Minnesota state football brackets released, here’s who, where and when area teams will play

Rob Beer / The Forum By Staff reports Today at 4:46 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? MOORHEAD — With section champions officially crowned, the Minnesota State High School League released its brackets for the state football playoffs on Saturday. Five programs within The Forum’s coverage area won their section and advanced to the state quarterfinal round in their respective classes. State quarterfinal games begin Thursday, Nov. 12 at neutral-site locations. ADVERTISEMENT Here’s a rundown of area teams advancing to the state playoffs and who, where and when those teams will play. Class 4A Fergus Falls (7-3) vs. Grand Rapids (10-0), Friday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. @ Brainerd High School Eli Trese / Fergus Falls Daily Journal The Otters are fresh off of a third consecutive section title after defeating Becker 28-21 in Section 8-4A championship game at home Friday night. Caleb Fronning and Eston Bethel each rushed for two touchdowns in the win with Fronning going for 139 yards on 23 carries. Fergus Falls will be the North No. 3 seed in the Class 4A quarterfinals, heading to Brainerd to face North No. 2 Grand Rapids which remains unbeaten following its 38-7 win over Hermantown in the Section 7-4A final. Class 3A Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (10-0) vs. Annandale (10-0), Friday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. @ Alexandria Area High School Rob Beer / The Forum The Rebels rumbled their way to back-to-back section crowns following their 26-20 win over Perham in the Section 8-3A final at the Fargodome Friday night. Isaac Leiran led the DGF charge with 101 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Jace Baumgartner tacked on two scores to go with 97 yards rushing. It was also DGF’s fourth section crown in the last five seasons. The Rebels will carry the North No. 2 seed into the Class 3A quarterfinals and will travel to Alexandria to battle North No. 3 and defending Class 3A state champion Annandale. The Cardinals won their fourth section title in a row Friday night, defeating Foley 28-18 in the Section 5-3A title game at St. Cloud Tech. Class 2A Hawley (8-2) vs. Aitkin (9-0), Thursday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m. @ Brainerd High School Rob Beer / The Forum The Nuggets are back in the state playoffs for the first time in 12 years after outlasting Pelican Rapids 42-39 in the Section 8-2A championship game Friday at the Fargodome. Charles Steer found the end zone four times for Hawley and also snagged an interception in the win. Hawley earned the North No. 4 seed in the Class 2A bracket and will travel to Brainerd to face North No. 1 Aitkin in the quarterfinals. The Gobblers are making their first appearance in the state playoffs since 1982 after defeating Moose Lake/Willow River 15-0 in the Section 7-2A final Thursday in Esko. ADVERTISEMENT Class 1A Moorhead Park Christian (11-0) vs. Upsala/Swanville (10-0), Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. @ Morris Area High School Lexi Hills / The Forum In just its second year of 11-player football, Park Christian is heading to state for the first time after the Falcons downed five-time defending section champion Mahnomen/Waubun 21-20 in the Section 8A final at the Fargodome Thursday night. Logan Giese rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown in the win and added two more through the air on 14 of 27 passing for 181 yards with both scores going to younger brother Zaden Giese. Park Christian will be the North No. 4 seed in the Class A bracket, traveling to Morris to battle North No. 1 Upsala/Swanville in the quarterfinals. The Patriots won their third section title in a row after topping Benson 36-12 in the Section 5A title game at the Fargodome Friday. Breckenridge (11-0) vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl (10-0), Friday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. @ Becker High School Rob Beer / The Forum The Cowboys return to the state playoffs after a 21-14 win over Parkers Prairie for their second consecutive Section 6A crown at the Fargodome Friday. Joey Lopez rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in the victory. Breckenridge will be the North No. 2 seed in the Class A playoffs and will venture to Becker to take on North No. 3 Mountain Iron-Buhl in the quarterfinals. The Rangers won their third section title in four years with a 36-16 win over Barnum in the Section 7A championship at Cloquet Friday. MORE PREP COVERAGE: Live at 1 p.m.: Linton H-M-B vs. LaMoure-Litchville-Marion in Division 9-Man football playoffs 6h ago Charles Steer rushes Hawley to state for first time since 2014 17h ago FIRST DOWN FRIDAY: Playoff football on both sides of the river 19h ago Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags FOOTBALL MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE By Staff reports Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. 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