By John George
Section 8AAA has never been so competitive. More teams can look forward to the playoffs, which start Friday, and legitimately think they have a shot. Even the Perham Yellowjackets.
The Jackets (13-11-2) started slow. They went 3-7 in their first 10 games, including losses to Section teams, Bemidji, Moorhead and Alexandria.
But by the end of the season, Perham was playing as well as any team in the section. They finished 10-4-2, including wins over section teams Bemidji and Detroit Lakes and a tie against Alexandria.
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They could have easily been seeded No. 2 heading into the playoffs, but instead are seeded No. 4. They open the 8AAA tournament by hosting No. 5 Fergus Falls on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Moorhead, the easy choice for the No. 1 seed in the North Sub-Section, will play No. 8 Park Rapids in the first round. With a win, the Spuds would host the Perham-Fergus Falls winner on Oct. 31.
Seeded No. 2 is Alexandria, with a 12-12-2 record. At No. 3 is the Bemidji team Perham split with in the regular season, but beat, 2-1, on Oct. 7.
Head coach Dan Christianson noted after the Alexandria Tournament, he was disappointed with the format there in that it didn't allow pool play games to go to three games. Perham and Alex played to a 1-1 (24-26, 26-24) tie in pool play.
"I know a win here would have made a big difference in section seeding," Christianson said at the time.
He was also hopeful that a win over Bemidji in the Perham Tournament would play larger in the seeding process than the loss in the season's first match.
As it stands, Perham will have Fergus Falls in the first round, then hopefully, a third match against Moorhead (17-8-1) next Tuesday.
The Otters (9-11) shouldn't be overlooked. They finished the regular season with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-18) win over Sauk Rapids-Rice. SR-R (19-7) won the Central Lakes Conference title and are the No. 1 seed in the 8AAA South Sub-Section.
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The North's No. 1, Moorhead, beat Perham, 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-17) on Aug. 29, then again, 2-0 (25-21, 25-14) at the Alexandria Tournament.
The Spuds were 8-0 against 8AAA teams this fall, best in the section. The next best record belongs to SR-R. The Storm were 10-2 against 8AAA teams. Alexandria was 9-4-1 against section foes.
It looks like it's open season in Section 8AAA and it's a trip to State for the taking.
