Elk River, ranked first in Class 5A, received all but one first-place vote, and Nevis remained atop Nine-Player. New in the top spot this week: Lakeville North in 6A, Becker in 4A and Barnesville in 2A.

By Jim Paulsen

The Minnesota Star Tribune

September 17, 2024 at 1:51PM

Lakeville North running back Sam Ripplinger sidesteps a tackle attempt by Lakeville South defensive back Carson Walker to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter Friday. Lakeville North is No. 1 in this week's class-by-class state rankings. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Two football teams are unanimous No. 1 choices in the high school football class-by-class rankings released Tuesday.

Stewartville in Class 3A and Minneota in Class 1A, each the defending state champion in its class, received all of the first-place votes from the panel of 12 media members. In Class 5A, Elk River received 11 first-place votes and Moorhead received the other.

The No. 1 team changed in three classes. In Class 6A, Lakeville North took the top spot thanks to Edina’s loss Thursday to Minnetonka, and Maple Grove and Minnetonka also received first-place votes. Becker replaced Hutchinson atop Class 4A after Hutchinson lost to Totino-Grace. In Class 2A, Caledonia’s loss to Chatfield made room for Barnesville at No. 1.

Nevis remained No. 1 in Nine-Player.

The rankings are compiled by the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Jim Paulsen and distributed statewide by the Associated Press.

Football state rankings

First-place votes in parentheses, record, total points

CLASS 6A

1. Lakeville North (7), 3-0, 115

2. Maple Grove (3), 3-0, 105

3. Minnetonka (2), 3-0, 102

4. Edina 2-1, 77

5. Shakopee 3-0, 76

6. Eden Prairie 2-1, 62

7. Eagan 2-1, 39

8, Anoka 2-1, 20

9. Lakeville South 1-2 19

10. Stillwater 2-1, 17

Others receiving votes: Mounds View 12, Blaine 7, Sr. Michael-Albertville 5, Farmington, Buffalo 2, Rosemount 2.

CLASS 5A

1. Elk River (11), 3-0, 118

2. Alexandria 3-0, 105

3. Moorhead (1), 3-0, 91

4. Owatonna 3-0, 85

5. Robbinsdale Armstrong 3-0, 64

6. Andover 2-1, 51

7. Rochester John Marshall 3-0, 36

8. Waconia 2-1, 31

9. Mankato West 2-1, 26

10. Mankato East 2-1, 15

Others receiving votes: Two Rivers 12, Chaska 10, Minneapolis Washburn 8, St. Thomas Academy 5, Sauk Rapids-Rice 2, Monticello 1.

CLASS 4A

1. Becker (9), 3-0, 116

2. Totino-Grace (3), 3-0, 105

3. Orono 3-0, 100

4. Hutchinson 2-1, 68

5. Mound Westonka (1), 3-0, 63

6. Duluth Denfeld 3-0, 36

7. Providence Academy 2-1, 30

8. Byron 2-1, 27

9. Princeton 3-0, 26

10. New Ulm 3-0, 24

Others receiving votes: Holy Angels 15, Kasson-Mantorville 10, Marshall 10, North Branch 10, Detroit Lakes 7, St. Paul Johnson 5, Chisago Lakes 4, Hermantown 1.

CLASS 3A

1. Stewartville (12), 3-0, 120

2. Dassel-Cokato 3-0, 103

3. Fairmont 3-0, 82

4. Albany 3-0, 80

5. Holy Family 3-0, 73

6. Pequot Lakes 3-0, 69

7. Pine Island 3-0, 34

8. Pierz 3-0, 31

9. Waseca 2-1, 30

8. Fergus Falls 3-0, 16

Others receiving votes: Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 10, Annandale 6, East Grand Forks 5, Esko 3, Luverne 3, St. Croix Lutheran 3.

CLASS 2A

1. Barnesville (6), 3-0, 107

2. Eden Valley-Watkins (2), 3-0, 101

3. Chatfield (4), 3-0, 99

4. Jackson Co. Central 3-0, 70

5. Cannon Falls 3-0, 69

6. Caledonia 2-1, 47

7. Triton 3-0, 43

8. Holdingford 3-0, 42

9. Norwood Young America 3-0, 36

10. Barnum 3-0, 11

Others receiving votes: International Falls 10, Kimball Area 6, Randolph 6, St. Agnes 3 Lester Prairie 2, Staples-Motley 2.

CLASS 1A

1. Minneota (12), 3-0, 120

2. Springfield 3-0, 90

3. Mahnomen/Waubun 3-0, 88

4. Goodhue 3-0, 82

5. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 3-0, 56

6. (tie) Parkers Prairie 3-0, 41

6. (tie) Dawson-Boyd 3-0, 41

8. Browerville/Eagle Valley 3-0, 40

9. BOLD 2-1, 36

10. Upsala/Swanville 3-0, 20

Others receiving votes: Blooming Prairie 17; Ada-Borup West 6, Fillmore Central 5, Lester Prairie 3, Red Lake County 3.

NINE-PLAYER

1. Nevis (7), 3-0, 115

2. Mountain Iron-Buhl (4), 3-0, 106

3. Fertile-Beltrami (1), 3-0, 93

4. Hills-Beaver Creek 3-0, 78

5. Cherry 3-0, 58

6. Verndale 3-0, 50

7. Leroy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli 3-0, 47

8. Spring Grove 3-0, 38

9. Goodridge/Grygla 3-0, 29

10. Fosston 3-0, 10

Others receiving votes: Hancock 9, Mountain Lake Area 6, Stephen-Argyle 5, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 4, Kingsland 4, Cromwell-Wright 3, Ogilvie 3, Houston 2.

How the votes are tallied: Each voter picks a top 10 in each class. No. 1-ranked teams get 10 points, No. 2s get 9, etc.

The voters: Randy Shaver, Talk North; Gary Giombetti, Mesabi Daily News; Ron Haggstrom, Minnesota Star Tribune; Jamey Malcomb, Duluth News Tribune; Joe Brown, West Central Tribune; Brian Jerzak, PrepRedZone; Steve Thomson, WCCO Radio; Chad Courrier, Mankato Free Press; David La Vaque, Minnesota Star Tribune; Pat Ruff, Rochester Post Bulletin; Jace Frederick, St. Paul Pioneer Press; Jim Paulsen, Minnesota Star Tribune.

Last week’s rankings