RECORD-SETTER ­— Fairmont operating again Elijah Johnson (with soccer) accelerates by Albert Lea defenders Devin Gonzalez (22) and Esteban Mixteco (44) throughout regular-season soccer motion on Sept. 15 in Albert Lea. Johnson went on to set the Cardinals’ single-game dashing file with 289 yards to go together with 4 touchdowns throughout a 41-8 victory. Fairmont performs host to Albert Lea in a 7 p.m. Section 3AAA quarterfinal recreation on Tuesday at Thomas Mahoney Field in Fairmont. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Home, candy dwelling.

Two-time defending Section 3AAA soccer champion Fairmont earned the No. 1 seed through the QRF system, and with it, the fitting to doubtlessly play host to 2 rounds of the postseason.

The Cardinals (7-1) kick off the sectional quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at Thomas Mahoney Field in Fairmont towards the No. 8-seeded Albert Lea Tigers (1-7).

“Obviously, we’re familiar with them since we played back on Week 3,” Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney mentioned in reference to his lineup’s 41-8 rout over Albert Lea on Sept. 15. “We (coaching staff) will sit down and watch film from the first time we played, and then try to clean up any aspect that we didn’t do well.”

One class the Cardinals in all probability won’t should critique is their floor recreation.

Fairmont amassed an unimaginable 478 yards on 48 totes — highlighted by junior operating again Elijah Johnson’s 289-yard, four-touchdown efficiency on the Tigers’ expense. Johnson set the varsity’s single-game dashing file along with his excellent effort.

“We’ll dissect Albert Lea’s last two games and then make any adjustments accordingly in preparation for the quarterfinal,” mentioned Mahoney.

Ironically, Albert Lea halted its dropping streak at 29 in a row when it topped No. 6-seeded Belle Plaine (1-7) by a 29-8 choice on Wednesday evening.

If Fairmont defeats Albert Lea in Tuesday’s sectional opener, Mahoney and firm would play host to the winner between the No. 4-seeded Luverne Cardinals (5-3) and the No. 5-seeded Tri-City United Titans (4-4) in a 2 p.m. semifinal on Saturday, Oct. 28, again at Mahoney Field.

“Essentially, we’d be facing common opponents in the second round since we played TCU this season, and we have a long history of facing Luverne throughout the years,” mentioned Mahoney. “We didn’t have Luverne on our schedule this 12 months, however we all know they’re well-coached and execute with out making many errors.

“TCU looks like they have improved since we played them in our season-opener (a 48-0 Fairmont victory) on Aug. 31, so we’ll have to be ready.”

TCU will make the lengthy trek to Luverne for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal on Tuesday evening. The two groups didn’t play in the course of the common season.

Luverne closed out Week 8 with a 33-21 victory over Redwood Valley.

The Waseca Bluejays (6-2), who misplaced their regular-season finale by a 21-0 choice to Fairmont on Wednesday evening, merited the part’s No. 2 seed and can play host to the No. 7-seeded Worthington Trojans (2-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Worthington, who closed out the common season with a 20-14 extra time win over St. Peter on Wednesday evening, and Waseca additionally didn’t face one another this fall.

In a regular-season rematch, the No. 3-seeded Jordan Hubmen (5-3) performs host to the No. 6-seeded Belle Plaine Tigers (1-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at Ames Stadium in Jordan.

The Hubmen, who dealt a 25-13 Week 8 loss to TCU, coasted to a 35-6 win over the Tigers earlier this fall.

The Section 3AAA semifinals are scheduled for two p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, on the greater seeds’ dwelling fields. The championship is about for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, on the synthetic turf in New Ulm.