Underdog days: We found six football teams that flopped in the regular season but could make state

At about section tournament time, in any sport, interest in the underdog emerges. Perhaps it's because your favorite team is one. Perhaps it's because your favorite team is about to play one. Perhaps it's because human nature makes us root for teams on hard times.

We have help for high school football fans interested in the underdog for any of those reasons or any other reason. Here's one section in each of the six classes that have section tournaments — that excludes Class 6A, where the state tournament begins Friday — that could see a team that finished .500 or worse during the regular season reach the state tournament, placing it among the final eight teams in the class.

All of these underdogs are back in action Saturday in section semifinals.

Section 7: Defending state champion Elk River (3-6) fell on tough times during the regular season but can't be overlooked. The Elks opened section play with a 53-6 thumping of Duluth East. Next up is No. 8 Sauk Rapids (7-1), a 30-28 victor over Elk River the last week of September. All six Elk River losses were to ranked teams, and five were one-score games. The Elks dropped a 63-56 decision to the section favorite, No. 4 Andover (7-1). The Elks' pounding ground attack has three running backs — juniors Gavin Schmidt (939) and Brecken Keoraj (719) and senior Logan Bunker (661) — with more than 600 rushing yards.

Section 5: If you're wanting to root for an underdog, you can't go wrong pulling for any team in this section. Holy Angels (3-5) and Minneapolis South (3-5) are the top two seeds and would only reach the .500 mark by advancing to the state quarterfinals. The seven-team section combined for an 11-45 record during the regular season, and not one of those teams entered section play trying to extend a winning streak.

Section 5: Foley (5-4) ended the regular season at .500 and appears to be the one team in the section that could take down one of the heavyweights. The Falcons lost 21-6 to No. 3 Annandale (8-0) in Week 7.

Section 2: Triton (4-5) wound up below .500, but one of its victories was over top-seeded Maple River, 27-6, in the season opener. The Cobras could benefit from having played a very tough schedule. Their opponents went a combined 40-18 during the regular season.

Section 6: Breckenridge (5-4) earned the No. 2 seed despite finishing .500 during the regular season. The Cowboys went 3-1 in section play, their only setback coming against top-seeded Parkers Prairie, 22-15.

Section 3: Mountain Lake Area (5-4), a .500 team during the regular season, seems like a logical selection in a class dominated by heavy favorites. The Wolverines went 3-1 in section play, losing 26-21 to No. 7 Hills-Beaver Creek (7-0). Mountain Lake Area is on a four-game winning streak and yields only 18.4 points per game.

To see the the section tournament brackets in six classes and the state tournament bracket in Class 6A, click here.