No, we don't set it up to make certain that Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque disagree. Their disagreements happen quite naturally, and now we can show evidence.
As high school football season begins, so does the process of picking winners
Star Tribune reporters Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque will analyze the games all season long, as they have in tandem since 2010. These are their first picks of 2021.
August 26, 2021 at 11:15PM
The schedule for Friday's soft opening of the high school football season includes only five games in all of Minnesota. We didn't have many options when we asked Jim and David to predict the winner of three of them, in keeping with a tradition that has had the two of them making predictions on high school football games for the Star Tribune since 2010.
They didn't agree on a thing.
Their first three picks of the 2021 season:
Rocori at Becker, 7 p.m.
David says: Rocori bested Becker 14-13 last season, so you can expect the Bulldogs to have a little revenge on their minds. They better be ready physically, too, because Rocori went 7-0 last season coming off the 2019 Class 4A Prep Bowl title. The Spartans are rolling of late. Pick: Rocori 31, Becker 24
Jim says: Rocori has won 18 of its past 20 games and is still technically the defending 4A champ after 2019's title. But Becker has a game-changer in bruising 230-pound fullback Carter Callahan, who ran for 141 yards and a pair of TDs in the Bulldogs' loss to Rocori last year. He's a senior now, a year older and stronger. Pick: Becker 23, Rocori 20
Delano at Chisago Lakes, 7 p.m.
David says: Solid programs with a small sample size of games in 2020 on which to base an informed pick. Delano went 1-3. Chisago Lakes lost its lone game 35-34. Delano's sophomore starters from 2019, when it qualified for the Class 4A state tournament, make the difference. Pick: Delano 28, Chisago Lakes 14
Jim says: There not a lot of varsity experience on the Chisago Lakes roster. The Wildcats played just one game last year and then 20 seniors graduated. Both teams were Class 4A state tournament qualifiers in 2019. I'm giving the home team the edge. Pick: Chisago Lakes 33, Delano 26
Coon Rapids at Brainerd, 7 p.m.
David says: Welcome back, visiting Cardinals and host Warriors, to Class 6A football. Coon Rapids last played among the heavyweights in 2016. Brainerd participated only in Class 6A's inaugural season, 2012. These teams finished a combined 2-8 last season. Pick: Brainerd 21, Coon Rapids 14
Jim says: Coon Rapids dropped to Class 5A in 2017 to help re-establish a moribund program that had suffered three straight 0-9 seasons. It worked. The Cardinals won 17 games in their four years in 5A. Now back in Class 6A, can the program continue to grow? A victory would go a long way toward moving forward. Pick: Coon Rapids 19, Brainerd 16
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
