Saturday, four teams will battle for a shot at reaching the Section finals, while STMA opens its AAAAAA playoffs against Woodbury on Friday night. Earlier this week in the quarterfinals of Sections, Dassel-Cokato, Delano, and Howard Lake WW advanced to their section semifinals, while Maple Lake, Rockford and Buffalo saw their season’s come to an end. I went 4-0 on my picks so far this week and stand at 46-14 overall. Should be great weather for football! Good luck to all the teams.
All games subject to change.
Friday, October 30th.
Class AAAAAA First Round, (3-5) STMA Knights @ (4-4) Woodbury Royals, 7 PM.
(You can hear this game after the end of Delano Volleyball, on AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app.)
Last Week: STMA shutout Hopkins, 43-0, while Woodbury lost to their rivals from East Ridge, 42-31.
The Matchup: What a turnaround for the Knights! STMA started the season 0-4 and scored one touchdown or less in three of their first four games! Now, STMA has won three of four, with their only loss coming against #1 Moorhead, and they were in that game until the fourth quarter. The offense has been sparked by Jr. QB Lucas Bryan who has tossed five of his seven TDs in the last two weeks. For Woodbury, they like to throw the ball, led by QB Ethan Studer (210 ypg and 14 TD’s.) His top two WRs are Shaw Rekowski (35 rec, 5 TD’s) and Ethan Hanson (26 rec, 5 TD’s.) The Royals can also run the ball, but they do it by committee as four running backs have over 100 yards this season.
The Pick: The Royals have a high-powered offense but are up and down on defense. Not the case for the Knights! They have been solid all season and allowed only 60 yards of offense against Hopkins last time out! This is the Knights time of year, and they seem to have found their offense as Lucas Bryan has stepped up at QB, while they have a great lead back in Braylon Bohm, and let’s not forget RB Wyatt Mosher who always shines this time of year. Mosher had 94 yards rushing last week. Knights win, but it will be a dogfight! Knights on the road, 21-20.
Woodbury, in black, is coming off a loss to their rivals from East Ridge, 42-31.
Saturday, October 31st.
(6-3) Howard Lake WW Lakers @ (6-3) Dassel-Cokato Chargers, 2 PM.
(You can hear this game on AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app. Pregame begins at 1:30 PM.)
Last Week: HLWW defeated Rockford, 35-0 on Tuesday in the Quarterfinals, while DC defeated Jordan, 56-16 on Tuesday.
The Teams: DC has had a wild ride the last month! Coming into Tuesday, the Chargers had lost two straight games and were struggling on defense, although to be fair it was against #6AAA Holy Family and the UMD bound RB Taylor from Litch. Either way things didn’t start well on Tuesday for the Chargers either, as Jordan stayed close, but in the third quarter the “good” Chargers showed up and ran over the Hubmen for a dominant 56-16 win. For HLWW they have been much more consistent as of late, winners of four out of their last five. They have found some balance on offense as Jr. QB Hunte Bush avg. over 100 yards per game passing, while Benjamin Gatz and Jaxon Ewert avg. 217 yards per game between them on the ground. On defense the Lakers have shutout their last two opponents.
The Pick: The Chargers won the first game of the season between these two, 18-7. I think you will see a little more scoring this game, but I still think it will be close and relatively low scoring. The Lakers are playing the better football, with two straight shutouts, and on a hot streak right now. Also, the Lakers can throw the ball much better than the Chargers. Here is the deal though. DC seems to always win this time of year, and their three main ball carriers, Jackson Nyquist, Elijah Torola and QB Ryan Asplin, along with their o line really got it going last week against Jordan. I’m going against my better judgement, and taking DC, 22-14.
The DC defense, above in white, dominated the Lakers offense in their last meeting, which DC won 18-7.
Zimmerman Thunder (6-3) @ Delano Tigers (5-3), 1 PM.
Last Week: Delano had a bye in the first round of the section, but lost to #6AAAA Stewartville, 20-14 in their last game, while Zimmerman defeated Mound, 49-19 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The Teams: The Tigers come into the sections losing three of four games, but all of the losses came against ranked teams. Actually, last week there were a lot of positives in their loss to #6AAAA Stewartville. First and foremost, it was a very competitive game with the home team Tigers from Stewartville winning in overtime, 20-14. The other positive in that game was the Tigers got RB Bryce Beyer back and he had a big game with 103 yards rushing and a TD. For the Thunder they feature South Dakota St. recruit, Jameson Smuda. Smuda who stands 6’7 is a three-star recruit at tight end and is a matchup nightmare for the defense. The Thunder are playing great defense in their four-game winning streak, allowing just eight points per game.
The Pick: Delano won a close one earlier in the season with the Thunder, 35-25, but appears both teams are going in opposite directions as the Tigers have lost three of four, while the Thunder have won four straight. The Tigers will have a big challenge again with the 6’7 Smuda but led by Noah Wentzel who had thirteen tackles last week, the Tigers have answers for Smuda. On offense the Tigers literally haven’t found their passing game all season and had just 22 yards passing and an interception in their last game. The good news is, Beyer is back at RB, and for one more week the passing game won’t matter. Tigers win, but this one could go either way. Tigers, 26-21.
6’7 Jameson Smuda, above, is a three-star recruit at TE, and is headed to South Dakota St next fall.
St. Francis Saints (4-5) @ Monticello Magic (8-0), 1 PM.
Last Week: Monticello had a bye, but defeated Bemidji, 27-0 in their last regular season game, while St. Francis won their quarterfinal round game on Tuesday over Duluth East, 34-22.
The Teams: The Magic will come in well rested after a bye, and cruising in their last game over Bemidji. The Magic like to run the ball but can throw it when needed. Sr. QB Carson Deibele avg 100 yards passing per game and has tossed 11 TDs on the season. His top two targets are Jeron Schlangen (27 rec, 3 TD’s) and Johnny Moore (16 rec, 5 TD’s.) Cale Holthaus leads the team in rushing with 840 yards and 15 TD’s but did not play the last game for the Magic. On defense Monticello has been tough all year, and in their shutout win over Bemidji last game, they forced four turnovers, with two picks and two fumble recoveries. For the Saints, they are led by RB Owen Darsow, who avg. 90 yards per game on the ground. The Saints top threat at WR is Dannie Downs who leads the team with 23 receptions. On defense the Saints have been inconsistent, and much like the offense is either hit or miss depending on the week.
The Pick: The Magic won the first matchup of the season, 41-10, while limiting the Saints to 168 total yards. In that game Carson Deibele hit WR Johnny Moore for two TD’s, while Cale Holthaus rushed for 130 yards and two TDs. I think the only chance the Saints have is if Darsow and Downs have big games for the Saints. Last time out the Magic defense held the combo to just 56 total yards! For Monticello the danger is to look past the Saints to the finals, where they most certainly will get a rematch with Elk River. Personally, I don’t think it matters if they overlook the Saints, the Magic are the much better team. Magic, 42-14.
Owen Darsow, above, will need to have a big game if the Saints are to compete with Monticello.
Milaca Wolves (2-7) @ Annandale Cardinals (8-0), 7 PM.
Last Week: Annandale had a bye in the first round, and defeated Jordan in their last game, 35-10, while Milaca won their quarterfinal playoff game over Pine City on Tuesday, 37-6.
The Teams: The Cards have been dominant all season, but last week against Jordan did not play their best. The Hubmen had some success throwing the ball against Annandale, and had some long drives, two things that rarely ever happen to the Cards. QB Braylon Fobbe has 15 TD passes on the year, and they also have a great running game led by Colton Henson who has rushed for 12 TDs on the season. Defensively, the Cards strength is up the middle, with DT Adam Klatt, MLB Carter Broich, and FS Noah Elam anchoring a dominant, fast and physical defense that has only allowed 10 pts or more twice this season. For the Wolves, they have been held to seven points or less in five of their first seven games but scored 31 in their quarterfinal win over Pine City. Trent Cramlet the QB throws for about 112 yards per game, while RB Riley Moody has speed and can be an effective running back with good blocking, which hasn’t been a strength for the Wolves this season.
The Pick: Last game out the Cards did not play up to their standard according to coach Matt Walter, and they worked them hard this past week. For Milaca last time they played the Cards just a few weeks ago, they had some very effective runs against Annandale and should lean on that in this matchup. Bottom line. Annandale had ten days to get ready for this game. They aren’t happy with their last game, and they scored three times on their first four plays against Milaca in their first matchup. The defending champs will be in no mood to mess around Saturday night. Cards, 48-0.
It’s one last run for the Sr. class at Annandale which helped the team win a state championship as Juniors, is ranked #1AAA this year and has won 21 straight games.
