St. Paul Highland Park vs. St. Paul Central
3:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 8

Both St. Paul Central and St. Paul Highland Park — two longstanding rivals — are 1-0 in conference play thus far, and they will both be looking for bragging rights and an early advantage in St. Paul City Conference standings on Friday.

The Minutemen (2-1-1, 1-0) finished second in the conference last season, falling behind St. Paul Washington for the conference title. They drew Eastview 2-2 to open this season and then lost 3-2 on Aug. 26 to the defending Class 2A state champion, Stillwater, after having a 2-1 halftime lead. They’ve bounced back with wins against Burnsville (4-1 on Aug. 30) and St. Paul Como Park (2-1 last Friday) since, and they'll look to keep that momentum going as they continue into St. Paul City play.

The Scots haven’t missed a beat so far this season, winning their first three games by a combined score of 11-2. They started the season by upsetting defending Class 1A champion St. Thomas Academy 1-0 and went on to defeat Tartan 4-0 and St. Paul Johnson 6-2 last week. Seven different players have scored for the Scots, and they've been consistently set up by Edwin Elias, who leads the team with three assists. If he can make an impact against the Minutemen, the Scots may be able to leave Griffin Stadium at the top of the conference standings.