2024 Football State Tournament Release

The quarterfinal stage of the Minnesota State High School League’s Football State Tournament arrives this week with a refreshed format in six of the seven enrollment classifications.

Qualifiers in Class 9-Player through Class AAAAA are seeded 1 through 4 in split North and South brackets to set up quarterfinal games to be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The winners advance to the semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis next week, where the top remaining North seed will face the lowest remaining South seed, while the top remaining South seed takes on the lowest remaining North seed.

Class AAAAAA teams remain in one 32-team bracket with quarterfinal games set for Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s slate features a rematch of last year’s thrilling Class AAAAA championship game won by Chanhassen, 34-31 in overtime over St. Thomas Academy. They are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the South bracket and meet again at Osseo at noon.

Also Saturday, reigning Class AAA champion Stewartville faces Holy Family Catholic in the South 1-vs.-4 matchup at Totino-Grace.

Minneota, winner of the last two Class A state championships, is the South No. 1 seed and plays Lester Prairie at Jordan on Friday.

In other notes:

• Springfield, Class A runner-up to Minneota the last two seasons, is the South No. 3 seed and meets Goodhue.
• Cromwell-Wright upset No. 1 seed Nevis, 20-14, in the Section 5 9-Player final, five weeks after a 48-8 loss to the defending state champion Tigers.
• Monticello is making its first state tournament appearance since 1988. The Magic are the North No. 4 seed in Class AAAAA.
• Other top seeds include Elk River and Owatonna in Class AAAAA, Becker and Totino-Grace in Class AAAA, Fergus Falls in Class AAA, Kimball and Chatfield in Class AA, Upsala/Swanville in Class A and Mountain Iron-Buhl and LeRoy-Ostrander-Lyle-Pacelli in Class 9-Player.