13 reasons to watch Saturday's high school football sectional semifinals

We know that you can’t be in a dozen bakery stores at the same time.

Neither can we be, no matter how much we would like to be on Saturday.

The good news: If you’re dying to see a high school football playoff game, you’ll find a good game in southeastern Minnesota, no matter which direction you go. Here’s a good reason to watch all 13 of Saturday’s sectional semifinal games involving local teams:

• Northfield at John Marshall (7 p.m.): Believe it or not, the last time JM hosted a sectional semifinal game, this year’s seniors were in kindergarten. It was 2012 and Mayo beat the Rockets 42-20. You may be thinking, but what about 2015 when JM went to state? The Rockets took a strange path to the group title this year, beating Austin at home in the quarterfinals and then winning at Mayo in the semifinals before defeating Northfield 15-12 in the section title game at JM.

• Winona in Byron (1 p.m.): Yes, we know Byron beat Winona 48-15 in the regular season. But Saturday’s game will feature a host of future college players. Byron’s lineup includes lineman Colin Hansen (Gophers commit), running backs Carson and Jordan Heimer and receiver Mason Helland. Winona counters with receiver/DB Krayton Bergstrom, RB/WR Jaden Blanck and QB/DB Deion Prolo (Winona State commit). There are many others on both sides, this time we simply ran out of space.

• Faribault in Kasson-Mantorville (1 p.m.): Kasson-Mantorville (5-3) is one of the best three-loss teams ever; It is extremely talented on both sides of the ball (Caisen Thome and Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon are the best defensive backfield tandem you can find in this area) and has played a difficult schedule, to say the least. The KoMets’ three losses come against Byron (No. 4 in Class 4A), Providence Academy (No. 6 in Class 4A) and Stewartville (No. 1 in Class 3A).

• Lourdes on Pine Island (1 p.m.): Come to watch Nick Thein run the ball and stay for the defense. Thein, the junior tailback from Pine Island, has rushed for nearly 900 yards — and nearly 8 yards per carry — in the last five games. The Panthers defense has done the rest, posting three shutouts in the last four games.

• Lake City at Stewartville (1 p.m.): We give you 2.8 reasons to watch: Stewartville’s Gold Rush defense giving up 2.8 points per game. Red Wing scored a touchdown (and didn’t convert the extra point attempt) in Stewartville’s 57-6 win in the quarterfinals. The Tigers’ defensive average went up by almost half a point.

Chatfield’s Ben Carrier tries to block a kick from Dover-Eyota player Talen Rabe (27) during a Southeast District soccer game Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Eyota.

Post Bulletin file photo

• Dover-Eyota at Chatfield (1 p.m.): This is an under-the-radar, entertaining rematch of last year’s Section 1, Class 2A semifinal, which Dover-Eyota won 24-22. We assume that players on both sides remember it for different reasons.

• Lewiston-Altura at Caledonia (1 p.m.): Lewiston-Altura (7-2) played only one Section 1, Class 2A opponent in the regular season, defeating Winona Cotter 27-15. The Cardinals are excited about the challenge of traveling to Caledonia. Their Wing T is a power running game designed for this time of year, but Caledonia’s “D” allows a section-best (and third-best in the state) 7.6 ppg.

• Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton near Triton (2:00 p.m.): Triton went 3-5 in the regular season last year and then rolled to the Section 2, Class 2A title as a No. 3 seed in a six-team section. This year, the Cobras are No. 1 in this group and will receive home-field advantage on Saturday.

• Cannon Falls at Rush City (2:00 p.m.): Cannon Falls’ difficult schedule once again had a negative impact when it comes to sectional seeding. The defending champion Bombers (7-2) are the No. 4 seed in a group whose remaining teams have suffered a total of four losses. Their running game is as difficult to stop as ever; They ran for 442 yards in a 50-6 win over Randolph in the group quarterfinals on Tuesday.

• Rushford-Peterson at Goodhue (1 p.m.): No opponent came closer than 11 points this season against Goodhue, the top seed in Section 1-1A. The Wildcats are well balanced on offense and fly to the ball on defense. They are black and blue football personified.

• Fillmore Central at Blooming Prairie (1 p.m.): What else can we say about this rematch of one of the best regular season games of 2024, which Blooming Prairie won 42-34 in OT? This could be an athletics meet with two outstanding QBs, Blooming’s Brady Kittelson and Fillmore Central’s Bridon Bahl.

• Kingsland at Spring Grove (1 p.m.): We tend to be hyperbolic in this area from time to time. However, we don’t think this is a hot call: This Knights at Lions game will be one of the best – if not The best – state semifinal games on Saturday. We also reserve the right to back out if a breakdown occurs, which will not be the case. We don’t think.

• Southland at LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli (1 p.m.): Two words: Camden Hungerholt. Minnesota State’s effort has been virtually unstoppable this season with both his arms and his legs. The Cardinals are much more than a one-man team. That’s the bonus of traveling to LeRoy on Saturday: You get to see the entire team, against a disgruntled rival, from just 15 minutes away.