Breck and Warroad have been fixtures near the top of the Class 1A coaches' poll in each of the past few seasons. Despite their consistent regular-season success, both programs have had difficulty making long postseason runs — thanks to powerhouses Blake and St. Paul United.
The Mustangs lost the last five Section 5 championships to Blake, a program that has won four of the last five Class 1A titles. The Warriors have been defeated by St. Paul United in the last two state tournaments.
This season, however, one obstacle has been removed with Blake jumping to Class 2A. It remains to be seen if the move benefits Breck or Warroad in their quest for a state title, but it does mean the Bears no longer have a stranglehold on the top spot in the Class 1A rankings.
The Mustangs and Warriors begin the year as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively, in the poll, and on Friday, they meet in Warroad — a matchup that will likely determine which has the No. 1 spot in next week's rankings.
Neither Breck nor Warroad have had perfect starts to their seasons.
The Mustangs kicked off their schedule with three consecutive matchups against Class 2A teams, and found only one victory — a 7-0 trouncing of Benilde-St. Margaret's on Nov. 14. Breck (1-2) ended last week with 1-0 loss to No. 8-2A Maple Grove.
Breck will likely need a strong offensive output to top Warroad, and sophomore forward Olivia Mobley could be the catalyst. She leads the Mustangs with three goals and two assists this season.
The Warriors (1-1-1) have faced their own adversity early on, including a 4-3 loss at Lakeville North on Nov. 17. They tied Minnetonka 2-2 a day later as freshman forward Abbey Hardwick tallied a goal and an assist.