Realignment has turned MSHSL Football’s Section 6AA into one of the toughest battlegrounds in Minnesota high school football. What was a five-team section a year ago—Staples-Motley, Pillager, Menahga, Wadena-Deer Creek and Osakis—has grown into a seven-team gauntlet with the addition of Holdingford and Royalton, and early-season results show that every Friday night in this section will be a fight.

Staples-Motley, last year’s Class AA state runner-up, has carried its dominance into 2025. The Cardinals have won 15 straight games dating back to the end of the 2023 season and show no signs of slowing. With a balanced offense and a defense that has thrived in big-game settings, Staples-Motley remains the standard every other team is chasing. The Cards are currently ranked #4 in the latest coaches’ poll and are #7 in Class AA QRF after wins against East Grand Forks (42-12), Roseau (59-8), and Hawley (43-14). The Cardinals host Perham for homecoming this Friday night at 7:00 before hitting a gauntlet of tough teams (@ Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, @ Barnesville, vs Pillager) in the upcoming weeks.

Newcomer Holdingford wasted no time proving it belongs. The Huskers arrive from Section 5AA, where they finished as section runner-up to Kimball last fall. This year, they’ve been even stronger, climbing to No. 1 in the statewide Class AA QRF rankings and #3 in the coaches’ polls, a metric that combines strength of schedule and performance. Holdingford is led by 6’4″ senior quarterback Jaxon Bartkowicz, who is being recruited by Division I and II programs to play defensive end or tight end, and Division II and III programs to play quarterback. Holdingford has beaten St. Cloud Cathedral (42-7), and Royalton (44-6) handily this season, but needed a last-minute drive to beat former section rival Eden Valley-Watkins 12-8 last Friday to improve to 3-0. They’ll face a new section opponent in #8 Osakis this Friday night.

The Pillager Huskies are also having a great start to the season, beating Warroad 45-20 and Thief River Falls 35-8. In what may be the biggest early-season upset of the season, they dominated Barnesville 27-6, handing the Trojans their first regular season loss since a 52-50 3OT loss vs Osakis on September 24, 2021, snapping their 30-game winning streak. The Huskies are ranked #2 in Class AA QRF and #6 in the coaches’ polls. The Huskies offense is led by a heavy dose of rushing from QB Gabe Grimsley and RB Trenton Thesing.

Osakis enters the midway part of the season #3 in Class AA QRF and #8 in the polls after beating a pair of AAA schools (St. Cloud Apollo 46-14 and Minnewaska Area 43-15) to start the season, and following that up with a 22-14 win vs defending 5AA champion Kimball Area last Friday night. They’ll have a tough test this Friday, travelling to Holdingford to take on the Huskers.

Royalton also crossed over from 5AA in realignment and has already made waves. After a 3-7 record last season, the Royals have started 2-1 and cracked the Top 20 in both the QRF and coaches’ poll after wins against Kimball Area (26-20) and St. Cloud Apollo (54-34). Their lone loss was a 44-6 home loss to Holdingford.