Lakeville South vs. Rosemount

7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 1

Last season, this would have served as a scintillating state championship showdown between undefeated teams (if the MSHSL had opted to hold state tournaments). A year later, this remains an intriguing matchup, although Rosemount’s loss to Eden Prairie (a team No. 1-6A Lakeville South routed in Week 3) last Friday does diminish the spotlight on this game.

Lakeville South (4-0), coming off a 36-14 win over Farmington last week, relies on junior running back Carson Hansen, who has rushed for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior quarterback Camden Dean also has a nose for the end zone. He’s scored six touchdowns among his 24 carries.

Based on the transitive property (Lakeville South routed Eden Prairie; Eden Prairie topped Rosemount 13-3 last week), the No. 2-6A Irish (3-1) would have little hope of knocking off the Cougars. But, thankfully, victors are determined by blocking and tackling and not math equations, so let’s go ahead and play this one out on the field. Leyton Simmering’s 20-yard field goal accounted for Rosemount’s only points last week. The Irish, however, limited the Eagles to just one touchdown.