What to watch for in high-school playoffs

The high-school football tournament begins Friday, with four local teams playing this week.
Mankato West takes on Mahtomedi at 7 p.m. Friday at Chanhassen. You can follow the game by clicking on the Cover It Live icon on this page or on the Free Press home page.
West hadn't been challenged until last week's Section 2AAAA championship game against Marshall, and its a testament to the team's preparation that the first tight game wasn't the last. West will need to play better to beat Mahtomedi.
Le Sueur-Henderson survived a four-game losing streak to rebound oin the postseason. The Giants were seeded fifth in Section 2AAA and defeated St. Paul Highland Park (4), Waseca (1) and Minneapolis Washburn (2) to advance to the state tournament for the third time in four seasons.
In Class A, New Ulm Cathedral lost the season-opener at Springfield, then waited nine game to get revenge, defeating Springfield in the championship game. Cathedral has a lot of state-tournament experience but haven't got out of the quarterfinals in the last two seasons.
Nicolle has been runner-up in Class Nineman three times since 1999, including last season's loss to Stephen-Argyle in the championship game. But Stephen-Argyle, which has seven state titles in the last 11 seasons, was eliminated in section play.
If Nicollet could get to the championship game, the oppponent might be Edgerton/Ellsworth. Those teams tied for the Southern Confederacy title but didn't play each other this season.