Star Tribune prep sportswriter Jim Paulsen makes his fourth appearance on the podcast and joins the show to talk everything prep football and volleyball in Minnesota!

The guys start the show by breaking down three top-10 teams all falling in the Class 6A field in a handful of suprise upsets last week on the gridiron. They also discuss the recent committment of the State’s top wide receiver, Kijohn Cummings-Coleman from Coon Rapids, and discuss his candiacy for “Mr. Football” alongside Chanhassen standout running back Maxwell Woods (NDSU) and Esko running back/safety Koi Perich, who is currently committed to the Gophers.

Starting at (25:56), Jim brings his volleyball expertise to discuss head coach Scott Jackson’s Wayzata Trojans as the dominant force in the high school game right now. They also discuss Champlin Park as the Trojans’ top opposition, the changing of the guard at Eagan, and who might come out of a fierce Section 1AAAA between Lakeville North, Lakeville South, and New Prague. They also discuss the favorites for the All-Metro Volleyball team, among other topics.

The podcast crew are back to recap a rainy Friday night in high school football Week 5, starting with a conversation with Sam Stuve, who covers the Cardinals for the Alexandria Echo Press! Stuve hops on the show to catch us up on the Cards, talking about their standout defensive performance in win over 6th ranked Brainerd in a lighting-effected game, as well as Alex’s standout 6-8 quarterback and special teams secret weapon.

Starting at (13:15), they recap other Class 5A scores of note, including Chanhassen topping Mankato West in the premier matchup of the week, a resurgent St. Thomas Academy, and the other Storm team we should be talking more about.

At (22:35), they head to Class 6A to discuss impressive wins by the top-2 teams in the State, Minnetonka notching an eye-popping road win without their star quarterback, and Maple Grove’s building momentum.

Before welcoming in the head coach of the Cougars to break down No. 2 Lakeville South’s huge victory Friday night over No. 3 North, Logan gives his initial impressions of the game after calling it from the booth (1:15). Also discussed is Eden Prairie as a clearcut No. 1 in Class 6A right now (8:50), Shakopee’s comeback to go to 3-0, and how it sets up a huge matchup with the Eagles this Friday.

They also talk 5A football starting at (18:58), including Maxwell Woods’ video game numbers for Chanhassen, Rogers’ stacked roster and 3-0 start (21:06), and beyond!

Interview with Lakeville South Football Coach Ben Burk starts at (26:40)

Fall is in the air and podcast stalwart David La Vaque, a prep sportswriter for the Star Tribune, makes a historic fifth appearance on the show to break down the big storylines in Week 2 of High School football in Minnesota!

The guys first break down the “Game of the Week” as Lakeville North notched a big road win against last year’s 6A Runner Up’s in Rosemount (3:06)! They also discuss some familiar names as contenders to reach the Prep Bowl in Class 6A (11:48), talk about Centennial’s strong showing against their rivals (14:45), the parity in Class 5A (17:28), the shortlist for “Mr. Football” in Minnesota (22:43), the “Battle for the Bay Bell” (26:38), and more!

The triumphant trio of Matt, Logan, and Bill combine forces for the first time in season 3, and get bold with their sweeping takeaways from the first week of high school football!

Starting at (2:13), they touch on the preseason top-10 before touching on their Week 1 overreactions, including an early candidate for Mr. Football, predictions on an offensive breakout by Lakeville North this year, a Class 5A Prep Bowl prediction, and an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object in Shakopee this week!

Finally, they discuss key volleyball storylines early in the season (26:21), including Wayzata coming out strong looking to defend their title and a changing of the guard at volleyball powerhouse Eagan.

Season 3 of the pod kicks off with third-time guest Craig Norkus, who joins the show to help preview the high school football season in the Metro!

After a brief intro, Matt and Bill welcome Craig to discuss some the realignment in the top two classifications of the sport, before diving into KARE 11’s Pre-season All-Metro team starting at (15:45)! They talk Chanhassen standout running back Maxwell Woods, the State’s top-recruit in edge-rusher Wyatt Gilmore, top QB’s Tanner Zolnosky (East Ridge) and Milos Spasojevic (Minnetonka), and more!

Also discussed are title favorites in both Class 6A (15:45) and 5A (39:47), as well as touching on the growing concern of referee shortages and the reasons for it (44:10).