Big Week Ahead as No. 1 and No. 2 clash in both classes

Class AA

Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Stillwater battle in thriller

The biggest match up of the week came between No. 6 Stillwater and No. 7 Benilde-St. Margaret’s. In a back-and-forth battle Benilde-St. Margaret’s came out on top thanks to a late goal by Ella Pasqua in a 7-6 win, overcoming a hat trick by Stillwater’s Josie St. Martin. Top-ranked Minnetonka made easy work of their opponents in their first two games with 8-0 and 8-1 wins. Defending state champion Gentry Academy takes a big dip after losing their season opener to No. 10 Northfield, who jumped one spot to No. 9 in this week’s rankings. Maple Grove jumps two spots to No. 6 after a 1-0 win over Centennial/Spring Lake Park who jumps to No. 11. Joining the Top 20 in week two are Champlin/Coon Rapids who debuts at No. 14, Alexandria at No. 17 and Bemidji at No. 19.

This week has some huge games on tap with the number one and two teams in each class meeting this Saturday. Minnetonka will travel to Andover to take on the Huskies and No. 2A Academy of Holy Angels will host No. 1A Warroad. Warroad will also play No. 4A Simley on Friday.

There are plenty of big games on the docket for this week:

Tuesday

#5AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s @ #2AA Andover

#13AA Grand Rapids/Greenway @ #19AA Bemidji

#18AA Cretin-Derham Hall @#7AA Stillwater

#17AA Alexandria @ #6A Orono

#7A South St. Paul @ #18A Delano-Rockford

Thursday

#18A Delano-Rockford @ #2A Academy of Holy Angels

#11A River Lakes @ #13A Fergus Falls

Friday

#8AA Moorhead @ #2AA Andover

#1A Warroad @ #4A Simley

#10A Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian @ #6A Orono

Saturday

#1AA Minnetonka @ #2AA Andover

#1A Warroad @#2A Academy of Holy Angels

#3AA Edina @ #3A Proctor/Hermantown

#8AA Moorhead @ #5AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s

#14AA Champlin Park/Coon Rapids @ #15AA Gentry Academy

#15A Albert lea @ #11A River Lakes

#16A Blake @ #8A Dodge County

#18A Delano-Rockford @ #12A Chisago Lakes

Class AA Rankings – Nov. 14, 2023 – Presented by Tradition Companies

Others Receiving Votes: Roseau, Brainerd/Little Falls, Rosemount, East Ridge, Eden Prairie, Roseville/Mahtomedi, Eastview, Prior Lake.

Class A

Warroad takes over top spot

Well it didn’t take long for Warroad to solidify themselves as the reigning two-time champions in Class A. The Warriors entered the season ranked No. 3 in Class A mainly due to the amount of scoring that departed through graduation. But they made a big statement last week that they have no plans to rebuild and simply reloaded. They defeated No. 2 Proctor/Hermantown 2-1 and then turned around and defeated No. 6 Duluth Marshall 3-2. Their jump in the rankings was also helped by top-ranked Orono losing their opener to No. 7 Simley despite outshooting the Spartans 48-19. Academy of Holy Angels jumps to No. 2 from No. 4 with a convincing 4-1 win over No. 5 South St. Paul, who dropped two spots to No. 7. Dodge County makes a big leap of five spots to No. 8 and newcomers include Breck at No. 14, Willmar at No. 17 with both teams garnering a pair of wins to open their seasons.

Class A Rankings – Nov. 14, 2023 – Presented by Tradition Companies

Other Teams Receiving Votes: Rock Ridge, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, Hutchinson, Luverne.

Rankings Presented By: