Saturday, October 25th.
Football.
Section 6AAAAA Semifinals.
#2 Buffalo 22, #3 Armstrong 7. The Falcons led 7-6, at the half, but Buffalo scored all sixteen points in the second half and advanced to the section finals for the first time since 2009. Once again QB Grant Benson was too much for the Falcons, passing for 175 yards, rushing for 93 and scoring three TDs.
Above, #11 in Purple, Tony Jordan carries the ball against Armstrong on Saturday afternoon. Jordan finished with 76 yards rushing
Section 7AAAAA Semifinals.
#1 Monticello 42, #4 St. Francis 11. The Magic jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead and rolled from there. On offense, Cale Holthaus rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown, while QB Carson Deibele tossed two TDs for Monticello. Defensively the Magic snatched four interceptions.
Johnny Moore, above, goes high for a pass in the Magic’s 40-11 win over St. Francis.
Section 5AAA Semifinals.
#1 Annandale 66, #4 Pine City 0. Gabe Westman caught a first quarter TD and returned a pick for a TD in the same quarter as the Cards pulled their starters midway through the second quarter up 50-0. Pine City did not get a first down the whole game, as the Cards defense was relentless.
Gabe Westman, above #1, announced on Friday he will be attending Winona St. to play football, had a monster first half in the Cards route of Pine City.
Section 2AAA Semifinals.
#2 Jordan 39, #3 Howard Lake WW 22. The Lakers were looking for revenge from a close 21-20 loss on opening night, and after taking a 22-16 lead in the third quarter things were looking good! Jordan then scored on the next drive to take the lead and ended up scoring the final twenty points to advance to the Section finals.
#1 Holy Family 35, #4 Dassel-Cokato 32. These two teams know how to put on a show! The Chargers won the regular season matchup, 42-35, but Holy Family took the game that mattered in dramatic fashion. DC took the lead, 32-28 with one minute left, but the Fire went down the field and scored the winning touchdown in the final moments to advance to the section finals.
Section 6AAAA Semifinals.
#2 Zimmerman 28, #3 Delano 7. Mason Spence and Thomas McEachern combined for 286 rushing yards and three TD’s as the Thunder won convincinsly on Saturday afternoon. Bryce Beyer rushed for 93 yards in the Tigers loss, while on defense, Isaac Miller had an incredible, 21 tackles.
Above, Delano walks off the field for the last time this season after their loss to Zimmerman.
Tuesday, October 28th.
Class AAA Boys State Soccer Semifinal’s.
#3 Maple Grove 3, #2 Buffalo 1. On Tuesday morning the Buffalo Bison played in their first ever boys state tournament semifinal matchup in school history at US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis against Maple Grove. The Crimson and Bison tied, 1-1 in their matchup earlier in the season, but Maple Grove dominated the game outshooting Buffalo, 9-2. The Crimson got off to a quick start as Everett Johnstone scored two goals in the first seven minutes, and the Maple Grove held that lead at the half. Solan Gamachis scored again early in the second half as the Crimson started to pull away. The lone Bison goal came from Wyatt Anderson in the 62nd minute. With the loss, the Bison will take on Wayzata in the third-place game tomorrow in West St. Paul at 9 AM. The Bison tied Wayzata in their only matchup this season, 1-1. For Maple Grove they will play in the state championship game for the third straight year, going up against Edina, on Friday at 10:15 AM.
Above, team introductions for Maple Grove and Buffalo before their semifinal matchup on Tuesday, at US Bank Stadium.
Wyatt Anderson, above, celebrates his goal in the Bison loss to Maple Grove on Tuesday.
Volleyball.
Section 8AAAA Semifinals.
#3 Sartell 3, #2 STMA 2. The Sabers jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first set and held on to win, 25-21. In the second set the Knights bounced back behind the blocks of Cail Jahnke. Sartell won the third set, but Sophia Michals kills in the fourth set, sent it to the deciding game five. In the fifth set Sartell turned to Olivia Terhune, who dominated inside as the Sabers upset the Knights, ending STMA’s two year run of winning the section.
Sartell, above, upset STMA on Tuesday night to advance to the Section final.
#4 Alexandria 3, #1 Monticello 2. The Magic took the third set in a back-and-forth set, 28-26 to take a 2-1 lead, but the Cards rallied back win the final two, 25-17, and 16-14 to upset the Magic on the road on Tuesday night.
Section 8AAA Semifinals.
#3 Annandale 3, #2 St. Cloud Tech 0. The Cards swept the Tigers on the road to advance to the Section finals, 25-17, 25-22, and 25-22.
#1 Sauk Rapids Rice 3, #4 Fergus Falls 0.
Section 5AA Quarterfinals.
#2 Dassel-Cokato 3, #7 PACT 1. DC split the first two with PACT, but won the final two sets, 25-18, and 25-18.
#3 Howard Lake WW 3, #6 Blake 1. The Lakers split the first two with the Bears, but pulled away in the final two, 25-17, and 25-17.
#1 Watertown Mayer 3, #8 Providence 0. Alaina Burns led the Royals with 19 kills.
#5 Spectrum 3, #4 Legacy 2.
Wed., October 29th.
Boys Soccer, Class AAA State Tournament.
#2 Buffalo 1, #4 Wayzata 0. Gavin Johnson scored a of free kick from Stone Hoel in the 52nd minute for the only goal of the game, as Buffalo took home third place at the 2025 Class AAA Boys State Soccer Tournament in St. Paul. The Bison finished with a 17-1-4 record. It was a season of greatness for Buffalo. They were only the second team to reach state in school history. Cade Nissen was the first Bison player to score in a state tournament with his game winner vs. John Marshall in the quarterfinals. The Bison also went undefeated in the regular season for the first time and won a state tournament game for the first time. Buffalo also returns a ton of talent next year and could challenge for another trip to state next fall.
The Buffalo Bison Soccer team, above, celebrates their third-place finish, after their win over Wayzata.
Girls Volleyball.
Section 6AAA Final.
#2 Benilde St. Margeret’s 3, #1 Delano 0. Not only was this a battle between the top two seeds in Section 6AAA, but it was a battle between two of the top three teams in the state in the Section final on Wednesday night. It was as close as expected in every game, but in sets it was all BSM, as the Knights swept Delano in front of a sellout crowd at Delano to advance to state, 25-23, 25-22, and 27-25.
Kaeyln Wittwer, above, prepares to serve for Delano.
Thursday, October 30th.
Girls Volleyball.
Section 8AAA Final.
#1 Sauk Rapids Rice 3, #3 Annandale 2. This past offseason the MSHSL moved Sauk Rapids Rice down one level to AAA, and moved up Annandale from AA, and both teams made the section finals in their first season. On Thursday night, #5 SRR easily won the first set, 25-14, in front of a wild home crowd. The Cards answered right back, taking the second set, 25-21. The Storm won the third set, 25-19, but the Cards evened it up at two, with a 25-20 win in the fourth set, setting up the final set, winner take all! The Storm led, 14-13, and after a hit out of bounds could breathe a sigh of relief as they defeated Annandale and are headed to state. For Annandale, this will be the first time they have not advanced to state, since 2019.
Section 5AA Semifinals.
#2 Howard Lake WW 3, #3 Dassel-Cokato 0. The Lakers behind the serving of Camryn Stueven took the first set 25-14, and was instrumental in the second set, 25-17 win as well. In the third set, Maddy Gallagher kept DC in the match, but in the end the Lakers held on to win the set and the match, 26-24.
Two sides to every story, above, on the left DC takes in their thoughts after their season came to an end, while on the right, HLWW celebrates their victory, advancing them into the Section finals.
#1 Watertown Mayer 3, #5 Spectrum 0.
Friday, October 31st.
Football.
Section 5AAA Final.
#1 Annandale 37, #3 Foley 14. After a sluggish start, the Cards ripped off 23 unanswered points in the third quarter and cruised past the Falcons in the Section final at St. Cloud Tech. Jr. WR/S Colton Purcell caught two TD’s and returned a fumble 60 yards for a TD, while Cam Ergen scored on two short TD runs for Annandale. This is the third straight year the Cards have qualified for the state tournament.
Annandale, above, receives their championship trophy after their win on Friday night.
Class AAAAAA 2nd Round.
#5 STMA 14, #1 Rosemount 0. Braydon Bohm scored on a six-yard TD run in the first quarter and Wyatt Mosher added a six-yard TD run in the fourth quarter and for the second straight week the Knights pulled off an upset on the road. Behind a suffocating defense, the Knights have won four in a row.
STMA, above, and Rosemount greet each other after the game.
Section 6AAAAA Final.
#1 Spring Lake Park 45, #2 Buffalo 16. Lamari Brown opened the game with an 80-yard TD run, and capped the game with another TD, as he scored five on the night for the Panthers, as SLP advanced to the state tournament with their win over Buffalo. Grant Benson hit Hendrix Gatz twice for two TDs for the Bison touchdowns.
The Buffalo Bison, above, finished second in Section 6AAAAA.
Section 7AAAAA Final.
#2 Elk River 27, #1 Monticello 23. Carson Deibele tossed two TD passes to give the Magic a 23-14 lead in the fourth quarter, but the lead would not hold up for Monti. Braedon Becker scored two TDs in the last quarter from eleven and fourteen yards to lift Elks to the win and a spot in state. Becker finished with 122 yards for the Elks.
The Elks, above, celebrate with a selfie after their win over Monticello on Friday.
