2023 MN High School Football season

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5A and 6A Section Championship Matchups:

5A:

Owatonna (7-2) vs Northfield (6-3)
Chanhassen (9-0) vs Mankato West (8-1)
St Thomas Academy (7-2) vs Bloomington Jefferson (8-1)
Mahtomedi (5-4) vs Cretin Derham Hall (5-5)
Robbinsdale Armstrong (7-2) vs Robbinsdale Cooper (7-2)
Rogers (8-1) vs Monticello (5-4)
Andover (8-1) vs Elk River (4-6)
Alexandria (9-0) vs Brainerd (8-1)

6A

Centennial (8-1) vs Prior Lake (5-4)
Rosemount (5-4) vs Woodbury (5-4)
Lakeville South (8-1) vs Shakopee (6-3)
East Ridge (3-6) vs Minnetonka (7-2)
Eden Prairie (9-0) vs Eagan (4-5)
Forest Lake (6-3) vs Lakeville North (8-1)
Stillwater (7-2) vs Rochester Mayo (4-5)
Edina (6-3) vs Maple Grove (7-2)

Predictions:

Owatonna over Northfield
Mankato West over Chanhassen
St Thomas Academy over Bloomington Jefferson
Cretin over Mahtomedi
Armstrong over Cooper
Rogers over Monticello
Andover over Elk River
Alexandria over Brainerd

Centennial over PL
Rosemount over Woodbury
Lakeville South over Shakopee
Minnetonka over East Ridge
EP over Eagan
Lakeville North over Forest Lake
Stillwater over Mayo
Maple Grove over Edina
 

Maverick_52 said:
5A and 6A Section Championship Matchups:

5A:

Owatonna (7-2) vs Northfield (6-3)
Chanhassen (9-0) vs Mankato West (8-1)
St Thomas Academy (7-2) vs Bloomington Jefferson (8-1)
Mahtomedi (5-4) vs Cretin Derham Hall (5-5)
Robbinsdale Armstrong (7-2) vs Robbinsdale Cooper (7-2)
Rogers (8-1) vs Monticello (5-4)
Andover (8-1) vs Elk River (4-6)
Alexandria (9-0) vs Brainerd (8-1)

6A

Centennial (8-1) vs Prior Lake (5-4)
Rosemount (5-4) vs Woodbury (5-4)
Lakeville South (8-1) vs Shakopee (6-3)
East Ridge (3-6) vs Minnetonka (7-2)
Eden Prairie (9-0) vs Eagan (4-5)
Forest Lake (6-3) vs Lakeville North (8-1)
Stillwater (7-2) vs Rochester Mayo (4-5)
Edina (6-3) vs Maple Grove (7-2)

Predictions:

Owatonna over Northfield
Mankato West over Chanhassen
St Thomas Academy over Bloomington Jefferson
Cretin over Mahtomedi
Armstrong over Cooper
Rogers over Monticello
Andover over Elk River
Alexandria over Brainerd

Centennial over PL
Rosemount over Woodbury
Lakeville South over Shakopee
Minnetonka over East Ridge
EP over Eagan
Lakeville North over Forest Lake
Stillwater over Mayo
Maple Grove over Edina
Click to expand...
Agree with your 6a picks
Chan will beat Mankato
Cretin will lose to Mahtomedi
 

and the last semi-final games are in the books -

Class 2A, sect 1
Caledonia 21, Lewiston-Altura 6 (I used to know a girl from Altura......)
Dover-Eyota 24, Chatfield 22

Rematch in the section finals. Caledonia beat Dover-Eyota 20-13 in the regular season. that was the closest game of the year for Caledonia.
 

looking ahead - a few Section Final games will be played on Thursday:

3A: Sect 7: Esko (9-0) vs Pequot Lakes (8-1)

2A: Sect 7: Barnum (10-0) vs Moose Lake-Willow River (9-1)

1A: Sect 8: Mahnomen-Waubun (9-0) vs Ada-Borup West (8-1)

9P: Sect 4: Ottertail Central (9-0) vs Border West (7-2)
-----Sect 5: Nevis (9-0) vs Ogilvie (9-1)
-----Sect 6: Fertile-Beltrami (10-0) vs Clearbrook-Gonvick (7-3)
-----Sect 8: Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke (8-1) vs Stephen-Argyle (7-3)

all other Section Finals will be played on Friday. I'll toss up the list later this week.
 

I'll take a stab at them:

5A:

Owatonna (7-2) vs Northfield (6-3)
Chanhassen (9-0) vs Mankato West (8-1)
St Thomas Academy (7-2) vs Bloomington Jefferson (8-1)
Mahtomedi (5-4) vs Cretin Derham Hall (5-5)
Robbinsdale Armstrong (7-2) vs Robbinsdale Cooper (7-2)
Rogers (8-1) vs Monticello (5-4)
Andover (8-1) vs Elk River (4-6)
Alexandria (9-0) vs Brainerd (8-1)

6A

Centennial (8-1) vs Prior Lake (5-4)
Rosemount (5-4) vs Woodbury (5-4)
Lakeville South (8-1) vs Shakopee (6-3)
East Ridge (3-6) vs Minnetonka (7-2)
Eden Prairie (9-0) vs Eagan (4-5)
Forest Lake (6-3) vs Lakeville North (8-1)
Stillwater (7-2) vs Rochester Mayo (4-5)
Edina (6-3) vs Maple Grove (7-2)
 


Maverick_52 said:
Predictions:

Owatonna over Northfield
Mankato West over Chanhassen
St Thomas Academy over Bloomington Jefferson
Cretin over Mahtomedi
Armstrong over Cooper
Rogers over Monticello
Andover over Elk River
Alexandria over Brainerd

Centennial over PL
Rosemount over Woodbury
Lakeville South over Shakopee
Minnetonka over East Ridge
EP over Eagan
Lakeville North over Forest Lake
Stillwater over Mayo
Maple Grove over Edina
Click to expand...

Potential upsets I see:
Edina over Maple Grove
Mayo over Stillwater
Prior Lake over Centennial
West over Chanhassen
Elk River over Andover
Brainerd over Alexandria
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Potential upsets I see:
Edina over Maple Grove
Mayo over Stillwater
Prior Lake over Centennial
West over Chanhassen
Elk River over Andover
Brainerd over Alexandria
Click to expand...
Mayo over Stillwater would be a huge one. Their WR Holcomb is a stud.
 
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Wow - found this Very Interesting. HS football officials changed policy on spotting the ball so they don't have to do as many measurements with chain gang. From the Strib:

(Maxy - please chime in on this.....)

What many fans of high school football have noticed this fall is confirmed: Measurements for a first down, usually common, aren't common anymore.

Turns out there's something going on with the way officials are spotting the ball, and that keeps the chain gang, the crew that trots onto the field to measure whether a team has made a first down, on the sideline.

Game officials are following advice that's gone national, and it will continue to play out Friday, when playoffs go on in all seven classes of Minnesota football.

"It's not a directive, but it's been asked of officials in amateur football across the country: Spot the ball on the closest big line," said Jason Nickleby, the Minnesota State High School League's coordinator of officiating services. "Spotting the ball can be challenging. I don't know how many people have eyesight good enough to know every time exactly where the ball was when a shoulder or a knee touched the ground. So this just makes it easier on everybody."

Nickleby emphasized that there is one notable exception: When the ball is inside the 5-yard-line, whether a team is operating in the shadow of its own goalposts or nearing the opposing goal, the ball is spotted "where it lies."

"It's too important in those areas," he said. "When it gets down close to the goal line, we want the spot to be exact."

But elsewhere the ball is placed on a marked yard line, where it's easy to see whether it's past the line to gain. Games move along quicker when there are fewer stoppages of play for measurements, and there's the hope that the adjustment will take pressure off officials. Easing responsibilities on game officials holds added importance because of the well-documented shortage of officials across amateur sports.
 

Tony D'Amato's "The Inches we Need are EVERYWHERE!" speech only applies within the 5 yard line....
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Wow - found this Very Interesting. HS football officials changed policy on spotting the ball so they don't have to do as many measurements with chain gang. From the Strib:

(Maxy - please chime in on this.....)

What many fans of high school football have noticed this fall is confirmed: Measurements for a first down, usually common, aren't common anymore.

Turns out there's something going on with the way officials are spotting the ball, and that keeps the chain gang, the crew that trots onto the field to measure whether a team has made a first down, on the sideline.

Game officials are following advice that's gone national, and it will continue to play out Friday, when playoffs go on in all seven classes of Minnesota football.

"It's not a directive, but it's been asked of officials in amateur football across the country: Spot the ball on the closest big line," said Jason Nickleby, the Minnesota State High School League's coordinator of officiating services. "Spotting the ball can be challenging. I don't know how many people have eyesight good enough to know every time exactly where the ball was when a shoulder or a knee touched the ground. So this just makes it easier on everybody."

Nickleby emphasized that there is one notable exception: When the ball is inside the 5-yard-line, whether a team is operating in the shadow of its own goalposts or nearing the opposing goal, the ball is spotted "where it lies."

"It's too important in those areas," he said. "When it gets down close to the goal line, we want the spot to be exact."

But elsewhere the ball is placed on a marked yard line, where it's easy to see whether it's past the line to gain. Games move along quicker when there are fewer stoppages of play for measurements, and there's the hope that the adjustment will take pressure off officials. Easing responsibilities on game officials holds added importance because of the well-documented shortage of officials across amateur sports.
Click to expand...
This is very misleading. This is for 1st downs and change of possessions. It has been the practice for more than 10 years. This is nothing new.

"Big line" is misleading. It means to put it on the closest yard hash mark, on the field and not on the solid line every 5 yards. If you have a 1st down at the 26.5, the umpire will put it on the 27 or 26 and start the new 1st and 10 at that spot. We assume that fields are perfectly marked and know that the 1st down will be the 37 or 36 and no need to ever measure.

This stuff all trickles down from NFL and NCAA
 

The widespread use of artificial turf fields, which always have hash marks at every yard line, helps this. In smaller areas with grass fields you might not always see those marks.
 



maybe it's just the tone of the article - but to me, it came off as if

"ya know, it's just too tough to see exactly where the ball should be spotted, so we'll just put it at the next yard line. It's easier that way."

and saying that goal line situations have to be exact, but a play at the 40-yard line doesn't have to be exact? that just seems odd to me.

Maxy - I know being an official is difficult, and I know officials are humans - not robots.

I guess what I'm saying is - if this is going to be the policy, then write it into the rule book and make it official. rules are rules - not suggestions.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and saying that goal line situations have to be exact, but a play at the 40-yard line doesn't have to be exact? that just seems odd to me.
Click to expand...
If a kid returns a punt to the 37-1/2 yard line, there is zero impact on the game for the spotting official to start the 1st and 10 at the 37 or 38 to assist in the flow of the game. It helps officials and is a tactic that has been used for some time. As the ball gets into the red zone, inches and feet matter more so you spot it accordingly. Also if the game is a close one.

Much ado about nothing
 

short ornery norwegian said:
maybe it's just the tone of the article - but to me, it came off as if

"ya know, it's just too tough to see exactly where the ball should be spotted, so we'll just put it at the next yard line. It's easier that way."

and saying that goal line situations have to be exact, but a play at the 40-yard line doesn't have to be exact? that just seems odd to me.

Maxy - I know being an official is difficult, and I know officials are humans - not robots.

I guess what I'm saying is - if this is going to be the policy, then write it into the rule book and make it official. rules are rules - not suggestions.
Click to expand...
The article seems like it was written off of, out of context, quotes from another article.

It's not a policy. It's the mechanics of officiating.

It's not the philosophy when it's close to the first down. If the chains are properly set on 1st down and you know the mark that needs to be broken for a 1st down, you can spot exactly the spot and still not measure.

Sample Drive:

Punt or Kick return to the 21 1/2. No one cares about the spot on this play. Officials are watching for illegal activity. Ball is spotted at the 22 after the play.

1st and 10 on the 22. The ball is set on the back on the hash of the 22. We now know that the ball needs to break the back of the hash of the 32 to be a 1st down.

1st down run to the 24 1/3 mark. Umpire is likely going to put it on the 24 with the back of the ball touching the 24. This is a reference for where to mark penalty from or come back to on an incomplete pass.

2nd down. off-sides on defense. We were on the front of the 24, so we are going to the front of the 29.

2nd down and 3 to go. Run to the 31 1/2, Spot right at the spot.

3rd down and 1/2 yard to go. Run and spot breaks the 32. Next play is 1st and 10 with the front of the ball on the back side of the 32, knowing the 42 is line to gain.

We really could officiate with only the down box. The chains are for the fans and coaches to see distances to go.
 

back to the games: Section Football Finals scheduled for Friday, Nov 3

9-pl:
Sect 1: Kingsland 10-0 vs Spring Grove 8-2
Sect 2: Red Rock Central 5-3 vs Cedar Mountain 6-3
Sect 3: Hills-Beaver Creek 8-0 vs Edgerton 8-1
Sect 7: Mt Iron Buhl 10-0 vs Cherry 9-1

1A:
Sect 1: Fillmore Central 10-0 vs Kenyon-Wanamingo 8-2
Sect 2: Mayer Lutheran 7-2 vs Lester Prairie 7-2
Sect 3: Sleepy Eye United 8-2 vs Springfield 9-1
Sect 4: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 9-0 vs Upsala-Swanville 8-1
Sect 5: Minneota 10-0 vs BOLD 9-1
Sect 6: Parkers Prairie 8-2 vs New York Mills 4-6
Sect 7: Deer River 7-2 vs Braham 8-2

2A:
Sect 1: Caledonia 9-0 vs Dover-Eyota 6-3
Sect 2: Maple River 8-1 vs Triton 5-5
Sect 3: Jackson County Central 9-0 vs Redwood Valley 7-3
Sect 4: St. Agnes 9-0 vs Cannon Falls 8-2
Sect 5: Eden Valley-Watkins 9-0 vs Holdingford 7-3
Sect 6: Oskakis 8-1 vs Staples-Motley 8-1
Sect 8: Barnesville 10-0 vs Pelican Rapids 9-1

3A:
Sect 1: Stewartville 10-0 vs Rochester Lourdes 8-2
Sect 2: Litchfield 8-1 vs Dassel-Cokato 8-1
Sect 3: Fairmont 9-1 vs Waseca 8-2
Sect 4: Minneapolis North 8-1 vs Holy Family Catholic 7-3
Sect 5: Annandale 9-0 vs Foley 6-4
Sect 6: New London-Spicer 6-3 vs Albany 7-2
Sect 8: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 8-1 vs Morris/Chokio-Alberta 7-3

4A:
Sect 1: Kasson-Mantorville 8-1 vs Byron 8-1
Sect 2: Hutchinson 7-2 vs Marshall 7-2
Sect 3: Hill-Murray 7-2 vs Chisago Lakes 8-2
Sect 4: Totino-Grace 6-3 vs St. Anthony Village 4-6
Sect 5: Holy Angels 4-5 vs Benilde-St. Margaret's 4-6
Sect 6: Orono 8-1 vs Delano 6-4
Sect 7: North Branch 8-1 vs Hermantown 7-3
Sect 8: Becker 9-0 vs Rocori 7-2

5A:
Sect 1: Owatonna 7-2 vs Northfield 5-3
Sect 2: Chanhassen 9-0 vs Mankato West 8-1
Sect 3: St. Thomas Academy 7-2 vs Bloomington Jefferson 8-1
Sect 4: Mahtomedi 5-4 vs Cretin-Derham Hall 5-5
Sect 5: Robbinsdale Armstrong 7-2 vs Robbinsdale Cooper 7-2
Sect 6: Rogers 8-1 vs Monticello 5-4
Sect 7: Andover 8-1 vs Elk River 4-6
Sect 8: Alexandria 9-0 vs Brainerd 8-1

6A: (2nd round - winners advance to State Quarterfinals)
Centennial 8-1 vs Prior Lake 5-4
Rosemount 5-4 vs Woodbury 5-4
Lakeville South 8-1 vs Shakopee 6-3
East Ridge 3-6 vs Minnetonka 7-2
Eden Prairie 9-0 vs Eagan 4-5
Forest Lake 6-3 vs Lakeville North 8-1
Stillwater 7-2 vs Rochester Mayo 4-5
Edina 6-3 vs Maple Grove 7-2

-----
49 games - 98 teams - 17 undefeated teams - 2 teams w/ .500 records - 7 teams with losing records

scores to be posted late Friday night - or Saturday morning if I forgot....
 

These are the biggest games with the closest proximity to each other at the Section level. The games these kids will remember forever and big Rivals at the smaller levels.

So many schools less than 15 miles apart.

7 miles Kasson to Byron

Litchfield and Dassel Cokato combined in Wrestling and Hockey.
 

fatgopher said:
If a kid returns a punt to the 37-1/2 yard line, there is zero impact on the game for the spotting official to start the 1st and 10 at the 37 or 38 to assist in the flow of the game. It helps officials and is a tactic that has been used for some time. As the ball gets into the red zone, inches and feet matter more so you spot it accordingly. Also if the game is a close one.

Much ado about nothing
Click to expand...
Yeah....this is nothing new and makes a ton of sense when we are talking about such a small difference in the field position. It is especially noticeable after kicks when the ball is almost always spotted right on a major yard line or hashmark as opposed to in-between one.

I'm all for fewer stoppages for measurements in high school football. And thinking back on the whole season worth of Rosemount games I have attended this year I can't recall a single time where there was a measurement for a first down this season.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yeah....this is nothing new and makes a ton of sense when we are talking about such a small difference in the field position. It is especially noticeable after kicks when the ball is almost always spotted right on a major yard line or hashmark as opposed to in-between one.

I'm all for fewer stoppages for measurements in high school football. And thinking back on the whole season worth of Rosemount games I have attended this year I can't recall a single time where there was a measurement for a first down this season.
Click to expand...
If you have to measure on a turf field, it's bad officiating.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
back to the games: Section Football Finals scheduled for Friday, Nov 3

9-pl:
Sect 1: Kingsland 10-0 vs Spring Grove 8-2
Sect 2: Red Rock Central 5-3 vs Cedar Mountain 6-3
Sect 3: Hills-Beaver Creek 8-0 vs Edgerton 8-1
Sect 7: Mt Iron Buhl 10-0 vs Cherry 9-1

1A:
Sect 1: Fillmore Central 10-0 vs Kenyon-Wanamingo 8-2
Sect 2: Mayer Lutheran 7-2 vs Lester Prairie 7-2
Sect 3: Sleepy Eye United 8-2 vs Springfield 9-1
Sect 4: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 9-0 vs Upsala-Swanville 8-1
Sect 5: Minneota 10-0 vs BOLD 9-1
Sect 6: Parkers Prairie 8-2 vs New York Mills 4-6
Sect 7: Deer River 7-2 vs Braham 8-2

2A:
Sect 1: Caledonia 9-0 vs Dover-Eyota 6-3
Sect 2: Maple River 8-1 vs Triton 5-5
Sect 3: Jackson County Central 9-0 vs Redwood Valley 7-3
Sect 4: St. Agnes 9-0 vs Cannon Falls 8-2
Sect 5: Eden Valley-Watkins 9-0 vs Holdingford 7-3
Sect 6: Oskakis 8-1 vs Staples-Motley 8-1
Sect 8: Barnesville 10-0 vs Pelican Rapids 9-1

3A:
Sect 1: Stewartville 10-0 vs Rochester Lourdes 8-2
Sect 2: Litchfield 8-1 vs Dassel-Cokato 8-1
Sect 3: Fairmont 9-1 vs Waseca 8-2
Sect 4: Minneapolis North 8-1 vs Holy Family Catholic 7-3
Sect 5: Annandale 9-0 vs Foley 6-4
Sect 6: New London-Spicer 6-3 vs Albany 7-2
Sect 8: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 8-1 vs Morris/Chokio-Alberta 7-3

4A:
Sect 1: Kasson-Mantorville 8-1 vs Byron 8-1
Sect 2: Hutchinson 7-2 vs Marshall 7-2
Sect 3: Hill-Murray 7-2 vs Chisago Lakes 8-2
Sect 4: Totino-Grace 6-3 vs St. Anthony Village 4-6
Sect 5: Holy Angels 4-5 vs Benilde-St. Margaret's 4-6
Sect 6: Orono 8-1 vs Delano 6-4
Sect 7: North Branch 8-1 vs Hermantown 7-3
Sect 8: Becker 9-0 vs Rocori 7-2

5A:
Sect 1: Owatonna 7-2 vs Northfield 5-3
Sect 2: Chanhassen 9-0 vs Mankato West 8-1
Sect 3: St. Thomas Academy 7-2 vs Bloomington Jefferson 8-1
Sect 4: Mahtomedi 5-4 vs Cretin-Derham Hall 5-5
Sect 5: Robbinsdale Armstrong 7-2 vs Robbinsdale Cooper 7-2
Sect 6: Rogers 8-1 vs Monticello 5-4
Sect 7: Andover 8-1 vs Elk River 4-6
Sect 8: Alexandria 9-0 vs Brainerd 8-1

6A: (2nd round - winners advance to State Quarterfinals)
Centennial 8-1 vs Prior Lake 5-4
Rosemount 5-4 vs Woodbury 5-4
Lakeville South 8-1 vs Shakopee 6-3
East Ridge 3-6 vs Minnetonka 7-2
Eden Prairie 9-0 vs Eagan 4-5
Forest Lake 6-3 vs Lakeville North 8-1
Stillwater 7-2 vs Rochester Mayo 4-5
Edina 6-3 vs Maple Grove 7-2

-----
49 games - 98 teams - 17 undefeated teams - 2 teams w/ .500 records - 7 teams with losing records

scores to be posted late Friday night - or Saturday morning if I forgot....
Click to expand...
Go Lourdes!
 

MaxyJR1 said:
These are the biggest games with the closest proximity to each other at the Section level. The games these kids will remember forever and big Rivals at the smaller levels.

So many schools less than 15 miles apart.

7 miles Kasson to Byron

Litchfield and Dassel Cokato combined in Wrestling and Hockey.
Click to expand...
Rochester to Stewartville about the same. So many rivalries.
 

and we have our first HS FB Section Champs:

9-pl:
Sect 4: Ottertail Central 34, Border West 12
Sect 5: Nevis 38, Ogilvie 0
Sect 6: Fertile-Beltrami 52, Clearbrook-Gonvick 20
Sect 8: Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke 34, Stephen-Argyle 6

1A:
Sect 8: Mahnomen-Waubun 16, Ada-Borup West 14 (Game-winning FG with about 0:15 left in gm)

2A:
Sect 7: Moose Lake-Willow River 13, Barnum 0

3A:
Sect 7: Esko 34, Pequot Lakes 14
 

Any score updates or places to watch games online?
 


Mn ScoreFeed app has all the scores and it shows which games are online live.
 


In the 2AAA game, Dassel-Cokato went 6-6 on fourth downs while stoping Litchfield on both of their fourth downs, including Litchfield's last drive. That was the difference.
 


Centennial vs Rosemount
L South vs East ridge
Eden prairie vs lakeville north (my top 2 teams personally)
Edina vs Stillwater
 

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