Note: The statewide football polls for each class will begin following Week 2 competition, allowing voters ample time to analyze teams in each classification.
The updated Minnesota Top 20 high school football rankings come with an explanation
The assignment is to produce a state football ranking that crosses classes. Complicating that — or making it more intriguing? — is that it is very difficult for smaller schools to keep up in the numbers game.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 6, 2024 at 2:10PM
The toughest part of compiling a set of rankings that crosses the lines of classes is being truthful about the importance of school size.
At the rebranded Minnesota Star Tribune, an effort is being made to expand high school sports coverage further into Greater Minnesota. The new Minnesota Top 20, a ranking of the top 20 football teams in the state regardless of class, is part of that mission.
It’s this simple: Such a ranking is bound to be top-heavy with large-school teams because the deck is stacked in their favor.
The Minnesota State High School League combats that by segmenting football into seven classes ranging in size from the smallest schools — those with Nine-Person football programs — to the largest 32 schools in the state, some with more than 3,000 students, that make up Class 6A.
Schools of any size can produce high-caliber players, but football is largely a numbers game. More students means more players. More players means a larger talent pool from which to choose, leading to greater depth.
The importance of depth is that it keeps players fresh longer. When a large talent pool is available, players don’t need to play both offense or defense. It keeps them from wearing down, and it enables better focus. A running back who does not have to head back out to play defense after scoring a touchdown gets to recharge and be at his best when he next takes the field.
Teams at all levels have top players who play both offense and defense. The difference between the larger classes and their counterparts in the smaller classes is in how often that happens. Only the best players in Class 6A are asked to play both ways. At smaller schools, many players do it.
This week’s Minnesota Top 20, the second ranking of the season, includes six teams from outside Class 6A. You’ll see them labeled by their class. Now you know what they overcame.
Here are the Week 2 rankings, shaken up near the top by Lakeville South’s loss to Wayzata:
The Minnesota Top 20 — Week 2
With record, previous week’s ranking and last week’s result
1. Maple Grove (1-0). Last week: 1. Def. Osseo 55-7. Next: home vs. Champlin Park, Friday, 7 p.m.
2. Edina (1-0). Last week: 2. Def. Eagan 35-14. Next: home vs. Eden Prairie, Friday, 7 p.m.
3. Eden Prairie (1-0). Last week: 4. Def. Buffalo 40-6. Next: at Edina, Friday, 7 p.m.
4. Lakeville North (1-0). Last week: 5. Def. Stillwater 27-7. Next: home vs. Rosemount, Friday, 7 p.m.
5. Centennial (1-0). Last week: 7. Def. Coon Rapids 42-0. Next: at Blaine, Friday, 7 p.m.
6. Anoka (1-0). Last week: 8. Def. Champlin Park 25-13. Next: at St. Michael-Albertville, Friday, 7 p.m.
7. Shakopee (1-0). Last week: 9. Def. Hopkins 59-35. Next: at Prior Lake, Friday, 7 p.m.
8. Minnetonka (1-0). Last week: 11. Def. White Bear Lake 34-10. Next: home vs. Wayzata, Friday, 7 p.m.
9. Elk River (5A, 1-0). Last week: 10. Def. Chanhassen 44-22. Next: home vs. Brainerd, Friday, 7 p.m.
10. Wayzata (1-0). Last week: not ranked. Def. Lakeville South 17-14. Next: at Minnetonka, Friday, 7 p.m.
11. Rosemount (1-0). Last week: not ranked. Def. Eastview 41-3. Next: at Lakeville North, Friday, 7 p.m.
12. Lakeville South (0-1). Last week: 3. Lost to Wayzata 17-14. Next: home vs. Farmington, Friday, 7 p.m.
13. Alexandria (5A, 1-0). Last week: 13. Def. Chaska 24-6. Next: home vs. Monticello, Friday, 7 p.m.
14. Mankato West (5A, 1-0). Last week: 14. Def. Northfield 31-6. Next: home vs. Andover, Friday, 7 p.m.
15. Rogers (1-0). last week: 16. Def. Sartell 20-0. Next: at Moorhead, Friday, 7 p.m.
16. Prior Lake (1-0). Last week: not ranked. Def. Forest Lake 22-19. Next: home vs. Shakopee, Friday, 7 p.m.
17. Stillwater (0-1). Last week: 6. Lost to Lakeville North 27-7. Next: home vs. Woodbury, Thursday, 7 p.m..
18. Sauk Rapids-Rice (5A, 1-0). Last week: 18. Def. Irondale 40-14. Next: home vs. Sartell, Friday, 7 p.m.
19. St. Thomas Academy (5A, 1-0). Last week: 19. Def. Andover 21-14. Next: home vs. Waconia, Friday, 7 p.m.
20. Becker (4A, 1-0). Last week: not ranked. Def. Hill-Murray 51-0. Next: at Providence Academy, Friday, 7 p.m.
Next five:
Hutchinson (4A, 1-0); Chanhassen (5A, 0-1); Andover (5A, 0-1); Stewartville (3A, 1-0); Mankato East (5A, 1-0).
Zero losses is a common starting point, but only two teams, Staples-Motley and Fertile-Beltrami, have no state titles.
