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Playoff football seeds chosen: Eden Prairie gets bye in 6A

Lakeville North and Blaine are undefeated, but Eden Prairie got the only bye in Class 6A. And other observations.

By Jim Paulsen

October 18, 2018 at 7:44PM

Lakeville linebacker Eli Mostaert (98) celebrates his interception for a TD against Prior Lake with teammates Thomas Jensen (21) and RaJa Nelson (7) during the first half Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at TCO Stadium in Eagan, MN.] DAVID JOLES � david.joles@startribune.com Lakeville North vs. Prior Lake (Paul Klauda — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

(Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Lakeville North players celebrate during its 38-3 victory over Prior Lake on Oct. 12

Mike Grant got his wish Thursday, just a year too late.

In 2017, the Eden Prairie football coach lobbied for his then-undefeated team to get the lone first-round bye available in the 31-team Class 6A bracket of the post-season playoffs.

But due to how the bracketing is determined, the bye went to Cretin-Derham Hall. Eden Prairie clearly survived, going on to win the Class 6A state title.

This year, however, is a different story. Eden Prairie (7-1) not only garnered the No. 1 seed in Section 6, 6A with Wednesday's 21-0 victory over Edina, it landed the coveted bye.

The bye is awarded by random draw among the No. 1 seeds.

Not that Grant won't benefit from the bye this year. Starting quarterback Cole Kramer was hampered Friday with an injury.

"I don't know if it's a groin pull or a hip flexor – he won't tell you what it is," Grant said. "Normally, he makes plays with his legs, but he couldn't really run. But he's a great general."

Here's a quick look at the upcoming prep playoffs

CLASS 6A

The No. 1 seeds are Lakeville North (8-0), Blaine (8-0), Eden Prairie (7-1) and Woodbury (7-1).

The No. 2 seeds are East Ridge (5-3), Rosemount (6-2), Champlin Park (6-2) and Edina (6-2) while No. 3 seeds are Minnetonka (5-3), Eastview (4-4), St. Michael-Albertville (5-3) and Cretin-Derham Hall (5-3).

The first round of games is Oct. 26. Here are some of the most notable first round matchups:

-- Totino-Grace (No. 8, 2-6) at Blaine (No. 1, 8-0). It's been an unusually dismal season for Totino-Grace, which is just two years removed from a state championship. But coach Jeff Ferguson was formerly an assistant coach at Blaine and there's a strong connection between the two schools. And Totino-Grace has never lost a first-round playoff game since Ferguson took over.

-- Buffalo (No. 5, 6-2) at Prior Lake (No. 4, 4-4). Prior Lake has played the tougher schedule, hence the higher seed. But the Lakers haven't seen a passing offense as potent as Buffalo's.

-- Centennial (3-5) at Wayzata (4-4). Both teams have had their share of close games. The average margin of defeat for Centennial in its five losses has been less than 5 points. Wayzata has had three last-minute losses (Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Maple Grove).

-- Lakeville South (3-5) at Cretin-Derham Hall (5-3). Cretin has a history of struggling in first round playoff games. Lakeville South has won two in a row and has scored 107 points in doing so.

CLASS 5A

Section 1: Defending state champion Owatonna (8-0) is undefeated and got the No. 1 seed. Rochester Century (5-3) got the No. 2 seed after a 31-0 victory over Northfield on Wednesday. But the No. 3-seeded Raiders are still dangerous.

Section 2: The top four seeds are very strong. Waconia (7-1) earned No. 1 after Wednesday's victory over Chanhassen (6-2), which is seeded No. 2. Mankato West (7-1) got the No. 3 seed and Chaska (5-3) No. 4. The combined records of those four teams is 25-7.

Section 3: St. Thomas Academy (8-0) is No. 1 and Hastings (7-1) No. 2. A rematch between the two teams, won by St. Thomas Academy 24-6 on Sept. 28, looms. It was the undefeated Cadets' closest victory.

Section 4: Controversy? Mahtomedi got the No. 1 seed over Tartan, which got seeded No. 2 based on the QRF (Quality Results Formula). At issue is that the two teams have identical 6-2 records and Tartan beat Mahtomedi 21-17 in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

Section 5: Irondale (6-2) looks like a strong No. 3 seed after beating Cooper 41-13. Cooper (7-1) had already clinched the top seed going into the game. Spring Lake Park (6-2), in its first season under new head coach John Stewart, is seeded No. 2.

Section 6: Despite losing Wednesday, Elk River (7-1) is the No. 1 seed and clear favorite. The Elks rested six of their starters in the loss to Cambridge-Isanti.

Section 7: Chisago Lakes (2-6), the No. 6 seed, at Coon Rapids (No. 3, 3-5) is a potential upset. St. Francis (5-3) and Cambridge-Isanti (5-3) are vulnerable 1 and 2 seeds.

Section 8: No metro teams. Bemidji (7-1) is the No. 1 seed, Brainerd (5-3) is No. 2.

CLASS 4A

Section 1: Undefeated Winona (8-0) is the No. 1 seed. Everyone else is .500 or below.

Section 2: A beast of a section. Hutchinson (8-0) got the No. 1 seed, with Dassel-Cokato (7-1), Marshall (7-1) and Waseca (6-2) as the Nos 2, 3 and 4 seeds.

Section 3: St. Paul Johnson (4-4) is the No. 1 seed and only team in the section with a record at or above .500.

Section 4: Fridley got the No. 1 seed over St. Anthony Village. Both teams are 6-2, but each of the Tigers' losses came to undefeated teams, SMB and Providence Academy,

Section 5: Top-to-bottom, the deepest section in 4A and perhaps the state. Both No. 1 seed SMB and No. 2 seed Providence Academy are 8-0. Defending state champs Holy Angels was undefeated until losing to Orono Wednesday. The Stars (7-1) slipped to No. 3 while Orono (5-3) moved into the No. 4 spot. Mound-Westonka (6-2) has the best record of any No. 5 seed in the state and Benilde-St. Margaret's, the 2016 Class 4A state champs, is 5-3 yet seeded No. 6. Richfield (0-8) is No. 7.

Section 6: Zimmerman (5-3) got the top seed. Keep an eye on No. 4-seeded Becker, which had a sub-par season (3-5), but three of those losses were to Hutchinson, 6A Brainerd and Willmar. After having high hopes, Big Lake is a disappointing 4-4 and is seeded No. 3.

Section 7: Cloquet (7-1) clinched the No. 1 seed with a 14-0 victory over previously undefeated Hermantown (7-1), which slipped to No. 2.

Section 8: Undefeated Detroit Lakes (8-0) is the No. 1 seed. Willmar (7-1) is No. 2. Both average more than 44 points per game.

SMALLER CLASSES

3A: The metro teams with No. 1 seeds are Jordan (Section 2, 7-1), Breck (Section 4, 7-1) and Annandale (Section 5, 7-1). Spectrum's (7-1) loss to St. Anthony Village Wednesday drops it to No. 3 in Section 5.

2A: Undefeated Minneapolis North (8-0) earned the No. 1 seed in Section 4.