There are eight undefeated Class 2A football teams in the state heading into postseason play that starts Tuesday.
The only section that doesn’t have at least one unbeaten team is Section 2AA.
Here are the unbeaten teams by section:
1AA: Chatfield
2AA: None
3AA: Jackson County Central
4AA: Rush City, Norwood Young America
5AA: Kimball Area
6AA: Staples-Motley
7AA: Barnum
8AA: Barnesville
New format
Five sections in Class 2A adopted a new playoff format this season where only the top six teams would compete in postseason play.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in those sections will receive first-round byes. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will not participate in the section playoffs but will have an option to play each other to finish their season.
Section 6AA has only five teams and all were going to compete in postseason play but one ended its season early. More on that later.
The schedule for each section can be found later as well.
Unbeaten but seeded third
Norwood Young America rolled through its regular season with an 8-0 record and outscored its opponents by an average of 47.9-8.1, but that was only good enough to get the Raiders the number three seed in Section 4AA.
Unbeaten Rush City is the No. 1 seed Section 4AA with St. Agnes (6-2) in between as the number two seed.
The Aggies played an entire schedule of larger schools. They played five Class 3A teams, two from Class 4A and one Class 5A team.
In its first-round game Tuesday NYA will host Maple Lake (0-8). Maple Lake forfeited its game at Eden Valley-Watkins in Week 6 but the Irish did play their final two games, losing by a combined margin of 96-16.
Barnesville run
Barnesville, which has played in the Class 2A state title game the past two years (winning the title in 2022) posted its third consecutive 8-0 regular season.
It’s the 11th time the Trojans have finished the regular season since 2009.
They were 8-0 in 10 of those 11 seasons and 6-0 in the COVID-altered 2020 season.
Here are the unbeaten regular seasons for Barnesville since 2009. Again, the Trojans were 8-0 in each of these seasons unless noted.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2016
2019
2020 (6-0)
2022
2023
2024
Wadena-Deer Creek forfeit
Wadena-Deer Creek school officials made the decision this week to end its football season early in the interest of player safety due to a number of injuries to a limited varsity roster.
WDC coach Kyle Petermeier sent a letter home to families that was also posted on Facebook that explained the decision to forfeit the Wolverines' final regular season and not participate in the Section 6AA playoffs.
Petermeier said injuries began accumulating in the middle of the season and hit a dangerous low after the team’s game in Week 7. The Wolverines had only eight healthy players in grades 10-12 who would have been available for Wednesday’s regular season finale vs. Staples-Motley.
Wadena-Deer Creek opened the season with two losses to Class 2A schools before a win over a Class 1A school in Week 3. That win was followed by four losses to Class 1A schools by a combined score of 184-12.
In the letter Petermeier said: "We are in a position now where we would have to trot out a majority of our team that is 14 and 15 years old, and that is not in the best interest of our kids," coach Petermeier explained. "To us, safety is ahead of any individual game result. Football is a physical sport and putting out a team of mostly 14-15 year olds vs. 17-18 year olds is not safe or realistic for our team, and even the opposing team playing. "
Section schedules
Here are the playoff schedules for each of the Class 2A sections.
SECTION 1AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Winona Cotter (3-5) at Dover-Eyota (3-5), 7 p.m.
St. Charles (1-7) at Lewiston-Altura (6-2), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
Cotter-DE winner at Chatfield (8-0), 1 p.m.
St. Charles-LA winner at Caledonia (6-2), 1 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At TBD
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 2AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (3-5) at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (3-5), 7 p.m.
Blue Earth Area (1-7) at Maple River (4-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
NRHEG-JWP winner at Triton (6-2), 2 p.m.
BEA-Maple River winner at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (7-1), 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At Janesville
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 3AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (3-5) at LeSueur-Henderson (4-4), 7 p.m.
Windom (4-4) at Redwood Valley (6-2), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
LCWM-LSH winner at Jackson County Central (8-0), 3 p.m.
Windom-Redwood winner at Pipestone (6-2), 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At Worthington
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 4AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Randolph (7-1) at Cannon Falls (6-2), 7 p.m.
Maple Lake (0-8) at Norwood Young America (8-0), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
No. 4-5 winner at No. 1 seed, 3 p.m.
No. 3-6 winner at No. 2 seed, 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At Worthington
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 5AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Royalton (2-6) at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (4-4), 7 p.m.
Paynesville (2-6) at Holdingford (6-2), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
Royalton-KMS winner at Kimball Area (8-0), 2 p.m.
Paynesville-Holdingford winner at Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1), 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At John’s University
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 6AA
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
Menahga (1-7) at Staples-Motley (8-0), 2 p.m.
Osakis (3-5) at Pillager (7-1), 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At Fargo
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
SECTION 7AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Upper bracket
Hinckley-Finlayson (1-7) at Barnum (8-0), 6 p.m.
Aitkin (4-4) at Mesabi East (5-3), 6 p.m.
Lower bracket
Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (2-6) at Moose Lake/Willow River (6-2), 6 p.m.
Crosby-Ironton (2-6) at International Falls (5-3), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
At higher seed
Upper bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 31
Championship
At Esko
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
SECTION 8AA
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
Upper bracket
Crookston (0-8) at Barnesville (8-0), 6 p.m.
Frazee (3-5) at Park Rapids Area (4-4), 6 p.m.
Lower bracket
Roseau (2-6) at Pelican Rapids (7-1), 6 p.m.
Warroad (2-6) at Hawley (5-3), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
At higher seed
Upper bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At Fargo
Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m.
State tournament
There’s a new format for the state tournament this year. The state will be split in two, with sections 1-4 in the south and 5-8 in the north.
In the quarterfinals the parings will have the No. 1 seed playing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed playing the No. 3 seed.
The teams will cross brackets for the semifinals with the lowest remaining seed from each half playing the highest remaining seed from the other side.
STATE CLASS 2A TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Nov. 7
No. 2 South vs. No. 3 South at Hastings, 7 p.m.
No. 2 North vs. No. 3 North at St. Cloud Tech, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 8
No. 1 South vs. No. 4 South at Orono High School, 7 p.m.
No. 1 North vs. No. 4 North at Brainerd, 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 15
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Low seed South vs. High seed North, 9 a.m.
High seed South vs. Low seed North, 11:30 a.m.
Championship
Friday, Nov. 22
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.