Top Matchups Week 1

It's finally here, football season is upon us! While there is quite a slate of college ball games being played in the next few days, there is also Minnesota High School ball to watch. Today, I'll share the games I'll be watching very closely. 

6A:
Stillwater at Lakeville North, 7 pm (Thursday)

The top class in the state starts off with a matchup between 2 star-studded teams. If you're looking for great QB play, look no further. North's Riley Grossman enters his 3rd year as the starter for the Panthers, but Stillwater has experience at the position of their own. Nick Kinsey returns as the top-ranked QB in the 2026 class. Each team has receiving threats of their own to complement their gunslingers. As I've shared in my past article on class 6A rankings, I view these teams as #9 vs #5. Truly has the potential to be the matchup of the year. 

5A
St. Thomas Academy at Andover, 7 pm (Thursday)

STA has been arguably the most prevalent program this state has ever seen. It seems they lose amazing talent every year, yet find a way to continue asserting their dominance. Andover on the other has found some recent gems in their past few classes. An example of this would be topped ranked Wideout in the state Cameron Begalle. The Gopher commit looks to bring them back to US Bank Stadium in the coming months. Last year STA lost in the championship, whereas Andover lost during the semifinal in one of the greatest games in MN's history. I cannot wait for these two Titans to clash.

4A
Providence Academy at Byron, 7 pm

Last season the Byron Bear's season ended in the state semifinals. While they lose some athletes they return Gopher DL commit Colin Hansen. A power 4 caliber player normally would be enough to overwhelm a regular high school team. Providence however is no ordinary team. They have a Gopher DL commit of their own, Abu Tarawallie. These two beasts will lead their team into an absolute dogfight in their opening week. 

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