Football Week 6: Playoff picture comes into focus

North remains unbeaten, wins district

Twenty-five percent of the football regular season still is to be played, but some important elements of the postseason are shaping up.

After defeating Rochester Mayo 24-13 last week, Lakeville North is the Metro South district champion. The Panthers, 6-0 overall, defeated all five of their opponents in the six-team district. They have two regular-season games remaining against non-district opponents but likely have earned a No. 1 seed when the Class 6A playoffs begin Oct. 25.

The sections used for playoff seeding purposes aren’t identical to the district alignments but there is some overlap. Lakeville North is in Section 3 for seeding purposes, along with Eagan (4-2), Farmington (3-3), Lakeville South (3-3), Eastview (2-4), Rochester Mayo (2-4), Rosemount (1-5) and Burnsville (0-6). Lakeville North has defeated Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville South, Rochester Mayo and Rosemount, and plays Burnsville in the regular-season finale Oct. 17.

Put another way, it would take some highly unforeseen circumstances for Lakeville North to not get one of the four No. 1 seeds for the Class 6A playoffs. The top two seeds from each section would have to play no true “away” games in the postseason; they would be at home for the first two rounds, and any games beyond that are at neutral sites.

Eagan and Lakeville South are in position to have home games in at least the first round of the playoffs. So is Farmington, despite its 18-10 loss to Eagan last week.

Highlights from Week 6 games played Oct. 3-4:

Lakeville North 24Rochester Mayo 13

Sam Ripplinger gained more than 20 percent of his rushing yards on one play – a 51-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Then he and the rest of the Panthers offense went back to what they do best, which is control the tempo of the game and the clock.

Ripplinger finished with 240 yards on 30 carries and scored twice as North won its sixth in a row. He has 984 yards in six games. Ripplinger also has 12 touchdowns – two in every game. The 190-pound senior has been remarkably durable, getting at least 20 carries in every game and 30 or more in four of them.

The Panthers could never really feel comfortable against Mayo (2-4), which has demonstrated it can play with Metro South district teams. A 4-yard run by Ripplinger with 1 minute, 42 seconds remaining extended North’s lead to 11 points.

North also scored in the second quarter on a 5-yard pass from Riley Grossman to Ayden Forsgren. Drew Kolander kicked a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter.

An apparent Mayo touchdown in the third quarter could have tied the score, but the play was called back because of an illegal block. North’s Ethan Rozmarin intercepted a pass two plays later to preserve the lead.

Sophomore defensive back Gavin Casey had eight tackles (six unassisted) for the North defense. Offensively, Grossman completed 14 of 20 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. Sebastyen Fries had seven catches for 97 yards and Forsgren caught five for 78 yards.

The victory leaves No. 1-ranked Lakeville North as one of two undefeated teams in Class 6A. Also unbeaten is Maple Grove, which routed Coon Rapids 56-14 last week. Minnetonka dropped to 5-1 after losing to Eden Prairie 21-20 in overtime.

Lakeville North’s final regular-season home game is 7 p.m. Friday against East Ridge. The Raptors are 3-3 following a 35-14 loss to Mounds View on Oct. 4.

The Panthers close the regular season at Burnsville at noon Thursday, Oct. 17.

Lakeville South 21Rosemount 9

The Cougars did enough to win and return to .500, while Rosemount’s offense continued to sputter as the Irish lost their fifth consecutive game.

Rosemount (1-5) took the lead in the second quarter on Bennett Simmering’s 21-yard field goal but didn’t score again until the fourth quarter on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Cal Ronay to Finn Biegel on fourth down. The Irish have been held to 14 points or fewer in each of their last four games.

Lakeville South took the lead in the second quarter on Gaven Dean’s touchdown pass to Coltin Smith. Dean was forced to scramble on the play and flung the ball toward the end zone just before going out of bounds. He found Smith in the corner for the touchdown.

The Cougars added rushing touchdowns by Bo Bokman in the third quarter and Jonah Shine in the fourth. Shine finished with 82 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Bokman and Connor Cade each rushed for 55.

All three of Dean’s completions went to Smith for a total of 79 yards.

Brett Johnson led the South defense with nine tackles and Nic Swanson forced a fumble.

Biegel had two receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown for Rosemount. He also had a sack on defense. Linebacker Max Jones made 10 tackles and defensive lineman Philip Nti had six stops. Quarterback Cade Sherman rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries.

Lakeville South goes into the final two regular-season games in good position to secure a first-round playoff home game. The Cougars will play at Eastview (2-4) at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by Champlin Park at home at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17.

Rosemount, which appears headed for a bottom-four seed in Section 3, is looking to break the losing streak but the schedule doesn’t do the Irish any favors. They play at third-ranked Shakopee (5-1) at 7 p.m. Friday before ending the regular season at home against defending Class 6A champion Centennial (3-3) at 7 p.m. Oct. 17.

Park of Cottage Grove 28Eastview 16

Eastview twice fell behind Park by 14 points. But by the fourth quarter the Lightning had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Ultimately, the rally fell short.

The Lightning, now 2-4, trailed Park 21-7 after three quarters, then made things interesting. JC Green threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kaleb Ngwendson early in the fourth quarter. On Park’s next possession quarterback Miskyr Esayas scrambled and fumbled, with the ball rolling into the end zone where Esayas fell on it for an Eastview safety.

After the free kick Eastview drove to the Park 46-yard line when it had fourth and two. The Lightning lined up to go for it but a false start penalty pushed them back 5 yards and forced a punt. Park scored at the end of a 94-yard drive with 3:23 left to make it a two-score difference again.

Eastview scored just before halftime on a 9-yard pass from Green to Taylor Seaton. Green finished with 60 passing yards and 60 rushing yards. Jossy Alebachew rushed for 43 yards and Ngwendson had three catches for 46 yards. Senior defensive back Derek Nelson had 15 tackles, including 14 unassisted. Ryder Repke, Kye Brouchet and Nathan Schroeder also had double-digit tackle totals.

The Lightning play Lakeville South at home at 7 p.m. Friday and end the regular season at Eagan at noon Oct. 17.

St. Thomas Academy 46Apple Valley 21

An early first-quarter touchdown on a gadget play gave Apple Valley the lead, but it didn’t hold up as St. Thomas Academy scored three touchdowns before the quarter was over. The Cadets put 46 consecutive points on the board before the Eagles scored the game’s final two touchdowns.

Quieris Barnslater, one of Apple Valley’s top receivers, threw a 47-yard pass to another receiver, Tylan Ward, for the first score of the game. In the fourth quarter Apple Valley got rushing touchdowns from Jackson Cozy (3 yards) and quarterback Jackson Thornburgh (39 yards).

Thornburgh led Apple Valley with 49 yards rushing and completed 17 of 24 passes for 150 yards. Barnslater caught six passes for 53 yards and Ward had three catches for 76 yards.

Two Rivers (6-0) and STA (4-2) have the best records in Class 5A, Section 3, meaning Apple Valley (1-5) likely is out of the running for a first-round playoff bye. But a first-round home game remains possible, and a victory over Bloomington Jefferson (2-4) at 7 p.m. Friday would boost the Eagles’ chances. That’s Apple Valley’s last home game of the regular season.

The final Apple Valley game before the playoffs is Oct. 16 at Owatonna (6-0), the No. 3-ranked team in Class 5A.

Buffalo 38Burnsville 12

Burnsville’s Quenten Platt ran back the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. The momentum didn’t stay on the Blaze’s side as they didn’t score again until the fourth quarter.

The Blaze’s final six points came on an 18-yard pass from Isaac Sczepanski to Dane Heinen.

Buffalo (5-1) controlled the game on the ground, gaining 264 yards rushing.

Senior Ben Watson led Burnsville in rushing with 65 yards on seven carries. On defense, Luke Jolly and Jameson Joubert had 10 tackles each.

The Blaze (0-6) will play at Farmington at 7 p.m. Friday before closing the regular season against undefeated Lakeville North, the top-ranked team in Class 6A, at home at noon Oct. 17.

Mike Shaughnessy can be reached at mike.shaughnessy@apgecm.com.