Jackson County Central is back in a section football championship game as the Huskies play Pipestone at 7 p.m. Friday at Mattke Field at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
It’s the ninth straight year the Huskies have played for a section title when the playoffs were played to a conclusion. In 2020, the format was altered after the first round.
JCC has made it to the title game 19 times in 24 years since becoming a school district in 1997.
The Arrows won the first meeting between the teams 32-14 on Oct. 15.
“Obviously we have to do some things different,” said Jackson County Central coach Tom Schuller. “We gave up over 400 yards passing. ‘Lee, you and I back there should be able to hold somebody under 400 yards passing. Well, we’d need a little help. That may be an exaggeration.’
On a serious note, Schuller thinks his team has made some great strides forward in winning three games in the three weeks since that night at Pipestone.
“We have to do a lot of things better. We think we’ve gotten better,” Schuller said. “It’s not enough to say we’ve gotten better. We have to go out and prove it against a Division I quarterback on artificial surface so there won’t be any slipping and sliding around. It takes real defense to stop guys on artificial turf with a Division I quarterback. We’re going to hopefully be up for the challenge.”
JCC had 425 yards offense (305 rushing and 120 passing) in last Saturday’s 38-12 semifinal win over Redwood Valley and Schuller says his Huskies will need another good performance on offense against the Arrows.
“We’re going to need a little help from the offense again,” commented. “We had 300 yards rushing against Redwood. That’s a nice friend to have for your defense.”
After playing at SMSU for a section title five times in six years, this will be the Huskies first game at Mattke Field since a 42-16 loss to Pipestone in the Section 3AA championship game in 2014.
“I don’t care if we’re playing this thing on Pluto’” Schuller said about the game site. “We’ve had a rugged season. Our goals have not changed. The first hurdle is to try to get out of the section and we can’t get there without getting there and we’re happy to get another shot at Pipestone.”
Ironically, the wind speeds Friday will likely be similar to the winds on Pluto, which could affect the Arrows’ air attack.
According to research scientist Angela Zalucha at the SETI Institute, the speed of Pluto's atmospheric winds has been estimated at around 23 miles per hour.
Friday’s forecast calls for winds of 15-20 mph with gusts to 30.
CLASS 2A SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Numbers in parenthesis indicate seed number, won-loss record
Section 1AA
Friday
At Kasson
Chatfield (1, 9-1) vs. Goodhue (2, 7-3), 7 p.m.
Section 2AA
Friday
At Janesville
Blooming Prairie (1, 10-0) vs. Maple River (2, 9-1), 7 p.m.
Section 3AA
Friday
At Marshall
Pipestone (1, 10-0) vs. Jackson County Central (2, 7-3), 7 p.m.
Section 4AA
Friday
At Crown College
Minneapolis North (1, 8-1) vs. St. Agnes (2, 9-1), 5 p.m.
Section 5AA
Friday
At St. John’s
Royalton (1, 8-1) vs. Eden Valley-Watkins (2, 8-1), 7 p.m.
Section 6AA
Friday
At Fargo
Osakis (1, 8-1) vs. West Central/Ashby (2, 8-1), 3 p.m.
Section 7AA
Thursday
At Esko
Moose Lake/Willow River (1, 7-0) vs. Mesabi East (3, 5-4), 6 p.m.
Section 8AA
Friday
At Fargo
Barnesville (1, 7-2) vs. Pelican Rapids (2, 7-2), 8 p.m.
CLASS 2A STATE PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Thursday, Nov. 11
Section 8AA vs. Section 5AA at Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Section 4AA vs. Section 1AA at Rochester Mayo, 7 p.m.
Lower bracket
Thursday, Nov. 11
Section 7AA vs. Section 6AA at Brainerd, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 12
Section 3AA vs. Section 2AA at Hastings, 7 p.m.
Semifinals
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Thursday, Nov. 18
Upper bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 19
Lower bracket winners, 11:30 a.m.
Championship
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Friday, Nov. 26
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.