Southern Minnesota Section Football Finals are Saturday

The section finals in football are scheduled across southern Minnesota for Saturday, October 24. The state tournament begins October 30 and 31.

Section finals are Saturday at 7PM unless noted otherwise.

Section 1-5A
No. 4 seed Northfield (5-5) plays at No. 3 Rochester John Marshall. The Rockets beat the Raiders 6-0 in week 6. JM's last section title was 2004. The Raiders won a title in 2010.

Section 2-5A
Defending state champ and top seed Mankato West (9-0) hosts No. 2 Chaska (7-2).

Section 1-4A
Top seed and defending section champ Stewartville (9-0) hosts No. 2 Winona (8-1). The Winhawks' last, and only, state tournament appearance was 1987.

Section 2-4A
Top seed Marshall (8-1) hosts No. 3 Hutchinson (7-3) at Southwest Minnesota State. Marshall has shutouts in six of their eight victories. Marshall's last, and only, state tournament appearance came in 1991. Hutchinson has gone to state 21 times, winning several championships, including 2012 and 2013.

Section 1AAA
Top seed Tri-City United (8-1) plays second seed Plainview-Elgin-Millville (8-2) at 2PM at Rochester Mayo High School. PEM was the section runner-up behind Rochester Lourdes in 2014.

Section 1AA
A pair of top five-ranked, unbeaten squads square off at RCTC at 8PM. Caledonia (10-0) beat Lewiston-Altura (10-0) in last year's final 28-14. The Warriors haven't allowed a point in their past three games. Their last state tournament trip ended with a title in 2012. The Cardinals have held their opponent to a touchdown or less six times this season. Their last section title came in 2004.

Section 2AA
No. 5 seed Blue Earth Area (6-4) won the 3AAA title last season and have scored two road wins this year. The Bucs head to Mapleton to meet No. 2 seed Maple River (9-1). Mapleton went to state in 1982, but Maple River has never won a section title.

Section 1A
Top seed Fillmore Central (8-1) and No. 2 Goodhue (7-3) battle at Mayo High School at 11AM. The Falcons beat the Wildcats 12-9 in week 3. FC has not won a section title. Goodhue's last was in 2010.

Section 2A
Top seed and defending section champ New Ulm Cathedral (9-1) meets second seed Bethlehem Academy (9-1) in a battle of top 10-ranked clubs.