Survivors only: Ranking the Top 20 Twin Cities-area high school football teams still in the playoffs

Rankings generally end when regular seasons do. Reason? It's no longer an equitable playing field or a necessary one. Some of the best teams drop out of the rankings because of a single loss. Teams that win are rewarded by advancing to another round, not by a rise in the rankings.

So here's a ranking that fits the times: a top 20 of metro-area teams still in the playoffs and headed toward games Friday.

1. Eden Prairie (9-0): The Eagles were No. 1 in the metro for the entire regular season. Nothing's changed.

2. Lakeville North (8-1): Coon Rapids gave the Panthers a battle in the first round, as expected, but North stayed true to itself. The Panthers kept it simple, ran the ball for 300 yards and never let the Cardinals get a whiff of momentum.

3. Centennial (8-1): Is anyone playing better defense than the Cougars right now?

4. Lakeville South (8-1): In the past three games, Lakeville South has scored 14 offensive touchdowns. Before halftime.

5. Chanhassen (5A, 9-0): The offense gets all the pub, but the Storm's defense has been lights-out, giving up just one touchdown in their past 12 quarters.

7. Minnetonka (7-2): The Skippers are getting more and more comfortable leaning on defense and rushing since the loss of QB Milos Spasojevic.

8. Stillwater (7-2): It's good news for the Ponies that QB Nick Kinsey came back from injury and passed for 99 yards in a rout of Hopkins.

9. Edina (6-3): The deep and talented Hornets are playing their best football right now, when it matters.

10. Andover (5A, 8-1): The Huskies put up a basketball score, 84 points, in a victory over Cambridge-Isanti.

11. Becker (4A, 9-0): No. 1 in 4A knows how to win at this time of year.

13. Rosemount (6-3): After being shut out by Centennial, the Irish scored 48 first half-points Friday against Blaine.

14. Forest Lake (6-3): Roughneck Rangers outphysicaled Wayzata in a 31-7 victory.

15. Rogers (5A, 8-1): After a tough loss to Mankato West, the Royals posted their second shutout of Park Center in three weeks.

16. St. Thomas Academy (5A, 7-2): The Cadets gave up the game's first and last scores. In between, they scored 47 straight in a 47-14 victory over Two Rivers.

17. Robbinsdale Armstrong (5A, 7-2): Armstrong's defense got offensive, collecting three pick-sixes as the Falcons shredded St. Louis Park 63-12

19. Woodbury (5-4): The Royals ended their two-game losing streak in style with a 42-point first-half barrage.

20. Hutchinson (4A, 7-2): Since a two-game losing streak in midseason, the Tigers are obliterating opposing defenses to the tune of 45 points per game.