomedi 47, Tartan 14 // Cretin-Derham Hall 49, St. Paul Central 17
Sect 5: Robbinsdale Armstrong 63, St. Louis Park 12 // Robbinsdale Cooper 47, Mpls Washburn 26
Sect 6: Rogers 25, Park Center 0 // Monticello 28, Spring Lake Park 24
Sect 7: Andover 84, Cambridge-Isanti 28 // Elk River 38, Sauk Rapids-Rice 35
Sect 8: Alexandria 33, Bemidji 0 // Brainerd 42, Moorhead 21
 

just because I don't have anything better to do - all the Semi-Final scores from Saturday.....

9-player:
Sect 1: Kingsland 45, Houston 28 // Spring Grove 27, LeRoy-Ostrander 20
Sect 2: Red Rock Central 20, Renville County West 6 //Cedar Mountain 32, New Ulm Cathedral 14
Sect 3: Hills-Beaver Creek 28, A-C-G-E 0 //Edgerton 56, Mt Lake Area 16
Sect 4: Ottertail Central 52, Hancock 24 //Border West 14, Underwood 6
Sect 5: Nevis 53, Verndale 8 // Ogilvie 44, Cromwell-Wright 14
Sect 6: Fertile-Beltrami 50, Blackduck 18 // Clearbrook-Gonvick 28, Park Christian 6
Sect 7: Mt Iron-Buhl 40, Cook County 0 // Cherry 52, Littlefork-Big Falls 12
Sect 8: Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke 37, Win-E-Mac 12 // Stephen-Argyle 32, Kittson Cty Central 26

1A:
Sect 1: Fillmore Central 24, Goodhue 17 // Kenyon-Wanamingo 22, Bethlehem Academy 18
Sect 2: Mayer Lutheran 42, United South Central 0 // Lester Prairie 22, G-F-W 0
Sect 3: Sleepy Eye United 40, Adrian-Ellsworth 16 // Springfield 50, T-M-B 14
Sect 4: B-B-E 60, A-C-GC 8 // Upsala-Swanville 24, Browerville-Eagle Valley 14
Sect 5: Minneota 39, Canby 6 // BOLD 40, Dawson-Boyd 7
Sect 6: Parkers Prairie 47, Lake Park-Audubon 22 //New York Mills 26, Breckenridge 18
Sect 7: Deer River 34, Chisholm 0 // Braham 43, Mille Lacs 0
Sect 8: Mahnomen-Waubun 11, Polk County West 8 //Ada-Borup 38, Red Lake County 15

2A:
Sect 1: (being played Monday)
Sect 2: Maple River 21, Blue Earth 0 //Triton 40, St. Clair-Loyola 16
Sect 3: Jackson County Central 55, MN Valley Lutheran 13 // Redwood Valley 49, Windom 20
Sect 4: St. Agnes 42, Randolph 6 //Cannon Falls 52, Norwood-Young America 30
Sect 5: Eden Valley-Watkins 52, Royalton 6 //Holdingford 34, Kimball Area 26
Sect 6: Osakis 49, Wadena-Deer Creek 0 //Staples-Motley 24, Pillager 14
Sect 7: Barnum 41, Aitkin 0 // Moose Lake-Willow River 28, Mesabi East 14
Sect 8: Barnesville 48, Frazee 0 // Pelican Rapids 50, Park Rapids 21

3A:
Sect 1: Stewartville 42, Lake City 14 // Rochester Lourdes 38, LaCrescent-Hokah 14
Sect 2: Litchfield 47, Glencoe-Silver Lake 16 // Dassel-Cokato 27, Rockford 14
Sect 3: Fairmont 32, Luverne 0 // Waseca 21, Jordan 7
Sect 4: Mpls North 41, Breck 0 // Holy Family Catholic 35, St. Croix Lutheran 28
Sect 5: Annandale 48, St. Cloud Cathedral 8 // Foley 49, Mora 14
Sect 6: New London-Spicer 48, Sauk Centre 14 // Albany 28, Montevideo 0
Sect 7: Esko 56, Pierz 8 // Pequot Lakes 21, Two Harbors 15 (ot)
Sect 8: D-G-F 21, East Grand Forks 7 // Morris/Chokio-Alberta 32, Perham 8

4A:
Sect 1: Kasson-Mantorville 35, Faribault 0 // Byron 21, Winona 17
Sect 2: Hutchinson 52, New Ulm 14 // Marshall 21, Willmar 7
Sect 3: Hill-Murray 51, St. Paul Johnson 0 // Chisago Lakes 31, Simley 7
Sect 4: St. Anthony Village 13, Mpls Henry 6 // Totino-Grace 46, Fridley 19
Sect 5: Holy Angels 45, DeLaSalle 8 // Benilde-St. Margaret's 65, Mpls South 0
Sect 6: Orono 37, Providence Academy 15 // Delano 31, Mound-Westonka 13
Sect 7: North Branch 28, Grand Rapids 0 // Hermantown 10, Duluth Denfeld 6
Sect 8: Becker 45, Princeton 6 // Rocori 30, Detroit Lakes 28

5A:
Sect 1: Owatonna 33, Rochester John Marshall 7 // Northfield 24, New Prague 21
Sect 2: Chanhassen 36, Waconia 6 // Mankato West 17, Chaska 6
Sect 3: St. Thomas Acad 47, Two Rivers 13 // Bloomington Jefferson 17, Apple Valley 13
Sect 4: Mahtomedi 47, Tartan 14 // Cretin-Derham Hall 49, St. Paul Central 17
Sect 5: Robbinsdale Armstrong 63, St. Louis Park 12 // Robbinsdale Cooper 47, Mpls Washburn 26
Sect 6: Rogers 25, Park Center 0 // Monticello 28, Spring Lake Park 24
Sect 7: Andover 84, Cambridge-Isanti 28 // Elk River 38, Sauk Rapids-Rice 35
Sect 8: Alexandria 33, Bemidji 0 // Brainerd 42, Moorhead 21
Robbinsdale derby for the final. Nice
 

Anyone know what 1AA semi-finals are being played tonight? Interesting that they went Wed (last game), Wed (Quarter), Monday (Semi), Friday (Final) for their section.
 

Honestly, I was happy to see Forest Lake win big. They've been so down for years and while Wayzata was bad this year, it was good to see FL beat up on a big west metro power. Had I gone to the game I'd have sat on the visitor side, since I coach in Wayzata, but I'd have been secretly rooting for my alma mater.
When people say that we should change the system to help certain teams, people should point to forest lake and say actually maybe the solution is the program getting their shit together like forest lake did
 

Anyone know what 1AA semi-finals are being played tonight? Interesting that they went Wed (last game), Wed (Quarter), Monday (Semi), Friday (Final) for their section.

the games are Caledonia vs Lewiston-Altura and Chatfield vs Dover-Eyota.

as I understand it, the first-round games last Tuesday were postponed due to bad weather. they played the 1st round games on Wednesday, and didn't want to go Wednesday-Saturday, so they moved the Semis to Monday.

I'm trying to check something out right now. the MSHSL website shows the games on Monday, and an article in the Winona Daily News shows the games on Monday, but the MN ScoreFeed app already has scores posted for the games. So somebody is wrong. (I'm guessing its the app, because it's fan-sourced, so anyone can post scores on there.)
 

the games are Caledonia vs Lewiston-Altura and Chatfield vs Dover-Eyota.

as I understand it, the first-round games last Tuesday were postponed due to bad weather. they played the 1st round games on Wednesday, and didn't want to go Wednesday-Saturday, so they moved the Semis to Monday.

I'm trying to check something out right now. the MSHSL website shows the games on Monday, and an article in the Winona Daily News shows the games on Monday, but the MN ScoreFeed app already has scores posted for the games. So somebody is wrong. (I'm guessing its the app, because it's fan-sourced, so anyone can post scores on there.)
Minnesota-Scores and MSHSL brackets show games tonight.
 

Minnesota-Scores and MSHSL brackets show games tonight.

I contacted someone who helps run the MN ScoreFeed app. they confirmed that someone posted scores before the games were played. the app has been reset, and the individual who posted those scores has been blocked from using the app.

sounds like someone just being stupid. so both games are at 7:00pm tonight, to the best of my knowledge.
 




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