The Jackson County Central football team is hosting Luverne for a rivalry battle of state-ranked unbeatens on Salute to Service Night at Swearingen Field.
The top-ranked Class AA Huskies are 6-0 overall with active winning streaks of 32 straight games, 39 in the regular season, and 29 at home. JCC is seeking a sixth straight win over Luverne.
The Huskies offense is second in class and top-10 in the state averaging 46 points per game. A pair of sophomores helped lead JCC from an early rally to a rout on Friday. Brody Anderson tied the single-game state record and set a new school record with five receiving touchdowns. He also set a new program mark with 242 receiving yards. Jacob Kruger delivered a school-record 405 passing yards and tied Rudy Voss by tossing seven touchdowns.
The JCC defense is sixth in class allowing 11 points per game but surrendered a season-high 294 yards on the same night the offense gained a season-best 522 yards. The Huskies D is looking to play more like when they pitched a pair of shutouts in September on Wednesday.
The Cardinals are 6-0 against all AA opponents. They are ranked fourth by MaxPreps and seventh in the latest Class AAA Minnesota High School Football Poll. Luverne has wins over Sibley East, LeSueur-Henderson, Pipestone Area, and Minnesota Valley Lutheran in common with JCC. The Cardinals are among the top eight teams on both sides of the ball.
They are scoring 48 points per game and posted a season-high 56 points against MVL last week. Luverne allowed the Chargers to score a season-high 25 points but that included a pair of kick-return touchdowns and the Cardinals have pitched three shutouts this year.
JCC is hosting the third annual Salute to Service Night on Wednesday. All armed service veterans and active duty military members will get free admission to the game along with a gift of thanks from the football team.
Coverage begins at 6:40 p.m. with the kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on KKOJ Radio and Explore Live Video.
TOM SCHULLER
TODD OYE