Football Playoffs: Ponies Host Tartan Tuesday

Stillwater opens Section 2AAAAA football tournament play Tuesday at home against Tartan. The Ponies are the No. 3 seed for the tournament, and the Titans are the No. 6 seed.

LAST WEEK

Stillwater closed out the regular season with a ; Tartan got dumped by South St. Paul 61-7.

THE FIRST TIME AROUND …

The Ponies and Titans did not meet during the regular season.

PONIES WIN IF …

Stillwater rides into the playoffs on a three-game winning streak, and should be able to exploit a suspect Titans defense that has given up points in bunches against good teams this season. Stillwater has been particularly tough at home, where its only loss is to unbeaten Cretin-Derham Hall.

TITANS WIN IF …

It's a close game. Just two of Tartan's games were close this season, and they won them both. The problem for Tartan has been staying within striking distance against the top teams in the Classic Suburban Conference. South St. Paul, Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy—three of the top four teams in the league—beat the Titans by a combined 137-21 score.

2010 PLAYOFFS

Stillwater lost to Mounds View in the section championship, after beating Tartan 32-16 in the semifinals.

SECTION 2AAAAA SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals

Tuesday

Game 1 — No. 6 Tartan at No. 3 Stillwater, 7 p.m.

Game 2 — No. 7 Roseville at No. 2 Mounds View, 7 p.m.

Game 3 — No. 5 Irondale at No. 4 White Bear Lake, 7 p.m.

Game 4 — No. 8 North St. Paul at No. 1 Totino-Grace, 7 p.m.

Semifinals

Saturday

at high seeds

Game 5 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.

Game 6 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.

Finals

Friday, Nov. 4

Game 7 — Semifinal winners, at high seed