Football: Royals, Raptors Open Playoffs Tuesday

The and football teams both open Section 4AAAAA tournament play Tuesday—the Royals at home and the Raptors on the road.

Woodbury held off Eagan for the second seed in the section points standings to earn the right to face winless Park of Cottage Grove in the first round.

East Ridge's loss to the Bears left it tied with Hastings for fourth in points. The Raptors and Raiders will meet Tuesday, and because Hastings beat East Ridge earlier in the season, they hold the tie-breaker for the fourth spot and will host the rematch.

Woodbury (5-3) closed out the regular season with a ; East Ridge (2-6) lost another close one, .

Woodbury , winning on the road 49-13, while in a defensive struggle in Week 5.

They can avoid a complete implosion. Park is averaging just over 15 ppg. on the season, while allowing 43.5 ppg. That's a wide margin of error for Woodbury. That being said, the Royals will still want to get off to a quick start and not give the Wolfpack any ideas about pulling an upset.

They play to their potential, not to their record. Close (one point in double OT) and (two points)—two of the better teams in the Suburban East Conference—show that the Raptors can play with a lot of teams. Whether they will is another matter. The offense has disappeared at times, including the first matchup with the Raiders.

The East Ridge-Eagan game is a rematch of a first-round contest from last year's 4AAAAA playoffs, won by the Raptors 24-7. Woodbury beat Minneapolis South in the quarterfinals before losing to Cretin-Derham Hall in the semis. Park lost to Cretin in the first round.

Quarterfinals

Tuesday

Game 1 — No. 6 Minneapolis South at No. 3 Eagan, 7 p.m.

Game 2 — No. 7 Park at No. 2 Woodbury, 7 p.m.

Game 3 — No. 5 East Ridge at No. 4 Hastings, 7 p.m.

Semifinals

Saturday

Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, at high seed, 7 p.m.

Game 5 — Game 3 winner at No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall, 7 p.m.

Finals

Friday, Nov. 4

Game 6 — Semifinal winners, at high seed, 7 p.m.