After an exciting three days of the 2024 Minnesota State High School Football tournament, the semi-final rounds at US Bank Stadium are set.
New rules in the state tournament this year require the teams to reseed after the opening round. In the first round, the field is seeded 1-4 in a North and South bracket. For the semi-final round, the top remaining seed in the North faces the lowest remaining seed in the South, with the top remaining seed in the South squaring off against the lowest remaining seed in the North.
In Class A, the 4-seed Parkers Prairie Panthers shut out top-seed Upsala-Swanville Area 33-0 to advance on Thursday night in Virginia. The Panthers head to the State semifinals for the first time in program history, and will take on the undefeated Minneota Vikings at 11:30 on Saturday morning, November 16th.
The other matchup in Class A features two undefeated squads in Mahnomen/Waubun and Springfield in the 9 am game.
In Class AA, the Staples-Motley Cardinals won their first postseason game since 1989 in a double OT thriller against perennial State champion Barnesville 46-44 in a game in which the Cards trailed 20-8 in the first half. Staples-Motley, the three-seed in the North, will take on top-seed in the south Chatfield at 4:30 on Friday, November 15th. The Gophers were State champs in 2021 and runners-up in 2022. The Cardinals are looking to advance to their first championship game since 1988.
North top-seed Kimball Area shut out Moose Lake-Willow River 38-0 on Friday night. They’ll face Jackson County Central after they beat Central Public Schools 34-7.
STATE QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
Thursday, November 7th:
9-MAN:
#1N Mountain Iron-Buhl 38, #4N Stephen-Argyle 6
#2N Fertile-Beltrami 48, #3N Cromwell-Wright 7
#2S Hills-Beaver Creek 34, #3S Border West 14
CLASS A:
#4N Parkers Prairie 33, #1N Upsala-Swanville Area 0
#3S Springfield 20, #2S Goodhue 14
CLASS AA:
#3N Staples-Motley 46, #2N Barnesville 44 (2OT)
#1S Chatfield 23, #4S Triton 22
CLASS AAAA:
#1N Becker 35, #4N Holy Angels 15
#3N Orono 49, #2N Hermantown 21
#1S Totino-Grace 24, #4S Hill-Murray 0
#3S Marshall 21, #2S Byron 0
CLASS AAAAAA:
Minnetonka 28, Blaine 0
Maple Grove 42, Edina 12
Friday, November 8th:
9-MAN:
#1S LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle/Pacelli 50, #4S Renville County West, 0
CLASS A:
#2N Mahnomen/Waubun 14, #3N Deer River 6
#1S Minneota 41, #4S Lester Prairie 0
CLASS AA:
#1N Kimball Area 38, #4N Moose Lake-Willow River 0
#2S Jackson County Central 34, #3S Norwood-Young America 7
CLASS AAA:
#2N Albany 28, #1N Fergus Falls 27
CLASS AAAAAA:
Anoka 14, Lakeville North 10
Shakopee 24, Mounds View 17
Saturday, November 9th
CLASS AAA:
#1S Stewartville 40 vs #4S Holy Family Catholic 14
#2S Dassel-Cokato 29, #3S Fairmont 28
#2N Pequot Lakes 22, #3N Annandale 15
CLASS AAAAA:
#3N Alexandria 17, #2N Robbinsdale Armstrong 14
#2S Chanhassen 38, #3S St. Thomas Academy 21
#1S Owatonna 22, #4S Cretin-Durham Hall 21 OT
#1N Elk River 36, #4N Monticello 29
STATE SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE AT US BANK STADIUM:
Thursday, November 14th:
CLASS 4A: Marshall vs Becker, 10:30 am
9-MAN – Hills-Beaver Creek vs Mountain Iron-Buhl, 1:00 pm
9-MAN – Fertile Beltrami vs LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle/Pacelli, 4:00 pm
CLASS 6A: Anoka vs Minnetonka, 7:00 pm
Friday, November 15th:
CLASS 2A: Jackson County Central vs Kimball Area, 9:00 am
CLASS 4A: Orono vs Totino-Grace, 11:30 am
CLASS 5A: Chanhassen vs Elk River, 2:00 pm
CLASS 2A: Staples-Motley vs Chatfield, 4:30 pm
CLASS 6A: Shakopee vs Maple Grove, 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 16th:
CLASS A: Springfield vs Mahnomen/Waubun, 9:00 am
CLASS A: Parkers Prairie vs Minneota, 11:30 am
CLASS 3A: Dassel-Cokato vs Pequot Lakes, 2:00 pm
CLASS 3A: Albany vs Stewartville, 4:30 pm
CLASS 5A: Alexandria vs Owatonna, 7:00 pm