Two football teams are unanimous No. 1 choices in the high school football class-by-class rankings released Tuesday.
Two unanimous No. 1 teams, Stewartville in Class 3A and Minneota in Class 1A, emerge in the high school football state rankings
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.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 17, 2024 at 1:51PM
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.
From the Twin Cities to greater Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune picks our top 25 football players in the state this year.
