Jackson County Central will play a semifinal game in the state football playoffs for the seventh time in school history when the Huskies play Barnesville in a Class 2A matchup at 9 a.m. Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
JCC has bounced back and forth between Class 3A and 2A since becoming a school district at the start of the 1997-98 school year.
Of those semifinal appearances, five have been in Class 3A and this year is the second in Class 2A.
The Huskies have a 4-2 record in the state semifinals.
1997
In its first season as a school district Jackson County Central won its first dozen games to set up a Class 3A semifinal vs. St. Michael-Albertville at the Metrodome.
In the semis, the Huskies would defeat the Knights 35-15. STMA is now a Class 6A school.
JCC would lose the state championship game 55-7 the next week to former Jackson High School coach Jim Mader and Albany.
1998
The 1998 Huskies started 4-0 before a loss to Worthington in Week 5.
JCC then reeled off eight straight wins with the final win in that stretch being a 23-7 semifinal win over Delano at the Metrodome.
Foley would beat Jackson County Central 21-7 at Prep Bowl.
2001
Jackson County Central’s first state football championship.
After a Week 3 loss the Huskies won 11 straight to claim the state Class 3A crown.
The tenth win in that streak was a 33-0 shutout of Lake City in the semifinals.
JCC then beat Becker 42-7 in the state championship game.
2012
JCC moved to Class 2A in 2011 and made it to the semifinals of the 2012 state playoff, losing to Moose Lake/Willow River 27-20 at the Metrodome.
MLWR would lose the state championship game 25-22 to Caledonia the next week as the Warriors won their third straight state title.
2015
It was back to Class 3A for Jackson County Central in in 2015 with the Huskies winning a semifinal game 30-14 over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at Maple Grove High School.
JCC lost the state championship game 36-8 to Pierz the next week at TCF Bank Stadium.
2019
The 2019 state Class 3A semifinal game vs. Pierz at U.S. Bank Stadium will long be remembered by JCC fans.
The talented Pioneers held off the Huskies 20-14 and produced a memorable postgame session with Rudy Voss and Bradley Buhl:
Pierz would edge Dassel-Cokato 28-27 for the state title the next week.