Advertisement

Who’s No. 1? It’s unanimous in Minnesota’s three largest football classes

Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune
·4 min read

Voters aren't leaving much room for doubt about the No. 1 football teams in Minnesota's three largest classes this week.

It's unanimous that Eden Prairie is No. 1 in Class 6A, Chanhassen is No. 1 in 5A and Becker No. 1 in 4A. The Star Tribune's Jim Paulsen gathers votes from media members representing regions of the state, and all 11 who voted this week had those three teams in the top spot in their classes.

It likely won't be a week when any of those teams gets tested. Eden Prairie plays Rochester Mayo (2-4), Chanhassen plays school district rival Chaska (3-3), and Becker plays Big Lake (0-6).

A challenge does await one No. 1. Mountain Iron-Buhl, the defending Nine-man champion and ranked first at 6-0, will take on No. 3 Cherry (6-0) on Thursday.

State rankings

First-place votes in parentheses, record, total points

CLASS 6A

1. Eden Prairie (11), 6-0, 110

2. Maple Grove, 5-1, 89

3. Lakeville North, 5-1, 88

4. Minnetonka, 5-1, 71

5. Lakeville South, 5-1, 59

6. (tie) Centennial, 5-1, 55

6. (tie) Stillwater, 5-1, 55

8. Rosemount, 4-2, 30

9. Buffalo, 5-1, 21

10. Woodbury, 4-2, 10

Also receiving votes: Anoka 9, Edina 4, Shakopee 2, Eastview 1, Forest Lake 1

CLASS 5A

1. Chanhassen (11), 6-0, 110

2. Rogers, 6-0, 98

3. Mankato West, 5-1, 85

4. Alexandria, 6-0, 79

5. Sauk Rapids-Rice, 6-0, 58

6. St. Thomas Academy, 5-1, 53

7. Andover, 5-1, 47

8. Brainerd, 5-1, 37

9. Robbinsdale Armstrong, 5-1, 19

10. Bloomington Jefferson, 5-1, 12

Also receiving votes: Moorhead 3, St. Paul Central 2, Owatonna 1, Two Rivers 1

CLASS 4A

1. Becker (11), 6-0, 110

2. Orono, 6-0, 99

3. Princeton, 6-0, 81

4. Totino-Grace, 5-1, 77

5. Hutchinson, 4-2, 51

6. Byron, 5-1, 39

7. Kasson-Mantorville, 5-1, 36

8. Mound-Westonka, 5-1, 34

9. Rocori, 5-1, 21

10. (tie) Detroit Lakes, 5-1, 20

10. (tie) North Branch, 5-1, 20

Also receiving votes: Hermantown 10, Chisago Lakes 3, Hill-Murray 2, Minneapolis Henry 2

CLASS 3A

1. Stewartville (7), 6-0, 106

2. Esko (4), 6-0, 103

3. Annandale, 6-0, 87

4. Litchfield, 5-1, 68

5. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, 5-1, 60

6. Dassel-Cokato, 5-1, 42

7. Minneapolis North, 5-1, 41

8. Waseca, 5-1, 38

9. Fairmont, 5-1, 32

10. Pequot Lakes, 5-1, 12

Also receiving votes: Rochester Lourdes 8, Rockford 7, Two Harbors 1

CLASS 2A

1. Barnesville (7), 6-0, 105

2. Caledonia (3), 6-0, 99

3. Eden Valley-Watkins, 6-0, 86

4. Jackson Co. Central, 6-0, 71

5. St. Agnes (1), 6-0, 67

6. Barnum, 6-0, 46

7. Chatfield, 5-1, 44

8. Norwood Young America, 6-0, 39

9. Cannon Falls, 5-1, 25

10. Osakis, 5-1, 12

Also receiving votes: Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4, Moose Lake-Willow River 3, Maple River 2, Upsala/Swanville 2

CLASS 1A

1. Minneota (9), 6-0, 107

2. Fillmore Central (1), 6-0, 98

3. Mahnomen/Waubun (1), 6-0, 82

4. BOLD, 5-1, 69

5. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, 6-0, 54

6. Ada-Borup/West, 5-1, 36

7. Mayer Lutheran, 5-1, 24

8. (tie) Bethlehem Academy, 5-1, 13

8. (tie) Upsala/Swanville, 5-1, 13

10. Sleepy Eye United, 5-1, 9

Also receiving votes: Kenyon-Wanamingo 8, Parkers Prairie 8, Braham 6, Goodhue 5, Lester Prairie 2, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 1

NINE-PLAYER

1. Mountain Iron-Buhl (10), 6-0, 109

2. Fertile-Beltrami (1), 6-0, 96

3. Cherry, 6-0, 92

4. Nevis, 6-0, 75

5. Ottertail Central, 6-0, 61

6. Kingsland, 6-0, 53

7. Hills-Beaver Creek, 6-0, 32

8. Leroy-Ostrander, 5-1, 24

9. Ogilvie, 5-1, 20

10. Spring Grove, 5-1, 19

Also receiving votes: Border West 8, Edgerton 8, Stephen-Argyle 5, New Ulm Cathedral 3

The rankings were determined by a group of voters representing media across the state. Each No. 1 vote is worth 10 points, No. 2 9 points, No. 3 8 points, down to No. 10 worth 1 point. The rankings are compiled by the Star Tribune's Jim Paulsen (612-437-9926 cell/text), james.paulsen@startribune.com).