Title on the line
Huskies, Cardinals meet for 2A football crown
The lowdown
Jackson County Central vs. Staples-Motley
Date/time: Friday, Nov, 22, 4 p.m.
Site: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Series: First meeting
Schedule/results
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL (12-0)
Regular season
Friday, Aug. 30: at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, W 44-0
Friday, Sept. 6: Worthington, W 62-7
Friday, Sept. 13: at Blue Earth Area, W 63-0
Friday, Sept. 20: Le Sueur-Henderson (homecoming), W 61-14
Friday, Sept. 27: at Redwood Valley, W 46-7
Friday, Oct. 4: Minnesota Valley Lutheran, W 64-8
Thursday, Oct. 10: at Luverne, W 38-0
Wednesday, Oct. 16: Pipestone, W 45-6
Section 3AA
Saturday, Oct. 26: Le Sueur-Henderson, W 36-14
Friday, Nov. 1: Pipestone at Worthington, W 48-7
State Class 2A tournament
Friday, Nov. 8: Norwood Young America at Orono, W 34-7
Friday, Nov. 15: Kimball Area at U.S. Bank Stadium, W 34-26
STAPLES-MOTLEY (12-0)
Regular season
Friday, Aug. 30: at Frazee, W 47-7
Friday, Sept. 6: Breckenridge, W 35-6
Friday, Sept. 13: at Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, W 40-0
Friday, Sept. 20: Pillager, W 43-25
Friday, Sept. 27: Pine River-Backus, W 50-0
Friday, Oct. 4: at Parkers Prairie, W 24-14
Friday, Oct. 11: New York Mills, W 44-6
Wednesday, Oct. 16: at Wadena-Deer Creek, W 2-0 (forfeit)
Section 6AA
Saturday, Oct. 26: Menahga, W 50-13
Friday, Nov. 1: Osakis at Fargo, W 36-30
State Class 2A
Thursday, Nov. 7: Barnesville at St. Cloud Tech, W 38-0
Friday, Nov. 15: Chatfield at U.S. Bank Stadium, W 36-21
12 wins
This is the fourth time in school history JCC has won at least 12 games in a season. The list:
13: 1997, 2001
12: 1998, 2024
New format
A change in format for state football tournament games at U.S. Bank Stadium will have the game between JCC and Staples-Motley in Class 2A sandwiched between larger classes.
The Huskies and Cardinals will play following Becker and Totino-Grace in the Class 4A championship game.
JCC defeated Becker 42-7 to win the Class 3A state title in 2001.
The Bulldogs are coached by Dwight Lundeen, who is the only coach in the school’s history. He started in 1970.
His son Matt is the head coach at Redwood Valley.
Dwight is second on the state’s all-time win list. His career record is 411-167-3, a .710 percentage.
Verndale’s Mike Mahlen is first (437-137-3, .710).
Third straight
First up in Prep Bowl is the Class 1A title game between Springfield and Minneota. Both teams are 12-0.
It’s the third straight year the teams have met for the title.
The Vikings have won each of the first two meetings, 28-21 in 2022 and 43-22 last year.
Prep Bowl schedule
Here’s the schedule for Prep Bowl XLII:
Friday
Class 1A
Springfield (12-0) vs. Minneota (12-0), 10 a.m.
Class 4A
Becker (12-0) vs. Totino-Grace (12-0), 1 p.m.
Class 2A
Jackson County Central (12-0) vs. Staples-Motley (12-0), 4 p.m.
Class 6A
Maple Grove (12-0) vs. Minnetonka (10-2), 7 p.m.
Saturday
Nine-Player
Hills-Beaver Creek (12-0) vs. Fertile-Beltrami (12-0), 10 a.m.
Class 3A
Stewartville (13-0) vs. Dassel-Cokato (11-1), 1 p.m.
Class 5A
Elk River (11-1) vs. Alexandria (10-2), 4 p.m.