For the second straight year, Jackson County Central has shut out its opponent in the quarterfinals of the state Class 2A football tournament.
The fourth-ranked Huskies dispatched the second-ranked Warriors 41-0 Thursday at Rochester Mayo High School and advance to play top-ranked Barnesville in the semifinals.
JCC meets the Trojans in the semifinals for a second straight season at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Barnesville was a 41-12 winner over the Huskies in last year’s matchup and then beat Chatfield 35-20 to win the state 2A title.
Jackson County Central shut out Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 27-0 in last year’s quarterfinals.
It was also the third shutout in state tournament play for Jackson County Central, with the other coming in state championship season of 2001.
This season, it’s the third shutout for the Huskies, the seventh time in the 27 years of the school it has reached that mark. JCC also shut out Worthington 41-0 on Sept. 8 and Luverne 34-0 on Oct. 12.
The most single-season shutouts is seven in the Huskies’ inaugural season in 1997, which included a stretch of five straight.
JCC gained 327 yards rushing and had 85 passing for 412 total yards Thursday vs. Caledonia. The Huskies limited the Warriors to 91 yards on the ground and 54 in the air for 144 yards.
Senior Seth Stai rushed for 158 yards on 23 carries including touchdown runs of 23 and 4 yards.
Here’s his 23-yard TD run:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1722841199579377715
Sophomore Roman Voss ran for 136 yards on 19 attempts including TDs from 2, 6 and 39 yards.
Voss was also 4-for-7 passing for 85 yards including a 61-yard touchdown to junior Ben Dahlin, who had all four receptions for Jackson County Central.
JCC and Barnesville will meet in the state 2A semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17 at US Bank Stadium.
Cannon Falls (10-2) faces Eden Valley-Watkins (11-0) in the other semifinal scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 17.
The state championship game is slated for 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24 as part of Prep Bowl.
State Class 2A football playoffs
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Nov. 9
Jackson County Central 41, Caledonia 0
Barnesville 42, Osakis 36
Cannon Falls 51, Triton 6
Eden Valley-Watkins 60, Moose Lake/Willow River 0
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 17
At US Bank Stadium
Jackson County Central (11-0) vs. Barnesville (12-0), 9 a.m.
Cannon Falls (10-2) vs. Eden Valley-Watkins (11-0), 11:30 a.m.
Championship
Friday, Nov. 24
At US Bank Stadium
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
Shutouts by season
The number of shutouts by season for the Jackson County Central football team.
1997: 7 (5 in a row)
1998: 1
2000: 3
2001: 3
2002: 1
2003: 1
2008: 1
2009: 3
2010: 3 (3 in a row)
2011: 3
2012: 1
2013: 1
2014: 2
2016: 1
2017: 1
2018: 2
2019: 2
2021: 1
2022: 3
2023: 3
State tournament shutouts
Shutouts in state tournament play for Jackson County Central.
2001: Jackson County Central 33, Lake City 0 (semifinals)
2022: Jackson County Central 27, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0 (quarterfinals)
2023: Jackson County Central 41, Caledonia 0 (quarterfinals)
A handful of shutouts
The 1997 Jackson County Central football team had a stretch of five consecutive shutouts in Weeks 4-8. The scores:
Jackson County Central 34, Pipestone-Jasper 0
Jackson County Central 27, Windom 0
Jackson County Central 19, Worthington 0
Jackson County Central 6, Luverne 0
Jackson County Central 31, Marshall 0