Prep Blog: Section Finals, Previewing 'The Big 4'
Hello, November. The weather, with sunny skies and day-time highs in the 60s, feels more like mid-September.
But it's the first week of November, and that means the state football playoffs are just around the corner. Friday night, remaining teams hit the field for section championship games. The winners advance to the state tournament, and the season is over for the losing teams.
For some programs, the chance to hoist the section championship trophy and clinch a state berth is what playing football is all about. For others, it's one more step towards getting to the Prep Bowl.
There are great match-ups all over the state Friday and Saturday as teams across six classes battle for one of eight spots. Here are four of Friday's top match-ups.
Burnsville (7-2) at Minnetonka (7-2)
It's a battle of top 10 teams in the west Twin Cities metro Friday night, and the winner advances to the Class 6A round of 16. No. 8-ranked Minnetonka hosts NO. 9-ranked Burnsville in a game that might look like a track meet.
The Skippers finished the regular season 6-2 and are on a three-game win streak. They dominated Forest Lake 57-6 to advance. In six of their seven wins, they've scored at least 24 points. Minnetonka is led by quarterback Garrett Olson, who passed for 149 yards per game and six touchdowns in the regular season. Olson has ran for 76 yards per game and six rushing scores. In last week's win over Forest Lake, Olson passed for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Gus Steiger also ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Burnsville has won two straight since being shut out at Rosemount in Week 7. The Blaze advanced last week with a hard fought 21-14 win over Stillwater. They're led by dual threat quarterback Jackson Martens, who ran for 107 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season. In last week's victory, Steph Olson Jr. ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
It should be a great game between two pretty evenly-matched teams with the season on the line.
Edina (5-4) at Maple Grove (7-2)
Maple Grove, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, has won five straight games since losing to Eden Prairie in Week 4. The Crimson have a chance to avenge their only other loss of the season Friday night as they host Edina, with the winner advancing to the Class 6A round of 16. In Week 3, the Hornets got a 21-20 win over the Crimson.
Maple Grove is led by senior quarterback and Wisconsin basketball recruit Brad Davison, who passed for 207 yards per game and 17 touchdowns in the regular season. He also had 11 rushing touchdowns. The Hornets bounced back from a 21-18 loss to Minnetonka in the regular season finale with a 41-14 win over Eastview last week. Edina is led by dual threat quarterback Brock Boltmann, who passed for 125 yards per game and four touchdowns in the regular season. He also rushed for 59 yards per game and seven touchdowns.
Hutchinson (9-0) vs. Marshall (9-0)
A battle between two of the best teams in Class 4A takes place Friday night with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Marshall is the home team is it faces Hutchinson at Southwest Minnesota State University. Marshall is ranked No. 3, and Hutchinson is ranked No. 2. Hutchinson is led by running back Isaiah Nelson, who averaged 160 yards per game and had 15 touchdowns in the regular season. Travis Trettin added 81 yards per game and two scores.
Marshall has dominated largely with defense this year. Other than allowing 27 points in a win over Faribault last week, it hasn't given up more than 14 points in a game this season. Marshall is led by running back Jefferson Lee, who averaged 163 yards per game in the regular season and scored 31 touchdowns.
St. Michael-Albertville (8-1) vs. Elk River (9-0)
The No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A has a chance to keep its perfect season alive and advance to the state tournament as Elk River faces sub-district rival St. Michael-Albertville Friday night at Buffalo. The Knights are ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, and their only loss of the season came to the Elks in Week 4, a 43-6 thumping. Elk River ran for nearly 450 yards per game during the regular season. The rushing attack was led by Nick Rice's 139 yards per game and Sam Gibas's 101 yards per game. The two combined for 27 rushing touchdowns.
St. Michael-Albertville won the Class 5A title last year and will need its best effort of the season Friday night to beat the Elks. The Knights are led by running back Mitch Kartes, who ran for 75 yards per game in the regular season and had 11 touchdowns. In last week's 31-7 win over St. Cloud Tech, Kartes ran for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Tune into WCCO-TV's High School Sports Rally at about 10:20 p.m. Friday as Mike Max, Frank Vascellaro and David McCoy will have all the action covered.
