2024 MN High School Football thread

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swede2 said:
MVL doesn't recruit outside of its churches and association elementary schools. There are quite a few Mankato area association churches, including ELS churches (Bethany Lutheran College is the ELS's college and seminary), and churches as far away as Redwood Falls, St. James and Arlington. 25 years ago attendance was about 300. In between, enrollment decreased to as low as 200 but has been trending up over the last decade and is projected to grow to 300 in the next few years.
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My cousin's daughters all attend MVL. I think the family switched from ELCA to WELS a few years ago. Not sure why - I don't discuss religion with my family at all.
 

disco said:
My cousin's daughters all attend MVL. I think the family switched from ELCA to WELS a few years ago. Not sure why - I don't discuss religion with my family at all.
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I'm pretty sure I know why. This isn't the place, but I could go on a WELS rant for you in the right time and place.

Pretty good policy to not talk religion with family. In my case, that extends to politics as well. We have a sort of Korean style demilitarized zone when it comes to politics and it blows up in a bloody mess anytime someone steps their toes into that zone. I'm so good at avoiding it that I know better than to even talk about something non-political that is within two steps of involving politics. Like... any comment about gas prices regardless if they are going up or down.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
looking ahead - the MSHSL is starting the process to develop new Section assignments and District Football placements for the 2025-26 and 2026027 school years.

--in October, the State Dep't of Education will receive Fall student enrollment reports.
--in January, deadline for applications for new pairing agreements, and deadline for schools to opt-up.
--February, classification levels will be set.
--March, appeals will be heard on schools seeking a different classification.
--April, proposed Section assignments reviewed. Football placement committee meets
--April 3, 2025: MSHSL Board approves new Section assignments
--May, football placement committee makes final recommendations
--June 3, 2025: MSHSL Board approves District Football placements.

(June 4th - AD's begin drinking heavily as they scramble to figure out Football schedules for a new season that starts in less than 3 months.)
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I agree on everything except the above ^^
It will be all done across the record likely by March or April like it was in 2023 spring
short ornery norwegian said:
FWIW - on the MSHSL enrollment list (adjusted for free & reduced price lunch) - MVL is at 211 for the current cycle. note the cutoff for football below.

Football 6A 1630 and above
Football 5A 1017-1629
Football 4A 598-1016
Football 3A 313-597
Football 2A 211-312
Football A 151-210
Football 9-PLAYER 150 and below
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Shakopee is at Wayzata tonight as well. I assume it has to do with availability of officials?
 


I’m at the Edina/Minnetonka game. I don’t have a dog in this fight but I am a sucker for big game atmospheres. Edina outclassed Tonka for most of the first half but the Skippers with a nice drive right before halftime. 21-7 at half, Edina.
 



Schnauzer said:
I’m at the Edina/Minnetonka game. I don’t have a dog in this fight but I am a sucker for big game atmospheres. Edina outclassed Tonka for most of the first half but the Skippers with a nice drive right before halftime. 21-7 at half, Edina.
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Turning into quite a game
 


Minnetonka with the HUGE comeback for the most unlikely of victories. Their O line should get the game ball. Slowly but surely took over the game.

Visually, Edina looks like a college team. Lots of Minnetonka guys look like sawed off munchkins but they clearly know how to play the game. Gritty.
 

Some guy said:
I agree on everything except the above ^^
It will be all done across the record likely by March or April like it was in 2023 spring
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I took those dates right off the MSHSL website.

sure, teams might have some advance notice on which district they might be placed into - but the sub-districts don't get set until the districts have all been approved. that is done by the district committee. so - at least officially - schedules cannot be set until the districts and sub-districts are approved - and that will not happen until June.
 




short ornery norwegian said:
I took those dates right off the MSHSL website.

sure, teams might have some advance notice on which district they might be placed into - but the sub-districts don't get set until the districts have all been approved. that is done by the district committee. so - at least officially - schedules cannot be set until the districts and sub-districts are approved - and that will not happen until June.
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That’s literally what I said
But last cycle everyone knew unofficially by late spring
 

I still wonder with the move to free lunch for all students, what this will do to reporting for free/reduced as it pertains to MSHSL enrollment numbers. I know it's been said that it will still somehow be reported, but I can't help but think it won't be accurate.
 

disco said:
I still wonder with the move to free lunch for all students, what this will do to reporting for free/reduced as it pertains to MSHSL enrollment numbers. I know it's been said that it will still somehow be reported, but I can't help but think it won't be accurate.
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Although I appreciate some good skepticism, this data relates to funding for schools. It's reported accurately for many reasons above and beyond athletics.
 

Schnauzer said:
Minnetonka with the HUGE comeback for the most unlikely of victories. Their O line should get the game ball. Slowly but surely took over the game.

Visually, Edina looks like a college team. Lots of Minnetonka guys look like sawed off munchkins but they clearly know how to play the game. Gritty.
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Crazy game. Edina up 21-7 at half and received 2nd half kickoff. Tonka had their best defensive stand up to that point and almost had QB sacked on 3rd down and he broke free and flipped a ~65 yard TD pass to a receiver who got behind the secondary. 28-7 and should have been the kill shot. Hats off to the Minnetonka kids for grinding back and capitalizing on opportunities. 35-28 Tonka final.
 

disco said:
I still wonder with the move to free lunch for all students, what this will do to reporting for free/reduced as it pertains to MSHSL enrollment numbers. I know it's been said that it will still somehow be reported, but I can't help but think it won't be accurate.
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this is an issue. (I got this directly from a school Superintendent). In order to know whether a family qualifies for the free & reduced price status, the family has to fill out an application. that's the only way the district can know for sure whether the family meets the income guidelines.

in the past, families had an incentive to fill out the paperwork because it was required in order to receive the F&R lunch. But now that all lunch is free, families don't have the same incentive to fill out the paperwork, and superintendents are worried that the numbers will be under-reported. especially because the F&R population can often have a language barrier.

and that matters because the F&R numbers are also used in filing a number of reports with state and federal officials - and those reports are used as the basis for grants and funding for a variety of programs.

so yes, this is something that schools are very concerned about and they are making a concerted effort to make sure that all district families fill out the paperwork, even though it does not directly correlate to the lunch program anymore.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
this is an issue. (I got this directly from a school Superintendent). In order to know whether a family qualifies for the free & reduced price status, the family has to fill out an application. that's the only way the district can know for sure whether the family meets the income guidelines.

in the past, families had an incentive to fill out the paperwork because it was required in order to receive the F&R lunch. But now that all lunch is free, families don't have the same incentive to fill out the paperwork, and superintendents are worried that the numbers will be under-reported. especially because the F&R population can often have a language barrier.

and that matters because the F&R numbers are also used in filing a number of reports with state and federal officials - and those reports are used as the basis for grants and funding for a variety of programs.

so yes, this is something that schools are very concerned about and they are making a concerted effort to make sure that all district families fill out the paperwork, even though it does not directly correlate to the lunch program anymore.
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Actually, now most family that qualify are what's called "direct certs". The school gets information from the state and those students are immediately qualified for the program. I haven't asked what information that the state uses, but last year our student body was immediately at 35% free/reduced without a single form coming in. Now some still fill it in later to qualify so we hit 45% as a district.
 

prespsguy said:
Although I appreciate some good skepticism, this data relates to funding for schools. It's reported accurately for many reasons above and beyond athletics.
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The reporting by the school isn't the issue - it's parents bothering to "apply" when there is no personal incentive. The admin at our school has implored parents on this point.
 

swede2 said:
The reporting by the school isn't the issue - it's parents bothering to "apply" when there is no personal incentive. The admin at our school has implored parents on this point.
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yeah. in my local district, they put out a school newsletter in English and Spanish, and there was a big multi-page spread asking people to fill out the paperwork.

the English version: (abridged)

Filling out the application for Educational Benefits is still important. Your children may qualify for other benefits like reduced fees at school. your application may also help the school qualify for education funds, discounts, and other meal programs.

Children in households participating in SNAP, the MN Family investment program, food distribution program on Indian reservations, and foster, homeless and migrant children qualify without reporting household income. Children in households participating in WIC or Medical assistance do not automatically qualify. Children may be eligible depending on other household financial information. Please fill out an application.

so, like Gopherwatcher said, some kids are reported by the state because the families participate in certain programs, but there are other situations where the family still needs to fill out the application. and a difference of just a few percent can make a big difference in whether the district qualifies for some of these assistance programs.
 

Curious to know what the Minnetonka community/parents think of Coach Esch and the way he runs the football program. I know Dave Nelson was pretty beloved. Not that the program was in a bad spot, but I thought they had a couple tough seasons before Esch took over.
 

swede2 said:
The reporting by the school isn't the issue - it's parents bothering to "apply" when there is no personal incentive. The admin at our school has implored parents on this point.
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My mother in law is a retired teacher. She said that some districts are using free school supplies as an incentive, at least at the grade school level.

Note - I have no way of knowing if this is true. She says some weird stuff at times.
 

Maverick_52 said:
Curious to know what the Minnetonka community/parents think of Coach Esch and the way he runs the football program. I know Dave Nelson was pretty beloved. Not that the program was in a bad spot, but I thought they had a couple tough seasons before Esch took over.
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Nelson was a class act (and still is). It is said he stayed on longer than planned with some of those down years so as to set the new coach up with more horses in the stable.

Esch is not Nelson from the standpoint of community involvement/visibility, but it is hard to argue with his past successes as a coach. Time will tell at Minnetonka.
 

OK, back to Football - games of note tonight in SW MN: not many good matchups

A: Minneota (#1 in AP poll) vs BOLD (#3 in AP poll)

3A: Waseca (#10 in 3A) at Marshall (#5 in 4A)

going statewide - a few to watch. big game in 2A and a couple big games in 4A

9-man: Kittson County Central (2-0) at Fosston (2-0)
----Cromwell-Wright (2-0) at Bertha-Hewitt (2-0)

A: Deer River (2-0) at Barnum (2-0)
---Blooming Prairie (2-0) at Wabasha-Kellogg (2-0)
---Ada-Borup (2-0) at #4 Mahnomen-Waubun (2-0)
---KMS (2-0) at (#7) Browerville-Eagle Valley (2-0) *KMS is a 2A team

2A: International Falls (2-0) at Mesabi East (2-0)
---Pelican Rapids (2-0) at #2 Barnesville (2-0)
---Deer River (2-0) at Barnum (2-0)
---Kimball Area (2-0) at Paynesville (2-0)
---#10 WEM (2-0) at Lester Prairie (2-0)
--- #1 Caledonia (2-0) at #6 Chatfield (2-0)

3A: #6 Pequot Lakes (2-0) at Two Harbors (2-0)
---#8 St. Croix Lutheran (2-0) at #5 Holy Family Catholic (2-0)

4A: Fergus Falls (2-0) at #6 Detroit Lakes (2-0)
---#4 Totino-Grace (2-0) at #1 Hutchinson (2-0)
---#2 Becker (2-0) at #9 Holy Angels (2-0)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
this is an issue. (I got this directly from a school Superintendent). In order to know whether a family qualifies for the free & reduced price status, the family has to fill out an application. that's the only way the district can know for sure whether the family meets the income guidelines.

in the past, families had an incentive to fill out the paperwork because it was required in order to receive the F&R lunch. But now that all lunch is free, families don't have the same incentive to fill out the paperwork, and superintendents are worried that the numbers will be under-reported. especially because the F&R population can often have a language barrier.

and that matters because the F&R numbers are also used in filing a number of reports with state and federal officials - and those reports are used as the basis for grants and funding for a variety of programs.

so yes, this is something that schools are very concerned about and they are making a concerted effort to make sure that all district families fill out the paperwork, even though it does not directly correlate to the lunch program anymore.
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Everyone is bringing up good information and exposing my lack of deeper knowledge on the issue. I am reaching out to my higher ups for more info.
 

fatgopher said:
Nelson was a class act (and still is). It is said he stayed on longer than planned with some of those down years so as to set the new coach up with more horses in the stable.

Esch is not Nelson from the standpoint of community involvement/visibility, but it is hard to argue with his past successes as a coach. Time will tell at Minnetonka.
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Dave Nelson is a great human being!
 

fatgopher said:
Crazy game. Edina up 21-7 at half and received 2nd half kickoff. Tonka had their best defensive stand up to that point and almost had QB sacked on 3rd down and he broke free and flipped a ~65 yard TD pass to a receiver who got behind the secondary. 28-7 and should have been the kill shot. Hats off to the Minnetonka kids for grinding back and capitalizing on opportunities. 35-28 Tonka final.
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Pretty surprising result to me after seeing Edina last week. Not as much that Tonka came on to score some points, but that Edina stopped scoring after coming out with 28.
 

FireDaveLee said:
Pretty surprising result to me after seeing Edina last week. Not as much that Tonka came on to score some points, but that Edina stopped scoring after coming out with 28.
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You and me both. My middle schooler and I agreed to leave after Tonka's first offensive possession and when Edina hit that long pass to go up 28-7, he looked at me and said "let's go." 🤣
 

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