Jackson County Central’s football tradition is a rich one.
In fact, according to the man who has been the head coach for 26 of its 28 seasons, it’s a storied history.
Still, the 2024 team accomplished something that no other Huskies squad has done. Not even the only other team to win a state championship in 2001.
JCC went through the season without a loss.
“We're elated,” coach Tom Schuller said at the postgame press conference in the Vikings Media Room following Friday’s 42-26 win over Staples-Motley. “This is the first undefeated team in JCC history, and we have a storied history. We talked about coming through with a legacy, and legacy is about legends.”
Quite a few of the players from that 2001 team live in the area and several attended Friday morning’s pep rally before the team left for Minneapolis.
“It was really uplifting,” said Schuller, who won his first state title in his third year as head coach of the Huskies.
Lucky win No. 13
While this is the first time Jackson County Central has gone undefeated, it’s the third time a Huskies team has won 13 games.
The first-ever JCC team was 13-1, winning its first 13 before losing to Albany at Prep Bowl.
The 2001 state champs were also 13-1, losing in Week 3 of the regular season game to Redwood Valley before reeling off 11 straight wins.
Jackson County Central won its 2002 season opener for its 12th consecutive win, a school record that stood until this year’s team raised the bar to win 13 straight wins on Friday.
Regular season wins
The Huskies had their third consecutive unbeaten regular season in 2024 and have won 25 straight in the regular season dating back to 2021.
This was the second year of a two-year scheduling rotation so there will likely be some changes to the JCC schedule next season.
The 2025 class assignments, districts and schedules are expected to be finalized by March.
Hopefully Windom will be back on the schedule after a two-year absence. The Eagles have a largely Class 1A schedule the last two years and are trending upward.
It would also be nice to see Fairmont on the schedule.
The Old Oaken Bucket has been in JCC’s possession since 2019. The last meeting between the schools was in 2020.
Most Valuable Teammate
Big Mike, aka Michael Hansen, was named JCC’s Most Valuable Teammate following the championship game.
According to the MSHSL, the characteristics of a valuable teammate are:
Positive influence on their team—putting the team before self
Exemplify leadership and sportsmanship
Respectful, reliable and supportive of others
Big Mike is all that and probably more. Congratulations.
Minnesota state championship games
Here are the scores of state championship games since a playoff system started in 1972.
1972
9-man: Rothsay 64, Cotton 12
Class C: Gaylord 26, Preston 6
Class B: Mountain Iron 54, Dassel-Cokato 6
Class A: Burnsville 46, Sauk Centre 19
Class AA: Minneapolis Washburn 26, Moorhead 6
1973
9-man: Lake Benton 50, Brandon 12
Class C: Gaylord 29, Holdingford 6
Class B: New Prague 13, Appleton 7
Class A: Eveleth 28, Willmar 18
Class AA: Rochester John Marshall 25, St. Paul Harding 0
1974
9-man: Lake Benton 36, Fisher 6
Class C: Battle Lake 34, Bird Island 26 (2 OT)
Class B: New Prague 41, Caledonia 12
Class A: Alexandria 26, Chaska 7
Class AA: Rochester John Marshall 41, Bloomington Jefferson 19
1975
9-man: Ruthton 42, Audubon 20
Class C: Esko 62, Karlstad 0
Class B: Gaylord 14, Onamia 13
Class A: St. Thomas Academy 21, St. Peter 14
Class AA: Stillwater 20, Richfield 17
1976
9-man: Deer Creek 57, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 14
Class C: New Richland-Hartland 21, Bird Island 19
Class B: Caledonia 38, Sartell 7
Class A: St. Peter 56, Mora 12
Class AA: White Bear Lake 14, Cloquet 13 (OT)
1977
9-man: Deer Creek 20, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 0
Class C: Battle Lake 21, Henderson 20 (OT)
Class B: Granite Falls 44, Stewartville 6
Class A: Fridley Grace 36, Rocori 12
Class AA: Minneapolis Washburn 13, Stillwater 0
1978
9-man: Hoffman 44, Albrook 28
Class C: Alden-Conger 15, Battle Lake 14
Class B: New Richland-Hartland 48, Barnesville 8
Class A: Fridley Grace 17, Apple Valley 14
Class AA: Edina West 21, Fridley 0
1979
9-man: Russell 17, Toivola-Meadowlands 14
Class C: Bird Island-Lake Lillian 34, Harmony 6
Class B: Gaylord 15, Mahnomen 6
Class A: Rochester Lourdes 22, Apple Valley 6
Class AA: Columbia Heights 8, Richfield 3
1980
9-man: Hoffman-Kensington 18, Toivola-Meadowlands 14
Class C: Bird Island-Lake Lillian 20, Mountain Lake 7
Class B: Mahnomen 34, Austin Pacelli 0
Class A: Crookston 32, Pipestone 6
Class AA: Burnsville 23, Cambridge 6
1981
9-man: Argyle 31, Starbuck 19
Class C: Medford 33, Clarkfield 28
Class B: Holdingford 39, Pine Island 0
Class A: St. Peter 18, Hermantown 14
Class AA: Rosemount 40, Moorhead 14
1982
9-man: Westbrook 34, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 12
Class C: Truman 16, Belgrade 14
Class B: LeCenter 12, Mahnomen 6
Class A: Brooklyn Center 30, East Grand Forks 8
Class AA: Stillwater 34, Owatonna 27
1983
9-man: Silver Lake 27, Norman County West/Climax 12
Class C: Southland 28, Bird Island-Lake Lillian 0
Class B: Jordan 27, Breckenridge 0
Class A: Hutchinson 32, Centennial 7
Class AA: Coon Rapids 34, Bloomington Jefferson 31
1984
9-man: Norman County West 37, Silver Lake 20
Class C: Harmony 20, Glyndon-Felton 14
Class B: Granite Falls 13, Breckenridge 7
Class A: Hutchinson 32, Centennial 7
Class AA: Stillwater 36, Burnsville 33
1985
9-man: Westbrook 45, Norman County West 18
Class C: Glyndon-Felton 38, Zumbrota 14
Class B: Jackson 26, Mahnomen 20
Class A: New Prague 16, Mora 12
Class AA: Burnsville 27, Apple Valley 21
1986
9-man: Argyle 32, Silver Lake 7
Class C: Minneota 52, Sherburn-Dunnell 19
Class B: Watertown-Mayer 29, Granite Falls 6
Class A: Cambridge 24, Stewartville 0
Class AA: Apple Valley 35, Osseo 6
1987
9-man: Silver Lake 30, Verndale 14
Class C: Minneota 27, Grand Meadow 7
Class B: Granite Falls 43, Ely 20
Class A: Cambridge 28, Lakeville 14
Class AA: Moorhead 13, Winona 7
1988
9-man: Hallock 35, Stewart 24
Class C: Minneota 42, Rushford 28
Class B: Breckenridge 21, Morris 7
Class A: Lakeville 35, Staple-Motley 28
Class AA: Blaine 25, Cretin-Derham Hall 24
1989
9-man: St. Clair 47, Albrook 12
Class C: Waterville-Elysian 14, Mahnomen 7
Class B: Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 27, Perham 15
Class A: Albany 41, Totino-Grace 32
Class AA: Burnsville 21, Stillwater 7
1990
9-man: Hills-Beaver Creek 28, Argyle 21
Class C: Mahnomen 27, Becker 7
Class B: BOLD 15, DeLaSalle 14
Class A: Fridley 34, Sartell 12
Class AA: Anoka 19, Elk River 14
1991
9-man: Chokio-Alberta 7, Grygla/Goodridge 6
Class C: Mahnomen 42, Mankato Loyola 0
Class B: BOLD 14, Deer River 0
Class A: Spring Lake Park 20, Rocori 0
Class AA: Burnsville 10, Lakeville 7
1992
9-man: Stephen 36, Cromwell 20
Class C: Mahnomen 20, Mankato Loyola 13 (OT)
Class B: St. Cloud Cathedral 7, BOLD 6
Class A: Detroit Lakes 21, Farmington 0
Class AA: Lakeville 19, Cretin-Derham Hall 7
1993
9-man: Chokio-Alberta 35, LeRoy-Ostrander 0
Class C: Mahnomen 43, Minneota 23
Class B: St. Cloud Cathedral 28, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 6
Class A: Detroit Lakes 21, Northfield 14
Class AA: Apple Valley 29, Rochester John Marshall 7
1994
9-man: Kittson Central 36, Verndale 16
Class C: Chatfield 34, Red Lake Falls 14
Class B: Triton 40, Becker 21
Class A: Sartell 24, Northfield 21
Class AA: Anoka 34, Alexandria 7
1995
9-man: Cromwell 26, LeRoy-Ostrander 18
Class C: Chatfield 12, Hawley 6
Class B: Kingsland 22, Breckenridge 3
Class A: Detroit Lakes 30, St. Peter 15
Class AA: Stillwater Area 31, Rochester Mayo 7
1996
9-man: Cromwell 46, Verndale 44
Class C: Chatfield 12, Hawley 7
Class B: Breck 24, Windom 7
Class A: Mora 7, Northfield 3
Class AA: Eden Prairie 23, Blaine 22
1997
9-man: Verndale 18, Cromwell 12
Class 1A: Cook County 13. Adrian 12
Class 2A: Pelican Rapids 34, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 32
Class 3A: Albany 55, Jackson County Central 7
Class 4A: Northfield 28, Detroit Lakes 0
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 32, Blaine 28
1998
9-man: Cromwell 40, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 22
Class 1A: Cook County 38, Adrian 32 (2 OT)
Class 2A: Mahnomen 27, BOLD 26
Class 3A: Foley 21, Jackson County Central 7
Class 4A: Hutchinson 21, Owatonna 20
Class 5A: Woodbury 28, Champlin Park 27
1999
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 18, Nicollet 8
Class 1A: Cook County 14, LeCenter 6
Class 2A: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 34, West Central Area 0
Class 3A: DeLaSalle 28, St. Michael-Albertville 7
Class 4A: Mankato West 35, Cambridge-Isanti 28
Class 5A: Cretin-Derham Hall 42, Hastings 21
2000
9-man: Westbrook-Walnut Grove 42, Cromwell 20
Class 1A: Sleepy Eye 13, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 12
Class 2A: Triton 31, Otter Tail Central 12
Class 3A: Glencoe-Silver Lake 21, Albany 0
Class 4A: Cambridge-Isanti 24, St. Thomas Academy 14
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 24, Cretin-Derham Hall 14
2001
9-man: Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 37, Ada-Borup 7
Class 1A: McLeod West 30, Pillager 22
Class 2A: Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 27, Windom 20
Class 3A: Jackson County Central 42, Becker 7
Class 4A: Detroit Lakes 36, Mankato East 34
Class 5A: Hastings 28, Blaine 9
2002
9-man: Verndale 21, Nicollet 14
Class 1A: Rushford-Peterson 14, Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin 7
Class 2A: Kingsland 35, Norwood Young America 7
Class 3A: Plainview/Elgin-Millville 24, Glencoe-Silver Lake 21
Class 4A: Mankato West 17, Mahtomedi 7
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 21, Champlin Park 0
2003
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 39, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 7
Class 1A: Goodhue 20, Medford/El Shaddai 8
Class 2A: Breck 51, Kingsland 14
Class 3A: Glencoe-Silver Lake 21, Delano 0
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 57, Hutchinson 13
Class 5A: Lakeville 34, Hastings 9
2004
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 25, Bertha-Hewitt 6
Class 1A: Rushford-Peterson 20, Otter Tail Central 6
Class 2A: Pierz 39, Eden Valley-Watkins 14
Class 3A: East Grand Forks 31, Becker 14
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 27, Sartell 6
Class 5A: Minnetonka 23, Wayzata 14
2005
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 45, Cromwell 15
Class 1A: Springfield 21, Goodhue 16
Class 2A: Eden Valley-Watkins 21, Caledonia 7
Class 3A: Becker 28, Albany 0
Class 4A: Mahtomedi 27, Holy Angels 26 (OT)
Class 5A: Wayzata 28, Cretin-Derham Hall 24
2006
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 42, Wheaton 15
Class 1A: Rushford-Peterson 20, New Ulm Cathedral 7
Class 2A: Triton 70, Luverne 21
Class 3A: Glencoe-Silver Lake 42, Becker 20
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 40, St. Thomas Academy 25
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 21, Lakeville South 14
2007
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 43, Waubun 21
Class 1A: Goodhue 28, Adrian 7
Class 2A: Caledonia 14, Luverne 7
Class 3A: Glencoe-Silver Lake 56, DeLaSalle 20
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 13, Mahtomedi 8
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 50, Cretin-Derham Hall 21
2008
9-man: Houston 22, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 16
Class 1A: Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 33, Royalton 22
Class 2A: Caledonia 47, Luverne 7
Class 3A: Glencoe-Silver Lake 42, DeLaSalle 21
Class 4A: Mankato West 33, Northfield 14
Class 5A: Wayzata 27, Blaine 7
2009
9-man: Stephen-Argyle Central 37, Nicollet 22
Class 1A: Minneota 42, Adrian 21
Class 2A: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 33, Moose Lake/Willow River 22
Class 3A: New London-Spicer 28, Glencoe-Silver Lake 21
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 45, Sartell 7
Class 5A: Cretin-Derham Hall 16, Eden Prairie 5
2010
9-man: Cromwell 49, Lanesboro 42
Class 1A: New Ulm Cathedral 19, Barnesville 13
Class 2A: Caledonia 28, Triton 7
Class 3A: Rochester Lourdes 41, Holy Family Catholic 13
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 34, Rogers 14
Class 5A: Wayzata 31, Rosemount 14
2011
9-man: Edgerton/Ellsworth 36, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 28
Class 1A: Dawson-Boyd 35, Mahnomen 20
Class 2A: Caledonia 27, Moose Lake/Willow River 0
Class 3A: St. Croix Lutheran 34, Fairmont 32
Class 4A: Rocori 17, Bemidji 10
Class 5A: Eden Prairie 13, Wayzata 3
2012
9-man: Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 40, Grand Meadow 22
Class 1A: Mahnomen 20, Bethlehem Academy 14
Class 2A: Caledonia 25, Moose Lake/Willow River 22
Class 3A: Blue Earth Area 30, Rochester Lourdes 7
Class 4A: Hutchinson 67, Holy Family Catholic 7
Class 5A: Totino-Grace 49, Owatonna 21
Class 6A Eden Prairie 28, Lakeville North 7
2013
9-man: Grand Meadow 28, Underwood 6
Class 1A: Mahnomen 46, Dawson-Boyd 13
Class 2A: Chatfield 17, Minneota/Lincoln HI 7
Class 3A: St. Croix Lutheran 48, New London-Spicer 44
Class 4A: Hutchinson 49, Holy Angels 7
Class 5A: Owatonna 24, Brainerd 0
Class 6A: Eden Prairie 28, Rosemount 7
2014
9-man: Grand Meadow 48, Edgerton/Ellsworth 0
Class 1A: Minneota 28, Dawson-Boyd 14
Class 2A: Holdingford 20, BOLD 18 (2 OT)
Class 3A: Rochester Lourdes 35, New London-Spicer 14
Class 4A: Becker 24, DeLaSalle 6
Class 5A: Mankato West 42, Simley 19
Class 6A: Eden Prairie 28, Totino-Grace 27
2015
9-man: Grand Meadow 34, Underwood 20
Class 1A: Minneota 35, Minneapolis North 18
Class 2A: Caledonia 40, Pipestone 0
Class 3A: Pierz 36, Jackson County Central 8
Class 4A: Becker 35, South St. Paul 14
Class 5A: St. Michael-Albertville 28, St. Thomas Academy 21
Class 6A: Osseo 14, East Ridge 13
2016
9-man: Grand Meadow 41, Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran 21
Class 1A: Minneapolis North 30, Rushford-Peterson 14
Class 2A: Caledonia 61, Eden Valley-Watkins 12
Class 3A: Rochester Lourdes 42, St. Croix Lutheran 35
Class 4A: Benilde-St. Margaret’s 31, Winona 28
Class 5A: Elk River 42, Spring Lake Park 14
Class 6A: Totino-Grace 28, Eden Prairie 20
2017
9-man: Spring Grove 32, Nevis 0
Class 1A: Minneota 28, Wabasso 13
Class 2A: Caledonia 57, Pipestone 6
Class 3A: Pierz 34, St. Croix Lutheran 21
Class 4A: Holy Angels 14, Cloquet 0
Class 5A: Owatonna 63, Elk River 26
Class 6A: Eden Prairie 38, Minnetonka 17
2018
9-man: Spring Grove 40, Mountain Lake Area 18
Class 1A: Mahnomen/Waubun 22, BOLD 21
Class 2A: Caledonia 21, Barnesville 0
Class 3A: Rochester Lourdes 24, Fairmont 7
Class 4A: SMB 44, Willmar 18
Class 5A: Owatonna 14, St. Thomas Academy 3
Class 6A: Lakeville North 28, Eden Prairie 21
2019
9-man: Mountain Lake Area 22, Hancock 14
Class 1A: Blooming Prairie 41, BOLD 15
Class 2A: Caledonia 26, Minneapolis North 0
Class 3A: Pierz 28, Dassel-Cokato 27
Class 4A: Rocori 22, SMB 21 (OT)
Class 5A: Chaska 10, St. Thomas Academy 7
Class 6A: Wayzata 35, Champlin Park 20
2020
Canceled
2021
9-man: LeRoy-Ostrander 58, Fertile-Beltrami 8
Class 1A: Mayer Lutheran 20, Minneota 14
Class 2A: Chatfield 14, West Central Area/Ashby 13
Class 3A: Dassel-Cokato 28, Plainview-Elgin-Millville 21
Class 4A: Hutchinson 42, Kasson-Mantorville 14
Class 5A: Mankato West 24, Mahtomedi 10
Class 6A: Lakeville South 13, Maple Grove 7
2022
9-man: Mountain Iron-Buhl 28, Spring Grove 25
Class 1A: Minneota 28, Springfield 21
Class 2A: Barnesville 35, Chatfield 20
Class 3A: New London-Spicer 27, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 26
Class 4A: Simley 34, Hutchinson 24
Class 5A: Elk River 29, Mankato West 26
Class 6A: Maple Grove 27, Rosemount 10
2023
9-player: Nevis 14, Kingsland 12
Class 1A: Minneota 43, Springfield 22
Class 2A: Eden Valley-Watkins 24, Barnesville 6
Class 3A: Stewartville 43, Annandale 13
Class 4A: Hutchinson 14, Rocori 6
Class 5A: Chanhassen 34, St. Thomas Academy 31
Class 6A: Centennial 28, Edina 27
2024
9-player: Fertile-Beltrami 20, Hills-Beaver Creek 8
Class 1A: Minneota 70, Springfield 20
Class 2A: Jackson County Central 42, Staples-Motley 26
Class 3A: Stewartville 43, Dassel-Cokato 22
Class 4A: Becker 24, Totino-Grace 8
Class 5A: Elk River 33, Alexandria 24
Class 6A: Maple Grove 28, Minnetonka 21
Iowa championship games
Iowa also concluded its high school football season this week with state championship games at the UNI-Dome.
Spirit Lake lost to West Lyon 42-7 in a matchup of northwest Iowa teams for the Class 2A title.
The Wildcats allowed the Indians only eight net rushing yards and forced five turnovers.
Caden Lundt was 17-for-27 passing for 196 yards for Spirit Lake and was sacked seven times.
West Lyon coach Jay Rozeboom won his sixth state championship. He is among only six Iowa prep coaches to reach that mark.
Here are all of the championship game scores:
Eight-Player
Remsen St. Mary’s 51, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 12
Class A
Tri-Center 14, West Hancock 10
Class 1A
Grundy Center 28, Dike-New Hartford 7
Class 2A
West Lyon 42, Spirit Lake 7
Class 3A
Dubuque Wahlert Catholic 49, Humboldt 14
Class 4A
North Polk 24, Pella 14
Class 5A
Southeast Polk 38, Valley 35