Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. Holy Angels

7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5

The last two Class 4A champions came out of Section 5, and there's a good chance that this year's Prep Bowl winner could also be the section's representative at state with the group boasting four ranked teams — No. 1 Holy Angels, No. 4 SMB, No. 9 Mound Westonka and Providence Academy, which is tied with Cloquet at No. 10. Benilde-St. Margaret's has also been inching closer to a spot in the top 10 and received one vote in last week's poll.  

Fans and foes could have a better sense of which team becomes the favorite following Friday's clash between Benilde-St. Margaret's and Holy Angels.

The Red Knights won the Class 4A title two years ago, while the Stars are the defending state champion. This possible playoff preview carries a little more weight as the winner wraps up the Suburban Red subdistrict title.

This season, the Red Knights offense features junior quarterback Nick Peterson (611 passing yards, 8 touchdowns) and junior running back Isaiah Smith (566 rushing yards, 4 TDs). The pair have been instrumental in helping Benilde-St. Margaret's (3-2, 3-0) roll Suburban Red opponents by a combined score of 103-36, and they could be key in orchestrating the Red Knights to a fourth consecutive victory over the Stars. 

While Benilde-St. Margaret's has defeated Holy Angels in the postseason (2016, 2015) and eked out a 20-19 regular-season win a year ago, the Red Knights could find those outcomes difficult to replicate against a complete Stars team that has started the season with five blowout victories.

Holy Angels (5-0, 3-0) has been dominant on both sides of the ball, boasting a defense limiting opponents to just 9.4 points per game and an offense spouting 34.6 points per game.

Senior quarterback Rook Rowe leads the Holy Angels' passing attack with 581 yards and six touchdowns, while senior running back Thomas Shelstad has a team-high 397 yards and nine TDs on the ground.