The DGF Rebels celebrate their 8AAA Championship after a 22-20 OT win against Fergus Falls at the Fargodome on November 4th, 2021.
(KDLM) – The Minnesota State High School Football tournament field is set after the conclusion of section tournament action last Saturday, and a number of area teams are looking to bring home state championships at the end of November.
Fertile-Beltrami (11-0) won Section 6 in 9 Man football with a 26-20 win over NCE/U-H at the Fargodome last Thursday. The Falcons are making their sixth state tournament appearance and their first since 2006. The Falcons are ranked second in the QRF rankings and will face #1 Mountain Iron-Buhl (9-1) in Grand Rapids at 6:00 on Thursday the 11th.
Wheaton/Herman Norcross (8-2) avenged a regular-season loss to the Verndale Pirates by ending their perfect season and ousting them from the playoffs with a 14-12 win at the Fargodome last Friday morning. The Pirates beat the Warriors 38-31 on October 15th. The Warriors, representing Section 4 in 9 Man football, are making their third state appearance as a co-op (Wheaton has eight state appearances, Herman has one state appearance, and Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross had four state appearances) and will face LeRoy-Ostrander (9-2) at Macalester College in St. Paul at 7:00 on Thursday night.
Mahnomen/Waubun (9-1) returns to the state tournament after winning the 2018 title. This is the Thunderbirds’ second time making the tournament as a co-op (Mahnomen and Waubun have a combined 30 state appearances between them before co-oping for the 2018 season). Like Wheaton/Herman-Norcross, the Thunderbirds also avenged their one regular-season loss, knocking Ada-Borup-West out of the playoffs with a 30-7 win in the 8A Championship Game. The Cougars beat the Thunderbirds 33-12 on September 24th. Mahnomen/Waubin will play 11-0 Minneota at Monticello High School at 7:00 on Thursday.
The 9-1 New York Mills Eagles are the champions of 6A after shutting out Breckenridge 32-0 at the Fargodome last Friday. The Eagles are making their second-ever state appearance, with the other coming in 2006. NYM will play the winner of Section 7: 10-0 and top-ranked Deer River in Brainerd on Friday night at 7:00. That game will be broadcast on The Lakes 99.5.
The Barnesville Trojans (8-2) won their fifth-straight section title with a 36-16 win over Pelican Rapids in the 8AA Championship Game on Friday night. This is Barnesville’s eighth state appearance. They will take on the champions of Section 5 Eden Valley-Watkins. The Eagles enter the tournament 9-1 and are the #2 team in Class AA. (Barnesville is currently ranked #10 in the QRF).
West Central Area/Ashby won the 6AA Championship with a 19-14 win over Osakis on Friday night. Osakis had beaten WCA 22-20 on October 15th. West Central Area is making their fourth-ever state appearance and their first since 2017. They will head to Brainerd HS to face the winner of Section 7: #5 Moose Lake-Willow River, who enters the tournament undefeated at 8-0.
#4 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (9-1) went to overtime in the 8AAA Championship game against Fergus Falls last Thursday, ultimately knocking the Otters out of the playoffs with a 22-20 victory at the Fargodome. The Rebels are making their first state appearance since 2016 after winning their section four straight years. Overall, it’s DGF’s sixth state appearance (Dilworth also has two, Glyndon-Felton had three straight appearances from 1983-85 and won the title in 1985). DGF will play the 8-2 Annandale Cardinals at Buffalo High School at 2:00 on Saturday.
The Alexandria Cardinals continue to shock the high school football world by representing Section 8AAAAA in the tournament. After scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a hook and ladder to beat Moorhead in the semifinals, the Cardinals scored 22 fourth-quarter points to stun Bemidji 43-35 in the championship game. Alexandria entered the section tournament with a 3-5 record but is now 6-5 after playoff wins against Sartell-St. Stephen (33-0), Moorhead, (42-39), and Bemidji (43-35) and are ranked #21 in the QRF. They will play #6 Robbinsdale Cooper (8-2) in Osseo at 1:00 on Saturday. This is Alexandria’s 11th state appearance and first since 2016. Their last title came in 1974.
STATE QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE: 9 MAN
Kittson County Central vs Ogilvie – November 12, 7:00 @ Moorhead HS
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross vs LeRoy-Ostrander – November 11, 7:00 @ Macalestar College (St. Paul)
Mountain Iron-Buhl vs Fertile-Beltrami – November 11, 6:00 @ Grand Rapids HS
Hills-Beaver Creek vs Renville County West – November 12, 7:00 @ SMSU (Marshall HS)
CLASS A:
Mahnomen/Waubun vs Minnesota – November 12, 7:00 @ Monticello HS
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrose vs Rushford-Peterson – November 12, 7:00 @ Crown College (St. Bonifacius)
Deer River vs New York Mills – November 12, 7:00 @ Brainerd HS
Murray County Central vs Mayer Lutheran – November 12, 7:00 @ Jordan HS
CLASS AA:
Barnesville vs Eden Valley-Watkins – November 11, 7:00 @ Alexandria HS
Minneapolis North vs Chatfield – November 11, 7:00 @ Rochester Mayo HS
Moose Lake-Willow River vs West Central Area/Ashby – November 11, 7:00 @ Brainerd HS
Pipestone Area vs Maple River – November 12, 7:00 @ Hastings HS
CLASS AAA:
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton vs Annandale – November 13, 2:00 @ Buffalo HS
Breck School vs Plainview-Elgin-Millville – November 13, 12:00 @ Burnsville HS
Esko vs New London-Spicer – November 13, 1:00 @ Brainerd HS
Fairmont vs Dassel-Cokato – November 13, 11:00am @ Prior Lake HS
CLASS AAAA:
Becker vs Holy Angels – November 11, 7:00 @ Monticello HS
Fridley vs Kasson Mantorville – November 11, 7:00 @ Lakeville South HS
Grand Rapids vs Orono – November 11, 7:00 @ Osseo HS
Simley vs Hutchinson – November 11, 6:00 @ Hopkins HS
CLASS AAAAA:
Alexandria vs Robbinsdale Cooper – November 13, 1:00 @ Osseo HS
Mahtomedi vs Rochester Mayo – November 13, 12:00 @ Woodbury HS
Andover vs Rogers – November 13, 1:00 @ St. Cloud Tech
St. Thomas Academy vs Mankato West – November 13, 3:00 @ Prior Lake HS
CLASS AAAAAA:
Eden Prairie vs Farmington – November 12, 7:00 @ Chanhassen HS
Maple Grove vs Woodbury – November 11, 7:00 @ Eden Prairie HS
Wayzata vs STMA – November 11, 7:00 @ Park Center HS
Lakeville South vs Shakopee – November 11, 7:00 @ Stillwater HS
Latest News
