Oct. 26—A look at the high school football section quarterfinal matchups for Rochester's teams:
When, where: 7 p.m. Tuesday, at Mayo's Whitney Stadium.
Records: No. 6 seed John Marshall is 0-8, No. 3 Mayo is 3-5.
Last week: John Marshall lost 38-0 to No. 2 ranked Mankato West, Mayo lost 17-13 to Chanhassen.
John Marshall notes: The Rockets haven't won a game this season, but have shown signs recently of improvement. With a lineup that includes a pack of sophomores, it's not been an easy year. Last week's foe was Mankato West, which is unbeaten and makes a lot of teams look bad. JM played with heart all the way through, according to Rockets coach Kyle Riggott. JM feels like it has a shot against Mayo. It had the Spartans tied at 7-all at halftime three games ago before Mayo took over in the second half and won 36-7.
Mayo notes: Mayo is likely better than its 3-5 record suggests. That is particularly true on the defensive end where it has only given up 20 points or more once all season. The Spartans have literally been in every game they've played. That includes losing to top-10 ranked Owatonna 21-16 two games ago. . .Mayo has allowed an average of just 13.9 points per game. The Spartans are scoring 19 points per game. . .Mayo's five losses this season have been by a combined 22 points. Six of their eight games have been decided by one score. . .After having a close first half with JM in the teams' first meeting, Mayo really got its running game going and dominated the rest of the way.
JM coach Kyle Riggott says: "We are excited for the matchup. Cross-town rivalries give everyone a chance. I'm excited for the boys to play for the (Addington) Jug. The Mayo players are just gamers. Every game, they are in it. That is a testament to their coaching staff and their boys. They know how to play in the chaos of a high school football game. We'll see what we do (offensively) against them. We'll see how they play us and then we'll do what we do best."
Mayo coach Donny Holcomb says: "It's rare that you get to play an intra-city game twice in a season, so we are excited about that. We want to start out fast and capitalize on some scoring. We need to take advantage of our opportunities and play clean. JM is going to be prepared, so it's going to be a fun one."
— Pat Ruff
What, when, where: Section 1, Class 5A quarterfinal, 7 p.m. Tuesday, at New Prague High School.
Records: No. 5 seed Century is 3-5, No. 4 New Prague is 3-5.
Last week: Century beat Winona 52-20. New Prague lost 42-0 to Chaska.
Century notes: The No. 5-seeded Panthers are coming off their third win of the year after dominating Winona at home in their regular-season finale last Wednesday. The win marked the program's most wins in a single season in four years. Century hosted New Prague in its homecoming matchup on Oct. 9, and the Panthers held a 13-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 69-yard TD pass from Easton Weinandt to Kormick Smith sealed the deal for the Trojans with just more than 8 minutes remaining. Century head coach Jon Vik and his players said they feel they "let one get away" in Week 6 and are eager to have another shot at No. 4 New Prague.
New Prague notes: The Trojans are seeking their tenth straight win over Century dating back to 2018. As the No. 4 seed in Section 1, Class 5A, New Prague has been outscored by section opponents 111-100 with wins over Century (17-13) and John Marshall (35-13). They also defeated non-section opponent St. Francis 21-13 in overtime on Sept. 11. The Trojans are coming off a 42-0 shutout loss to Chaska last Wednesday — the Panthers fell 14-7 to the Hawks on Sept. 11. The winner of Tuesday's Section 1-5A quarterfinal game will face top seed Owatonna.
Century coach Jon Vik says: "(Carrying momentum into the playoffs) that's something that we talked about this week, and that's the plan. You don't ever look past an opponent, but this (Winona game) was one of those games where it's like, 'hey, if we can play the way we're capable of, and if we can get some momentum going, we go against an opponent (New Prague) that we feel that we should have beaten a couple of weeks ago here on this field, and we let it get away from us,' and that's what we have to do (Tuesday)."
— Madeline Warren
What, when, where: Section 1, Class 2A quarterfinal, 7 p.m. Tuesday, at Chatfield.
Records: No. 6 seed Lourdes is 3-5, No. 3 Chatfield is 5-3
Last week: Lourdes won 26-13 at Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Chatfield beat Pine Island 34-7.
Lourdes notes: The Eagles are playing at Chatfield in the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Lourdes beat the Gophers 21-7 in last year's section semifinals. ... Lourdes' passing game has come along well in the second half of the season, with senior QB Chase Carroll and receivers Gabe Quinones and Michael Seger leading the way. Carroll has thrown for 558 yards and six TDs in the past four weeks, while completing nearly 64% of his passes. ... Quinones is coming off a 100-yard receiving game; he had 8 catches for 113 yards and a TD last week.
Chatfield notes: The Gophers beat Lourdes 24-7 in Rochester in the regular-season opener. ... Chatfield controlled the clock (a 31:16-17:44 time-of-possession advantage) and the line of scrimmage (191 rushing yards) in that game. Hunter Polikowsky ran for 111 yards and two TDs in that win. ... The Gophers handed Pine Island — the No. 4-ranked team in the state in Class 3A at the time — its first loss of the season last Tuesday. Polikowsky ran for 104 yards and a TD, and Chatfield's defense turned in one of its best performances of this season, allowing the Panthers just 173 total yards.
Up Next: the winner of this game will face the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal game between No. 2 Dover-Eyota and No. 7 St. Charles in a 7 p.m. section semifinal game on Saturday.
— Jason Feldman