High school football fans are celebrating a touch of March Madness in the crisp fall air.
The 32 metro-area programs in Class 6A were seeded for the first time in the manner of the NCAA basketball tournament, with four groups of eight teams and four overall No. 1 seeds. The plan to generate greater excitement for the big-school playoffs, which start at 7 p.m. Friday, is already working.
"It's awesome," Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi said. "I heard people say they've filled out brackets. I've got one up in my classroom, and even the non-football kids have been looking at it."
Lombardi's Crimson earned a No. 1 seed along with East Ridge, Lakeville North and four-time defending state champion Eden Prairie. The earliest those teams could play each other is in the state tournament semifinals. Following their journey and watching upsets along the way should mean more attention on Class 6A.
As for the next step, Lombardi and East Ridge coach Dan Fritze dream of a televised selection show.
"We have to do a better job of making it big," Lombardi said. "Last year's state playoffs were about as good as it gets, but I didn't feel people really realized it."
Weather was a factor. With state semifinals and championship games outside for the first time in 33 years, ticket revenue plummeted. Paid attendance dropped by almost 50 percent from the last tournament in the Metrodome.
Football remains outdoors this season, with the Prep Bowl set for Nov. 13-14, about two weeks earlier than usual because of scheduling needs at TCF Bank Stadium.