This is the final week of the high school football season. There is a lot on the line for the teams in our listening area as they try to get one last victory before heading into the playoffs.
Pine City 1-6
QRF Ranking: 46th in State 6th in Section 5AAA
Outside of the Mora game Pine City has been competitive in every game they have had so far this season. The Dragons find themselves with 6 losses but easily 4 of those losses could have been victories if one or two plays would have went their way. Brooklyn Center and Milaca each picked up wins last week so Pine City desperately needs a victory this week against Crosby-Ironton. If the Dragons lose this game they pretty much guarantee they will play Mora in the first round and a win against the Rangers might not be enough for the Dragons to avoid the Mustangs in the first round.
Braham 4-3
QRF Ranking: 25th in State 2nd in Section 7A
The Bombers had their first real rough week this week losing to a very good Barnum team 42-8. The Bombers are fighting to hold on to the 2nd seed in the section with Blackduck who is right on their tail. The Bombers have a good chance to give themselves some much need points in the QRF with a big game this week against Mesabi East. The Giants are 6-1 with their only loss coming to Barnum. This will be a very good game and could be the difference between a home playoff game or a trip to Blackduck next Tuesday.
Rush City 1-5
QRF Ranking: 56th in State 7th in Section 4AA
Rush City is coming off a loss in the "Big Cat" Trophy game to Hinckley-Finlayson 32-6. It doesn't get any easier for the Tigers taking on Deer River who has already beaten the Jaguars, Braham, and Barnum. Rush City has an uphill climb in the playoffs too with a likely first round game against St. Agnes.
Hinckley-Finlayson 1-6
QRF Ranking: 45th in State 4th in Section 7A
Hinckley-Finlayson picked up their first win of the year on the road this week against Rush City in the first annual "Big Cat" trophy game. Unfortunately for the Jaguars they will not be able to do enough to avoid a play-in game for the 7A playoffs. They will play East Central this Wednesday night and then again a week from Tuesday in the playoffs.
East Central 0-6
QRF Ranking: 56th in State 5th in Section 7A
East Central fell again last Friday to Mesabi East. The Eagles will now play Hinckley-Finlayson in the last week of the season trying to end a year with a win. Then they will play the Jaguars in the Section 7A play-in game where the winner would get Deer River in the next game.
Mora 7-0
QRF Ranking: 9th in State 3rd in Section 5AAA
For the second week in a row, the Mustangs won big and then dropped two spots in the QRF. Mora fans will certainly say that the QRF system is not working exactly in the Mustangs favor. But Mora will certainly have a home game in the first round of the playoffs and will most likely stay undefeated against Esko at home next week. Annandale holds the number one spot in the section and the 2nd overall spot in the State while Spectrum is the 2nd in the section and fifth in the State. Both Annandale and Spectrum should pick up victories in the last week of the year so I don't see the section seedings moving around a whole lot leaving Mora with a first round home playoff game against Pine City.
North Branch 5-2
QRF Ranking: 12th in State 3rd in Section 7AAAA
North Branch holds to the #12 state ranking but drops just below Cloquet currently ranked #3 in the section. Viking fans won't love that considering Cloquet's one loss on the season was to North Branch. But they are very tight in the QRF. North Branch ends the regular season at Proctor who is 1-6 this year. The Vikings will look to pick up the win and head into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.
Cambridge-Isanti 4-3
QRF Ranking: 24th in State 3rd in Section 7AAAAA
The Bluejackets have now lost three straight games after starting the year 4-0. Two of those losses have been by just one point and last week was in Overtime against St. Francis who is #1 in Section 7AAAAA. The Bluejackets end the year against #1 in the state Elk River. This will be a VERY tough game for Cambridge-Isanti but no matter what they have proved that the section is wide open and they have a very good chance to go to State.
