Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Aaron Hindt of St. Edmond splits defenders during a regular season home game.

St. Edmond solidified a first-round home playoff football game on Friday, as the Gaels will be making their second consecutive postseason appearance.

Head coach Matt Dillon’s squad beat Kingsley-Pierson 24-20 on the road — their second straight victory, which officially punched their ticket. St. Edmond (5-3 overall) will host Fremont-Mills (6-2) this Friday night inside Dodger Stadium.

The Gaels have put together a balanced attack, running for 960 yards and throwing for 897. Junior Aaron Hindt is the ground leader, running for 348 yards and five touchdowns.

Quarterback Ethan Swisher has thrown for 833 yards and 14 scores. Jakob Koopman has 26 catches and 446 yards with seven scores.

Hindt is also the leading tackler with 30. Koopman (23.5), Coltin Fevold (23.5), Koleman Hanson (21.5) and Kinnick Henning (20) are right behind.

On defense, the Gaels have six fumble recoveries and five interceptions. Four picks are by senior Grant Galles, who has returned two for touchdowns.

For the second consecutive season, Manson Northwest Webster will kick off the playoffs at home.

Last year, the Cougars won their first district championship in 30 years, going through the league slate untouched. MNW duplicated that feat in 2025, again going unscathed through the five district contests.

The Cougars (6-2 overall) will open postseason play on Friday in Manosn. They’ll take on Lawton-Bronson (4-4), which finished fourth in their district.

Emmetsburg (6-2) who finished second behind the Cougars in Class 1A, District 2, also earned a home game and will face Hinton (5-3) — a third-place district performer.

South Central Calhoun (4-4), which was fourth in 1A-2, will travel to square off with seventh-rated Underwood (6-2).

The final 1A-2 playoff squad, East Sac County (3-5), will head to top-ranked West Lyon (8-0) for their postseason opener.

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (5-3), which was third in Class 1A, District 3, heads to Columbus (5-3) for Friday’s opening contest.

Top-ranked Bishop Garrigan (8-0) will start its run toward three straight UNI-Dome appearances with a first-round contest against Kingsley-Pierson (6-3) in Algona on Friday. Garrigan beat West Bend-Mallard (56-0) to close the regular season for its 23rd consecutive regular season victory.

In its first season of eight-player football, North Union punched its state ticket. The Warriors will face seventh-ranked GTRA (8-0) in their playoff opener on Friday.

Class 5A, 4A and 3A will complete their regular seasons on Friday, with their playoff pairings announced on Saturday. The top 16 teams in the IHSAA RPI rankings will advance to the postseason, as Class 4A and 3A will take the district champions and runner-ups and the next four best squads as wild-card qualifiers.