Three weeks into the 2024 high school football regular season, questions come to mind with only four undefeated teams remaining in Class 6A.
Which team is a legitimate state championship contender? Which is a pretender?
Also, can anyone run the table? Does having a loss have any effect on a team’s chances for postseason success?
Last week’s results offered little clarity to the eventual paths of the teams that make up 6A, home to the teams that represent the 32 largest schools in the state.
In fact, the outlook might have gotten a little muddier.
Talent-laden Maple Grove has a strong claim on the top spot, but the Crimson looked vulnerable in their 21-14 victory at Centennial on Friday. Coach Adam Spurrell called the tight game “the best thing that could have happened to us,” and said the win prepared the Crimson “for the next five, six weeks of the season.”
Lakeville North might have the best chance in 6A to run the table. The Panthers are 3-0 after surviving a brutal season-opening stretch. The five remaining teams on their schedule have a combined 6-9 record.
Both Minnetonka and Shakopee, the other two undefeated teams, feature strong running games but have obstacle-strewn routes in front of them — including a head-to-head matchup at Minnetonka on Sept. 27.