Jackson County Central will play a semifinal game in the state football playoffs for the eighth 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 third in Class 2A.
The Huskies have a 4-3 record in the state semifinal round.
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 playoffs, 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 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.
Pierz would edge Dassel-Cokato 28-27 for the state title the next week.
2022
Jackson County Central returned to the semifinals as a Class 2A team and lost 41-12 to eventual state champion Barnesville. The Trojans beat Chatfield in the state championship game.
Minnesota high school football teams are only guaranteed nine games (eight regular season and one postseason), but 2022 marked the 11th time in 26 full seasons the Huskies reached double figures in wins.
The 2020 season was shortened due to COVID as the regular season was only six games and section playoffs were canceled after the first round.
Barnesville rallies for win
Defending state champion Barnesville fumbled on its first offensive play of the game and trailed Osakis 22-14 early in the second quarter of their quarterfinal game in Alexandria before the Trojans rallied for the win.
Junior Gannon Bolgrean scored touchdowns on runs of 66 and 24 yards and sophomore Cameron Halverson also scored twice, each from one yard out.
Senior Zachary Bredman had a one-yard rushing TD and also threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to senior Peyton Amundson.
Bredman rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries (8.2 per attempt) in last year’s semifinal win over JCC. He was also 2-for-3 passing for 105 yards and one TD.
"We have to get healthy," Barnesville coach Bryan Strand told the Alexandria Echo-Press after Thursday’s win. "We lost one of our best players here (Ethan Larson), and I hope to God we can get him back. I don't know if we can, but hopefully, we can soon. We're going to need a good week of practice."
On defense, Larson had 12 tackles (three solo and nine assists) in last year’s game vs. the Huskies. On offense he carried the ball twice for five yards.
Winning streak
Barnesville has won 25 straight games.
The Trojans are 12-0 this season after going 13-0 in 2022.
The last loss for Barnesville was 22-18 to Chatfield in the semifinals of the 2021 state Class 2A playoffs.
First win for Cannon Falls
In its fifth appearance in the state football tourney, Cannon Falls claimed its first-ever win Thursday, beating Triton 51-36 in New Prague. The Bombers had defeated the Cobras 73-12 during the regular season.
Cannon Falls also qualified for state in 1996, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Senior Dylan Banks rushed for 142 yards on 17 carries including a pair of TDs, each from one yard out. The Bombers totaled 374 yards on 43 attempts.
EV-W rolls
Eden Valley-Watkins led 24-0 after the first quarter and went on to blank Moose Lake/Willow River 60-0 in Forest Lake.
Senior Nolan Geislinger accounted for five touchdowns for the Eagles.
He had rushing TDs of 68 and 75 yards and also threw for three scores, 56 yards to senior Parker Schultz, 55 yards to junior Wyatt Moehrle and 25 yards to senior Landon Neiman.
Junior Max Geislinger ran one in from nine yards out and sophomore Blake Glenz rounded out the scoring.