2024 MN High School Football thread

[MaxyJR1]

6A:
(left side of bracket)
Minnetonka vs Blaine - Thurs 6pm Osseo HS
Lakeville North vs Anoka - Fri 7pm Farmington HS

(right side of bracket)
Maple Grove vs Edina - Thurs 7pm Park Center HS
Mounds View vs Shakopee - Fri 7pm Spring Lake Park HS

Minnetonka
Anoka (Game at Farmington so a bit of a closer to home advantage here for Lakeville N.)
Maple Grove
Shakopee. (Mounds View with the 5 minute commute but I don't think it matters.)

If Blaine were to pull off the upset and Anoka, MG, and Shakopee advance, it would be Blaine and the 3 losses they have in the final 4.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Several Big 9 schools still play on natural grass in addition to Mankato East & West:

Northfield
Faribault
Rochester Century
Rochester John Marshall

I'm not sure about Austin, Albert Lea & Red Wing because they are no longer in the same district, but all had grass the last time I was at each.

I think the only 2 with artificial turf are Mayo & Owatonna, and the Huskies new stadium is only 1 year old.

EDIT Update - Albert Lea, Austin & Winona (Paul Giel Field) have artificial turf to go along with Mayo and Owatonna (new stadium 1 year ago), just from some internet research, so about 50-50 from the Big 9 (5 of 12). Red Wing looks like still grass.

Austin has two turfed fields

 

[Ranger692]

I don't know how Mankato doesn't have a turf field. The fact that JWP with an enrollment of 211 has one and East or West doesn't is pretty bad. Almost every other school in the Big 9 has had a turf field for 10 plus years it seems like.

Mankato may not have turf but Marshall does so there options for the SW part of MN. Minneota and Bold played section 5A championship there

 

[fatgopher]

Mankato may not have turf but Marshall does so there options for the SW part of MN. Minneota and Bold played section 5A championship there

IMHO Minneota/BOLD section final was the de facto Class A championship game. Hoping someone proves me wrong.

 

[Ranger692]

IMHO Minneota/BOLD section final was the de facto Class A championship game. Hoping someone proves me wrong.

Very well could be. Minneota is in that class of teams that win games when other schools look at the schedule... Kids look at games as an automatic loss. Bold is one of the only teams that looks at Minneota and is not scared to lace them up. If someone goes and plays a great game and gets a favorable bounce they can beat them. BUT it takes a group of kids that truly believes they can do it

Barnseville is in that same category. Many of the smaller schools have been in that spot in the past. Ottertail Central comes to mind as well in the early 2000s

 

[fatgopher]

Very well could be. Minneota is in that class of teams that win games when other schools look at the schedule... Kids look at games as an automatic loss. Bold is one of the only teams that looks at Minneota and is not scared to lace them up. If someone goes and plays a great game and gets a favorable bounce they can beat them. BUT it takes a group of kids that truly believes they can do it

Barnseville is in that same category. Many of the smaller schools have been in that spot in the past. Ottertail Central comes to mind as well in the early 2000s

Barnesville and OTC are in the Minneota category or the types of teams to step up to the Goliath of their class?

 

[Ranger692]

Barnesville and OTC are in the Minneota category or the types of teams to step up to the Goliath of their class?

Barnseville currently and Caledonia, OTC years ago had teams beat before they got off the bus, That's where Minneota is also currently there. I don't want to try take anything away from those programs, I just think that kids enter those games not feeling they can come out with a win 99% of the time

 

[fatgopher]

Barnseville currently and Caledonia, OTC years ago had teams beat before they got off the bus, That's where Minneota is also currently there. I don't want to try take anything away from those programs, I just think that kids enter those games not feeling they can come out with a win 99% of the time

OTC has never won a state championship (unless you apply a big * to Battle Lake back in the 70s). Not nit-picking, but I am nit-picking. They are a couple rungs down the ladder but had great runs with Don Seipkes.

Caledonia (five straight AA Championships somewhat recently and ten since 2007) and Minneota with similar success are a level above Barnesville based on how often Barnesville has been runner-up, but Barnesville finally got the monkey off the back a couple years ago. Brad Strand has a great program up there.

 

[Some guy]

Again I think most teams, schools, coaches, family members don't care as much about the travel as they do the dates. 4 hour drives on Thursdays aren't the chore they are on Fridays.

Some of it could have been solved by not setting dates at sites months in advance but telling host schools that your game could be Thursday, Friday or Saturday depending on travel. If 2 schools are within an hour a Thursday game isn't nearly as bad as 3+ hour drive on a Friday or Saturday. I routinely drive 4 hours on Saturday to watch my son play college ball. Move that to Thursday and now I have a nightmare to deal with as far as the rest of my life goes.

MSHSL has to remember not all coaches are normal members of the school districts staff. MANY of our coaches in MN have Jobs that are outside of the district and have to deal with these oddities in scheduling... Just playing more of these games on Fridays cleans up a ton of extra nonsense

Coaches who aren’t coaches becoming more and more common make some things ridiculous

Like all those Thursday afternoon 6a games MeA weekend. Kickoff essentially picked by the home team…some members of coaching staffs miss the game. They have jobs they can’t miss.

 

[Some guy]

Stewartville the top dog here. We'll see if anyone can trip them up.

Holy family has the best team money can buy. Maybe they can contend

 

[Some guy]

Minnetonka
Anoka (Game at Farmington so a bit of a closer to home advantage here for Lakeville N.)
Maple Grove
Shakopee. (Mounds View with the 5 minute commute but I don't think it matters.)

If Blaine were to pull off the upset and Anoka, MG, and Shakopee advance, it would be Blaine and the 3 losses they have in the final 4.

I’ve got
Tonka
North
Mounds view
Maple grove


I think MG-Edina game may be two of the top 3 teams playing.
I had shakopee picked to win the whole thing but now I lean on MV to win this round.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Minneota is solid. based on what I've seen this year, I think that the way to beat Minneota (if possible) is with speed and a wide-open offense. I just don't think that another Class A team can line up and slug it out with them. Minneota just grinds teams down - soften them up in the first half and put them away in the 2nd half.

So, I think the way to beat them is to spread out the field and chuck it all over the place. then hope that you can get a few stops on defense or maybe force a turnover.

whether that is possible depends on an opponent having some really high-level athletes with speed who can make plays. BOLD had a shot, in part, because they made some big plays on defense and special teams.

in 2A, with Jackson County Central, I think the opposite is true. to beat JCC, I think you have to contain them. don't allow any big plays and force them to put together a long drive in order to score. JCC scores a lot of its points on long runs/passes. so to beat them, I think you want to turn the game into a slog if possible.

 

[Schnauzer]

Holy family has the best team money can buy. Maybe they can contend

so true

 

[Ranger692]

OTC has never won a state championship (unless you apply a big * to Battle Lake back in the 70s). Not nit-picking, but I am nit-picking. They are a couple rungs down the ladder but had great runs with Don Seipkes.

Caledonia (five straight AA Championships somewhat recently and ten since 2007) and Minneota with similar success are a level above Barnesville based on how often Barnesville has been runner-up, but Barnesville finally got the monkey off the back a couple years ago. Brad Strand has a great program up there.

I think you are missing my point. I was just stating that some teams have an aura that opposing teams cant fight through.

I am originally form the central part of the state and I watched several OTC teams show up and dominate bigger, faster, and more athletic teams because the opposition doubted they had a chance to win.

I wasn't comparing teams trophy cases.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I’ve got
Tonka
North
Mounds view
Maple grove


I think MG-Edina game may be two of the top 3 teams playing.
I had shakopee picked to win the whole thing but now I lean on MV to win this round.

Curious what changed your outlook on Shakopee? Of the teams left that I have seen first hand (North, Blaine, Shakopee) they were easily the most impressive of the 3.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Late to the discussion but is it a big deal to just have the higher seed host the 1st round of state instead of needing a neutral site? Or is it because it needs to be turf due to possible bad field conditions?

I feel like it used to be at one of the home fields for the 1st round.

 

[fatgopher]

Late to the discussion but is it a big deal to just have the higher seed host the 1st round of state instead of needing a neutral site? Or is it because it needs to be turf due to possible bad field conditions?

I feel like it used to be at one of the home fields for the 1st round.

It used to be that pre-determined sections hosted quarterfinals and semifinals based on the bracket, which switched each year.

 

[Ope3]

It used to be that pre-determined sections hosted quarterfinals and semifinals based on the bracket, which switched each year.

State Semis have been at the HHH Dome and now the Zygi Dome going back to the early 90s.

Only exception was the 2 years the Prep Bowl was at The Bank while the New Dome was being built, those were at neutral sights.

 

[fatgopher]

I think you are missing my point. I was just stating that some teams have an aura that opposing teams cant fight through.

I am originally form the central part of the state and I watched several OTC teams show up and dominate bigger, faster, and more athletic teams because the opposition doubted they had a chance to win.

I wasn't comparing teams trophy cases.

Understood. I played against some OTC teams in high school and they were usually well coached.

I only called out those state-dominant programs because that aura is more engrained and generational. Players are intimidated because they saw their older brother, cousin, uncle, friend, friend-of-friend, neighbor get their tail kicked year in and year out. That success feeds down to the youth programs too, so if you've been bested since 6th or 7th grade, you're typically tired by your senior year of the same results.

 

[fatgopher]

State Semis have been at the HHH Dome and now the Zygi Dome going back to the early 90s.

Only exception was the 2 years the Prep Bowl was at The Bank while the New Dome was being built, those were at neutral sights.

Correct, that "permanent" move was forced by weather and then made permanent for semi-finals. Growing up as a coach's kid, I remember many state semi-final games in the 1980's that were played in the teens or low 20 degree weather.

 

[Some guy]

Curious what changed your outlook on Shakopee? Of the teams left that I have seen first hand (North, Blaine, Shakopee) they were easily the most impressive of the 3.

Moundview beating prior lake tells me they can hang with the physical nature of shakopee (though shakopee is better than prior lake)

Shakopee’s defense playing as much man to man as they do will be given issues by the spread Moundsview runs. Matchup wise I like Moundsview. Talent wise I like shakopee.
But Moundsview showed me enough against prior lake that I would pick matchup over talent in this one.
Shakopee is more likely to blow out Mv than MV is to blowout shako though. There is a chance Mv simply can’t hang

MV will not win the state title.
Shakopee could.
Just this one game I give MV a 51% chance to win

 

[MaxyJR1]

I played in a quarterfinal 30 years ago. We couldn’t wear cleats because they didn’t work. We wore tennis shoes or our previous year’s basketball shoes.

Back then the brackets were set for two years. You would be paired a section for two years. Home and away. We lost at home and the next year beat another team on the road.

Seats and turf is the requirement.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Moundview beating prior lake tells me they can hang with the physical nature of shakopee (though shakopee is better than prior lake)

Shakopee’s defense playing as much man to man as they do will be given issues by the spread Moundsview runs. Matchup wise I like Moundsview. Talent wise I like shakopee.
But Moundsview showed me enough against prior lake that I would pick matchup over talent in this one.
Shakopee is more likely to blow out Mv than MV is to blowout shako though. There is a chance Mv simply can’t hang

MV will not win the state title.
Shakopee could.
Just this one game I give MV a 51% chance to win

Blaine had opportunities to beat Shakopee.

I agree that MG and Edina likely two of top 3-4 playing this week.

 

[swede2]

I don't know how Mankato doesn't have a turf field. The fact that JWP with an enrollment of 211 has one and East or West doesn't is pretty bad. Almost every other school in the Big 9 has had a turf field for 10 plus years it seems like.

It seems like an avenue that should be explored is a cooperative effort between East, West and MSU to build a stadium at MSU similar to the new stadiums at SWMSU or Northern State. But while Blakesly Stadium is a dump, the high school facilities are good minus the playing surface and if the high schools are playing in turf, presumably they'd want to practice on turf, too, and that could get tricky.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Blaine had opportunities to beat Shakopee.

I agree that MG and Edina likely two of top 3-4 playing this week.

Shame that Maple Grove and Edina don't have a chance to meet in the finals.

 

[disco]

It seems like an avenue that should be explored is a cooperative effort between East, West and MSU to build a stadium at MSU similar to the new stadiums at SWMSU or Northern State. But while Blakesly Stadium is a dump, the high school facilities are good minus the playing surface and if the high schools are playing in turf, presumably they'd want to practice on turf, too, and that could get tricky.

That would make total sense in a market that size. Doesn't most of the NSIC have turf now?

 

[Wally]

Someone should play on the heating Coyles...

 

[Gopherchase]

It seems like an avenue that should be explored is a cooperative effort between East, West and MSU to build a stadium at MSU similar to the new stadiums at SWMSU or Northern State. But while Blakesly Stadium is a dump, the high school facilities are good minus the playing surface and if the high schools are playing in turf, presumably they'd want to practice on turf, too, and that could get tricky.

Glenn Taylor has enough change laying around under the cushions of his couches to cut a check for turf for both the high school fields. He generally spends a lot of money around Mato. I’m a little surprised he hasn’t done this already.

 

[LesBolstad]

I played in a quarterfinal 30 years ago. We couldn’t wear cleats because they didn’t work. We wore tennis shoes or our previous year’s basketball shoes.

Back then the brackets were set for two years. You would be paired a section for two years. Home and away. We lost at home and the next year beat another team on the road.

Seats and turf is the requirement.

Same here. May be dating myself but we played in the semis at Parade Stadium. Played on frozen mud in tennis shoes and won 7-6. We had 3 or 4 starters get injured and couldn't play in the final at Metrodome

 

[Ope3]

Glenn Taylor has enough change laying around under the cushions of his couches to cut a check for turf for both the high school fields. He generally spends a lot of money around Mato. I’m a little surprised he hasn’t done this already.

Are we sure the Mankato High Schools even want artificial turf? Last time I was at Mankato East the field was spectacular. Felt like they took pride in how nice it was.