Change starts at the top in the high school football rankings this week, at the No. 1 spot in the biggest class.
That's Eden Prairie's spot now. The Eagles staked a claim to the top ranking in Class 6A on Friday with a 21-6 victory over then-No. 1 Lakeville South, and it was granted by a statewide panel of voters. Eden Prairie received all nine of the votes for No. 1.
Lakeville South fell to fifth place, and Maple Grove, Prior Lake and Stillwater filled the spots between.
Eden Prairie also rose to No. 1 this week in the Metro Top 10 ranking of teams in the Twin Cities metro area.
Inside the rankings:
The No. 1 team in the state rankings remains No. 1 in the other six classes.
In Class 5A, Chanhassen moved up a spot to fifth with a 28-14 victory over Spring Lake Park, and Spring Lake Park fell from fifth to eighth.
In Class 4A, Simley moved up a spot to fourth, a position made available because then-No. 4 Byron lost 21-20 on Friday to Winona. Richfield worked its way into the top 10 at 10th.
In Class 3A, Watertown Mayer and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton swapped spots, Watertown Mayer rising to fourth. Dassel-Cokato arrived in the top 10 at No. 9.
STATE RANKINGS
Updated Sept. 21, 2022
Based on votes of media members from across Minnesota and compiled by the Star Tribune's Jim Paulsen. Includes first-place votes in parentheses and total voting points.
Class 6A
1. Eden Prairie (9) 90; 2. Maple Grove 80; 3. Prior Lake 67; 4. Stillwater 57; 5. Lakeville South 55; 6. Rosemount 44; 7. Woodbury 41; 8. Shakopee 30; 9. Forest Lake 17; 10. Minnetonka 16.
Class 5A
1. Mankato West (9) 99; 2. St. Thomas Academy (1) 87; 3. Elk River 75; 4. Mahtomedi 74;
5. Chanhassen 61; 6. (tie) Robbinsdale Armstrong 39; 6. (tie) Rochester Mayo 39; 8. Spring Lake Park 22; 9. Sauk Rapids-Rice 13; 10. St. Paul Harding/Humboldt 12. Others receiving votes: Chaska 11, St. Francis 10, Andover 3, Waconia 1.
Class 4A
1. Hutchinson (9) 99; 2. Rocori 78; 3. Stewartville (1) 66; 4. Simley 62; 5. Holy Angels 57; 6. Princeton 39; 7. Mound Westonka 38; 8. Marshall 34; 9. Grand Rapids 21; 10. Richfield 15. Others receiving votes: Kasson-Mantorville 11, North Branch 8, Becker 5, Detroit Lakes 5, Byron 4, Winona 4, Fridley 2.
Class 3A
1. Cannon Falls (8) 98; 2. Esko (1) 81; 3. Pierz (1) 76; 4. Watertown-Mayer 63; 5. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 60; 6. Milaca 44; 7. Plainview-Elgin-Millville 38; 8. Aitkin 36; 9. Dassel-Cokato 12; 10. Waseca 9. Others receiving votes: Providence Academy 8, Minneapolis Henry 6, Fairmont 3, Rochester Lourdes 3, Two Harbors 3, Zimmerman 3, New London-Spicer 2, Belle Plaine 1.
Class 2A
1. Chatfield (9) 98; 2. Minneapolis North 84; 3. Caledonia (1) 79; 4. Barnesville 65; 5. Jackson County Central 59; 6. Pipestone Area 48; 7. Eden Valley-Watkins 42; 8. Royalton 22; 9. Kimball Area 12. 10. Concordia Academy 10. Others receiving votes: Osakis 9, St. Clair/Loyola 9, Blue Earth Area 5, Norwood Young America 2, West Central Area/Ashby 2, Maple River 1.
Class 1A
1. Minneota (8) 98; 2. (tie) BOLD 65; 2. (tie) Mayer Lutheran (1) 65; 4. Lester Prairie (1) 58; 5. New York Mills 57; 6. Fillmore Central 52; 7. Mahnomen/Waubun 45; 8. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 34; 9. Deer River 32; 10. Ottertail Central 9. Others receiving votes: Lakeview 7, Martin County West 6, Pine River-Backus 3, Bethlehem Academy 5, Red Lake County Central 3, Murray County Central 2, Randolph 2, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 2, Chisholm 1.
NINE-MAN
1. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (4) 85; 2. Lanesboro (2) 76; 3. Fertile-Beltrami (2) 70; 4. Mountain Iron-Buhl 68; 5. Hills-Beaver Creek 57; 6. Spring Grove (1) 49; 7. Verndale (1) 46; 8. Renville County West 31; 9. Hancock 24; 10. Kittson County Central 21. Others receiving votes: Osakis Nevis 7, Grand Meadow 6, Cherry 5, Mabel-Canton 5, Red Rock Central 1, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 1.
The panel of media voters: Randy Shaver, KARE-11 TV; Joe Brown, West Central Tribune, Willmar; Pat Ruff and Alex VandenHouten, Rochester Post Bulletin; Ron Haggstrom, Star Tribune; David La Vaque, Star Tribune; Chad Courrier, Mankato Free Press; Brian Jerzak, prepredzone.com; Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune; Jace Frederick, St. Paul Pioneer Press; Gary Giombetti, Mesabi Tribune.
