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Tom Elliott: A look at section football

tom elliott, west central tribune, willmar, minn.
·5 min read

Oct. 4—Renville County West is looking good. BOLD appears to be the real deal. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and New London-Spicer are decent bets to get back to state.

Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg and Willmar are right there.

That's the mid-season assessment for area prep football teams with three weeks to go in the regular season.

RCW has the No. 1 ranking in the QRF, a power-ranking system that is the property of Minnesota-Scores.net and used by a lot of sections for playoff seedings.

The QRF has the Jaguars as the top 9-Man team in the state. And who's to argue?

BOLD is No. 3 in Class A. BBE in Class A and NLS in Class 3A both have viable state tournament opportunities after being surprises last season.

KMS could wind up with a top seed if BBE falters.

Willmar must deal with Hutchinson and Marshall in its section. But the Cardinals are certainly viable section contenders.

The state quarterfinals begin Nov. 10. The semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis are Nov. 17-19, with the Prep Bowl set for Dec. 2-3 at the Bank.

Here's a look at sections that include area teams:

* Section 2 — This is the second year in this section for Willmar and has proven not to be any easier than the Cardinals' old Section 8. No. 3 Hutchinson (4-1) hammered Willmar early in the regular season and is the favorite.

No. 12 Willmar (4-1) needs to win as many games as it can to secure a No. 2 seed. None of the Cardinals' final three games are a sure bet with No. 7 Rocori (5-1), No. 35 Chisago Lakes (1-4) and No. 10 Becker (4-1) still on the schedule. And remember, the Chisago Lakes and Becker games are on the road.

Keep an eye on No. 8 Marshall (5-0) and No. 26 Jordan (3-2), which will also contend for the No. 2 seed. In a six-team section, that means the top two teams get a much-welcomed bye in the first round of the playoffs.

It looks like No. 29 Faribault (2-3) and No. 32 St. Peter (2-3) are good enough to upset one of the top four teams.

* Section 2AAA — No. 21 Litchfield (3-2) is scrambling for a top-four seed in a seven-team section that has five teams with winning records.

No. 7 Watertown-Mayer (4-1) and No. 9 Dassel-Cokato (4-1) are vying for the top seed and its first-round playoff bye.

The Dragons are in a pack that includes No. 17 Providence Academy (3-2), No. 18 Rockford (3-2) and No. 30 Glencoe-Silver Lake (2-3). Any could end up with a No. 3 seed with a strong finish.

No. 48 Holy Family Catholic (0-5) is the likely seventh seed.

* Section 6AAA — No. 12 New London-Spicer (4-1) has a good shot at the top seed in this seven-team section. The top seed became a topic of discussion when No. 16 Pierz (4-1) lost 26-24 to No. 15 Morris/Chokio-Alberta (3-2) last Friday.

NLS has a critical game at No. 2 Milaca (5-0), then plays at No. 30 Glencoe-Silver Lake (2-3) before closing with No. 9 Dassel-Cokato (4-1). That's a tough schedule. The Wildcats haven't really been stopped offensively this year, even in their loss, a 38-36 defeat Sept. 9 at No. 7 Watertown-Mayer (4-1). If they can slow down their remaining opponents, a top seed could be theirs.

No. 25 Albany (2-3), No. 33 Melrose (2-3), No. 42 Montevideo (1-4) and No. 54 Minnewaska (0-5) are aligning themselves for their best possible first-round matchups.

* Section 5 — No. 6 Eden Valley-Watkins (5-0) is the team to beat. No. 11 Royalton (4-1) and No. 20 Kimball (5-0) are aiming for the second seed in the six-team section.

No. 26 Paynesville (2-3) and No. 38 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (2-3) are chasing that group, with No. 48 Holdingford (0-5) aiming for an upset along the way.

* Section 4A — No. 10 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (4-1) and No. 22 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (4-1) are focused on getting the top seed in the seven-team section.

No. 33 Upsala/Swanville Area (2-3), No. 38 Browerville-Eagle Valley (2-3), No. 40 Parkers Prairie (1-4), No. 47 Benson (1-4) and No. 59 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (0-5) are jockeying for position.

Neither KMS nor BBE has an easy road to No. 1.

The Fighting Saints must deal with an undefeated Class AA Kimball team this week, then play another Class AA team in ACGC before closing out at home with LPGE.

BBE is host to ACGC, then plays at Browerville/Eagle Valley before closing with No. 3 BOLD (5-0).

* Section 5A — This looks like BOLD's section, though No. 10 Lakeview (4-1), No. 12 Dawson-Boyd (4-1) and No. 16 Minneota (4-1) will all have some say in the matter.

With eight teams in the section, there will be no byes.

No. 28 Yellow Medicine East (3-2), No. 32 Canby (3-2), No. 52 MACCRAY (1-4) and No. 58 Lac qui Parle Valley (0-5) are all seeing how far up the seedings ladder they can climb in the next three games.

* Section 2 — No. 1 RCW (5-0) has already had a couple of close calls, rallying to beat Kingsland 27-24 on Aug. 26 and then using overtime to beat Red Rock Central 19-13.

Friday's game at No. 10 Cedar Mountain (5-1) will be pivotal in securing the section's top seed for the Jaguars.

No. 14 Hancock (4-1) is also in the top-seed conversation of the six-team section with No. 31 Sleepy Eye St. Mary's (3-3), No. 34 Ortonville (2-3) and No. 37 Nicollet (2-3) all capable of an upset of the top three. There are no pushovers.