FIRST AND FIVE
1. BACK FOR MORE: Through all the battles in the regular season and the playoffs, there are four teams back to defend their 2008 state titles. Those teams are: Wayzata (5A), Mankato West (4A), Glencoe-Silver Lake (3A) and Caledonia (2A).
2. QUARTERFINALS' BIGGEST MATCHUPS: Eden Prairie vs. Wayzata in 5A and Glencoe-Silver Lake vs. DeLaSalle in 3A are among the big matchups of the state quarterfinals. Eden Prairie is the No. 1-ranked team in 5A, while Wayzata is the defending state champion with one loss. Gage Shaeffer has over 1,000 yards rushing for Eden Prairie. GSL, the defending state champion, is led by dual-threat passer and runner Kyle Anderson, while DeLaSalle, which lost to GSL in the Prep Bowl last year, is led by possibly the state's most dynamic player – quarterback Evan Williams.
3. NORTHERN POWERS: While the Metro teams get the headlines and hype, two outstate teams are looking to make their mark. Brainerd (7-3) plays Centennial (10-1) at St. Cloud State on Friday, while Bemidji (6-5), making its first appearance since 2000, plays Sartell (11-0) on Saturday at St. Cloud State.
4. CLASSIC SUBURBAN SUCCESS: There were a total of five teams from the Classic Suburban Conference that made it to the section finals - more than any other conference in the state. Of those five, two made it to the state tournament - St. Thomas Academy and Mahtomedi - and those two teams play each other in a quarterfinal matchup Friday at Woodbury. STA defeated conference foe South St. Paul 49-14 to win the section title, while Mahtomedi defeated CSC foe Hill-Murray 22-14 to earn a trip to state. The other CSC team in the finals was Henry Sibley, which lost to Cretin-Derham Hall 30-0. As for St. Thomas and Mahtomedi, it will be a battle of two potent ground games. Hainia MoiMoi has ran for 998 yards and Brenton Braddock 611 for Mahtomedi, while St. Thomas is led by the running of Danny Freund, Danny Abbott and Augie Braddock, who have combined to run for over 2,200 yards and 31 touchdowns.
5. ROGER MAKES DEBUT: Rogers makes its first trip to the state tournament, and will face undefeated Totino Grace (10-0) in a 4A quarterfinal Friday at Maple Grove. The Royals are led by the passing of quarterback Bjorn Bloom (1245 yards, 13 touchdowns) and running of Joe Brunn (654 yards, 6 touchdowns), Josh Wickoren (512 yards, 7 touchdowns), and Jordan Cottrell (409 yards, 5 touchdowns). David Huntley has 31 receptions, and Derek Vidor 27 for the Royals. Alex Meixell leads the defense with 145 tackles and three sacks.
THREE TO WATCH
1. Sam Milbrett, Waseca: Milbrett carried 40 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-26 win over Minneapolis Wasburn in the 2AAA title game Friday. Milbrett now has 1,633 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns as he leads Waseca (8-3) to a state quarterfinal matchup against Kasson-Mantorville (11-0) on Saturday at Lakeville North.
2. New Ulm Cathedral: In Class A, Cathedral is one of only two teams back from the 2008 state tournament. NUC is 11-0 and faces Blooming Prairie (10-1) at Rochester Community and Technical College. The Greyhounds are ranked No. 1 in Class A and are averaging 38.1 points per game, while giving up 6.3 points per game.
3. Bryan Ripley, Kasson-Mantorville: Ripley passed for 168 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another as KM defeated LaCresecent 30-14 in a Section 1AAA championship game. Ripley and KM now face Milbrett and Waseca.
TWO HOT TOO HANDLE
1. Cameron Clarkson, Cretin-Derham Hall: Lots of names are mentioned when the CDH football team is talked about, including Seantrel Henderson, the nation's top recruit, and Mark Alt, one of the state's top quarterbacks. But Friday, in the section final win over Sibley, one name everyone was talking about was Cameron Clarkson. Clarkson ran 22 times for 116 yards and a touchdown in the win.
File photo by Greg Smith
Seantrel Henderson, right, has paved the way for Cretin-Derham Hall runners all year.
2. Brian Sarvela, Centennial: The Cougars wide receiver enters the state tournament with 38 receptions for 543 yards and five touchdowns.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1,314 - The number of passing yards for Mahtomedi quarterback Dan Ferrazo this season. Ferrazo has 15 touchdowns heading into Friday's clash with St. Thomas Academy.
21 - The number of teams in the state tournament that have undefeated records.
21 - The number of teams in the state tournament that were in the tournament in 2008.
4 - The number of teams making their first-ever appearances in the state tournament.
3 - The number of teams returning to the state tournament from the 2008 9-man field. Those teams are Ada-Borup, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley and Verndale.