Waseca and Fairmont have met in the section championship game for four consecutive seasons, and that streak may very well stretch to five this year.

The rivals, both 2-0 this season, will meet Friday night for the first time since Fairmont won the Class 3A, Section 3 championship last year. The game will be streamed live on Strib Varsity here at 7 p.m.

The teams have split the past four regular-season games, with Waseca winning in 2024 and 2022 and Fairmont winning in 2023 and 2021. Fairmont won three of the section finals, only losing in 2023.

Waseca’s Deron Russell, who is also one of the top basketball players in the senior class, is committed to North Dakota State for football.

Both teams made the first football state rankings, compiled by the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Jim Paulsen and distributed statewide by the Star Tribune. Fairmont is No. 4 in Class 3A, and Waseca is tied for No. 7.