Section Championship Preview: Class 4A and 5A
We are entering one of the best weeks of the year for high school football in Minnesota. There are 47 section championship games ranging over Thursday and Friday night this week. I will showcase what I believe to be the…
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Continue ReadingWe are entering one of the best weeks of the year for high school football in Minnesota. There are 47 section championship games ranging over Thursday and Friday night this week. I will showcase what I believe to be the most intriguing matchups across all levels of play, in no specific order.
Section 6AAAAA
#1 Robbinsdale Armstrong (9-0) vs. #3 Elk River (9-1)
11/1 @STMA High School, 7pm
X-Factor: Thai Bowman, WR, senior
pictured above: Thai BowmanRobbinsdale Armstrong has had one of the best offenses in Minnesota throughout the season so far. They’re led by senior receiver who had 50 catches, for 720 yards, and 13 touchdowns on the regular season. The 6-foot receiver currently has a plethora of offers consisting of Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Illinois, FAU, Western Michigan, Northern Iowa, and North Dakota. Bowman catches his passes from senior, who will look to continue putting up video game-like numbers against Elk River.
pictured above: Carter Otto
X-Factor: Carter Otto, junior, RB/LB
This season, Elk River’s usual dominant rushing attack has been no different. They’re averaging an astounding 479 rushing yards per contest. senior Joe Nordstrom leads the way with 1,261 yards and 15 touchdowns, on only 124 carries . The second beneficiary of all the rushing attempts is junior Carter Otto, who has 990 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Lastly junior Rahim Avery 763 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the season. I expect the Elks be in a high scoring affair with Robbinsdale Armstrong Friday night in what should be an exciting shootout.
Section 5AAAA
#1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s (9-0) vs. #2 SMB (9-0)
11/1 @Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School, 7pm
X-Factor: Joe Marinaro, LB/RB, senior
Benilde had a dominant regular season outscoring their opponents 279-79. Their offensive success comes on the ground. Their two-headed-monster of senior Joe Marinaro and sophomore Camden Royal combined for 1,308 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the regular season. Marinaro has also been an integral part of the the Knights defense where he has 41 total tackles and 10 tackles for loss on the season. The Knights will have quite the test going up against the daunted Wolfpack Friday night—but they will have the advantage of playing on their home field.
(photo courtesy Rich Moll | https://thecatholicspirit.com)X-Factor: Kaden Johnson, LB/TE, senior
pictured above: Kaden JohnsonI feel like a broken record saying this over and over again, but SMB is obviously the most talented team in Minnesota regardless of class. Senior QB Jalen Suggs has been as good as advertised this season. Most recently in SMB’s first playoff game he ran for 199 yards on the ground for two touchdowns on ONLY 11 carries. He also threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns through the air. I think the deciding factor in this game will be if Benilde-St. Margaret’s is able to slow down ESPN top 300 ranked pass rusher Kaden Johnson. Johnson is the highest ranked player in Minnesota and I don’t think he has really even opened his bag of tricks yet this season. If the Knights are able to slow down the 6’3″ senior they may have a chance to pull of the upset.
Section 4AAAA
#1 Fridley (9-0) vs. #2 St. Anthony (8-1)
11/1 @Fridley High School, 6pm
X-Factor: Michael Ude, LB/RB, senior
Fridley has the argument to have been the most dominant of all class 4A teams during the regular season. They outscored their opponents by a blasphemous 354-33. They had a rather balanced offensive attack with 201.4 rushing yards and 148.2 passing yards per-contest in the regular season. Senior QB Kaleb Blaha put together a great regular season with 1,000+ passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns. He also was very productive on the ground with 560 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Tigers’ historically dominant defense is led by senior Michael Ude. Ude had 59 total tackles on the regular season and two interceptions. He was also very dominant as a running back on the offensive end with 660 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Fridley will look to have a repeat of their week five matchup at St. Anthony where they took down the Huskies 20-7.
pictured above: Jonathan Kieren
X-Factor: Jonathan Kieren, RB, senior
St. Anthony is led by arguably the leader in the clubhouse for Mr. Football this season. Jonathan Kieren has been running through opposing defenses all season. In the regular season the senior running back accumulated 1,761 rushing yards (1st in MN) and 26 touchdowns (1st in MN). St. Anthony rode their “bell-cow” running back’s success to a 7-1 regular season. The Huskies are obviously a very heavy running team. They averaged 280 rushing yards per game in the regular season. St. Anthony is coming off of a 57-14 win over Columbia Heights last Saturday. They will look to flip the script and upset a very good Fridley team, Friday night.
Section 2AAAA
#1 Hutchinson (9-0) vs. #2 Marshall (9-0)
11/1 @Hutchinson High School, 7pm
pictured above: Russell Corrigan
X-Factor: Russell Corrigan, QB/TE/P, senior
If St. Anthony has the leader of the Mr. Football race, Hutchinson has a close second. Boise State commit Russell Corrigan has been dominant this season for the Tigers. Corrigan has kind of been a wildcat QB this season for Hutchinson. He has not found much success through the air, with only 519 yards and four touchdowns. Although his success on the ground has been utterly ridiculous. The 6’4″ senior found the end zone 24 times (2nd in MN) for 657 yards on only 111 carries in the regular season. Senior running back Tyler Schiler has gotten most of the rushing work for Hutch outside of the red zone. He finished with 744 yards and four touchdowns on the regular season. Hutchinson should have a good test with Marshall in what should be their first real competition in quite sometime.
X-Factor: Trey Steinbach, ILB/WR, senior
pictured above: Trey SteinbachMarshall has one of the most underrated teams in the entire state of Minnesota. Their prolific offense averaged 48.1 points per game in the regular season, in route to outscoring their opponents by 335 points. Their offense is led by senior running back Gabe Raini. Who had 952 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns on the regular season. They also receive help in the passing game from Trey Steinbach who brought in four touchdowns and 175 receiving yards on 12 catches in the first eight games of the season. The 6’4″ senior has found most of his success on the defensive end, where he has 51 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks on the regular season. Lastly, Marshall’s dominant defense is led by senior lineman . Yahya is currently committed to play for the University of Iowa next season. The 6’6″ monster will look to build on his 11 regular season tackles for loss, as Marshall makes their case for the best team in class 4A Friday night against Hutchinson.
**Be on the lookout later in the week, for a preview of some of other top section championship games across the state.**