Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall seniors JR Vierstraete (3) and Levi Maeyaert (5) hi-five one another during the Section 2AAAA Section Championship on Oct. 31 against Rocori at Southwest Minnesota State University’s Mattke Field. The Tigers will play in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals today at 6 p.m.

BLAINE — After breaking a seven-year state tournament drought last season, the top-seeded Marshall football team is looking to make back-to-back trips to US Bank Stadium when it takes on No. 4S Totino-Grace in the Class AAAA quarterfinals tonight in Blaine at 6 p.m.

The Tigers defeated Rocori 22-7 in the Section 2AAAA championship game last week to head into the state tournament with an unblemished 11-0 record. The win gives Marshall the sixth state tournament appearance in program history, four of which have come since 2015.

Crunching the numbers

Marshall is as battle-tested as they come heading into the state tournament. Marshall’s Quality Ranking Formula, used by many of the state’s sections to determine section tournament seeding, is the best in Class 4A at 148.4 and ranks seventh across all classes.

The only team in Class 4A within 20 points of Marshall is Byron, 130.4. The two teams met in last year’s state quarterfinals in East Ridge, with the third-seeded Tigers shutting out the second-seeded Bears 21-0 behind 127 receiving yards from since-graduated tight end Jack Meier.

While Byron was ranked ahead of Marshall in the coaches poll all season long this year, the Bears’ then-undefeated season came to an end in the Section 1AAAA championship game against Kasson-Mantorville, 31-28.

Other than Marshall, the 9-1 Komets have the second-highest QRF rating among remaining teams in Class 4A at 114.4. With the bracket flipping to pin South teams against North teams in the state semifinals, Marshall would not have to face any of the top four remaining teams until the championship.

Eagles’ high-flying history

Totino-Grace has a storied history of football success. Tonight will mark the Eagles’ 28th appearance in the state tournament, resulting in 10 state championships — nine of which have come since 2000 — and a runner-up finish in last year’s state championship game.

Both the Tigers and Eagles met the same fate last season. The Tigers lost in the state quarterfinals to Becker 28-7, and the Eagles fell 24-8 to the Bulldogs in the state championship to close out Becker’s undefeated season.

Despite claiming yet another Section 4AAAA championship, this year has been a down year by the Eagles’ standards. They enter the tournament at 6-4, though three of their four losses came against teams ranked in the top 5 of the final Minnesota Associated Prep poll.

The Eagles fell 28-7 to No. 6 Rocori, 20-14 to No. 5 Stewartville, 21-14 to No. 1 Byron and 48-7 to Hutchinson. Marshall, meanwhile, has played two of those teams, beating Rocori twice 28-0 and 22-7, and Hutchinson twice 49-6 and 35-7.

Hard-nose football wins games

Marshall has had one of the state’s best run games, with the Tigers’ technique-savvy offensive line paving the way for their run-heavy offense. Andrew Stelter has continued to lead the ground attack with 462 rushing yards on 5.4 yards per attempt and 13 touchdowns over the course of the regular season, while Milo Swenson, Tyler Kraft and Levi Maeyaert each also racked up over 200 ground yards on high efficiency. As a team, Marshall finished the regular season with 1,659 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.

Most recently, Stelter logged 144 yards and two touchdowns in the section championship game.

The Tigers’ front-seven on defense has also been a major factor, with its aggressive pass rush and consistent run-fits making moving the ball hard for opponents in the air or on the ground. Southwest Minnesota State University commit JR Vierstraete leads the attack with 12 tackles and a sack over the course of the regular season, while Tyson Louwagie and Stelter give the team some depth at the linebacker position.

No-fly zone

While Marshall lost a starting cornerback and pre-season all-state selection in Jayden Meister due to injury, the team has had a number of players step up to fill the gap. Carter Manthei made a pivotal interception in the third quarter of the section championship while Shep Jensen, Logan Eickhoff and Levi Maeyaert have continued to make the Marshall secondary one that opponents can’t throw deep on.

Where to watch

Tickets for tonight’s 6 p.m. kickoff at Blaine High School can be purchased on mshsl.org/tickets, with adult tickets available for $13 and student tickets available for $9. Viewers can also find a livestream on NSPN.TV for the cost of a $12 monthly membership.