The 2AAA Profile: Can St. Peter Upset East?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Peter looks to be the top contender to Mankato East this year. Can the upset happen? We take a look </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2AAA Power Rankings</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mankato East</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Peter</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Marshall</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>New Ulm</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mankato West</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hutchinson</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Worthington</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Section 15</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>First Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560798' first='Lucas' last='Gustafson'] of Mankato East (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815441' first='Mitchell' last='Hopp'] of New Ulm (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815210' first='Parker' last='Maloney'] of St. Peter (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1886972' first='Amari' last='Nobles'] of Mankato East (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815371' first='Owen' last='Potts'] of St. Peter (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Second Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1597670' first='Braden' last='Petzel'] of Mankato East (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2840811' first='Jayden' last='Meister'] of Marshall (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815445' first='Levi' last='Hopp'] of New Ulm (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2121387' first='Ryan' last='Hendrickson'] of Mankato West (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815228' first='Carter' last='Dale'] of St. Peter (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Third Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2423655' first='Griffin' last='Schott'] of Mankato East (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2830830' first='Gus' last='Schweim'] of Mankato West (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2954736' first='Mal' last='Jock'] of Mankato West (Fr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mason Diede of Mankato East (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2417567' first='Oliver' last='Voigt'] of Marshall (Soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Landon Teetzel of Hutchinson (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One Thought Per Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hutchinson. There is a lot unknown here. Hutch was 7-20 last year and won only one league game, but they do have their top scorer back and three starters back overall it appears. We don't have much on them to try and predict much but they do have pieces back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato East. The Cougars have three starters back from last year's state runner-up plus a reserve and some up and comers from a really good JV. Mankato East has this really big open window of talent and we don't know much about it beyond this season, but we do know that they have a big (Petzel), and athlete that can do a ton of things (Nobles) and a playmaker in the backcourt (Lucas). It's right there for one more final run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato West. West should be solid. Hendrickson and Schweim are good returning players and there are quality up and coming young guys like [player_tooltip player_id='2954736' first='Mal' last='Jock'] who should help this season in at least a good role capacity. West always seems to be a guy short of really doing some contending things. Maybe this year there will be some depth to make a run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marshall.Will this be a bridge year? Or will these role playing juniors become strong supporting seniors while some good underclassmen from last year move into main roles. I don't think Marshall is quite a contender but I do think they will be one of the better three teams in the league this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Ulm. New Ulm is entering a window of contending the next two years led by the Hopps and a new coaching direction. They went 9-18 a season ago but this should be a .500 team at least this season and if they advance more than expected, a team that could maybe fight for the section title game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Peter. If somebody is going to upset East it's St. Peter. They have a scholarship football big (Maloney) ready to battle a scholarship football big (Petzel) in the paint, they have a strong playmaker (Potts) to counter the East strong playmaker (Lucas) and St. Peter has an all around guy (Dale) to try and match the East all around guy (Nobles). The St. Peter guys aren't quite to the East guys we just compared of course but with the right chemistry and some depth, maybe St. Peter pulls the upset. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Worthington. The [program_tooltip program_id='2075965' first='Trojans' last=''] won five games only last year and they lost a lot to graduation. This is a rebuilding season most likely for Worthington.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->