The Warriors are first in the state in Class 2A in margin of victory (37.7 points per game). They are No. 1 in the state in Class 2A in defensive scoring average (5.5 points allowed per game). They are No. 1 in the most recent Class 2A state poll. Who are we to buck that trend? Caledonia remains No. 1 with a bullet in our weekly Power Rankings. They’ll have a quarterfinal bye in the Section 1-2A playoffs, then will play at home — where they haven’t allowed a point since Week 1 — in the semifinals.

Six straight wins overall, five consecutive wins by at least 17 points, and four straight wins in which they’ve held opposing offenses to single digits on the scoreboard. The lesson here appears to be: Don’t make the Byron Bears mad. Since their only loss this season — a thorough 37-14 lashing by No. 1-ranked Orono in Week 2 — the Bears have been untouchable. And even if someone figures out how to solve that defense, that same team will have to find a way to slow an offense averaging better than 40 points per game for the season, and 48.6 ppg over the past five weeks.

The Tigers, 7-1 overall and ranked No. 6 in the state in Class 4A, bounced back nicely from their only loss so far this fall, a 24-7 setback at Byron in Week 7, by pulling out a dramatic 20-14 OT win against No. 10-ranked Delano on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale. If there is a silver lining to the injury suffered by senior QB Pete Tschetter, it’s that it happened midway through the season, and sophomore Noah Jurgensen has had plenty of time to settle in as the varsity starter. He was his usual efficient self against Delano, going 11-for-17 passing for 133 yards and two TDs. Stewie’s ‘D,’ which allows just 12.0 points per game, gave up just 226 total yards to a high-powered Delano offense.

The 7-1 Rebels are for real. And even if they haven’t cracked the top 10 in the Class 1A state poll — they play in a Class that features nine undefeated teams — they have proved they belong up high in our Power Rankings. Southland and defending Section 1-1A champion Fillmore Central appear to be on a collision course in the section this fall. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, at 5-3, and has lost to Southland and Fillmore Central. The other two teams in the section are a combined 1-15. Southland has scored at least 50 points in every game in the second half of the season, and has averaged a whopping 58.5 ppg over that span.

If it’s possible for a 7-1 team that has won three section championships in the past four years to, ahem, fly under the radar, the Falcons are that team. They are 37-5 over the past four seasons, and enter the Section 1-1A playoffs this week on a five-game winning streak that includes four straight games in which they’ve allowed six or fewer points. As mentioned in the Southland section of this article, the collision course for the section championship game seems more obvious every week.

Two trends have been true for the Bombers this fall: 1. they have played in a lot of close games, and 2. they have figured out how to win those close games. Three of No. 8-ranked Cannon Falls’ seven wins have come by one score, including this week’s regular season finale, a come-from-behind 32-28 win at Triton. The Bombers (7-1) will be the No. 1 seed in the Section 4, Class 2A playoffs and there’s a good chance they’ll have to go through the only other team in the section with a winning record if they want to get to state. That team? Last year’s Class 2A state runner-up Goodhue.

The Panthers ran into a motivated Chatfield team on Wednesday night, one that wasn’t willing to finish its season at or below .500. Chatfield blitzed the Panthers, winning 34-7 to snap Pine Island’s seven-game winning streak. It’s the first time this year the Panthers had allowed more than 14 points in a game, and it’s the most points they’ve allowed in a regular-season game since a 40-0 loss to Caledonia in Week 8 of the 2024 season. The good news for Pine Island (7-1 overall): with a 6-0 record against a seven-team section, they’ll have the No. 1 seed in Section 1-3A, a quarterfinal bye and 10 days between games to heal the bumps and bruises that are unavoidable at this time of year.

Yes, the Cougars (7-1 and receiving votes in the Class 3A state poll) suffered their lone loss this season to Pine Island. But it seemed unfair to drop them a spot in our Power Rankings after they closed the regular season with a 66-0 rout of Austin. That was Z-M’s fifth shutout of the season and third in the past five weeks. Just how good is this Cougars defense? Its 6.1 points allowed per game average is the second-best in the entire state in Class 3A, behind only undefeated and No. 3-ranked Pierz (8-0), the Section 7-3A power that allows just 4.1 points per game.

A common theme has emerged among teams in these Power Rankings: They just don’t get scored on. The 6-2 Eagles, who were tied for the No. 10 ranking in the state in this week’s Class 2A poll, are no exception to that rule. They allow just 6.8 points per game — the second-best mark in the section (Caledonia, 5.5) and third-best mark in the state in all of Class 2A. D-E is one of just four Class 2A teams whose points allowed per game average is in the single digits. They have recorded three shutouts this season and have surrendered a total of 13 points over the past four weeks.

The 6-2 Wildcats are back in the Class 2A state poll this week — tied for 10th — and they’re back in our Power Rankings after closing the season with a convincing 28-0 shutout of Central (Norwood Young America) on the road. The Wildcats, who won the Section 4-2A title a year ago en route to a state runner-up finish, expect to challenge for another section title this fall. Their two losses this season came by a touchdown each — 21-14 vs. Triton in Week 1, and 36-30 at Cannon Falls in Week 6. The Wildcats always seem to play their best when the pressure is greatest; they are 5-0 in section playoff games and 7-2 overall in the postseason over the past two years.