Minnesota high school football teams and players: Here’s who’s surprising our Star Tribune reporters

Through the first four weeks of the high school football season, there have been upsets, last-minute game-winners and new chapters written in some of Minnesota’s most storied high school sports rivalries.

We asked Minnesota Star Tribune high school sportswriters David La Vaque, Jim Paulsen, Ron Haggstrom and Cassidy Hettesheimer to compile a list of the most surprising teams — and players — of the season thus far … and they delivered.

(In no particular order)

Eagan (3-1): Served notice with upsets of Rosemount and Lakeville South.

Minneapolis Washburn (4-0): Returning to prominence in the city.

Totino-Grace (4-0): Program’s stature is reignited, albeit in Class 4A.

Duluth Denfeld (4-0): Four consecutive victories in which the Hunters scored at least 48 points.

Providence Academy (3-1): Taking care of business thus far, with victories against Mound Westonka and Chisago Lakes.

(In no particular order)

Kevin Hayes, junior running back, Minneapolis Washburn. Ranks fourth in Class 5A with 508 rushing yards after recording only 89 as a sophomore last season.

Kevon Johnson, senior running back, Armstrong. Leads Class 5A with 793 rushing and 13 touchdowns after missing a game last season because of injury. His Falcons are 4-0.

Logan Lachermeier, junior quarterback, Minneapolis North. Injured for the entire 2023 season, he has thrown for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Abu Tarawallie, senior defensive tackle Providence Academy. A two-year starter before missing last season to recover from an offseason injury, the 6-4, 270-pound Gophers commit, according to Lions coach Colin Rooney, remains the “best combination of size, strength and speed I have coached in 17 years.”

Nick Kinsey, junior quarterback, Stillwater: Only one interception through four games speaks to a smarter approach when making decisions.

Buffalo (3-1) The Bison have taken advantage of the old Gold and Maroon scheduling format, which separated Class 6A teams into two divisions based on past success: Gold for traditional power programs, Maroon for building programs. Buffalo is hoping for a repeat of 2023, when they opened the season with a loss to Eden Prairie (Gold), then won five in a row over Maroon teams before losing to Gold powers to close out the regular season.

Two Rivers (4-0): The former Henry Sibley has won four consecutive convincingly, mowing through a schedule largely populated with teams from the old Minneapolis and St. Paul Conferences. They parlayed a similar schedule into an 8-2 record and a first-round playoff victory in 2023. Can the Class 5A team go further this year?

North St. Paul (2-2) The Polars have not won more than two games in a season since 2015. That includes a streak of 33 consecutive losses that stretched from 2016 to 2020. Last year, they won two of their first three but closed out the season with six consecutive losses. Friday looks tough with a game against 3-1 Hill-Murray, but with a combined record of 2-10 for their final three opponents, that elusive third victory seems possible for the 4A program.

Fergus Falls (4-0): After consecutive underwhelming 2-7 campaigns, the Otters have been a pleasant surprise. They’ve stormed out of the gate, winning four in a row, the last two of which came over previously undefeated foes (Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks). Fergus Falls and its athletic dual-threat QB Henry Bethel have finally gotten noticed in the state polls (they are currently No. 8 in Class 3A), but one would think a team averaging 36 points per game with a gaudy record would receive a little more love.

Rush City (4-0) The very definition of under the radar, the Tigers are the only undefeated team in Class 2A to not receive a single vote in the most recent state polls. They’ve been crushing opponents, winning by an average score of 46-15. The closest margin of victory? Twenty-eight points. Time to notice Rush City.

Magnus Hansen, senior quarterback, Providence Academy: The Lions’ stingy defense might be their calling card but the offense, with the accurate Hansen at the helm, is no slouch. He’s averaging 182 yards per game through the air.

Ganden Gosch, senior quarterback, Mankato East: With Gosch under center, the Cougars have been the equal of crosstown rivals and traditional 5A power Mankato West. Gosch has passed for 826 yards and nine TDs.

Kane Thompson, junior linebacker, International Falls: The 6-3, 205-pound linebacker has been a tackling machine in the middle of the undefeated Broncos defense. Through four games, he’s recorded 72 tackles, nine for loss.

David Mack, sophomore receiver, Moorhead: It’s time to recognize Spuds star QB Jett Feeney’s leading receiver. Mack leads the state in touchdown catches (8) and is among the leaders in receptions (26) and yards (348).

Emilio Rosario-Matias, junior running back, Stillwater: Rosario-Matias, not QB Nick Kinsey, has become the heartbeat of the Ponies’ offense. The 5-8, 195-pounder is averaging 179.8 rushing yards per game.

Hopkins (2-2): The Royals snapped a 29-game losing streak and are sitting at the .500 mark at the midway point of the season. A victory over Park of Cottage Grove on Friday would give them a winning record for the first time since Oct. 23, 2020.

Rush City (4-0): Coming off a one-win season, the Tigers remain perfect. Coach Joseph Lakeberg’s squad is averaging 46.5 points per game while yielding 15. Rush City has a chance to extend the winning streak to six before its schedule gets significantly tougher the last two weeks of the season.

Fergus Falls (4-0): After back-to-back two-win seasons, the Otters still find themselves unbeaten. They are averaging 35.8 points per game, two or three times more than the previous two years.

North St. Paul (2-2): A program that hasn’t eclipsed more than two wins since 2015. The Polars lost 33 consecutive games during one stretch from 2016-20. Coach Justin McDonald’s group should win up with more than two victories this season.

(tie) Blaine and Mankato East (3-1): Two programs that have equaled their win totals of a year ago. Tough upcoming slate for both will give a clear indication to exactly where they stand.

Jett Feeney, sophomore quarterback, Moorhead: The young signal caller is putting up gaudy numbers, but what is even more impressive is ability to distribute the ball to a variety of weapons. He has completed 86 of 115 passes for 1,176 yards and 21 touchdowns, with six different players catching scoring strikes, for the Class 5A, No. 2 Spuds (4-0).

Cam Hungerholt, senior quarterback/linebacker, LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli: Hungerholt averaged over 400 yards of total offense per game last year. It appears he might have a repeat performance. At the midway point of the regular season, he has rushed for 829 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing for 680 yards and 10 scores for the Nine-Man, No. 6 Cardinals (4-0). This is on top of averaging six tackles per game with an interception and fumble recovery.

Logan Lachermeier, junior quarterback, Minneapolis North: Lachermeier appears to be making up for lost time. After being injured a year ago, he has completed 80 of 140 passes for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Polars (2-2).

Taye Manns, senior running back/linebacker, Duluth Denfeld: The 5-11, 205-pounder continues to raise his stock. The Class 4A, No. 4 Hunters (4-0) are led by Manns, who has rushed for 877 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has also caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception for another score.

Abu Tarawallie, senior lineman, Providence Academy: Big things were expected from the 6-4, 270-pound Gophers recruit. He has proven to be even more dominant. After being sidelined last season because of a torn meniscus, Tarawallie can open big holes for the running game as well as be a disruptive force on defense for the Class 4A, No. 5 Lions (3-1).

Andover (3-1): Ahead of the season, we had the Huskies ranked behind 5A teams Elk River, Chanhassen and Mankato West. Andover has already beaten two of those three teams, and dominated winless Cambridge-Isanti 43-8.

Owatonna (4-0): Another Huskies team? Owatonna had a solid year last year, reaching the 5A quarterfinals, but this year, they’ve beaten Chanhassen 21-7 after losing to the eventual state champs last year. They haven’t let an opposing team score more than seven points in a game so far.

Mankato East (3-1): Granted, the Cougars have a tough back stretch of their schedule, but after going 3-6 last year, they’re 3-1 and have widened their margin of victory over the teams they beat last year, with two blowout wins to open the season.

Moorhead (4-0): After going 5-5 last season, the team flipped losses to Brainerd and Rogers into blowout wins this fall.

International Falls (4-0): Throwing out a Greater Minnesota curveball — The 2A Broncos were also 4-0 through four games last year, but all their wins were by eight points or less. This year, they’ve won three games by 20-plus points and avenged last year’s sections loss to Mesabi East.

Eleazar Staley, senior receiver, Mankato West: After recording six touchdowns last year, Staley is already off to a fast start, with just as many through this two-touchdown performance against Chaska in game three. Coach J.J. Helget said that Staley was off to an especially strong start considering they had just recently “taken the training wheels off” a new offense with a new starting quarterback.

Brecken Keoraj, senior running back, Elk River: If you know Elk River, it’s not quite a surprise that Keoraj is running circles around opponents, but still. The 5-7, 155-pound running back has “Don’t let size fool you” in his social media bio for a reason. Through four games, he’s recorded 598 rushing yards for six touchdowns and averaged 18.7 yards per carry in Elk River’s Power T offense.

Joshua Wedel, senior defensive lineman, Chaska: Chaska almost upset Mankato West in the third week of the season, thanks in part to a few key three-and-out stops that Wedel played a part of. Standing at 6-5, he’s had 11 tackles, four sacks and four tackles for loss and will head to South Dakota State next year.

Reece Hunt, senior linebacker/halfback, Lakeville North: Hunt has been a player to watch on both sizes of the ball for undefeated North, with a game-winning touchdown reception over Lakeville South and, on defense, 18 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Brett Johnson, senior linebacker, Lakeville South: Johnson has a staggering 25 solo tackles, 36 total, this season. The Cougars’ two losses have been by four or fewer points to Wayzata and Lakeville North, and Johnson has played a role in keeping games close.