On Friday, October 11, 2024 at 6 pm, the North St Paul Polars faced off against the Fridley Tigers at Fridley High School in their latest varsity high school football game. Both teams being 2-4 at the time, it was a vital game to win for both teams in order to have their best chances at a home game in the sectional playoffs.

The North High Polars came into this game with high hopes after losing to Simley High School the week before, desperately needing a bounce-back win in order to turn their season around. When asked how the loss should motivate the team against Fridley, Polar Offensive Linemen Benicio Jarman responded, “Hopefully our team will be upset and fed up with losing so we can have the want to win.” Similarly, when asked the same question, Polar JV Wide Receiver and Cornerback Parker Winslow said, “We want to show everyone we aren’t the team we were last year and we need these next two wins to have a home game for playoffs.”

Unfortunately, the Polars ended up falling short to the Fridley Tigers, losing 18-24 in the Friday night matchup. The Polars played relatively well in the first quarter, allowing 0 points to their 6. However, Fridley scoring 14 points in the second half and 10 in the third was a devastating blow, as the Polars fell just short of the win, with the game coming down to the last play, which was an incomplete pass to the endzone for the Polars, which would have been the game tying touchdown with the extra point still to come.

The loss led to the Polars falling to 2-5 on the season, while the Tigers improved their record to 3-4, both teams with their final game yet to be played on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. The North High Polars now have a slim to none chance of having a home sectional playoff game, yet they are still very motivated to win their final regular season game against Apollo High School this upcoming Wednesday in order to improve their playoff chances.