Advertisement

Lourdes has target on its back in loaded Section 1AAA playoff field

jason feldman, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·6 min read

Oct. 24—Plainview-Elgin-Millville is the defending champion.

La Crescent-Hokah is the new kid on the block, a somewhat surprising title contender.

Cannon Falls is the high-scoring machine that few teams have been able to slow down, much less stop.

Lourdes is the top seed, the team that, simply put, learned how to win games in any fashion this season.

Those four teams are the top four seeds in the Section 1AAA high school football playoffs. Three of them have spent time in the state rankings this season. Lourdes (No. 4) and Cannon Falls (No. 5) are still in those rankings. All four of them have the same goal: To represent the section in the Class AAA state tournament. Whoever gets there will have earned it, surviving a gauntlet to get to state.

Here's a look at the seven teams that make up the Section 1AAA playoffs field:

It's been a few years since the Eagles (7-1) were in this position — entering the postseason as a favorite to win the section championship. Lourdes last went to state in 2018, when it won its fourth state title in a nine-season span. It has boosted itself back into that top spot by putting together a seven-game winning streak after losing its season opener to Class AA's best team, No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Chatfield. Lourdes' winning streak includes nail-biting, last-minute victories against La Crescent-Hokah (41-36) and Cannon Falls (24-22), and a convincing win against P-E-M (27-8). The Eagles don't have a superstar, they're just a team filled with players who know their roles, execute them well and trust the players next to them. It's been a successful formula so far this season. Lourdes' defense — its front four, in particular — has stood out for much of the season. The Eagles allow the fewest points per game of any team in the section (17.57). A trio of ball-carriers who average 5.0 or more yards per carry have led the offense: senior fullback Eli Haight (269 yards, 7 TDs); junior quarterback Adam Sellner (391 yards, 6 TDs) and freshman running back Caleb Akinbolu (837 yards, 9 TDs).

Lake City (3-5) has improved as the season has gone along, after replacing a large and successful senior class that led the team to an 8-2 mark last year. Quarterback Jaden Shones has been outstanding late in the regular season. Shones passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns in Lake City's two-game winning streak in Weeks 6 and 7. Add in another strong game against Lourdes in the regular season finale, and Shones has 504 yards and five TDs in the past three games. He has a great target, too, in Keegan Ryan. The 6-4 receiver presented matchup problems for Lourdes last week, and likely will for P-E-M this week. The Tigers played a strong game on both sides of the ball in a loss to Lourdes in Wednesday's regular season finale, which could continue to boost their confidence entering the postseason.

Plainview-Elgin-Millville (5-3), the defending section champion, righted its ship with a 21-0 victory against Zumbrota-Mazeppa to close the regular season on Wednesday. The Bulldogs got off to a strong start, going 4-1 in their first five games, with the lone loss a one-TD setback against Cannon Falls. In the two weeks prior to the win against Z-M, though, P-E-M lost a pair of games by double digits, against Lourdes (27-8) and La Crescent-Hokah (42-26). In the Bulldogs' favor, though, is their ability to create points quickly, led specifically by playmaker Kaiden Peters. He had a punt return TD and a kickoff return TD against La Crescent-Hokah on Oct. 14.

More than one coach in the section has pointed out over the past month that Z-M (1-7) has improved dramatically as the season has gone along. "Watching their game film from Week 1 until now, it's evident," one coach said. Z-M trailed P-E-M just 7-0 at halftime last week. In the previous two weeks, it played Lake City to a one-score game (21-13) and Lourdes to a two-score game (28-15). QB Zane Angerman has sparked the Cougars' offense. In the second half of the regular season he has thrown for 689 yards and five touchdowns. That includes a 267-yard, two-TD performance in the loss to Lake City.

There may not be a better turnaround story in southeastern Minnesota — or the whole state for that matter — than the one at La Crescent-Hokah. The Lancers, under first-year head coach Terry Donovan, have gone from 0-9 a year ago — and not fielding a varsity team two years ago — to 4-4 this season and hosting a playoff game. The Lancers were this close to knocking off Lourdes, falling 41-36 on a last-minute TD in Week 4. They beat P-E-M by 16 (42-26) and lost a wild shootout against Cannon Falls (60-49). The Lancers are led by QB AJ Donovan and his top targets, Carter Todd, Mason Einerwold and Noah Bjerke-Wieser. Over the past two weeks, Donovan and Todd have connected for 22 receptions for 267 yards. Donovan has thrown for 459 yards and four TDs in the past two games.

Pine Island (0-8) averages just 9.0 points per game and allows 39.1 per game, but the Panthers have hung with opponents more than once this season. They fell just 19-6 to Z-M on Sept. 30, and played Lake City to a 14-12 game back on Sept. 9. Pine Island is also taking a little momentum into the postseason, having scored a season-best 21 points last week in a loss tp La Crescent-Hokah. Sam Knox, one of the Panthers' top offensive threats, ran for 138 yards and two TDs in that game.

Cannon Falls (7-1) is less than a minute from being the No. 1 seed in the section, its lone loss coming when Lourdes drove nearly 70 yards and kicked a field goal as time expired to win 24-22 in Rochester on Sept. 30. As always, the Bombers like to run the ball, then run it again, then run it some more. And they pile up the points while doing so. They average 46.6 points per game, the most in the section by a wide margin (La Crescent-Hokah is second at 33.2). Their scoring average is also the second-best in the state in Class AAA, quite a feat for a team that generally passes the ball five or fewer times per game. Cannon Falls holds wins against Goodhue, P-E-M, La Crescent-Hokah, and it closed the regular season with an impressive 38-20 win at Caledonia.