No matter what classification they’ve been in, the Jackson County Central football team has been a fixture in section championship games throughout its existence.
While bouncing between Class 3A and Class 2A, JCC has made it to the title game 21 times in 27 years since becoming a school district in 1997.
And this year marks the 11th straight time, the Huskies will play in a section championship game.
That is, in the years the playoffs have been held to their conclusion. The 2020 section playoffs were canceled after the first round.
The last full season that JCC did not reach the championship game was 2011. The other years were 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
Jackson County Central competed in Class 3A from 1997-2006, went to Class 2A from 2007-2014, back to Class 3A from 2015-2020 and has been back in Class 2A since 2021 and will be a Class 2A team again in 2024.
The Minnesota State High School League reclassifies teams every two years based on enrollment.
Here are the championship game scores for JCC:
Section 3AAA
1997: Jackson County Central 24, Glencoe-Silver Lake 0
1998: Jackson County Central 28, Glencoe-Silver Lake 7
1999: St. Peter 36, Jackson County Central 28
2000: Glencoe-Silver Lake 12, Jackson County Central 10
2001: Jackson County Central 21, Kasson-Mantorville 0
2003: Redwood Valley 19, Jackson County Central 6
2006: Blue Earth Area 24, Jackson County Central 21
Section 3AA
2007: Luverne 27, Jackson County Central 6
2009: Luverne 21, Jackson County Central 17
2010: Luverne 35, Jackson County Central 23
2012: Jackson County Central 35, Luverne 28
2013: Jackson County Central 23, Maple River 7
2014: Pipestone 42, Jackson County Central 16
Section 3AAA
2015: Jackson County Central 35, Fairmont 12
2016: Jackson County Central 21, Fairmont 14
2017: Fairmont 29, Jackson County Central 21
2018: Fairmont 35, Jackson County Central 18
2019: Jackson County Central 36, Fairmont 12
Section 3AA
2021: Pipestone 34, Jackson County Central 28
2022: Jackson County Central 31, Pipestone 14
Opponents
JCC’s won-loss record vs. opponents in section championship games. Fairmont (five times) and Luverne (four times) are the teams the Huskies have played the most.
Kasson-Mantorville 1-0 1.000
Maple River 1-0 1.000
Glencoe-Silver Lake 2-1 .667
Fairmont 3-2 .600
Pipestone 1-2 .333
Luverne 1-3 .250
Blue Earth Area 0-1 .000
Redwood Valley 0-1 .000
St. Peter 0-1 .000
Class 2A section schedules
Here are this week’s schedules for the Class 2A section playoffs. Section 1AA was delayed by weather last week.
SECTION 1AA
Monday, Oct. 30
Semifinals
Lewiston-Altura (4-5) at Caledonia (8-0), 7 p.m.
Chatfield (7-2) at Dover-Eyota (5-3), 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At TBA
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SECTION 2AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At Janesville
Maple River (8-1) vs. Triton (5-5), 7 p.m.
SECTION 3AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At SMSU
Jackson County Central (9-0) vs. Redwood Valley (7-3), 11:30 a.m.
SECTION 4AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At Watertown-Mayer High School
St. Agnes (9-0) vs. Cannon Falls (8-2), 7 p.m.
SECTION 5AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At St. John’s
Eden Valley-Watkins (9-0) vs. Holdingford (7-3), 7 p.m.
SECTION 6AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At Fargo
Osakis (8-1) vs. Staples-Motley (8-1), 3 p.m.
SECTION 7AA
Thursday, Nov. 2
Championship
At Esko
Barnum (10-0) vs. Moose Lake-Willow River (9-1), 6 p.m.
SECTION 8AA
Friday, Nov. 3
Championship
At Fargo
Barnesville (10-0) vs. Pelican Rapids (9-1), 5:30 p.m.
State Class 2A tournament
Here’s the schedule for the state Class 2A football tournament.
Thursday, Nov. 9
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Section 3AA vs. Section 1AA at Rochester Mayo
Section 6AA vs Section 8AA at Alexandria
Lower bracket
Section 4AA vs. Section 2AA at New Prague
Section 7AA vs. Section 5AA at Forest Lake
Friday, Nov. 17
Semifinals
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Upper-bracket winners, 9 a.m.
Lower-bracket winners, 11:30 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 24
Championship
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.