The end of the regular season is closing in and for the seven area teams the next two games will dictate how they will enter the postseason. Northwood-Kensett and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva each have one loss on the season will try to keep their winning streaks alive as the postseason nears. Other teams like Albert Lea, United South Central and Lake Mills will try to build momentum as they enter their next few games.

Albert Lea (1-5, 0-5) vs. Rochester Century (1-5, 1-4)

The Tigers return home Friday after two consecutive road games where they played Winona and Faribault in their homecoming games. Albert Lea came away with two losses and 10 turnovers in the two games.

The Panthers have just one win on the season and that was an 8-6 victory over Austin. Rochester Century is averaging just 7 points a game on the season and is coming off a 13-0 loss to John Marshall. The Panthers had trouble running the ball last week against the Rockets with only 48 yards on the ground.

The Tigers have moved the ball effectively in the two road losses but haven’t been able to come up with many points. Quarterback Cody Hansen threw for 254 yards last week and 111 yards against Winona. The running attack is dealing with the loss of leading rusher Luke Grossman still and hasn’t been as effective since his loss. Matt Tiegs scored twice last week and looks to fill the role. Albert Lea will have to get its defense working well again after giving up 400 yards of offense to the Falcons last week.

Key stats: Cody Hansen 254 yards passing against Faribault. Matt Tiegs 2 touchdowns against the Falcons.

Alden-Conger (4-2, 4-2) vs. Edgerton (5-1, 5-1)

The Knights scored a thrilling 34-32 double overtime win over Nicollet last week in their homecoming game and now are faced with the challenge of Edgerton, one of the top teams in the Southern Confederacy Conference. Alden-Conger went back to rushing the ball against the Raiders and did so very well. E.J. Knight rushed for over 200 yards and Brandon McTague had over 100 yards as well. The Knights as a team had 448 yards rushing.

Edgerton is in a three-way tie for first in the conference and has won its last four games. The Flying Dutchmen are putting up 30 points a game on offense and allowing just under 11 points per game. Their only loss of the season came against Hills/Beaver Creek in a 13-12 game.

Alden-Conger seems to have dealt with the loss of starting running back David Troska who will likely miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. The Knights have moved away from the passing attack that guided them in the early season as quarterback Lucas Kleinschrodt passed just twice against Nicollet. He didn’t really need to pass with the team rushing for nearly 500 yards last week, but he may be called upon to throw more this week against Edgerton.

Key stats: E.J. Knight 232 yards rushing. The Flying Dutchmen haven’t lost more than two games in five years.

Glenville-Emmons (0-6, 0-6) at Mabel-Canton (5-1, 5-1)

The Wolverines remained winless on the season after a 52-0 loss to Spring Grove last week and are looking at another difficult challenge this week against No. 7-ranked Mabel-Canton.

The Cougars have put up some big numbers offensively this season averaging 42 points a game. Their only loss came to Houston.

Glenville-Emmons has two games remaining in the regular season beginning with Mabel-Canton and then finishing with Lyle/Pacelli next week.

Key stats: Wolverines 18 game losing streak. Cougars average 42 points per game.

Lake Mills (2-4, 2-2) vs. West Fork (2-4, 0-4)

The Bulldogs lost starting running back Jake Brekken last week against West Hancock in the first half and lost the game 27-12. Starting quarterback Brad Midlang also left the game with an injury in the second half. Midlang will likely return this week, but Brekken may be out for longer. It is a huge loss for Lake Mills as Brekken has scored eight of the teams 12 touchdowns and rushed for more than 700 yards. Junior Chuck Thorson and sophomore Alex Grunhovd will be expected to fill the void.

West Fork started the season with two wins and has since lost every district game it has played. The team is led by running backs Cole Muhlenbruch who has rushed for 657 yards and four touchdowns and Kyle Meints who has 356 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Meints also has 144 yards receiving and a touchdown on the season.

It would stand to reason that Lake Mills will get a chance to see what its other options have to offer against a team that is winless in district play. It has been an up and down season for the Bulldogs and if they can find a player to fill in for Brekken they might be all right.

Key stats: Jake Brekken eight touchdowns. West Fork’s Kyle Meints 500 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.

NRHEG (5-1, 4-1) at Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (4-2, 4-1)

The Panthers steamrolled Minnesota Valley Lutheran last week and did so with Greg Ramaker leading the way once again. Ramaker rushed 32 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-0 win. Perhaps more important than the win was that the defense shutout MVL in the game. The NRHEG defense has done a very nice job all season in preventing teams from scoring, allowing just 13 points a game. The team has allowed just eight points in its last two games and no more than 16 per game in its last five.

G-F-W has two losses on the season and its last one came against MVL two weeks ago. Last week against Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial the Thunderbirds scored 45 points, the most this season. Until last week the most the team had scored was 21 points.

Key stats: Greg Ramaker 170 yards rushing last week. Panther defense has allowed eight points in two games.

Northwood-Kensett (5-1, 5-0) at Ackley-Geneva/Waverly-Shell Rock (0-6, 0-4)

The Vikings have dominated their district and remain undefeated in district play, picking up a 34-20 homecoming win over Tripoli Friday night. Northwood-Kensett showed a strong secondary as it collected four interceptions in the game. The Vikings running game was strong as usual as it gained 343 yards last week. Northwood-Kensett is in good position to win again this Friday against a winless team.

Key stats: Four interceptions for Vikings defense. Ryan Mueller 135 yards rushing.

USC (1-5, 1-4) vs. Minnesota Valley Lutheran (4-2, 3-2)

The Rebels lost a tough homcoming game 14-13 last week to Maple River on homecoming. USC will have to respond from that disappointment this week against a quality MVL team. MVL lost 36-0 last week to NRHEG but was 4-1 entering that game

Riley Swearingen led the Rebels on two fourth quarter drives that got to within scoring distance but could not come up with the game winning touchdown as the game wore on.

USC got some tough yards from Matthew Wood and Riley Stenzel in the second half and with the balanced attack the Rebels showed Friday they will be competitive against MVL this week.

Key stats: USC 147 yards rushing last week.