Time off
Huskies to have break between regular season and playoffs
Jackson County Central almost certainly will have a first-round bye in the upcoming Section 3AA football playoffs.
A change in format that calls for only six of the eight teams in the section to qualify for the section field means that the top two teams will receive a bye in the opening round on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Another difference is that rather than use the QRF calculated by minnesota-scores.net, the Section 3AA coaches will seed the teams.
The Huskies have a 7-0 record heading into Wednesday’s home game vs. Pipestone, which is 6-1. The loss for the Arrows was 6-0 in overtime to Luverne.
Redwood Valley is 5-2, with its losses coming to JCC and Pipestone. Redwood hosts Class 3A Luverne (6-1) on Wednesday.
With the coaches voting rather than using the QRF, it may get interesting on seeds 4-7 as the teams could move around a little depending on results in the final week. And in the new format, one of those teams is going to be left out of the playoffs.
Windom has the next best record at 4-3, which has come entirely against Class 1A teams. The Eagles play at Class 1A No. 2 Springfield (7-0) Wednesday.
LeSueur-Henderson and Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial are both 3-4 and play each other in Lake Crystal Wednesday. The Giants and Knights have both played entirely a Class 2A schedule.
Minnesota Valley Lutheran is 2-5 and hosts Maple River (3-4) out of Section 2AA. The Chargers and Eagles play at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson Field in New Ulm, so LSH and LCWM will know who won before they kick off in Lake Crystal.
The final team in the section is Sibley East, which plays at Section 2AA’s Blue Earth Area in a matchup of 0-7 teams on Wednesday. The Wolverines will play a schedule consisting of six Class 2A teams and two from Class 3A.
The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in Section 3AA will not participate in the section playoffs but will play each other to finish their season.
SECTION 3AA PLAYOFFS
Tuesday, Oct. 22
First round
No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed, 7 p.m.
No. 6 seed at No. 3 seed, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
No. 4-5 winner at No. 1 seed, 3 p.m.
No. 3-6 winner at No. 2 seed, 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1
Championship
At SMSU
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
Around the state
Following are records of Class 2A football teams heading into the final week of the regular season. Teams are listed in order of their QRF, although some sections (Section 3AA is one) will seed by a vote of the coaches rather than use the QF. All teams qualify for the section playoffs unless noted otherwise.
Section 1AA
Chatfield 7-0
Caledonia 5-2
Lewiston-Altura 5-2
Dover-Eyota 2-5
Winona Cotter 3-4
St. Charles 1-6
Section 2AA
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 6-1
Triton 5-2
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 3-4
Maple River 3-4
St. Clair/Loyola 2-5
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 2-5
Blue Earth Area 0-7
Medford 0-7
Section 3AA
Top 6 seeds qualify for section playoffs
Jackson County Central 7-0
Pipestone 6-1
Redwood Valley 5-2
Windom 4-3
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 3-4
Minnesota Valley Lutheran 2-5
LeSueur-Henderson 3-4
Sibley East 0-7
Section 4AA
Norwood Young America 7-0
Cannon Falls 6-1
Rush City 7-0
St. Agnes 5-2
Randolph 6-1
Maple Lake 0-7
Section 5AA
Kimball Area 7-0
Eden Valley-Watkins 6-1
Holdingford 6-1
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4-3
Paynesville 2-5
Royalton 1-6
Section 6AA
Staples-Motley 7-0
Pillager 6-1
Osakis 2-5
Menahga 1-6
Wadena-Deer Creek 1-6
Section 7AA
Barnum 7-0
Moose Lake-Willow River 5-2
International Falls 5-2
Mesabi East 4-3
Aitkin 4-3
Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 2-5
Hinckley-Finlayson 1-6
Crosby-Ironton 1-6
Section 8AA
Barnesville 7-0
Pelican Rapids 6-1
Hawley 4-3
Park Rapids Area 4-3
Frazee 3-4
Roseau 2-5
Warroad 1-6
Crookston 0-7
State tournament
For the first time, teams are being seeded for the state football tournament.
Teams will be divided into a South Bracket and a North Bracket for the quarterfinals. Teams will cross bracket for the semifinals.
The schedule:
Quarterfinals
Sites TBA
Thursday, Nov. 7
No. 1 South vs. No. 4 South
No. 2 South vs. No. 3 South
No. 2 North vs. No. 3 North
Friday, Nov. 8
No. 1 North vs. No. 4 North
Semifinals
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Friday, Nov. 15
Low seed South vs. High seed North, 9 a.m.
High seed South vs. Low seed North, 11:30 a.m.
Championship
At U.S. Bank Stadium
Friday, Nov. 22
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.