Retour
Moorhead is gone. Minnesota’s top-ranked team entering the MSHSL Class 6A State Tournament second round fell to the No. 4-seed Prior Lake Lakers in a significant upset.
So the Class 6A playoffs feel wide open, and eight teams have an opportunity to advance to the semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium with wins this week.
Three of the four quarterfinals are Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. Shakopee vs. Centennial is Friday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m.
The Champlin Park offense continues to dominate defenses. The Rebels have scored 100 points in the opening two rounds, and quarterback Cash Miller threw for four touchdowns and ran for one in a 49-13 win against Wayzata last week.
The Rebels defense will need to be prepared for Forest Lake senior running back Mack Jurkovich, who is averaging 8.2 yards per carry. He has six rushing touchdowns in two playoff games. The Rangers could keep the ball away from the Rebels offense if Jurkovich can control the game.
Prior Lake started the season 0-4 which included a 15-14 loss to Rosemount. But that was two months ago, and the Lakers have since added impressive wins to their resume.
They relied on a strong defense to hold Moorhead’s top offense to 14 points. The Spuds were without star wide receiver David Mack, but they still had plenty of talent. Prior Lake’s Zak Loehlein intercepted Gophers commit Jett Feeney twice in the fourth quarter. Prior Lake’s defense has allowed more than 20 points only twice this season.
Rosemount is a well balanced team that has rolled through two playoff games, and the Irish have played plenty of top teams so far this season. Their losses are to Centennial, Shakopee and Lakeville South.
The Skippers are a balanced team with a good quarterback in senior Caden Gutzmer. Their defense has forced turnovers throughout the season, and with the exceptions of the loss to Moorhead, the Skippers defense has held every opponent at 28 points or under.
Minnetonka’s only losses this season are against Moorhead and Eden Prairie, and both of those teams are out of the playoffs.
Lakeville South has won two shootouts to reach the quarterfinals. Per usual, the Cougars run the ball well. They average 270 yards per game and 8.3 yards per attempt. Senior running backs Jeremiah Lebbi and Griffen Dean lead the Cougars with 1,025 rushing yards and 792 rushing yards, respectively.
The Sabers and the Cougars have two of the top defenses in Minnesota.
Shakopee earned the top seed by holding opponents to 8.7 points per game. Nebraska linebacker commit Nehemiah Ombati and Wisconsin linebacker commit Blake Betton lead the Sabers defense. They shut out Maple Grove 31-0 to reach the quarterfinals.
Centennial also has a good defense, but the Cougars offense has scored over 30 points in its prior three games. The Cougars routed Eden Prairie 31-13 last week, leading 31-0 at one point. In the first round, the Cougars went to overtime against a 3-6 East Ridge team. They played a close game with undefeated Champlin Park, so they can hang with anyone.