Football's second season arrives this week as teams vie for a trip to TCF Bank Stadium for the first outdoor Prep Bowl since 1981.
North-metro schools dot the section playoff landscape as favorites. In Class 6A, which begins Friday evening, Maple Grove earned the top seed in Section 6, followed by No. 2 Totino-Grace, No. 3 Centennial and No. 4 Osseo.
The four teams victorious in the quarterfinal round cross over to play the remaining four teams in Section 4 on Oct. 31 in what are considered the section championship games. Mounds View, East Ridge, Cretin-Derham Hall and Stillwater are the top four seeds in that section.
The other remaining classes — 9-man through 5A — started playing as early as Tuesday.
In Class 5A, three north-metro teams play host to semifinal games at 3 p.m. on Saturday: Spring Lake Park and Robbinsdale Cooper, the top-two seeds in Section 4 and Elk River, the No. 2 seed in Section 6.
Volleyball playoffs start
Section playoffs begin this week in volleyball. Section 5 in Class 3A features No. 1 seed Champlin Park, No. 2 Totino-Grace and No. 3 Osseo. All three teams, plus No. 4 St. Michael-Albertville, await the winners of first-round matches played Tuesday after this edition went to press.
In Class 2A, Park Center received the No. 1 seed in the North Division of the bracket. The Pirates play host to No. 8 seed Minneapolis Patrick Henry at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Cross-country performances
The Totino-Grace girls' cross-country team won the Northwest Suburban Conference championship held Oct. 9 at the Elk River Golf Course. Junior Michaela Brands, senior Amy Gasperlin and junior Maggie Louiselle cemented the Eagles' victory by crossing the finish line within three seconds of each other.
