It will be a battle of two ranked teams when the Brainerd Lumberjacks face the Minnesota Sting at 2 p.m. Saturday at East Ridge High School in Woodbury in a Midwest Premier Football League game.
Lumberjacks coach J.J. Kern said Friday Brainerd is ranked 43rd out of approximately 1,000 semipro teams throughout the nation. Kern said the Sting are ranked No. 5.
“It shows we’ve earned respect by winning state championships,” Kern said. “This is our first chance to get national recognition, and we’re excited about that.’
Brainerd carries a 4-1 record and a 3-game win streak into the contest while the Sting is 3-1.
“(The Sting) organization has about 85 players on their team,” Kern said. “They dress a full 62-man roster and we have about 35 guys. I know we can compete with them. You can only put 11 on the field at a time.
“We’re going to know a lot about ourselves, especially being it’s a road game. If we can come out of this one 5-1 we’ll be very excited about where we stand.”
Kern said Brainerd should be bolstered by the addition of five players, including tight end Brad Simpson, who played with the Lumberjacks their first three seasons.
