High School Football: Section quarterfinal predictions

Our picks for Tuesday night’s postseason games, with teams listed with section seeding:

CLASS 5A

Section 4

No. 6 Como Park (2-5) vs. No. 3 Highland Park (4-4), 5 p.m. at Central

The Scots have rebounded beautifully from an 0-2 start and are playing their best football at the right time of year. Highland Park has found a go-to offense in the form of Isaac Johnson running the football. It should be noted the Cougars are also playing better football than they did at the season’s outset. This will be the first meeting of the year for the City Conference rivals.

Our pick: Highland Park 28, Como Park 14

No. 5 Central (3-5) at No. 4 Mahtomedi (2-6), 7 p.m.

Mahtomedi won the Week 2 matchup between these two teams 40-13 and is fresh off a potential momentum-building win over Spring Lake Park. Central may have to sell out to stop the run Tuesday, though that could allow Zephyrs wideout Joey Pipes to run wild in the secondary.

Our pick: Mahtomedi 35, Central 14

CLASS 4A

Section 3

No. 6 North St. Paul (3-5) vs. No. 3 Johnson (3-4), 7 p.m. at Harding

Two teams with smaller rosters and hyper-talented skill position players. That combination could lead to a lot of points Tuesday. North St. Paul’s John Jeanetta and Johnson’s Justice Moody figure to be worth the price of admission as two of the area’s more exciting wideouts.

Our pick: North St. Paul 38, Johnson 35

No. 5 Chisago Lakes (3-5) at No. 4 South St. Paul (3-5), 7 p.m.

Both of these teams took on challenging schedules in the regular season, which contributed to the sub-.500 records. Each squad will want to run the ball Tuesday. Can the Packers turn Nasir Robinson loose, or will Chisago Lakes’ multi-faceted ground attack prove too much to handle?

Our pick: Chisago Lakes 24, South St. Paul 18

— Jace Frederick