Minn Starks 17U National won its final two games Sunday to finish 2-2 in The Players’ Platform last weekend at Hyvee Arena in Kansas City, MO.
Starks was led by 6-foot-5 Duluth Marshall sophomore-to-be Brooks Johnson, a rising Division I prospect. Denfeld standouts Aidan Altona and Finnley Powell, both 6-foot-2 seniors-to-be, are also on the team.
My projection is 9-2 overall and 9-1 in the NSIC, with losses at Slippery Rock and Wayne State. That record should place UMD in the conference championship fight and produce another NCAA playoff berth.
The Vikings are too talented at receiver, too well coached and too versatile defensively to dismiss. They are also too uncertain at quarterback, center, safety and defensive-line depth to declare a championship contender. The most reasonable prediction is 10-7.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota will enter the 2026 football season with an established quarterback, a proven running back, one of the Big Ten’s best pass rushers and enough veteran leadership to become a better team than the one that won eight games last year. The problem for P.J. Fleck is
DULUTH, Minn. — Ja’Vonte Johnson threw two touchdown passes in the final two minutes, including the game-winner to LeDarian McAllister with 22 seconds remaining, as the Minnesota Monsters rallied past the Beaumont Renegades 42-40 Saturday night at Amsoil Arena. Minnesota trailed 40-29 before Johnson connected with Shiloh
