Unbeaten Paynesville and two other area powers, New London-Spicer and Dawson-Boyd, will have the top seed for its respective section playoffs after the final QRF rankings were formulated Thursday morning.
Losers of their last four games, the Willmar Cardinals received the No. 6 seed in the six-team 6AAAAA bracket. The Cardinals (3-5) will play at No. 3 Rogers (7-1) in one of two first-round games Tuesday. St. Michael-Albertville (7-1) is the top seed and will get a first-round bye, as does No. 2 Elk River (6-2). Monticello (5-3) is No. 4 and Buffalo (3-5) is No. 5.
Paynesville (8-0) will have a first-round bye for the 5AA tournament and will host the No. 4 Eden Valley-Watkins (4-4)/No. 5 Yellow Medicine East (1-7) winner in next Saturday's semifinals. BOLD, currently on a seven-game winning streak after losing to Paynesville in the season opener, is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Benson (0-8) in the quarterfinals Tuesday. The other first-round game pits No. 6 Sauk Centre (1-7) at No. 3 Minnewaska (4-4).
NLS (7-1) heads the 6AAA tournament and will also get an automatic pass to the semifinals as there are only seven teams in the section. First-round games have No. 7 Litchfield (1-7) at No. 2 Melrose (6-2), No. 6 Annandale (1-7) at No. 3 Montevideo (6-2) and No. 5 Morris/Chokio-Alberta (4-4) at No. 4 Redwood Valley (4-4).
Dawson-Boyd (7-1) will host No. 8 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (0-8) in the first round of the 5A playoffs, which also features two more Little Sioux Conference teams, No. 5 Lac qui Parle Valley (3-5) and No. 4 MACCRAY (3-5). Those two will meet next Tuesday in Maynard.
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In the Nine-Man class, Renville County West (5-3) is No. 5 and Hancock (0-8) No. 8 in Section 3. Hancock will play at top-seeded Edgerton/Ellsworth (7-1) and RCW is at No. 4 Hills-Beaver Creek (5-3) in the first round. Hills-Beaver Creek beat RCW 30-10 in Week 7 of the regular season.
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (3-5) was awarded the No. 3 seed in 4A. That sets up a first-round game Tuesday with No. 6 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (1-7). Also from the area in 4A, No. 4 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (2-6) hosts No. 5 Mayer Lutheran (1-7) and No. 7 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (1-7) is at No. 2 Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity (5-3) in the quarterfinals. Unbeaten Minneapolis North (8-0) is the No. 1 seed.
SECTION 6AAAAA
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
#1 St. Michael-Albertville (7-1) has a bye
#2 Elk River (6-2) has a bye
1. #6 Willmar (3-5) at #3 Rogers (7-1), 7 p.m.
2. #5 Buffalo (3-5) at #4 Monticello (5-3), 7 p.m.
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Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
3. Winner 1 at #2 Elk River, 3 p.m.
4. Winner 2 at #1 St. Michael-Albertville, 3 p.m.
Championship Friday, Oct. 31
Semifinal winners at site TBD, 7 p.m.
SECTION 6AAA
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
#1 New London-Spicer (7-1) has a bye
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1. #5 Morris/Chokio-Alberta (4-4) at #4 Redwood Valley (4-4), 7 p.m.
2. #6 Annandale (1-7) at #3 Montevideo (6-2), 7 p.m.
3. #7 Litchfield (1-7) at #2 Melrose (6-2), 7 p.m.
Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
4. Winner 1 at #1 New London-Spicer, 7 p.m.
5. Winner 2 vs. Winner 3 at high seed, 7 p.m.
Championship Saturday, Nov. 1
Semifinal winners at St. Cloud State University, 5:30 p.m.
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SECTION 5AA
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
#1 Paynesville (8-0) has a bye
1. #5 Yellow Medicine East (1-7) at #4 Eden Valley-Watkins (4-4), 7 p.m.
2. #7 Benson (0-8) at #2 BOLD (7-1), 7 p.m.
3. #6 Sauk Centre (1-7) at #3 Minnewaska (4-4), 7 p.m.
Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
4. Winner 1 at #1 Paynesville, 7 p.m.
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5. Winner 2 vs. Winner 3 at high seed, 7 p.m.
Championship Friday, Oct. 31
Semifinal winners at University of Minnesota-Morris, 7 p.m.
SECTION 4A
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
1. #8 Kimball (0-8) at #1 Minneapolis North (8-0), 7 p.m.
2. #5 Mayer Lutheran (1-7) at #4 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (2-6), 7 p.m.
3. #7 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (1-7) at #2 Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity (5-3), 7 p.m.
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4. #6 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (1-7) at #3 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (3-5), 7 p.m.
Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
5. Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 at high seed, time TBA
6. Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 at high seed, time TBA
Championship Friday, oct. 31
Semifinal winners at Sauk Centre High School, 7 p.m.
SECTION 5A
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
1. #8 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (0-8) at #1 Dawson-Boyd (7-1), 7 p.m.
2. #5 Lac qui Parle Valley (3-5) at #4 MACCRAY (3-5), 7 p.m.
3. #7 Lakeview (2-6) at #2 Wabasso (4-4), 7 p.m.
4. #6 Ortonville (3-5) at #3 Canby (3-5), 7 p.m.
Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
5. Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 at high seed, 3 p.m.
6. Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 at high seed, 3 p.m.
Championship Friday, Oct. 31
Semifinal winners at Southwest Minnesota State University (Marshall), 5 p.m.
SECTION 3 NINE-MAN
Quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 21
1. #8 Hancock (0-8) at #1 Edgerton/Ellsworth (7-1), 7 p.m.
2. #5 Renville County West (5-3) at #4 Hills-Beaver Creek (5-3), 7 p.m.
3. #7 Fulda (2-6) at #2 Mountain Lake Area (6-2), 7 p.m.
4. #6 Westbrook-Walnut Grove (3-5) at #3 Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (5-3), 3 p.m.
Semifinals Saturday, Oct. 25
5. Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 at high seed, 3 p.m.
6. Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 at high seed, 3 p.m.
Championship Friday, Oct. 31
Semifinal winners at Southwest Minnesota State University (Marshall), noon
