[ad_1]
A new season of high school football in Minnesota kicks off in a few weeks, with a handful of teams playing their first games on August 27. The remaining teams have their opening match scheduled for the following week (2-3 September).
This season brings many storylines, including new district rosters that have angered some coaches in metro area programs.
Another change: Cretin-Derham Hall moved to class 5A before the 2021 season after spending the last seasons in class 6A. The Raiders’ first test in the new class will take place on September 2, when they face Spring Lake Park. The Panthers closed the 2020 regular season ranked No.6 in the Associated Press Class 5A poll and were due to face Robbinsdale Cooper for the Section 5 championship before the MSHSL called off the playoffs due to health protocols and COVID 19 security.
The Raiders and Panthers return to 2021 motivated to claim a decisive victory in their season opener in this showdown in the Suburban District.
Lakeville South was one of six Class 6A section champions (Rosemount, Centennial, Blaine, Shakopee and Eden Prairie) to be crowned when the cancellation of the playoffs precluded any further games in the 6A bracket. The Cougars ended their season unbeaten, closing the regular season with the No. 1 ranking in Class 6A. They also recorded a 35-15 victory over intra-city rival Lakeville North on October 30, 2020 to keep their season perfect. Lakeville South rekindles the rivalry on September 10 against a Panthers team looking to turn the tide in this dusting of the Gold District South Division.
Centennial and Blaine were hoping to keep their state championship offers alive with a victory in a postseason game that never came when the rest of the 2020 playoffs were called off. The teams face off on October 7 in a potentially crucial regular-season Gold North contest.
Class 4A Hermantown and Class 3A Proctor meet for the 71st “Battle for the Hammer” on October 8th. The Hawks won the hammer last season with a 28-0 win on Nov. 11. The Rails are looking to take it back after winning the game in 2019.
Click here to view the full 2021 football schedule or go to the “Search” box in the upper right corner of the page and type the name of your favorite team into “Team Finder” for that team’s specific schedule.
If your team’s schedule is not showing or needs to be updated, send the necessary information to scores@sportsengine.com.
[ad_2]
