2024 MN High School Football thread

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With Polls closing

1&2 seeds all cruised except Eagan. They won 28-20 over Osseo.

3 seeds. Edina destroys WBL. Blaine wins over Rosemount on walk off FG 38-36. STMA takes out Stillwater. Lakeville South by 21 over Wayzata.

4/5. Champlin takes out East Ridge. Mayo takes out Centennial. Prior Lake destroys Farmington and EP destroys Woodbury.

1’s 4-0
2’s 4-0
3’s 3-1
4’s 1-3

Section 3. 4-4
Section 4. 2-6
Section 5. 5-3
Section 6. 5-3
 
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MaxyJR1 said:
With Polls closing

1&2 seeds all cruised except Eagan. They won 28-20 over Osseo.

3 seeds. Edina destroys WBL. Blaine wins over Rosemount on walk off FG 38-36. STMA takes out Stillwater. Lakeville South by 21 over Wayzata.

4/5. Champlin takes out East Ridge. Mayo takes out Centennial. Prior Lake destroys Farmington and EP destroys Woodbury.

1’s 4-0
2’s 4-0
3’s 3-1
4’s 1-3
Click to expand...
Rosemount/Blaine was quite the game. Neither team could be stopped in the second half, Rosemount took lead after scoring a TD and then going for 2. Blaine managed to drive down for the winning FG.

Their QB is a beast as a runner, very mediocre as a passer so any D that can spy on him better than Rosemount could will shut them down.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
so, math time - on Saturday, we have semi-finals in 5 classes with 8 sections per class. 16 games in each class times 5 classes equals 80 games.

a few that, at least on paper, match up teams with good records:

9-pl: Kingsland (7-2) at #6 Spring Grove (9-0)
--Littlefork-Big Falls (7-2) at #9 Cherry (8-1)

1A: #9 Fillmore Central (8-1) at #7 Blooming Prairie (8-1)
--- Ada-Borup West (7-2) at #10 Red Lake County (8-1)
--- Dawson-Boyd (7-2) at #6 BOLD (7-1)

2A: Holdingford (7-2) at #7 Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1)
--- Cannon Falls (7-2) at #9 Rush City (8-0)

3A: Luverne (7-2) at #8 Fairmont (6-2)
--- Pierz (6-2) at #10 Two Harbors (7-1)

4A: #5 Rocori (6-2) at #3 Princeton (8-0)

5A: #10 Bemidji (7-2) at #7 Alexandria (6-2)
--- Minneapolis Washburn (6-2) at #9 Robbinsdale Cooper (7-1)
--- Mankato East (6-2) at #8 Mankato West (5-3)
Click to expand...
section 6AAA Minnewaska against New London should be a good game as well.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
so, math time - on Saturday, we have semi-finals in 5 classes with 8 sections per class. 16 games in each class times 5 classes equals 80 games.

a few that, at least on paper, match up teams with good records:

9-pl: Kingsland (7-2) at #6 Spring Grove (9-0)
--Littlefork-Big Falls (7-2) at #9 Cherry (8-1)

1A: #9 Fillmore Central (8-1) at #7 Blooming Prairie (8-1)
--- Ada-Borup West (7-2) at #10 Red Lake County (8-1)
--- Dawson-Boyd (7-2) at #6 BOLD (7-1)

2A: Holdingford (7-2) at #7 Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1)
--- Cannon Falls (7-2) at #9 Rush City (8-0)

3A: Luverne (7-2) at #8 Fairmont (6-2)
--- Pierz (6-2) at #10 Two Harbors (7-1)

4A: #5 Rocori (6-2) at #3 Princeton (8-0)

5A: #10 Bemidji (7-2) at #7 Alexandria (6-2)
--- Minneapolis Washburn (6-2) at #9 Robbinsdale Cooper (7-1)
--- Mankato East (6-2) at #8 Mankato West (5-3)
Click to expand...
Chaska/ Chan should be a great game today as well.
 


So much for Two Rivers . . . Loses 35-31 to Apple Valley. Playing a schedule of completely overmatched teams may not have been all that beneficial.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I know when I was coaching a lot of youth sports I would much rather lose a close game then win in a blowout.
Click to expand...
I agree
Blowouts suck if you're winning or losing.

It's even worse when you're getting blown out and the other team stops trying.
 

Semi-Final round for classes 9-pl to 5A -- upsets -- edited with final scores

5 over 1 = 1 (9-pl Sect 8 - Warren-Alvarado-Oslo over Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke)
4 over 1 = 4 (9-pl Sect 2; 2A Sect 4; 2A Sect 7; 5A Sect 3)
3 over 2 = 12

so 17 upsets out of 96 games.

(I believe I mentioned 80 games earlier - bad math on my part. there are 6 classes in this group, not 5.)
 
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Mankato East finally beats Mankato West 35 to 15.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Semi-Final round for classes 9-pl to 5A -- upsets -- edited with final scores

5 over 1 = 1 (9-pl Sect 8 - Warren-Alvarado-Oslo over Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke)
4 over 1 = 4 (9-pl Sect 2; 2A Sect 4; 2A Sect 7; 5A Sect 3)
3 over 2 = 12

so 17 upsets out of 96 games.

(I believe I mentioned 80 games earlier - bad math on my part. there are 6 classes in this group, not 5.)
Click to expand...
Hard to count some of these 3 over 2 games as a true upsets or use them in a case study to show why we need all teams in the playoffs because there we "x" number of upsets All class 1A #3 over #2 games were a coin flip earlier in the year

Class A
Section 1
#3 Fillmore Central (7-1)------46
#2 Blooming Prairie (7-1)------39
First Meeting Blooming Prairie 42-34 over Filmore Central in OT


Section 3
#3 (6-2) Murray County Central ----38
#2 (7-1) Adrian/Ellsworth-----------8
First Meeting as a 13-11 win for Adrian Ellsworth. What a strange score...

Section 6
#3 Parkers Prairie (5-3) --- 22
#2 Breckenridge (4-4)-----12
First meeting Breckenridge 14-12 over Parkers Prairie

MN scores doesn't have QRF dates that I can go back to look at to see where QRF had these teams after MEA, but in all cases the #2 seed looked to have been secured by a head to head match up by 1 score and in the case of Section 3 and 6 just a 2 point conversion was the difference
 

Ranger692 said:
Hard to count some of these 3 over 2 games as a true upsets or use them in a case study to show why we need all teams in the playoffs because there we "x" number of upsets All class 1A #3 over #2 games were a coin flip earlier in the year

Class A
Section 1
#3 Fillmore Central (7-1)------46
#2 Blooming Prairie (7-1)------39
First Meeting Blooming Prairie 42-34 over Filmore Central in OT


Section 3
#3 (6-2) Murray County Central ----38
#2 (7-1) Adrian/Ellsworth-----------8
First Meeting as a 13-11 win for Adrian Ellsworth. What a strange score...

Section 6
#3 Parkers Prairie (5-3) --- 22
#2 Breckenridge (4-4)-----12
First meeting Breckenridge 14-12 over Parkers Prairie

MN scores doesn't have QRF dates that I can go back to look at to see where QRF had these teams after MEA, but in all cases the #2 seed looked to have been secured by a head to head match up by 1 score and in the case of Section 3 and 6 just a 2 point conversion was the difference
Click to expand...

I am not trying to show anything. this is not a case study. this has nothing to do with "having all teams in the playoffs." I simply noted instances where a lower-seeded team beat a higher-seeded team.

and by the nature of seeding, you would expect more 3 vs 2 wins because, if the seeding reflects reality, those teams are supposed to be closer than a 4 vs 1 win.

overall, the higher-seeded teams in 9-pl through 5A won 79 of 96 games or 82.3%. and only 5 #1 seeds lost out of 48 sections meaning that 89.6% of #1 seeds advanced.

in general, the seeds were fairly accurate.
 

Ranger692 said:
Hard to count some of these 3 over 2 games as a true upsets or use them in a case study to show why we need all teams in the playoffs because there we "x" number of upsets All class 1A #3 over #2 games were a coin flip earlier in the year

Class A
Section 1
#3 Fillmore Central (7-1)------46
#2 Blooming Prairie (7-1)------39
First Meeting Blooming Prairie 42-34 over Filmore Central in OT


Section 3
#3 (6-2) Murray County Central ----38
#2 (7-1) Adrian/Ellsworth-----------8
First Meeting as a 13-11 win for Adrian Ellsworth. What a strange score...

Section 6
#3 Parkers Prairie (5-3) --- 22
#2 Breckenridge (4-4)-----12
First meeting Breckenridge 14-12 over Parkers Prairie

MN scores doesn't have QRF dates that I can go back to look at to see where QRF had these teams after MEA, but in all cases the #2 seed looked to have been secured by a head to head match up by 1 score and in the case of Section 3 and 6 just a 2 point conversion was the difference
Click to expand...
9 Player Section 1. #2 Spring Grove over #3Kingsland 36-32 during the season and Kingland wins 17-14 in OT on Saturday. Kingsland will try to avenge week one loss to Leroy Ostrander/Lyle Paceli. (35-26)
 

9 Player has 5 of 8 sections with 1vs2
1A has 5 of 8.
2A has 3 of 8
3A has 7 of 8
4A has 8 of 8
5A has 5 of 8
6A awards section championships to the 8 teams that make state. 1v4 and 2v3 are the chalk games this week. 4 of the 8 games are chalk.
 



when the Vikings don't play on Sunday, I have all kinds of time to look up stuff.

For instance:

by my count there are 8 teams with losing records still alive as we go to Section Finals.

6A: Rochester Mayo -- Champlin Park -- St. Michael-Albertville

5A: Apple Valley -- Spring Lake Park

4A: Benilde-St. Margaret's -- Hutchinson

2A: Osakis
 

Spring Lake Park flipped regular season result over Rogers on Saturday. Will try to do same at Monticello.

East beat Chanhassen during season but will have to do it again on Chanhassen’s field Friday.

Andover will have to win at Elk River for a second time this year.

Alexandria at Moorhead

Cooper at Armstrong
JM at Owatonna
Apple Valley at ST Thomas Academy
Tartan at Cretin

All 5A games are rematches from regular season
 

and - Section Final games where both teams are State-ranked. 17 such meetings out of 56 games.

9-pl: (Thurs) #7 Fosston vs #3 Fertile-Beltrami (@ the Fargodome)
-- (Fri) #9 Cherry vs #2 Mountain Iron-Buhl (@ Mesabi East HS)

1A: (Thurs) #10 Red Lake County vs #3 Mahnomen-Waubun (@ Fargodome)
--- (Fri) #8 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa vs #5 Upsala-Swanville (@ Fargodome)
--- #9 Fillmore Central vs #4 Goodhue (@ Kasson-Mantorville HS)
--- #6 BOLD vs #1 Minneota (@ SMSU-Marshall)

2A: (Fri) #8 Caledonia vs #2 Chatfield (@ Paul Giel Field -Winona)

3A: (Thurs) #10 Two Harbors vs #2 Pequot Lakes (@ UMD)
--- (Fri) #8 Fairmont vs #4 Waseca (@ New Ulm HS) (aka the Herman the German Bowl)

4A: (Fri) #3 Princeton vs #1 Becker (@ St Michael-Albertville HS)
--- #6 Providence Academy vs #9 Orono (@ Pesonen Stadium - Orono)

5A: (Fri) #9 Robbinsdale Cooper vs #4 Robbinsdale Armstrong (@ Armstrong HS)
--- #7 Alexandria vs #1 Moorhead (@ Moorhead HS)
--- #5 Andover vs #3 Elk River (@ Elk River HS)

6A: (Fri) #10 Blaine vs #7 Forest Lake (@ Forest Lake HS)
--- #8 Eagan vs #3 Edina (@ Eagan) - edited
--- #6 Eden Prairie vs #1 Maple Grove (@ Maple Grove HS)

-----
FWIW - in 4A, Providence Academy is the higher-ranked team in the State Ratings, but Orono was the #1 seed in the Section and Providence Acad was #2, so Orono gets to host game.
 
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Is there a reason the Eagan-Edina game is at Edina? I thought Eagan was the 2 seed....
 


OK -- didn't know if there was something in terms of ranking or location conflict or something....
 

MNVCGUY said:
Guessing just a mistake by the poster. Game should be at Eagan.
Click to expand...

my fault. I was going by the MN ScoreFeed App and they had the game at Edina. can't trust anything these days.......

Seriously, I was going by ScoreFeed because it's a lot easier to jump from one section to another - unlike the MSHSL web site where everything is a battle.

Eagan is the #2 Seed and Edina the #3 seed. another case where the Section seedings do not match the State Ratings.
 

maroonfive said:
Mankato East finally beats Mankato West 35 to 15.
Click to expand...
The better team won Saturday. East was without their top WR in the jug game. First drive of the game East went 80 yards on 5 passing plays. They just had better skill position players this year than West did. Hope they can knock off Chanhassen and get to the state tournament for the first time in 20 years.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and - Section Final games where both teams are State-ranked. 17 such meetings out of 56 games.

9-pl: (Thurs) #7 Fosston vs #3 Fertile-Beltrami (@ the Fargodome)
-- (Fri) #9 Cherry vs #2 Mountain Iron-Buhl (@ Mesabi East HS)

1A: (Thurs) #10 Red Lake County vs #3 Mahnomen-Waubun (@ Fargodome)
--- (Fri) #8 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa vs #5 Upsala-Swanville (@ Fargodome)
--- #9 Fillmore Central vs #4 Goodhue (@ Kasson-Mantorville HS)
--- #6 BOLD vs #1 Minneota (@ SMSU-Marshall)

2A: (Fri) #8 Caledonia vs #2 Chatfield (@ Paul Giel Field -Winona)

3A: (Thurs) #10 Two Harbors vs #2 Pequot Lakes (@ UMD)
--- (Fri) #8 Fairmont vs #4 Waseca (@ New Ulm HS) (aka the Herman the German Bowl)

4A: (Fri) #3 Princeton vs #1 Becker (@ St Michael-Albertville HS)
--- #6 Providence Academy vs #9 Orono (@ Pesonen Stadium - Orono)

5A: (Fri) #9 Robbinsdale Cooper vs #4 Robbinsdale Armstrong (@ Armstrong HS)
--- #7 Alexandria vs #1 Moorhead (@ Moorhead HS)
--- #5 Andover vs #3 Elk River (@ Elk River HS)

6A: (Fri) #10 Blaine vs #7 Forest Lake (@ Forest Lake HS)
--- #8 Eagan vs #3 Edina (@ Eagan) - edited
--- #6 Eden Prairie vs #1 Maple Grove (@ Maple Grove HS)

-----
FWIW - in 4A, Providence Academy is the higher-ranked team in the State Ratings, but Orono was the #1 seed in the Section and Providence Acad was #2, so Orono gets to host game.
Click to expand...
This is a great example of why we should have state wide playoff system similar to that of Class 6A

A regional representative at the state tournament is not truly getting the best teams in a place to showcase that MN football is better than what the country feels it is.

Of course you would have to make it a 32 team bracket and eliminate the games that most sections are already either not playing, forfeiting out of, or voting next session to not have already in class 1A
 

Ranger692 said:
This is a great example of why we should have state wide playoff system similar to that of Class 6A

A regional representative at the state tournament is not truly getting the best teams in a place to showcase that MN football is better than what the country feels it is.

Of course you would have to make it a 32 team bracket and eliminate the games that most sections are already either not playing, forfeiting out of, or voting next session to not have already in class 1A
Click to expand...
Even the 6A brackets are imbalanced so it's not true seeding. It will be interesting to see how they do it next year with Maple Grove wanting different opponents during the season and reclassification.

I like the way the lower classes do it, but I think they should seed it 1-8 at State. It allows for some regional pride. If you don't win your section/region why should you go to state? Maybe a compromise is to go to 16 and allow the top two from each section to be reseeded for final 16. This would keep the first rounds and allow sections to have the playoff they want to get the 2 representatives to the final 16.

I like the way 6A does it because it takes some of the bias out of seeding. The North/East Metro is not looked upon as being as good as the South, yet the last 2 Champions have come from the North. I wouldn't want to see seeding beyond 16 teams at the most.

Minnesota's current system makes the games be contested on the field with everyone an opportunity to play in the playoffs. You have to have H2H guaranteed games to change the system IMO.
 

I will keep this reasonably short.

the MSHSL lives in its own little bubble, where everything they do is fine and no outside opinions or feedback is allowed. they are tremendously resistant to change of any kind.

and - the key point - the MSHSL is on record as saying that their goal for a state tournament is NOT to have the 8 best teams in the state. their goal is to have a tournament with regional representation. the regional representation is more important to them than having the best teams in the state playing for a championship.

I am not making that up. my brother - who has coached for nearly 50 years - has had lots of go-rounds with the MSHSL, and he has heard the above philosophy directly from MSHSL officials.

again - this is a fact. the MSHSL philosophy is not to have the best teams in the state. their most important goal is regional representation.

it may sound crazy to people who live outside the bubble, but inside the bubble, it makes perfect sense. just like things make perfect sense if you are a paranoid schizophrenic and you are off your meds.
 

Ranger692 said:
This is a great example of why we should have state wide playoff system similar to that of Class 6A

A regional representative at the state tournament is not truly getting the best teams in a place to showcase that MN football is better than what the country feels it is.

Of course you would have to make it a 32 team bracket and eliminate the games that most sections are already either not playing, forfeiting out of, or voting next session to not have already in class 1A
Click to expand...
The big issue with having just a big bracket of teams from all over the state is that travel could be brutal for some of the small classes. A thought would be to have each section get down to two teams, then pair them with a neighboring section and have the highest seed left of one play the lower seed left of the other and vice versa. It would eliminate a Section Championship but would get more of the top teams into state without as much crazy travel.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and - the key point - the MSHSL is on record as saying that their goal for a state tournament is NOT to have the 8 best teams in the state. their goal is to have a tournament with regional representation. the regional representation is more important to them than having the best teams in the state playing for a championship.

I am not making that up. my brother - who has coached for nearly 50 years - has had lots of go-rounds with the MSHSL, and he has heard the above philosophy directly from MSHSL officials.

again - this is a fact. the MSHSL philosophy is not to have the best teams in the state. their most important goal is regional representation.

it may sound crazy to people who live outside the bubble, but inside the bubble, it makes perfect sense. just like things make perfect sense if you are a paranoid schizophrenic and you are off your meds.
Click to expand...
I'm not in the bubble, but I don't think it's crazy. I am perfectly fine with it. Also can be some financial savings with travel logistics for Sectional games and the 1st Round of the State Tournament.

If you are not the best team in your Section or Region (proven with a loss on the field-pitch-court-mat-ice-pool-course whatever) then failing to advance to the State Tournament is not a tragedy or injustice.

Devil's advocate, in the NFC perhaps the 7 Best Teams do not advance to the Playoffs. A not uncommon circumstance is a team gets left out that has a better record than a Division Winner. Stuff happens.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
9 Player has 5 of 8 sections with 1vs2
1A has 5 of 8.
2A has 3 of 8
3A has 7 of 8
4A has 8 of 8
5A has 5 of 8
6A awards section championships to the 8 teams that make state. 1v4 and 2v3 are the chalk games this week. 4 of the 8 games are chalk.
Click to expand...
8 seeds 0-4
7 seeds 0-4
6 seeds 1-3
5 seeds 3-1

Favored team went 12-4 in 6a
Only 1-3 seed to lose was a team that lost to a team that should’ve been a 5.
Upsets STMA (who I thought should’ve been a 5) beating Stillwater. Stillwater maybe the most disappointing team in the state.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I will keep this reasonably short.

the MSHSL lives in its own little bubble, where everything they do is fine and no outside opinions or feedback is allowed. they are tremendously resistant to change of any kind.

and - the key point - the MSHSL is on record as saying that their goal for a state tournament is NOT to have the 8 best teams in the state. their goal is to have a tournament with regional representation. the regional representation is more important to them than having the best teams in the state playing for a championship.

I am not making that up. my brother - who has coached for nearly 50 years - has had lots of go-rounds with the MSHSL, and he has heard the above philosophy directly from MSHSL officials.

again - this is a fact. the MSHSL philosophy is not to have the best teams in the state. their most important goal is regional representation.

it may sound crazy to people who live outside the bubble, but inside the bubble, it makes perfect sense. just like things make perfect sense if you are a paranoid schizophrenic and you are off your meds.
Click to expand...


I get travel is an issue but I think MSHSL for lower levels should play first round (or maybe 2) and then play a 16 or 32 team tourney like 6a does.
Adds one more round of high travel for 16
Two rounds for 32.

It does stink for years where 2 of the top 3-4 teams in the state may be in same section
 

GophersInIowa said:
The big issue with having just a big bracket of teams from all over the state is that travel could be brutal for some of the small classes. A thought would be to have each section get down to two teams, then pair them with a neighboring section and have the highest seed left of one play the lower seed left of the other and vice versa. It would eliminate a Section Championship but would get more of the top teams into state without as much crazy travel.
Click to expand...
6A give a section champ/state participant for this weeks games just like the other classes.

I like your idea.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I will keep this reasonably short.

the MSHSL lives in its own little bubble, where everything they do is fine and no outside opinions or feedback is allowed. they are tremendously resistant to change of any kind.

and - the key point - the MSHSL is on record as saying that their goal for a state tournament is NOT to have the 8 best teams in the state. their goal is to have a tournament with regional representation. the regional representation is more important to them than having the best teams in the state playing for a championship.

I am not making that up. my brother - who has coached for nearly 50 years - has had lots of go-rounds with the MSHSL, and he has heard the above philosophy directly from MSHSL officials.

again - this is a fact. the MSHSL philosophy is not to have the best teams in the state. their most important goal is regional representation.

it may sound crazy to people who live outside the bubble, but inside the bubble, it makes perfect sense. just like things make perfect sense if you are a paranoid schizophrenic and you are off your meds.
Click to expand...
You’re right. It’s about eight geographic regions and representation. Even in the metro. The second best tournament are the section tournaments . 6A was the first experiment and it destroyed the section tournament. The crowds are abysmal now due to lack of rivalries. State tournament crowds would follow suit if it’s the same teams year after year. New teams in brings bigger crowds and excitement.

Crossing over the north and south seeds in the semifinals will be interesting this year.
 

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