Football schedule preview: Sartell has frontloaded 2024 schedule

SARTELL – Football season is finally here and Sartell will soon be back in action after losing in the first game of the Section 8-5A tournament last year.

The Minnesota high school football season starts Thursday, August 29 and the football Sabres are hoping to improve on a 2023 record of 0-9.

St. Cloud Tech won one game last season, beating Sartell for the first time since 2019. The Sabres host the Tigers this year for Week 7 at Riverview Stadium and will surely be looking for revenge.

Below, let's take a quick look at that contest, and others across Sartell’s 2024 football schedule.

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Underdog matchup versus Sauk Rapids-Rice

Early on Sartell will be tested against three teams that only lost two games in 2023. Then they play state semifinalist Alexandria on Sept. 20.

For Week 2 on Sept. 6 the Sabres are playing at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School, where the Storm hosted a section semifinal last season. Sauk Rapids beat Sartell 14-7 last year, the teams going without scoring from the Sabres' tying touchdown a few minutes into the second quarter until the Storm's winning score with 5:16 to go in the game. The game was the smallest margin of defeat for Sartell and it surely gave a scare to a high-achieving Sauk Rapids team. Beating the Storm in 2024 would be an early feather in the Sabres' caps.

Sauk Rapids would go on to win four more games to start 2023 6-0, but the Storm were defeated by Section 7-5A champion Andover in the regular season. With the No. 2 seed in Andover's section, they lost to Elk River in the semifinal. The Huskies lost in the state semifinal opposite of Alex.

Section loss rematch versus Moorhead

The fourth quarter of Sartell's 2023 section semifinal was bad. The Spuds scored four touchdowns in the quarter, adding to an already two-touchdown lead. The game ended 42-0 and closed the door on the Sabres' season. The 2024 season is a whole new year and the Sabres will be playing Oct. 4 at Moorhead High School wanting to wipe last year's loss off their minds.

Sartell also played Moorhead in the regular season last year, losing 35-14 at home. The Spuds dominated especially in the first half of that game, when they scored three unanswered touchdowns including a fumble return.

Moorhead went 5-5 and lost in the Section 8-5A semifinal to Brainerd.

Revenge on Tech at home

Sartell hosts St. Cloud Tech on the last Friday night of the regular season, Oct. 11. Last year the Tigers got their first win in Week 7 against the Sabres, beating them 33-7. It was one of three times Tech scored more than 30 points last season, most of which came in the first half. Tech had two touchdowns in the first two quarters and Sartell only scored in the fourth, after another Tiger TD.

Playing at Riverview this season will offer a friendly environment, potentially amped up by a regional opponent. The Sabres are also hoping to carry momentum from playing two games in a row against teams that were .500 or below in 2023.

Full Schedule

Each team's 2023 record is noted in parentheses.

7 p.m. Thur. Aug. 29 Rogers (9-2) at Riverview Intermediate School

7 p.m. Fri. Sept. 6 Sauk Rapids-Rice (7-2) at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School

7 p.m. Fri. Sept. 13 Brainerd (8-2) at Riverview Intermediate School

7 p.m. Fri. Sept. 20 Alexandria (11-1) at Alexandria Area High School

7 p.m. Fri. Sept. 27 Bemidji (4-6) at Riverview Intermediate School (Homecoming)

7 p.m. Fri. Oct. 4 Moorhead (5-5) at Moorhead High School

7 p.m. Fri. Oct. 11 St. Cloud Tech (1-9) at Riverview Intermediate School

7 p.m. Wed. Oct. 16 Park Center (4-6) at Park Center High School

Contact reporter Reid Glenn at rglenn@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Football schedule preview: Sartell has frontloaded 2024 schedule