Staff writer Jim Paulsen, with 25 years of experience to call on, touched up his Metro Top 10 after the Week 1 games. His rankings and analysis:
Week 1 high school football games lead to changes, but only a few, in the Metro Top 10
Staff writer Jim Paulsen's rankings of the Twin Cities' top teams lose St. Michael-Albertville and gain Hutchinson.
September 6, 2022 at 10:27PM
![Max Shikenjanski(8) of Stillwater looks for his receiver. Centennial High School football opens at home against Stillwater High School in Circle Pines, Minn., on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Centennial High School football opens at home against Stillwater High School ] RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • richard.tsong-taatarii@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/BXJBHQHERNXM4Y4XN4ERMQAYHY.jpg?&w=712)
1. Lakeville South (1-0): Def. Park of Cottage Grove 69-14. Last week: 1.
Looks like the Cougars are ahead of where they left off last year, posting the highest point total in team history.
2. Eden Prairie (1-0): Def. East Ridge 34-7. Last week: 2.
Quarterback Nick Fazi, now in his second year as a starter, looked every bit the poised veteran in the opener, producing superb passing numbers: 12-for-15 for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
3. Prior Lake (1-0): Def. Hopkins 43-0. Last week: 3.
That's called domination. The Lakers did it on offense and defense.
4. Maple Grove (1-0): Def. Osseo 45-7. Last week: 4.
A 29-point third-quarter burst, thanks to some Osseo miscues, covered for sputtering second-quarter play.
5. Minnetonka (1-0): Def. Edina 34-21. Last week: 5.
Trailing by two touchdowns early in the third quarter, the Skippers scored 27 points in a 12-minute span across the third and fourth quarters to right the ship.
Related Coverage
6. Shakopee (1-0): Def. Anoka 49-20. Last week: 6.
The running game was humming, accounting for 487 of the Sabers' 553 total yards.
7. Stillwater (1-0): Def Centennial 29-28. Last week: 8.
QB Max Shikenjanski threw for four TDs — two in a fourth-quarter comeback — and scored the game-winning two-point conversion. He may have driven the bus, too.
8. Woodbury (1-0): Def. Champlin Park 21-7. Last week: 9.
Woodbury overcame a scoreless first quarter on the strength of a pair of George Bjellos touchdown passes and iced the victory with a fourth-quarter pick-six.
9. Hutchinson (4A, 2-0): Def. Alexandria 46-21. Last week: no ranking.
The Tigers have put up 46 points in back-to-back weeks. They travel to Willmar on Friday, then get 14 days to rest up for games against Becker and Rocori.
10. Elk River (5A, 1-0): Def. Cambridge-Isanti 52-7. Last week: 10.
Putting up 52 is no real surprise for this group. The surprise is 101 yards and three TDs passing. That's normally a season's worth for the Elks.
Dropped out: St. Michael-Albertville.
On the cusp: St. Thomas Academy (1-0); Wayzata (1-0).
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
