It's about as big of a showdown you can get for a regular season game.
New London-Spicer (New London), the defending state champions, are ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and winners of 17 straight. They travel to
Albany to play the No. 2-ranked Huskies, a team they defeated twice last year on the way to a state championship season. NLS enters the game as one of only two teams that went undefeated last year and is still undefeated this year (Class 4A power Totino Grace is the other team). It's also homecoming at Albany.
While the team and success is the same, many of the players will be different on both sides of the ball. NLS returns quarterback
Jayme Moten and tight end
Brandon Zylstra. The combo is a potent one-two punch, but many other players have contributed to the 3-0 start and will need to continue to play well to keep NLS undefeated.
As for Albany, the team is led by running back
Bryan Schlangen. Like Moten and Zylstra, Schlangen is one of the best athletes in the area. He's a standout baseball player who is being recruited by Division I teams and also an outstanding wrestler. He has run for 472 yards and eight touchdowns and could eclipse last year's totals of 1,018 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns.
NLS has the state title and two recent wins (including 20-18 in the Section 6 title game last year), Albany has the home field advantage and the homecoming crowd.
BRECK OFFENSE ON A ROLLBreck (Minneapolis) is off to a 3-0 start and has scored at least 40 points in all three games. The Mustangs defeated Randolph 40-7, St. Anthony village 41-21 and Brooklyn Center 40-21 heading into Friday's game against another pass-happy team, Concordia Academy of Roseville. The ball could be thrown 100 times in this game - literally. The only thing that could slow down these two high-octane offenses is the weather. Rain has caused flooding and severely wet conditions across the state of Minnesota all week. Friday's forecast isn't as severe, but rain could make the ball slippery and the passing game less effective. Then again, it's safe to say these two teams will likely find a way to put the ball in the air.
Breck quarterback
Austin Lommen has completed 74 of 118 passes for 942 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has thrown 30, 48 and 40 times in the three games, for 247, 379 and 316 yards. Receivers
Steven Kiesel,
Tyler Hudson and
Kasey Robinson have been on the receiving end of most of Lommen's passes. Kiesel has 28 receptions for 340 yards and four touchdowns, Hudson has 21 receptions for 279 yards and four touchdowns and Robinson has 18 receptions for 266 yards and four touchdowns.
BATTLE OF ROCHESTERMayo (Rochester) hosts cross-town rival
John Marshall (Rochester) tonight in a homecoming game that is always intense, regardless of records. John Marshall enters the game 2-1 overall, losing its first game of the season last week to Mankato East, 15-3. Mayo is 1-2 and earned its first win of the season last week, beating Winona 28-21.
Friday, look for John Marshall to try to establish a ground game that never got going in the loss to East, with the majority of the carries likely going to
Nick Haglund and
A. J. Johnson. The passing game should get a boost with the return of
Ryan Lakin, who was out the first three weeks after suffering a knee injury. He will help open things up for the running game and add another target for quarterback
Jake Kirsch.
Mayo is led by the passing of quarterback
Nate Penz, who is averaging 222 yards per game, and the receiving trio of
Lance Dozier,
Zachary Rhodes and
Michael Idso. Mayo has been forced to pass because it has trailed in the two losses, but the run and pass game was effective in a 28-21 win over Winona last week.
In this rivalry game, anything can happen. Stay tuned.
SOUTH SUBURBAN SHOWDOWNThe battle for first place takes place Friday in the South Suburban Conference when No. 5
Rosemount travels to play at 10th-ranked
Lakeville North. Both teams are 3-0 entering the game. Rosemount averages 358 yards of offense a game, with quarterback
Kevin Larson rushing for 287 yards and five touchdowns. Lakeville North is led by quarterback
Trey Heid and running back
Jake Berg. But the key to both teams has been their defenses, with Rosemount giving up an average of 11 points per game and North just more than eight points per game.
STATISTICAL LEADERSHeading into week four, some statistical leaders are starting to emerge. Among those are:
PASSINGDan Hartman,
Concordia Academy (Roseville) - 848 yards, 9 touchdowns
Drew Preiner,
Tartan (Oakdale) - 766 yards, 10 touchdowns
Jake Quast,
Woodbury - 715 yards, 6 touchdowns
RUSHINGSam Sura,
South St. Paul - 731 yards, 7 touchdowns
Brenton Braddock,
Mahtomedi - 550 yards, 7 touchdowns
Andrew Larson,
Eden Prairie - 493 yards, 6 touchdowns
RECEIVINGJameer Jackson,
Osseo - 19 catches, 291 yards 3 touchdowns
Shane Taylor, Concordia Academy - 17 receptions, 353 yards, 2 touchdowns
Lucas Preiner, Tartan - 17 touchdowns, 205 yards, 4 touchdowns
