Northfield was the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect Class 5A prep bowl-winning season for Owatonna last year.
Despite putting up 52.2 points per game in the first six weeks of 2017, the Owatonna offense ran into a roadblock: A Northfield defense that stopped the Huskies in their tracks en route to a 21-17 upset win, stripping away the Big Southeast Red subdistrict title.
The pair collide again in our Top Game of the Week.
Since its Aug. 31 season-opening 31-22 loss to Mankato East, Northfield's defense has made it difficult for opponents to put numbers on the board — only Austin (Sept. 28) and Rochester Mayo (Oct. 5) have managed 20 or more points against the Raiders. But defense is only half the game for a Northfield team that has outscored its foes 204-99.
Northfield's offense (177.7 passing yards and 197.7 rushing yards per game) is nothing to overlook, and is averaging 34 points per game through six weeks.
The Raiders (5-1, 3-0) are led by senior quarterback Mason Zick (1,020 passing yards, 10 TDs) and senior running back Jim Vitito (608 rushing yards, 9 TDs).
A key to the Raiders' win last season was holding Owatonna standout running back Jason Williamson, a Minnesota-commit, to 102 yards and no touchdowns — well below his 178.9 yard per game average. But Williamson has again been a catalyst to the Huskies (6-0, 3-0) offense, compiling 1,107 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior campaign.
The Huskies, ranked No. 1 in the Class 5A Associated Press poll from Oct. 3, have cruised through the year, beating teams by a combined scored of 274-55.