State tournament coming our way! (VIDEOS)

An immense amount of hard work, dedication, focus and determination by the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has paid off by punching a ticket to the state tournament. Our community will benefit from what the coaches and players (and their families) have devoted to the volleyball program. I hope each and every one of you out there is grateful for that!

Here's action from early in game 3 of the Section 6A semifinals:


The video started with the Jaguars holding a 5-0 lead over Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.

...and let's go back to Fargo!

Here's a third quarter video from the FargoDome last Friday:


More to come.

Jaguars earn the 4 seed at state!!! (VIDEO, UPDATES)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team grabbed the No. 4 seed for the state tournament that begins next Thursday evening for Jaguar Country!

It's official: the Jaguars (24-6) open state at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 6 at Xcel Energy Center. Spread the word! Their opponent will be the No. 5-seeded Cleveland Clippers, the Section 2A champions from southern Minnesota. In the other 5 p.m. match, Mayer Lutheran faces North Woods.

Cleveland's roster is heavy on sophomores and juniors with no seniors. Additional information on the Clippers will be posted after church.

Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game one last night:


NOTE: I have learned that where we are going is not called "Xcel Energy Center" but rather "Grand Casino Arena."

In B-B-E school history, this is the program's 8th state volleyball tournament trip. Before the pairing, the Belgrade Redmen volleyball team played in one state tournament back in 1984. That season, the Redmen placed 3rd in Class 1A in the former two-class format.

Cleveland's volleyball team is riding an incredible wave of recent success. They enter their first-ever state tournament on a 15-match winning streak. This state tournament berth marks an end to recent misery in section championships, where the Clippers have fallen short of state 3 out of the last 5 seasons.

Cleveland's roster is built around a tall, talented 5'10" sophomore setter, Jocelyn Kortuem. They've got two 5'9" hitters, a 5'10" sophomore middle blocker/right side plus a 5'11" junior outside hitter. I've been spending a fair amount of time today gathering more information on their volleyball team.

In the Section 2A championship, the Clippers played poorly and fell behind 2-0 in sets to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. The match turned in game three after falling behind 10-3 to start that set, and Cleveland earned a thrilling reverse sweep with a nailbiter 15-13 win in game five.

B-B-E and Cleveland have one common opponent this fall: the MACCRAY Wolverines, who beat the Jaguars 3-0 in August and also won in straight sets (2-0) over the Clippers at the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse in Burnsville on September 19 in the first pool play match that day.

In the latest QRF rankings for Class 1A, Cleveland was No. 7, while our Jaguars were No. 5. On paper, this is going to be a close battle! The Clippers are 26-6 overall, and they went 6-0 to claim the Tomahawk/Valley Conference - Valley division title. They swept BOLD in the Sub-Section 2A-North championship, and next was a 3-2 thriller over state-ranked Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.

More to come by mid-afternoon. It's time to catch lunch at the ham and breakfast dinner at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church. They serve until 1 p.m.!

The Rambow, Inc. state volleyball shirt store is open until MIDNIGHT tonight! (Sunday) Http://www.rambow.com. The store code is BBEVB. Pick up for the shirts will be at the high school office at some point this week.

Class 1A state volleyball tournament seeding:
1. #1 Mayer Lutheran of Section 4A; ranked No. 1 by QRF.
2. #3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton of Section 3A; ranked No. 4 by QRF.
3. #4 Fillmore Central of Section 1A; ranked No. 2 by QRF.
4. #10 B-B-E of Section 6A; ranked No. 5 by QRF.
5. Cleveland of Section 2A; ranked No. 7 by QRF.
6. #12 Ada-Borup West of Section 8A; ranked No. 13 by QRF.
7. Nevis of Section 5A; ranked No. 20 by QRF.
8. North Woods of Section 7A; ranked No. 15 by QRF.

A few other notes about the Class 1A state tournament field:
Mayer Lutheran (24-7) is the defending Class 1A state champion. This is Mayer Lutheran's 8th state volleyball trip in the past 10 seasons.

R-T-R is 28-5 overall. They are back at state for the first time since 2023, when they finished 30-6 overall and won the Class 1A title with a 3-1 win against Mayer Lutheran in the championship. To get to state, the Knights won 3-2 against Minneota in the Section 3A finals. This season, against their biggest playoff rival, the Minneota Vikings, the Knights lost 3-0 at Minneota on August 26 (light years ago)...at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge in Marshall in their second match of the day on Saturday, September 6, the Knights won 2-0. In the Section 3A championship last night, the Knights beat Minneota 3-1.

Fillmore Central is returning to state after they placed fourth last year with a 3-0 loss in the third-place match to West Central Area. The Falcons are 25-6 overall and were runners-up in the tough Three Rivers Conference (9-1) behind champion Caledonia. In 2023, Fillmore Central lost 3-1 to Mabel-Canton in the Section 1A championship match.

The No. 12-ranked (coaches poll) and No. 14-ranked (QRF) Ada-Borup West Cougars are 23-8 overall. They went 10-0 in the Pine to Prairie Conference. Back in 2008, the Cougars faced our Jaguars in the third-place match at state. Ada-Borup won that match to finish 32-2 overall. B-B-E went 31-3 that season to set the school record for overall wins.

In the Class 2A state tournament, New London-Spicer earned the No. 8 seed. The Wildcats open state on Thursday, November 6 at 1 p.m. against No. 1-seeded Hawley. Albany is the No. 2 seed.

More will be added here later this evening.

And very, very sad news...
One of B-B-E's staunchest and most loyal supporters passed away on Saturday. Rick Gerhardson, age 69, died peacefully at home after suffering for months from a stroke he endured last summer. Rick was one of a kind! This is a devastating loss for his family. His obituary and funeral information can be found here at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://shorturl.at/EJxRi. He currently has two grandchildren who attend B-B-E schools (Decker and McCoy); his other grandchildren, all girls, are B-B-E graduates between 2019 and 2025 (McKenzie, Olivia, Presley and Bree).

Please include the Detloff/Thieschafer/Gerhardson/Lindahl families in your prayers.

My last item for this blog post...added Monday night.

Here's action from the 1st quarter at the FargoDome last week:


Early in that video, Lance Radermacher converted a 3rd-and-1 play.

I've got a mountain of video and notes from Fargo and Fergus Falls to continue going through.

Step IV! It's a SWEEP! STATE it is! How SWEET it is! (VIDEOS!!)

Yes, indeed! It was an incredible night in Fergus Falls.

Facing a loaded, experienced Parkers Prairie team for a state tournament berth, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won 25-17 in game one before grinding out two close wins over the Panthers for a Section 6A championship sweep. The Jaguars earned an incredible 25-23 comeback win in game two after they trailed 23-21. In game three, they built a 23-15 lead before fighting off the Panthers down the stretch. Game three final score: B-B-E 25, Parkers Prairie 20.

Overall, the 3-0 win lasted 70 minutes.

HERE it is! Match point is earned in this video!


NEXT! the Jaguars improve to 24-6 overall and open the Class 1A state tournament on Thursday, November 6. My prediction: we open state at 5 p.m. that night. We will know tomorrow morning once the seeding is made public. More information to come! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT! B-B-E is back in the state volleyball tournament for the first time since 2022. It is also our second trip to state since we went in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019.

More to come. Video is uploading. I lost a great video when my camera popped off the tripod...it was a video featuring the medals/trophy presentation. I might be able to pull it off of my camera in low-quality fashion. We'll see. Fingers crossed!

In game one tonight...
The Jaguars pushed out to a 5-2 lead only to see the Panthers surge ahead with a 10-8 advantage after they went on a 5-0 run. Terrific serving by Makenna Roelike helped the Jaguars regain the lead, with her ace serve bringing a 10-all tie. They took a 15-11 lead and maintained control of the set the rest of the way. Back-to-back Kacey Fischer ace serves made it 23-14. Teagan Dingmann's kill finished off a 25-17 win.

Here's a video from the middle of game one tonight:


And then in game two...it was a BATTLE...
Both teams were scrapping from the get go in game two. Teagan Dingmann dropped a nice kill off a block attempt for a 1-0 lead. Parkers Prairie's sophomore middle blocker, Nevaeh Koep, had a kill to make it 1-all, and the Panthers soon had a 6-3 lead. A kill from Mya Worms put the Jaguars up 7-6, but Parkers Prairie then got in front 10-9. Ties at 10-all, 11-all and 12-all followed, and the Jaguars then took small 14-12 and 15-13 leads. Consecutive B-B-E hitting errors helped the Panthers earn a 4-1 scoring run and a 17-16 lead. Macey Roering's kill later put the Jaguars up 19-17.

Parkers Prairie caught fire and surged ahead 23-21 on Alyssa Revering's kill, and B-B-E's Coach Borgerding called a timeout. The Jaguars ran the table while scoring the last 4 points to earn a 25-23 win with a valuable 2-0 lead in sets.

Game notes from the third set will be reviewed and summarized after I get home tonight.

Light match statistics:
B-B-E's offense ran strong all night, and they finished with a 21.7 hitting efficiency. If you can hit over 20 percent, your odds are good! In 126 total attacks, the Jaguars had just 13 misses. Kamie Fischer had 34 set assists, and libero Kenna Lieser had a team-high 11 digs. Key stat: B-B-E served at a 96 percent clip with just 3 misses in 74 serve attempts. That's huge! The Jaguars racked up 7 ace serves: 3 by Kacey Fischer, 2 by Macey Roering and one apiece from Kamie Fischer and Makenna Roelike.

Here's a short postmatch interview with Kacey Fischer:


It's worth noting that the sound system was blaring some loud tunes in the B-B-E locker room right by our interview location. The Jaguars had much to celebrate!

In other Class 1A section finals tonight:
In the Section 3A championship in Marshall, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton won the first set against Minnesota. Update: R-T-R won 25-23 in game two, but the Vikings kept their season alive by winning the third set. In game four, the Knights have a 15-8 lead over the Vikings. Update: R-T-R is going to state! Their high school principal is Mr. Rick Gossen, who devoted 16 years in education to B-B-E as our elementary principal (and also our A.D. from 2011-2022). The Knights defeated Minneota 25-15 in game four to leave no doubt. They are the likely No. 2 seed at the state tournament with a super young lineup. R-T-R has just 2 seniors: a setter and a middle blocker; the rest are 9th-11th graders. Minneota, meanwhile, also had just 2 seniors: a libero and a middle blocker.

In Section 7A, North Woods defeated Floodwood by a 3-1 margin. Both teams were the No. 2 seeds in their respective subsections.

In Class 2A section championships today...
Rush City, ranked No. 9 in the final coaches poll in Class 2A, lost a heartbreaker to fall short of state. Game five went to Esko by a 17-15 margin. That's harsh! Rush City high school is where Mrs. Brystin LaMont (BBE band director) played in her high school days as a three-sport athlete.

In Section 3AA, upstart New London-Spicer won 15-12 in game five to take down Jackson County Central and earn a repeat trip to state. They graduated a pile of seniors after a state run last year but reloaded this season.

**A new blog post on Sunday morning will feature the official state seeds.

GAME DAY! Back in Otter Tail County (VIDEOS *SPORTS SHOW!)

First serve from Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls is at 7 p.m. tonight, Saturday, November 1. The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is geared up for a giant battle with Parkers Prairie! It will be a terrific battle between two state tournament contenders. The match will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They stream online at https://www.kmgk1071.com.

Here's my 10th fall sports show this season:


For the record: the first B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team to play in a playoff championship game was the 1994 squad, which went 22-0 in the regular season with a 14-0 West Central South Conference record. They fell 3-0 to Sauk Centre in the overall West Central Conference playoffs, and in the Sub-Section 5A-3 tournament, the Jaguars went 2-1 with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in the championship at the College of St. Benedict. Final record: 24-2 in Carrie Halvorson's 5th season as head coach. She retired after the 1998 season.

Here's a video from the end of game one against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy:


A few notes on Parkers Prairie and the upcoming match tonight have been added to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website sports section: https://shorturl.at/Juaoh. Their team has a 26-4 overall record. In the latest QRF rankings, they are No. 16 in Class 1A. Our Jaguars are power ranked No. 5.

The Panthers have a very tall lineup, beginning with 6'0" sophomore middle blocker Nevaeh Koep. Two of their 8 seniors are listed at 5'11" and another at 5'10". Of their roster of players, just one is a junior: 5'5" utility player Autumn Hartman.

In September, Parkers Prairie won two tournaments: on September 20 at home (5-0 record) and on September 27 at Bertha-Hewitt (4-0 record). They went 3-1 at Perham in a tournament on October 4.

And here's the exciting ending to B-B-E's game two win vs. HLA:


Time to get back to writing about football. I've finally finished combing through all of my first half notes from the FargoDome.

In other section volleyball championship matches being played today...
In Section 4A, heavily favored Mayer Lutheran hammered Liberty Classical in their state qualifier by scores of 25-9, 25-6, 25-14. The Crusaders will likely gain a top four seed in the state tournament. This is their 8th state berth in the past 10 seasons. Also qualified for the Class 1A state tournament: No. 4-ranked Fillmore Central (Section 1), unranked Cleveland (Section 2), unranked Nevis (Section 5) and No. 12-ranked Ada-Borup-West (Section 8).

**Game one: 25-17 Jaguars win!

Game 2: the Panthers led 23-21, but the Jaguars won 25-23!!!

Friday Night Lights X: Jaguars put up a fight, simple physics said no (VIDEOS*)

Saturday note: this blog post is being updated today.

It had the makings of a David vs. Goliath-style fight, and at times there were glimmers of hope, but the B-B-E Jaguars football team suffered a 54-12 loss at the hands of Upsala/Swanville Area today and finish second in Section 5A. The Jaguars had 26 players suited up for the game, and they were warriors from start to finish. The Jaguars fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter before scoring one touchdown to make it 8-6. A Patriots scoring rampage of 22 unanswered points followed before halftime.

Beginning the game with one starting lineman on the injured reserve list, the Jaguars battled valiantly against a wave of pressure applied by a deep and supremely talented U/SA squad. The physics said No. It was not happening today.

A quick glance at the U/SA roster shows 53 players, including 19 juniors. From a central Minnesota football perspective, it is terrific to see a small school football program have over 50 players in grades 9-12. We need more of that.

For the Jaguars, the future is bright in coming years. The JV unit had a stellar 5-1 record this season. Their lone loss was by a 40-30 score to U/SA. The junior high football team had 19 players, and the grades 5-6 youth tackle team had 26 players.

Here's a video featuring the playing of the National Anthem today plus the kickoff and opening minutes of the game:


The first quarter...
B-B-E had a nice 20-yard kickoff return by Kameron Hiltner to set up good field position at their own 39-yard line to start the game. The Jaguars went 3-and-out, however, punting on 4th-and-5.

The Patriots mounted a 62-yard scoring drive that used 6 plays to get 1st-and-goal at the B-B-E one-yard line. Frankie Meagher then ran a quarterback sneak, and the 2-point was good for an 8-0 score with 8:13 left in the opening quarter.

The Jaguars struggled on their second drive and punted on 4th-and-12 with 5:54 left.

U/SA started on their 40 after the punt, and the Jaguars held strong to force a punt on 4th-and-9.

The Jaguars started their 3rd series from their 31 with 4:32 on the clock. They used just 2 plays to move 59 yards with back-to-back catches by Kameron Hiltner and Taylor Pieper. With goal-to-go at the U/SA 10, Jesse Niklaus and Aiden Mueller ran for 5 total yards. Kaden Kollman then caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mueller deep in the left corner of the endzone. The extra-points throw had too much oats on it, so with 2:52 left, the Jaguars trailed 8-6.

Here's a video featuring the last few plays of that scoring drive:


It was at this point in the first half when the Jaguars needed a stop, but that did not happen. After a small kickoff return, U/SA started on their 35-yard line. B-B-E committed an offsides penalty, however, and the defensive series did not improve from there. The Patriots needed just 3 plays to get 1st-and-goal on the B-B-E 5-yard line. The Jaguars stuffed a run play for a one-yard gain, but U/SA scored and got the conversion to go ahead 16-6 with 1:17 left on the clock.

Taylor Pieper's 11-yard kickoff return put B-B-E at their 29 to begin the 4th series of the game. A facemask penalty against U/SA on the first play moved the Jaguars to their 44. They had a false start, however, and a 2nd-and-12 pass attempt was incomplete to bring third down. U/SA's Noah Ripplinger had a pass breakup on a nice Mueller throw to force a punt near the end of the first quarter.

As the second quarter got underway, the Jaguars came up with a stop with 2 run plays for 4 yards and then an incomplete pass. The punt with 11:10 left sailed high at midfield, and it took a huge B-B-E bounce after landing and rolled to the U/SA 39. The Jaguars had momentum and put it to use with 3 straight running plays, with 4 yards from Noah DeRoo followed by 2 by Radermacher and then 2 more by DeRoo. The 4th-and-2 conversion attempt was stopped for no gain, however, giving U/SA the ball with 9:15 left at their own 31.

The Jaguars gave up one first down before holding U/SA to a 3rd-and-2 play. On that play, their running back used a great spin move out of two tackles to advance the Patriots to B-B-E's 44. From there, they needed just 2 additional plays to find the endzone. Dalton Welinski ran for 14 yards with 6:28 left for a 22-6 lead. The conversion was good to make it 24-8.

The sixth series for B-B-E was rough, as they lost 5 yards on the first two plays. A third down pass was incomplete, and the Jaguars punted with 5:07 to go.

Starting on B-B-E's 41, U/SA met a fired-up B-B-E defense but ground out multiple plays on the ground for gains primarily between 2 and 5 yards each after they got 7 yards on the first play from scrimmage. After 7 plays, the Patriots ran for 8 yards to get 1st-and-goal at the 7. Ethan Barthel, U/SA's 5'10" 195-pound senior running back (who is also listed as a lineman), ran for 6 yards and then the last yard for paydirt. The conversion gave U/SA a 32-6 lead with 1:37 to go.

Pieper had another 11-yard kickoff return, and the Jaguars started the next series from their 33. Kaden Kollman's 8-yard catch brought excitement to the sidelines, but an incomplete pass and a false start penalty stunted that momentum. The Jaguars punted on 4th down with 1:18 left. The saving grace in the final 78 seconds was the Jaguar defense holding U/SA out of the endzone after they set up their 7th series of the game on B-B-E's 49.

Some light notes from the second half...
After the Patriots took a 32-6 lead into halftime, they added two more scores for a 48-6 lead in the third quarter. They started the third quarter with possession at the 50-yard line after the opening kickoff of the second half. U/SA needed 7 plays to advance to B-B-E's 26-yard line. The last 26 yards were covered in 2 plays, with Barthel running 17 yards wide right for a touchdown with 8:44 left. The conversion made it 40-6.

B-B-E's first series of the third quarter ended fast after they started at their 37. U/SA came up with an interception plus a return to give them possession at B-B-E's 31. Four plays later, they had first down and goal at the 7. With 6:49 left in the third quarter, they scored on the next play and made it a 48-6 lead.

After the next kickoff, the Jaguars started their 9th series of the game from their 36. Three straight running plays gained 18 yards on carries by Mueller, Lance Radermacher and Niklaus. On U/SA's 46, Mueller rolled out and launched a deep pass to Hiltner on the right sideline. Hiltner had an opening between his defender and the sideline and made a great catch for a 30-yard gain. U/SA had pass interference, and 2 plays later, Niklaus converted 2nd-and-2 with a three-yard gain to get goal-to-go at the U/SA five. Noah Kampsen took it from there, running 3 yards up the gut for second down. Kampsen ran again for a 2-yard touchdown with 4:22 left. U/SA 48, B-B-E 12.

More to come much later tonight. It's time to enjoy more of Halloween. Additional video is uploading. This blog post is mostly a wrap!

Light game statistics:
The Jaguars were outrun on the ground by a 329-to-73-yard margin. To be blunt: it was a brutal disparity. Overall, U/SA's offense ran 74 plays for 422 total yards. The Jaguars had some nice gains, and they totaled 186 yards with 113 coming in the air (108 yards by starter Aiden Mueller on 7-of-19 passing). The game was remarkably well played, with just one turnover, and the penalties were not a factor. Kameron Hiltner was the leading receiver for B-B-E with 3 catches for 62 yards.

In his final game as a Jaguar football player, Kampsen left everything on the field and racked up 7 solo tackles and 5 assists. Noah DeRoo, a promising freshman, also had 7 solos plus one assist. Additional statistics are being reviewed.

Area football section championship results on October 31:
Minneota 42, Dawson-Boyd 16
Murray County Central 31, Springfield 20
Breckenridge 29, Parkers Prairie 14
Holdingford 48, Osakis 14
Eden Valley-Watkins 28, St. Cloud Cathedral 14
Litchfield 23, Albany 6
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 35, Border West 14

GAME DAY! In Cass County, NoDak! (SPORTS SHOW!)

Friday is GAME DAY for the B-B-E Jaguars football team as they wake up bright and early to drive to Cass County, North Dakota. Kickoff at the FargoDome is at 10 a.m. on Halloween Day. The Section 5A championship will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They stream online at their website: https://www.kmgk1071.com. Thanks, Brady!

In today's game, Upsala/Swanville Area is the opponent, and the Patriots are 8-1 overall after thrashing Browerville 42-0 in the section semifinals last Saturday in Swanville. U/SA has played in the section championship every year since 2021. In each of the past 5 seasons, the Jaguars and Patriots have met in the playoffs. In 4 of those 5 seasons, the Jaguars and Patriots have played for STATE. This is quite a run by both teams! In 2022, U/SA upset the Jaguars in the section semifinals by a 22-6 win, but they fell 7-6 in the Section 4A championship in Fargo to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. U/SA finally punched through to state last year with a 19-12 win over our Jaguars in the section finals. That game tore my heart out. It was by far the toughest football playoff loss I've watched since the 1997 Section 5AA championship (which was exactly 28 years ago today.

Here's my latest installment of a fall sports show. The focus here is on the benefits of youth sports and how it provides kids with purpose, structure and reward! Not necessarily in that order.

Sports show video:


About Upsala/Swanville Area...
Their quarterback is third-year signal caller Frankie Meagher, a senior. He's one of the top small-school quarterbacks in central Minnesota. On defense, the Patriots are outstanding. In Saturday's section semis, they held resurging Browerville to 135 net yards from scrimmage. U/SA had 345 total yards against Browerville, 200 in the air and 145 on the ground. Meagher was 9-of-11 for 131 yards with one touchdown. Their QB2 (Schafer) was 2-for-3 for 69 yards and one touchdown.

Here's a long video from the end of the 2nd quarter last Saturday:


This blog post will include game updates from the FargoDome.

Some light volleyball news...in the Section 6AA championship tonight at St. Cloud Apollo, the Albany Huskies upended previously undefeated Minnewaska Area by a 3-1 margin to advance to the state tournament for the second straight season. For the Lakers, they look to next year with a team that graduates just 2 seniors and just 1 player in their top rotation. In Section 5A, the Swanville Bulldogs saw their season end in a 3-1 loss to perennial power Nevis. This was the state qualifier and was played at Crosby-Ironton. In Section 3A, Minneota ended MACCRAY's season with a 3-1 win for the north sub-section title.

Game updates to follow here after 10 a.m. on Friday...
Kickoff was at 10:02 a.m.

With 1:17 left in the 1st quarter, U/SA score their second touchdown on a one yard run. The extra point conversion run was good for a score of 16-6.

Halftime: U/SA 32, BBE 6. The second half starts at 11:30.

The final score and more will be posted in a NEW blog post.

Now we gear up for two BIG playoff games! (VIDEOS**)

**Thursday night...we are packed up for FARGO! I added a long video at the end of this blog post tonight. This is from the 2nd quarter of the section semifinal football game...see below.

It's one of the most exciting times of the year! BAR NONE! We have the fall theater students, volleyball team and football team all in action as we are about to turn the page to November. Hopefully you are aware of the next steps! In a nutshell: football is at 10 a.m. on Friday (Halloween) at the FargoDome; volleyball is the next day, Saturday, at 7 p.m. at Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls; and the fall 2-act play The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon is November 14, 15 and 16 at the Phil and Lucille Olson Auditorium in Belgrade.

Here's a video from the 4th quarter against Ashby/Brandon-Evansville:


And action from the 3rd quarter...


Early in that video, the Bolts converted 4th down to get first down at around B-B-E's 13-yard line. On the next play, Evan Dingwall threw a pass to the endzone. Kameron Hiltner reached out with two hands and snared an interception to stop Ashby/Brandon-Evansville's biggest scoring threat of the game. It was a giant defensive play!

I am currently catching up with the theater crew!

Also...
The Bonanza Valley Voice sports department's fall sports albums have been updated through the volleyball playoff opener: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Fall-Sports-2025.

Now it's Thursday morning...
The newspaper's sports department finds itself on the 16th floor of Rochester Mayo's Gonda Building. Heavy, heavy fog outside! I hear there is heavy fog back home in the Bonanza Valley area. We are here for a 2-year check up for a back surgery done in August 2023.

Here's the first video I recorded on Tuesday at Fergus Falls:


Hillcrest Lutheran Academy used back-to-back kills to take a 5-2 lead as game one got underway in the Section 6A semifinals. A kill from Mya Worms and an ace serve from Kamie Fischer tied it at 5-5. The Jaguars came alive again after trailing 9-8 while forging an 18-10 lead. The Comets struggled to recover, and they got no closer than 7 points from there in B-B-E's 25-16 win. HLA is an outstanding team, but I believe excellent serving and effective blocking were key factors in the playoff win. This advances B-B-E to the section finals for the first time since 2022.

About Parkers Prairie, they have 8 seniors and have a tall and talented front line. I don't know the last time they played for state in a section championship. It's been since at least 2014. This current playoff run by the Panthers is their deepest in at least 12 seasons. I have not looked back in the archives beyond 2014. Right now I am gonna dig more into football scouting!

Here's some light business news out of Belgrade...
Click! https://shorturl.at/s1QF2. The Belgrade Steel Tank is an important business partner with the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's news and sports department! Their support is greatly appreciated.

...ADDED Thursday night, here's a video with a good chunk of B-B-E's lone scoring drive of the section semis.

On Saturday at our football field...


Remember! Kickoff is at 10 a.m. at the FargoDome! The game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Please spread the word!

Step III: Jaguars earn statement win, sweep Comets! Heading to the 'Ship! (VIDEOS)

This is the time of the year you want to be peaking!

Facing the powerful, senior-laden Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Comets, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team put the hammer down in a big way to claim a 3-0 sweep in the Section 6A semifinals.

Tough, terrific serving was a key factor in the win, as the Jaguars kept the Comets out of system for a majority of the first and third sets. B-B-E won game one 25-16 after they initially trailed 5-2. Kamie Fischer's ace serve tied it at 5-5. The Panthers later held a 9-8 lead, but the Jaguars surged ahead to grab leads of 12-9 and then 18-10. The Comets were unable to close the deficit below 7 points.

HLA had a strong game going in the second set, and they took early leads of 5-4 and 7-5 before coming on strong to lead 13-8. A kill into a block by Macey Roering tied the set at 15-15. Her ace block then put the Jaguars up 16-15 for their first lead since they were up 4-3. The Comets pulled ahead 19-18 and then 21-19, but that faded quickly as Kacey Fischer's ace block gave the Jaguars a 22-21 advantage. Final in game two: B-B-E 25, HLA 22.

Here's a video from the middle of game 1 tonight:


That video begins while the Jaguars are ahead 11-9.

To close out the night in game 3...
The Jaguars blew the Comets away in game three, building a lead as wide as 18-8 and 21-10. HLA appeared shell shocked at times and were unable to overcome an initial 5-0 deficit. A mild let up on the gas by the Jaguars made for a somewhat closer final score, but B-B-E finished out the 1 hour, 10-minute match with a 25-14 win.

Here's a 5-minute video from game 3 tonight:


The tape started rolling in that video with the Jaguars ahead 18-8.

NEXT: the Jaguars (23-6) advance to the Section 6A championship match, which is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 1 back in Fergus Falls at Kennedy High School's Gold Gymnasium. Now we wait for the outcome of the other semifinal match, which featured Parkers Prairie and West Central Area.

UPDATE!...we will have a true No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed section championship! Also, the section will have a new champion! Two-time defending Section 6A champion West Central Area went down in a 3-1 loss to No. 2-seeded Parkers Prairie in the other semifinal. The Knights have been a juggernaut, and playing in the West Central Conference certainly prepared them for the Class 1A playoffs. Their season ends with a 15-15 overall record. Parkers Prairie improves to 26-4 overall. They lost a nailbiter on their home floor to our Jaguars back on Monday, September 8. The Jaguars trailed 2-1 in sets that night, but they lit up the Panthers in game 4 by a 25-13 score. The fifth game was close, but the Jaguars squeezed out a 15-12 win. Overall, the Panthers are 1-3 in five-set matches. They lost to conference rival Battle Lake 3-2, beat Underwood 3-2 but lost 3-2 to Henning in the final regular season match. Parkers Prairie is stacked with 8 seniors and "loaded for bear" - Saturday night is going to be a giant match! The Panthers featured a super tall lineup: three of their seniors are 5'10" or taller. Two more seniors are listed at 5'9", and one of their sophomores is a six-foot middle blocker. Wowza!

Parkers Prairie's win tonight avenges their loss by a 3-0 sweep to WCA in last year's Sub-Section 6A-South semifinals. That was also the outcome of the 2023 playoffs, when the Panthers lost in the same round to the same team in the same gymnasium (Barrett). In the past 2 seasons, Parkers Prairie has gone 43-15. In 2022, K-M-S won an upset playoff opener by a 3-2 margin at Parkers Prairie. In 2021, B-B-E bounced the Panthers from the playoffs in the subsection semis in Brooten. I went back to 2014, and their current playoff run is their volleyball team's deepest in that span. I am not sure when Parkers Prairie last played in a state-qualifying match.

CALLING ALL Jaguar fans! Now is the time to plan your trip to Fergus Falls on Saturday! We have twice the driving than our opponents do! This is an extra burden that we will overcome! The distance from Parkers Prairie high school to Kennedy high school is 44 miles. From our high school, it's an 85-mile drive that lasts 1 1/2 hours. We got this! Spread the word. Plan your carpools! Fill your seats! That's the plan for our Chevy Suburban!

Here's a post-match interview with Coach Borgerding tonight at Kennedy high school:


I have to tip my hat to Coach Borgerding! I was in a rush to get that interview taped, and she did a terrific job speaking about the teams in the other semifinals. I greatly appreciate any chance to interview our players or coaches at B-B-E. We are blessed with outstanding students and adults throughout our athletic program!

Some light match statistics vs. HLA:
The Jaguars dropped 113 attacks on the Comets and hit with a strong 22.1 hitting efficiency. Kamie Fischer ran 37 of the 42 set assists for the night, and a whopping 12 block assists were also a huge part of the win. At the service line, the Jaguars went 68-for-73 (93%) with 3 aces. They will need to improve that 93 percent mark just a bit to keep this playoff push going.

The Comets end a fine season with a 23-7 overall record. They were co-champions of the Little Eight Conference with Parkers Prairie and were gunning for their second straight trip to the section finals. It was not meant to be.

In a Section 6AA semifinal match tonight, Minnewaska defeated Sauk Centre in straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-20. The Mainstreeters blew an 18-11 lead in game three while trying to avoid a loss by sweep.

This blog post is on pause as of now until the morning. I'll get other scores added tomorrow. I need to get the newspaper ready for press and get adequate sleep. Tomorrow night, I have a trip to Rochester Mayo on my schedule. Good night!

Area volleyball playoff scores on October 28:
Minnewaska Area 3, Sauk Centre 0
Minneota 3, Canby 0
Swanville 3, Pine River-Backus 1
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 3, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 1
Fillore Central 3, Spring Grove 1
New Richland-H-E-G 3, Mabel-Canton 1
Albany 3, Foley 1
MACCRAY 3, Central MN Christian 1
Alexandria 3, Monticello 2
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 1
New London-Spicer 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Cleveland 3, BOLD 0
Jackson County Central 3, Pipestone Area 0
Nevis 3, Verndale 2

GAME DAY! In Otter Tail County (VIDEO)

We are gearing up for a 1 1/2 hour drive to the county seat of Otter Tail County! These are exciting times in Jaguar Country as we have two of our fall teams still going strong in the playoffs. Our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team (22-6) faces No. 4-seeded Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (23-6) tonight at 6 p.m. at Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls. That match will be followed in the same gym by the other Section 6A semifinal, which features No. 6-seeded West Central Area against No. 2-seeded Parkers Prairie.

Here's a video from the final points scored in the Park Christian match on Friday:


The Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Comets were co-champions of the Little Eight Conference with Parkers Prairie. They each had 8-1 league records. Last season, HLA went 27-4, defeated Breckenridge 3-2 in the Sub-Section 6A-North championship and then lost 3-0 to West Central Area in the state-qualifying section finals.

More to come.

**Tonight's volleyball will not be on Smooth Magic FM. If I find out about a Fergus Falls station, I will post that.  

Updates to follow!

In other school-related news...

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Fellowship of Christian Students paused until...TO BE DETERMINED. Hopefully paused until November 14.
The weekly Fellowship of Christian Students will not be held on Friday this week due to the football game in Fargo. The Fellowship of Christian Students is held at Grace Lutheran Church. This is open to all students regardless of denomination. Breakfast and a short Gospel message will be shared at these Friday morning gatherings.

MATCH UPDATES from Kennedy Gymnasium:
Game one: BBE 25, HLA 16. The Comets led 5-2 out of the gate.

Game 2: the Jaguars are trailing 13-8. *The Jaguars tied the set at 15-15, and it was a grinder the rest of the way.  FINAL: BBE 25, HLA 22. The Comets led 21-19 late in the set.

The FINAL score of game 3 and more will be posted in a NEW blog post. Hit refresh!