Upset in high school football shuffles rankings in Class 5A

New in the top spot this week: Alexandria in Class 5A following previous No. 1 Elk River’s loss to Andover.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 24, 2024 at 5:20PM
Planes perform a flyover at Einer Anderson Stadium in Minnetonka. The Skippers are undefeated at 4-0. The team received two first-place votes in 6A in the most recent class-by-class state rankings. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota writers overwhelmingly voted to move undefeated Alexandria into the No. 1 ranking in Class 5A in this week’s high school football class-by-class rankings, the most notable change heading into Week 5 of the regular season.

The move comes after Andover’s 47-31 victory over previous No.1 Elk River on Friday. Andover, meanwhile, rose from No. 6 to No. 4 in the ranking. Also receiving first-place votes in 5A were Moorhead and Owatonna.

In Class 6A, the top three remained the same with Lakeville North, Maple Grove and Minnetonka, albeit Maple Grove received more nods for first-place consideration.

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 (6), 4-0, 113

2. Maple Grove (4), 4-0, 107

3. Minnetonka (2), 4-0, 100

4. (tie) Shakopee, 4-0, 80

4. (tie) Edina, 3-1, 80

6. Eagan, 3-1, 55

7. Stillwater, 3-1, 42

8. Eden Prairie, 2-2, 33

9. Blaine, 3-1, 25

10. Anoka, 2-2, 8

Also receiving votes: Buffalo 7, Centennial 5, Lakeville South 3, St. Michael-Albertville 2

CLASS 5A

1. Alexandria (9), 4-0, 117

2. Moorhead (2), 4-0, 106

3. Owatonna (1), 4-0, 91

4. Andover, 3-1, 78

5. Robbinsdale Armstrong, 4-0, 60

6. Elk River, 3-1, 59

7. Mankato West, 3-1, 53

8. Mankato East 3-1 29

9. St. Thomas Academy, 3-1, 16

10. Two Rivers, 4-0, 15

Also receiving votes: Minneapolis Washburn 9, Chanhassen 8, Rochester John Marshall 7, Chaska 6, Waconia 4, Monticello 1, Rogers 1

CLASS 4A

1. Becker (10), 4-0, 117

2. Totino-Grace (2), 4-0, 106

3. Orono, 4-0, 97

4. Duluth Denfeld, 4-0, 72

5. Providence Academy, 3-1, 67

6. Princeton, 4-0, 43

7. Byron, 3-1, 38

8. Hutchinson, 2-2, 23

9. Mound-Westonka, 3-1, 21

10. Rocori, 3-1, 15

Also receiving votes: North Branch 11, Detroit Lakes 10, Holy Angels 8, Kasson-Mantorville 8, Hill-Murray 5, St. Paul Johnson 5, Chisago Lakes 3, Marshall 3, Hermantown 1, New Ulm 1

CLASS 3A

1. Stewartville (12), 4-0, 120

2. Dassel-Cokato, 4-0, 104

3. Fairmont, 4-0, 84

4. Albany, 4-0, 78

5, Pequot Lakes, 4-0, 74

6. Holy Family, 4-0, 65

7. Waseca , 3-1, 41

8. Fergus Falls, 4-0, 35

9, (tie) Morris/Chokio-Alb., 4-0, 16

9. (tie) Pine Island, 3-1, 16

Also receiving votes: Pierz 11, Annandale 8, Luverne 8, Worthington 1

CLASS 2A

1. Barnesville (8), 4-0, 112

2. Eden Valley-Watkins, (1) 4-0, 103

3. Chatfield (3), 4-0, 98

4. Jackson County Central, 4-0, 82

5. Caledonia, 3-1, 54

6. Triton, 4-0, 49

7. Holdingford, 4-0, 44

8. Norwood Young America, 4-0, 36

9. Barnum, 4-0, 24

10. Cannon Falls, 3-1, 22

Also receiving votes: International Falls 15, Kimball Area 15, Pipestone Area 2, St. Agnes 1

CLASS 1A

1. Minneota (12), 4-0, 120

2. Springfield, 4-0, 103

3. Mahnomen/Waubun, 4-0, 87

4. Goodhue, 4-0, 85

5. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, 4-0, 66

6. Dawson-Boyd, 4-0, 51

7. Parkers Prairie, 4-0, 44

8. Upsala/Swanville, 4-0, 36

9. BOLD, 3-1, 33

10. Lester Prairie, 4-0, 10

Also receiving votes: Ada-Borup-West 9, Blooming Prairie 7, Fillmore Central 5, Browerville-Eagle Valley 2, Red Lake County 2

NINE-PLAYER

1. Nevis (8), 4-0, 116

2. Mountain Iron-Buhl (3), 4-0, 103

3. Fertile-Beltrami (1), 4-0, 86

4. Hills-Beaver Creek, 4-0, 78

5. Cherry, 4-0, 60

6. LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-P, 4-0, 59

7. Spring Grove, 4-0, 50

8. Goodridge/Grygla, 4-0, 35

9. Fosston, 4-0, 19

10. Hancock, 4-0, 13

Also receiving votes: Kingsland 8, Mountain Lake Area 7, Stephen-Argyle 7, Bertha-Hewitt 6, Cromwell-Wright 5, Verndale 5

Clarification: A previous version of this story stated Alexandria defeated Elk River.
about the writer

about the writer

Jim Paulsen

Reporter

Jim Paulsen is a high school sports reporter for the Star Tribune. 

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