While both coaches will deflect on any attention directed at themselves, Thursday’s Class 2A football quarterfinal matchup in Rochester between Jackson County Central and Caledonia will bring together two of the state’s top active coaches.
Between them, the Huskies Tom Schuller and the Warriors Carl Fruechte have coached just under 500 games with a little over 400 wins.
In his 25th season at JCC, Schuller has a record of 210-53, a .798 percentage.
Fruechte, in his 22nd season at Caledonia, is 194-39, a .833 percentage.
Combined, that’s 404-92, .815.
It’s the first time the programs have met.
The Huskies are in the state tournament for the second straight year. The Warriors are in state for the first time since 2019.
From 2005-2019, Caledonia made the state field 13 times, winning 10 championships and finishing as runner-up once.
The 2020 section playoffs were not completed, and Chatfield won the Section 1AA tittle the last two years, winning the state title in 2021 and losing the state championship game last year.
Section championship games
Results of the Class 2A section championship games:
1AA: Caledonia 35, Dover-Eyota 20
2AA: Triton 21, Maple River 14
3AA: Jackson County Central 38, Redwood Valley 7
4AA: Cannon Falls 60, St. Agnes 34
5AA: Eden Valley-Watkins 44, Holdingford 14
6AA: Osakis 42, Staples-Motley 13
7AA: Moose Lake/Willow River 13, Barnum 0
8AA: Barnesville 44, Pelican Rapids 14
Enrollment
Enrollment figures according to the Minnesota State High School League for the state Class 2A participants:
Cannon Falls 302
Eden Valley-Watkins 289
Jackson County Central 288
Moose Lake/Willow River 288 (ML 163, WR 105)
Triton 272
Caledonia 264
Barnesville 247
Osakis 243
Points for
Points scored per game by the state Class 2A participants:
Cannon Falls 47.7
Barnesville 46.9
Eden Valley-Watkins 44.4
Osakis 41.5
Jackson County Central 38.5 (not including forfeit)
Caledonia 38.5
Moose Lake/Willow River 30.7
Triton 20.2
Points allowed
Points allowed per game by the state Class 2A participants:
Barnesville 5.0
Jackson County Central 7.3 (not including forfeit)
Caledonia 7.4
Eden Valley-Watkins 7.9
Osakis 11.1
Moose Lake/Willow River 11.8
Cannon Falls 21.8
Triton 25.9
State tournament pairings
Here are first-round pairings in each class for the state football tournament.
9-player
Thursday, Nov. 9
Hills-Beaver Creek (10-0) vs. Kingsland (11-0) at Albert Lea, 7 p.m.
Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke (9-1) vs. Fertile-Beltrami (11-0) at Moorhead, 7 p.m.
Otter Tail Central (10-0) vs. Cedar Mountain (7-3) at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Mountain Iron-Buhl (11-0) vs. Nevis (10-0) at Grand Rapids, 6 p.m.
Class 1A
Friday, Nov. 10
Springfield (10-1) vs. Fillmore Central (10-0) at Jordan, 5:30 p.m.
Mahnomen/Waubun (10-0) vs. Parkers Prairie (9-2) at Brainerd, 7 p.m.
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (10-0) vs. Mayer Lutheran (8-2) at St. Cloud Apollo, 7 p.m.
Braham (9-2) vs. Minneota (11-0) at St. Cloud Tech, 7 p.m.
Class 2A
Thursday, Nov. 9
Jackson County Central (10-0) vs. Caledonia (10-0) at Rochester Mayo, 7 p.m.
Barnesville (11-0) vs. Osakis (9-1) at Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Cannon Falls (9-2) vs. Triton (6-5) at New Prague, 7 p.m.
Moose Lake/Willow River (10-1) vs. Eden Valley-Watkins (10-0) at Forest Lake, 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Friday, Nov. 10
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (9-1) vs. Albany (8-2) at Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11
Waseca (9-2) vs. Stewartville (11-0) at Hastings, 7 p.m.
Minneapolis North (9-1) vs. Dassel-Cokato (9-1) at Orono, 7 p.m.
Esko (10-0) vs. Annandale (10-0) at Brainerd, 1 p.m.
Class 4A
Thursday, Nov. 9
Hill-Murray (8-2) vs. Byron (9-1) at Eastview, 6 p.m.
Rocori (8-2) vs. Orono (9-1) at Elk River, 7 p.m.
Totino-Grace (7-3) vs. Hutchinson (8-2) at Lakeville South, 7 p.m.
North Branch (9-1) vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (5-6) at Monticello, 7 p.m.
Class 5A
Saturday, Nov. 11
St. Thomas Academy (8-2) vs. Owatonna (8-2) at Woodbury, 12 p.m.
Alexandria (10-0) vs. Rogers (9-1) at Maple Grove, 1 p.m.
Mahtomedi (6-4) vs. Chanhassen (10-0) at Apple Valley, 1 p.m.
Andover (9-1) vs. Robbinsdale Armstrong (8-2) at Osseo, 12 p.m.
Class 6A
Thursday, Nov. 9
Centennial (9-1) vs. Rosemount (6-4) at Stillwater, 7 p.m.
Stillwater (8-2) vs. Edina (7-3) at Park Center, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10
Lakeville South (9-1) vs. East Ridge (4-6) at St. Michael, 7 p.m.
Eden Prairie (10-0) vs. Lakeville North (9-1) at Spring Lake Park, 7 p.m.
Undefeated teams
There are 20 teams that are unbeaten teams heading into the state tournament.
9-player (6): Fertile-Beltrami, Hills-Beaver Creek, Kingsland, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Nevis, Otter Tail Central.
Class 1A (4): Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Fillmore Central, Mahnomen/Waubun, Minneota.
Class 2A (4): Barnesville, Caledonia, Eden Valley-Watkins, Jackson County Central.
Class 3A (3): Annandale, Esko, Stewartville.
Class 4A (0):
Class 5A (2): Alexandria, Chanhassen.
Class 6A (1): Eden Prairie.