Staff writers Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque — and a whole bunch of football teams — head Saturday to the second round of the smaller-class playoffs. Those football teams — six classes' worth from 5A to Nine-Man — have games to win, and so do Jim and David, whose annual competition trying to pick winners of high school football games is tight.
David is 21-12, Jim 19-14 after David went 2-1 and Jim 1-2 in Friday night's Class 6A playoff games.
Their picks and analysis on three Saturday games:
Class 5A, Section 2: Waconia Wildcats (7-2) at Chanhassen Storm (7-1), 3 p.m.
Jim says: These two engaged in a double-overtime thriller in Week 6, Chanhassen pulling out a 37-35 decision when Waconia failed on a two-point conversion attempt. This comes down to how well the Storm contains Waconia running back Max McEnelly. A future Gophers wrester, McEnelly has been unstoppable with the ball in his hands, rushing for 1,749 yards and 30 touchdowns. The pick: Waconia 42, Chanhassen 34
David says: Waconia is averaging 54 points per game over the second half of the season. Chanhassen's defense will need to play its best game of the season. But Storm defenders will get some help from the offense and RB Maxwell Woods, who averages 163 rushing yards per game. The resulting ball control will work in Chanhassen's favor. The pick: Chanhassen 24, Waconia 21
Class 5A, Section 6: Rogers Royals (5-3) at Monticello Magic (4-4), 1 p.m.
Jim says: Rogers hiccupped in its second game of the season, falling to the Magic 6-2 on a late fourth-quarter touchdown. The Royals hit the reset button and have been far more lethal on offense since, scoring 178 points in their final four games of the season. They'll get their revenge behind running back Anthony Powell, who's run for more than 200 yards in three straight games. The pick: Rogers 35, Monticello 21
