A look at high school football playoffs: Is your team in line for a top seed?

The final games of the regular season will be played Wednesday and Thursday. Playoffs start next week.

October 17, 2023 at 12:55PM
Isaac Cin (19) and kicker Jack Kimmel celebrated after Kimmel’s field goal gave Lakeville South a 24-21 victory over Lakeville North in September. The teams are tied for the Class 6A Section 3 lead. (Alex Kormann, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

One game remains in the regular season — the final night for metro teams will be Wednesday or Thursday because of the MEA break — so let's take a look at how the districts with metro teams stack up.

In the four Class 6A sections: Lakeville South and Lakeville North are tied for the lead in Section 3 with 6-1 records (although South holds the head-to-head edge); Stillwater has clinched Section 4; Centennial holds a one-game edge over Maple Grove and Anoka in Section 5; and undefeated Eden Prairie sits atop Section 6.

The four Class 6A tournament brackets, each seeded 1 through 8, will be revealed Friday morning.

The rest of the classes follow a separate, more traditional seeding process. In Class 5A, Owatonna (Section 1), Chanhassen (2), St. Thomas Academy (3), Robbinsdale Armstrong (5), Rogers (6), Andover (7) and Alexandria (8) have either locked up the top seed or are favored to do so. In Section 4, Mahtomedi (4-3) has the higher QRF ranking despite being a game behind St. Paul Central (5-2). QRF, or Quality Results Formula, accounts for strength of schedule.

In Class 4A, Kasson-Mantorville has the edge on Byron in Section 1, having won the head-to-head meeting in Week 5. In control in other sections are Totino-Grace (4), Holy Angels (5) despite a 3-4 record, Orono (6), North Branch (7) and Becker (8). Section 2, with Hutchinson, Marshall and New Ulm all 5-2, and Section 3, with Hill-Murray, Simley and Chisago Lakes at 5-2, are yet to be determined.

In Class 3A sections involving metro teams, Litchfield (2), Minneapolis North (4) and Annandale (5) have the inside track to the top seeds, and in Class 2A, St. Agnes and Norwood Young America are both 7-0 atop Section 4.

The playoffs begin Tuesday, Oct. 24, for all classes but 6A. The Class 6A tournament begins Oct. 27.

about the writer

Jim Paulsen

Reporter

Jim Paulsen is a high school sports reporter for the Star Tribune. 

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Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.

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