Patriots, Huskies and Rebels ready to do battle in state football semifinals

Three southwest Minnesota high school football teams are scheduled to play state semifinal games over the course of the next three days at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

First up among those teams is unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Hills-Beaver Creek, which will take an unblemished 11-0 record into its matchup at 1 p.m. Thursday against 8-3 Fertile-Beltrami. The Patriots, who overpowered fourth-ranked Red Rock Central 44-14 in last week's quarterfinals, are averaging 51.5 points per game and giving up just 9.2 points each outing. The Falcons earned a semifinal spot with a 40-14 quarterfinal victory over Cromwell-Wright Area.

Another top-ranked and unbeaten team from the area, Jackson County Central, will look to advance to 12-0 and continue its march toward a second straight state title when it meets 9-2 Eden Valley-Watkins at 9 a.m. Friday. The Huskies are scoring an average of 53.1 points per game while giving up just 10.8. They topped Caledonia 42-15 last week, while Eden Valley-Watkins knocked off sixth-ranked Moose Lake-Willow River 30-14.

On Saturday, Murray County Central will clash with sixth-ranked 12-0 Breckenridge at 11:30 a.m. The 9-2 Rebels defeated previously unbeaten Fillmore Central 29-26 in the quarterfinals; Breckenridge routed Barnum 57-14 last weekend.