High school football: Lots on the line in final week of regular season

Oct. 19—What a difference one game can make. That's the realization heading into the final week of the high school football regular season, which wraps in the middle of this week — Wednesday for most teams, Thursday for others in the midst of MEA week.

Section seedings will all be decided as teams' sculpt their postseason paths moving forward, aiming for byes and home games as they anxiously await to see how this week's results impact the QRF rankings that play a large role in determining who plays where and when as playoffs begin next week.

Here's a look at exactly what's on the line for East Metro teams:

CLASS 6A

— Centennial and Woodbury will meet in Lino Lakes to determine who will be the No. 2 seed in Section 4 behind Stillwater. The No. 2 seed not only guarantees an "easier" first-round matchup but also means the path to state is made up of two playoff home games.

White Bear Lake should lock up a top-4 seed in the section— potentially even top three— with a win over Totino-Grace on Thursday.

— East Ridge and Farmington are both alive in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in Section 4, behind Lakeville South. East Ridge would put itself in a strong position to nab it with a win over St. Michael-Albertville, but ditto for Farmington if it can beat Wayzata. What happens if those two lose and Park knocks off Prior Lake? Things could get interesting quickly.

Rosemount is still in the hunt for a postseason home game with a win over Burnsville.

CLASS 5A

— Mahtomedi will be the No. 1 seed in Section 4 with a win over South St. Paul. But a loss to the Packers coupled with a Central upset of Minneapolis North could give the Minutemen the top spot and the bye.

After that, it's anyone's guess.

Central currently is the second-highest ranked section team in the QRF. If it can knock off Minneapolis North on Wednesday, the Minutemen would guarantee themselves at least the second spot. But a loss opens the door for a number of teams, with (in order of QRF standing), North St. Paul, Harding-Humboldt, Cretin-Derham Hall and Highland Park all lurking close behind.

With a Central loss, North St. Paul beating Park Center would certainly give the Polars the nod. If Central and North St. Paul lose, a Cretin-Derham Hall win over Hastings should give Cretin-Derham Hall the No. 2 seed. But if all three lose, the numbers game would be interesting, with Central's current QRF lead perhaps being the difference.

The fight for home field with a top four seed will be tenuous.

— It's possible a win over Robbinsdale Armstrong would be enough to give Spring Lake Park the No. 2 seed and a bye in Section 6 over Park Center, though the Panthers also may need the Pirates to stumble against North St. Paul.

CLASS 4A

— SMB is still in contention for the top seed in Section 5. The co-op between St. Paul Academy, Minnehaha Academy and Blake would need to topple currently unbeaten Providence Academy, and likely have Holy Angels fall to Waconia.

CLASS 3A

— St. Croix Lutheran would lock down the No. 2 seed and a home game in Section 4 with a win over Highland Park, though it could still potentially lose and hold onto the spot.

CLASS 2A

— It's possible St. Agnes — locked into a top two seed in Section 4— could leapfrog Minneapolis North for the top spot if the Aggies beat DeLaSalle and Minneapolis North is upset by Central.