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Minnesota High School Football: Unbeaten Teams Face Tests in Section Finals
Minnesota High School Football Section Championship Preview
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Fifty-six spots are up for grabs across seven classifications in the 2026 MSHSL football playoffs. In Class 6A, winners will advance to the quarterfinals. In Class 5A through 9-Player, each team is competing for a section championship and a spot in the state tournament quarterfinals.

Here are the games to watch on Friday, Nov. 6. Games are at the higher seed unless noted.

Class 6A Second Round

No. 1 Shakopee vs. No. 4 Maple Grove, 7 p.m.

Shakopee (8-1) is one of four top seeds in the Class 6A bracket thanks to a top defense. The Sabers’ defense is led by Blake Betton and Nehemiah Ombati, two of the state’s top senior prospects. Betton is linebacker committed to Penn State, and Ombati is a defensive lineman committed to Nebraska.

Maple Grove has lost three times this season, and the Crimson were held out of the end zone in a recent loss to Minnetonka. The Crimson’s defense is led by senior defensive back Luke Smith. He has 91 total tackles, three sacks and three interceptions.

No. 2 Eden Prairie vs. No. 3 Centennial, 7 p.m.

Eden Prairie (8-1) is No. 3 in the Star Tribune’s rankings. Its only loss was 55-34 at No. 1-ranked Moorhead. Junior running back Owen Konrad has 1,234 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games.

Centennial (7-2) brings one of the state’s best defenses. The Cougars had allowed just 65 points all season before holding off East Ridge 35-29 in the first round. Mike Grant’s Eagles, owners of a state-record 11 titles, haven’t been slowed down much this fall.

No. 1 Moorhead vs. No. 4 Prior Lake, 6 p.m.

Moorhead (9-0) is No. 1 in both the Star Tribune and High School On SI rankings. Quarterback Jett Feeney has thrown 46 touchdown passes, breaking Joe Mauer’s single-season big-school state record of 41.

The Spuds will have to keep rolling without star receiver David Mack. The Gophers recruit was injured in the opening-round win over Coon Rapids and could miss the rest of the season.

Prior Lake arrives on a five-game winning streak after beating Stillwater 28-13. The Lakers upset No. 1-seed earlier in the season.

No. 1 Champlin Park vs. No. 5 Wayzata, 6 p.m.

Champlin Park opened the playoffs with a 52-0 shutout of Eastview. The Rebels have one of the best offenses in the state. They’ve scored fewer than 35 points once, in a 14-7 win against Centennial.

Wayzata is one of the state’s best turnaround stories. The Trojans went 1-8 last season. In their first year under coach Derrin Lamker, they defeated No. 4-seed White Bear Lake 63-48 in the first round.

No. 2 Blaine vs. No. 3 Minnetonka, 6 p.m.

Minnetonka (7-2) doesn’t have a bad loss on its résumé. One of its losses was a 28-21 game against No. 2-seed Eden Prairie. Blaine beat Roseville 41-6 in the first round, and a win over the Skippers would be its biggest of the season.

The rest of the Class 6A bracket

The Class 6A state quarterfinals are Nov. 12-13, and the Prep Bowl is Nov. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Class 5A Section Championships

Section 2: No. 1 Mankato West vs. No. 2 Waconia, 7 p.m.

Mankato West (9-0) is No. 6 in the Star Tribune’s statewide rankings. The Scarlets beat Chanhassen, last year’s Class 5A Prep Bowl runner-up, 28-6 in the section semifinals. Waconia (8-1) is ranked No. 25 and has a chance to knock off an unbeaten team with a state tournament berth on the line.

Section 7: No. 1 Monticello vs. No. 2 Elk River, 7 p.m.

The Magic and the Elks met in Oct. 14, and the Magic won 36-29 after five lead changes in the game.

Monticello quarterback Carson Deibele threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jeron Schlangen with 6:24 remaining and ran in the two-point conversion. Cale Holthaus rushed for three touchdowns, and Deibele added 102 rushing yards and two touchdown passes as Monticello piled up 257 yards on the ground.

Elk River took a 29-28 lead early in the fourth quarter on Carsyn Kleffman’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Healy. The Elks accumulated 282 rushing yards in the game.

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