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Top games: Defending Class 6A champ Lakeville North begins improbable trek against Woodbury

By Loren Nelson, SportsEngine, 08/26/19, 12:30PM CDT

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Aug 29: In the Panthers' quest to become rare repeat big-school champions, the Royals pose a challenging early season test.

Lakeville North's dominant offensive line paved the way to the Class 6A state championship last season, but the Panthers will need to rely on a new core of players to repeat as big-school titleholders. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine

Lakeville North's dominant offensive line paved the way to the Class 6A state championship last season, but the Panthers will need to rely on a new core of players to repeat as big-school titleholders. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.






Other games to keep an eye on

Centennial vs. Edina, 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 29. We’ll see how quickly the host Hornets can retool after graduating running back Matt Cavanagh, the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year, and bulldozer lineman Quinn Carroll, a four-star recruit who chose Notre Dame. Centennial, meanwhile, looks to improve on last year's campaign, when it finished with a 3-6 overall record.

Red Wing vs. Caledonia, 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30. Caledonia is a 10-time state champion currently on a run of five straight state titles. The Class 2A Warriors open against a school with an enrollment about three times larger (roughly 300 versus 900) in Red Wing. Don’t bet against ’em.

Rosemount at Prior Lake, 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 29. Keep an eye on Prior Lake’s standout defensive end Blake Whaley and Rosemount’s star receiver Jonathan Mann, a Minnesota commit. Best athlete on the field? That label might just belong to 6-3, 205-pound Rosemount junior outside linebacker and tight end Jake Ratzlaff, who has committed to play hockey at Minnesota.


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