Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall running backs Tyler Kraft (33) and Andrew Stelter bump shoulder pads after a turnover during Wednesday’s prep football win over Benilde-St. Margaret at Mattke Field in Marshall. The Tigers were announced as the top seed in the 2025 Section 2AAAA tournament on Thursday.

MARSHALL — For the second consecutive season, the road to the Section 2AAAA championship will run through Marshall. After completing the regular season a perfect 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the latest Minnesota Associated Press Class 4A poll, the Marshall football team was awarded the top seed in the section tournament, a first-round bye and the right to host each of their section tournament matchups.

Marshall will open its postseason run on Oct. 25, hosting the winner of No. 4 Hutchinson and No. 5 St. Peter at 7 p.m.

The quarterfinal matchup between Hutchinson and St. Peter is slated to be played at Hutchinson High School on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

A win for Hutchinson would set up the fourth consecutive season in which the Marshall Tigers and Hutchinson Tigers have faced off in the section tournament. Hutchinson defeated Marshall in the section championship game in consecutive seasons before Marshall got over the hump last season to advance to the state tournament. Marshall also won a state quarterfinal game against Byron before falling to Becker at US Bank Stadium in the state semifinals.

On the opposite side of this year’s bracket, Rocori was awarded the No. 2 seed in the section and the other first-round bye, while No. 3 Willmar hosts No. 6 New Ulm in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

During the regular season, Marshall defeated the other top 3 seeds in the section by a combined margin of 95 points. Marshall went on the road to defeat Rocori 28-0, hosted Willmar for a 41-7 win a week later, and capped off the three-week stretch with a 49-6 win over Hutchinson.

Should the Tigers advance to the section championship game, they would also host that at Mattke Field. The 2AAAA championship is slated for Oct. 31 at 7 p.m.