The 2026 Great American Rivalry Series made its way to Mankato, Minnesota, as the Mankato West Scarlets hosted the Mankato East Cougars in another chapter of their historic rivalry. Mankato West came out firing, controlling the first half and building an impressive 28-0 advantage. With the Cougars searching for a spark, Mankato East finally found the end zone with just 58 seconds remaining in the game, putting their first points on the board and giving the away crowd something to rally behind. From there, the Cougars punched in a 2-Point conversion to make it 42-8. In the end, the Scarlets offense was too powerful. The charge for Mankato West was led by No. 2 Osborne Lorenz, who earned Game MVP honors, the Scarlets finished the night strong and secured the 42-8 victory over Mankato East. What began as a pressure packed hometown rivalry turned into a memorable ‘Jug’ regaining performance by the Scarlets, as Mankato West defended their home field and added another exciting chapter to this historic rivalry.

MVP

Osborne Lorenz
Mankato West

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Noah Davis

Mankato West

A stand-out student in both academics and athletics, Noah maintains an impressive 4.318 weighted GPA while demonstrating exceptional leadership as captain of the swim and dive team and a dedicated member of NHS, Link Crew, and HOPE Squad. His athletic talents extend across the sports seasons in football, swim and dive, and track and field, alongside his musical contributions to the wind ensemble, Lancer's Band, and Jazz Band. Following graduation, Noah plans to attend a four-year college or university to pursue his higher education and continue building on his remarkable accomplishments.
Rasul Bentley

Mankato East

Rasul has worked incredibly hard to improve as a football player and a track athlete. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Project for Teens, Choir, HOSA and one of our Link Crew Leaders. Rasul is also our Student Leader for our Mankato East Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle.

GAME SUMMARY