High School Football Focus: Section 1 finals offer rematches, big-time matchups

Nov. 1—The worst thing about the six Section 1 football championship games scheduled to be played this week is that five of them kick off at the same time.

If ever there was a time of year for sports fans to be two places at once, this would be it.

Two of the six Section 1 finals are rematches of championship games from a year ago, while two others feature matchups of teams ranked in the top 10 in the state in their respective classes.

The best thing about the six Section 1 football championship games scheduled for this week? No matter which one (or two) you choose to watch, you can't go wrong.

We'll start the Section Finals edition of the High School Football Focus with a brief look at all of the Section 1 title games, before we name the top performers of Section Semifinal Saturday, and offer this week's southeastern Minnesota Power Rankings.

—Section 1AAAAA, No. 2 Owatonna (5-4) at No. 1 Mayo (8-1), 7 p.m. Saturday: This is the third straight section title game matchup between these teams, as Owatonna edged Mayo 30-28 in the 2020 title game, then Mayo returned the favor last year, winning 38-33 on its home field. Mayo also topped the Huskies in their regular-season matchup this year, winning 34-27 in the season opener.

—Section 1AAAA, No. 2 Kasson-Mantorville (7-2) vs. No. 1 Stewartville (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday (Mayo High School): Kasson-Mantorville is the defending section champion. Stewartville is the No. 1-ranked team in the state. The Tigers have been a steamroller this season, winning all nine of their games by at least 21 points. K-M is looking to go to state for a second consecutive season. Stewartville is seeking its first trip to state since 2015, when it advanced to the state semifinals.

—Section 1AAA, No. 4 P-E-M (7-3) vs. No. 2 Cannon Falls (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday (at Rochester Regional Stadium): A rematch of last year's section final in which P-E-M pulled out a dramatic 21-18 victory against the Bombers. Aside from Cannon Falls' 24-22 loss to Lourdes on Sept. 30, P-E-M played the Bombers as tough as any team has this fall, losing to the Bombers 24-18 on Sept. 9.

—Section 1AA, No. 2 Caledonia (8-2) vs. No. 1 Chatfield (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday (at Kasson-Mantorville High School): The two dominant forces in Section 1AA over nearly the past two decades, either Caledonia or Chatfield has represented the section in 15 of the past 16 state tournaments. No. 1-ranked Chatfield won state championships in 2013 and 2021; No. 8-ranked Caledonia won titles in 2007, '08, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16, '17, '18 and '19. These fierce rivals haven't met in the postseason since 2019, but this will be their ninth playoff matchup since 2010. Caledonia is 8-1 in those nine meetings.

—Section 1A, No. 2 Faribault B.A. (8-2) vs. No. 1 Fillmore Central (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday (at Art Hass Stadium, Austin): Unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Fillmore Central has its sights on its first-ever state tournament appearance as Fillmore Central. Harmony went to state six times between 1979-90 (including winning the 1984 Class C state title), and Preston was the Class C runner-up in 1972. The Falcons have been to the section final twice in the past six years, suffering heartbreaking losses to Rushford-Peterson both times (22-21 in 2016; 7-0 last year). The Falcons beat FBA 28-14 in Faribault during the regular season.

—Section 1 9-Man, No. 2 Lanesboro (9-1) vs. No. 1 Spring Grove (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday (at Triton High School, Dodge Center): This is another matchup of two top-10 ranked teams, with Spring Grove checking in at No. 3 in the final 9-Man state poll, and Lanesboro at No. 7. The Lions took it to the Burros in the regular-season finale, winning 28-6. Lanesboro is looking for its first trip to state since 2010, when it finished as the state runner-up; it likely would have gone in 2020, if not for the pandemic causing the state tournament to be canceled. Spring Grove's players grew up watching teams that not only made it to state, but won. The Lions are trying to get back to state for the first time since 2018, when they won their second of back-to-back state titles.

—Isaiah Beale, RB, Mayo: The sophomore has been a breakout star of an outstanding season for the Spartans. Beale continued his tear in Saturday's 49-13 victory against rival Century in the Section 1AAAAA semifinals. He ran for 123 yards in the win and scored four touchdowns. Beale gives the Spartans a nice mix-it-up runner to pair with powerful Rudy Lozoya and a stellar passing attack led by QB Rees Grimsrud and WR Carter Holcomb.

—Carter Daniels, WR/S, Chatfield: The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior standout had a tremendous all-around game in the Gophers thoroughly dominant 51-14 win against Goodhue — a team that had played them to an eight-point game less than two weeks earlier. Daniels caught a 42-yard TD pass, had an 18-yard fumble return for a TD and returned an interception 40 yards to set up another Gophers' TD.

—Ayden Helder, QB, Stewartville: Helder and the Stewartville Steamroller stayed right on track to reach one of their goals, playing in the Class AAAA state tournament. Helder was a perfect 10-for-10 passing for 111 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 1-ranked Tigers romped past rival Byron 56-0 in a section semifinal game.

—Kaiden Peters, WR/KR/DB, P-E-M: The Bulldogs dynamic playmaker made big plays in big situations. He caught a 66-yard TD pass in the third quarter of a Section 1AAA playoff game against Lourdes. Then, after Lourdes went up 14-10 with 1:23 to play, Peters returned the ensuing kickoff 71 yards to the Lourdes' 22. Four plays later he caught the game-winning TD, a 7-yard pass from Alex Hinrichs. Peters had five catches for 118 yards in the game.

—Cayden Tollefsrud, WR, Mabel-Canton: Tollefsrud led Mabel-Canton with 12 carries for 42 yards and a TD, and five receptions for 127 yards. The Cougars saw their season come to a close, though, with a loss to Lanesboro in the Section 1 9-Man semifinals.

1t. Chatfield (10-0)

Last week: 1t.

The Gophers showed that, with their season on the line in every game now, there's no messing around. Just 10 days after trailing Goodhue at halftime before pulling out a 28-20 victory, top-seeded Chatfield stormed to a 51-0 lead against fifth-seeded Goodhue en route to a 51-14 win.

1t. Stewartville (9-0)

Last week: 1t.

So, about that rematch between Stewartville and Byron, the rematch from a year ago when Byron upset the Tigers in OT in the section semifinals. Yeah, Stewartville remembered. The Tigers scored four second-quarter TDs on Saturday to build a 42-0 halftime lead en route to a 56-0 win against the Bears in the Section 1AAAA semifinals. As we've learned often in high school sports, no team is unbeatable. Stewartville looks as close to that as it comes.

3. Cannon Falls (9-1)

Last week: 3.

The Bombers put up video-game type numbers without video game-like play. The stat: They scored 67 points in a 67-33 win against La Crescent-Hokah in a Section 1AAA semifinal Saturday, and they did so without throwing a single pass. Cannon Falls averages nearly 50 points per game, approximately 10 times the number of passes it throws per game. Opposing defenses' best bet against the Bombers' rushing attack might just be to tackle everyone who looks like they have the ball.

4. Mayo (8-1)

Last week: 4.

The Spartans cleared up any question marks they might have had, with a thoroughly dominant 49-13 win against rival Century in a Section 1AAAAA semifinal on Saturday. The emergence of sophomore RB Isaiah Beale (123 yards, 4 TDs vs. Century) has given Mayo's explosive offense yet another threat. It's a rich-get-richer scenario, and it's an unfortunate one for any defense that gets between Mayo and its goal of a deep state tournament run.

5. Fillmore Central (10-0)

Last week: 6.

Perhaps our acknowledgment that we see the Falcons for who they are — one of the best teams in the state in Class A — didn't satisfy them. Fillmore Central pushed the gas pedal to the floor weeks ago, and it's holding it there. The Falcons routed fourth-seeded Randolph 49-20 on Saturday in a Section 1A semifinal. They'll now face Faribault B.A., the team that came closest to them in the regular season, a 28-14 game in Week 4.

6. Spring Grove (10-0)

Last week: 7.

The Lions are like a VCR (Google it, young'ns). They play a game, hit rewind, then play the same game a week later. That game has been very good for the top-seeded Lions, who blew out Grand Meadow 47-6 in a Section 1 9-Man semifinal on Saturday. They used the same recipe they have all season: 186 yards passing from QB Elijah Solum and 103 yards rushing from Hunter Holland. Spring Grove is outscoring its opponents 45.8-16.3 this season.

7. Kasson-Mantorville (7-2)

Last week: 9.

If any team can knock off No. 1-ranked Stewartville, it just might be Kasson-Mantorville, or a team that runs a similar offense. K-M is a run-heavy team, which could play to its advantage if it can control the ball and get first downs. That's easier said than done, though, against a Stewartville defense that averages 3.7 points allowed per game and has recorded five shutouts.

8. Caledonia (8-2)

Last week: 8.

The Warriors are back in a familiar spot, the Section 1AA championship game, a contest they were mainstays in for a decade and a half. Most of the current Warriors haven't played in a section final — 2019 was the last time Caledonia was in this game. Its opponent is familiar, though: Top-ranked Chatfield. The Warriors played well against the Gophers the first time out, falling 19-6.

9. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (7-3)

Last week: NR.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs had little time to savor their last-minute, come-from-behind 17-14 win against Lourdes in a Section 1AAA semifinal on Saturday. P-E-M has to refocus quickly, with the second-highest scoring offense in Class AAA staring it down in Friday night's section title game. Cannon Falls averages 49.3 points per game, second only to Esko's 52.3. P-E-M counters with the second-best defense in the section (17.6 points allowed per game), one that largely shut down Lourdes' option offense on Saturday.

10. Lanesboro (9-1)

Last week: 10.

The Burros' lone loss this season is fresh in their minds; it happened just two weeks ago, a 28-6 setback against Spring Grove. Lanesboro gets another opportunity to attempt to spoil the Lions' unbeaten season when they meet Friday night with a trip to the state tournament on the line.