Football Postseason action... K-M-S Wins Over Minneota... NL-S Blanks Albany 30-0

Before diving into football notes, I want to mention that I've started my sub-section championship photo album on the Sauk Herald online photo gallery.

The URL = http://saukherald.mycapture.com

What an amazing run for the NL-S Wildcats, as their football team has now won the Section 6AAA championship for that school's first-ever trip to the state tournament.

The K-M-S Fighting Saints make their second straight trip to the big dance. I don't have any other details on the K-M-S/Minneota game.

Section 6AA championship: Breckenridge 45, Pierz 21.

Class 9-Man - Section 3 Football = Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 8, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 7.

Class A - Section 4 Football = Royalton 36, St. Bernard's 28.

Class AA - Section 3 Football = Luverne 35, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 14.

The Section 5A championship match will be played at the Bertha-Hewitt high school at 7:00 on Saturday night, November 1st. The town of Bertha is around 65 to 75 miles from the B-B-E High School, and there are a variety of ways to get there. The easiest route, is straight north on U.S. Highway 71.

The Nevis Tigers will bring a powerful game to the section championship battle against our Jaguars volleyball team. In the sub-section semi-final match, this past Tuesday night, the Tigers had two players stand out in their 3-0 win over Sebeka. Maggie Lindow, a junior middle hitter, piled up 25 kills in 34 attacks!...with eighth grader Riley Hansen pounding out 13 kills, also from the middle hitting position. Nevis runs a 5-1 offense, with Cassie Edwards running the show as a senior setter.

The Nevis Tigers won 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 against Sebeka, who finished their season 22-6.

The Tigers won the Northwoods League championship, finishing 7-0 in the loop.

This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

A "Five-Peat"!!! Jaguars Volleyball Wins Fifth Straight Sub-Section Title, Sweep Bertha-Hewitt -- Up Next: Nevis in Bertha on Saturday at 7pm

Match point in the sub-section title match is achieved...

Let's get pumped before the big match!

 

Let's celebrate a Sub-Section championship! 

The Jaguars volleyball team, now the winning-est team in any sport at B-B-E with a 29-1 overall record, faces the Nevis Tigers on Saturday night at 7:00. The match will be held at the Bertha-Hewitt High School (Saturday, November 1st), which is the site of last year's section championship match.

**Special note... Area fans who cannot make it to the match in Bertha can listen to pre-match and match coverage of the Section 5A championship on Glenwood's "Smooth Magic" 107, at 107.1 FM. Please, please spread the word! Their sports broadcaster, Dave McClurg, will once again be giving great coverage to our Jaguars in continued post-season action. In addition to airing the game at 107.1 FM, they'll be streaming audio of the game Saturday, at www.smoothmagic107.com or www.kmgk1071.com. Both will link to their station's web site. Fans from anywhere in the world can listen to the match! How about that! The Jaguars now have seven sub-section championship trophies for the high school trophy case. That's seven sub-section titles in 21 seasons of B-B-E volleyball! The Jaguars have played in sub-section championship matches in 1994, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now 2008. Quite a run, no doubt. It will never get old, either! Nevis won the 5A-North title in a 3-0 sweep over state-ranked Onamia. The Nevis Tigers (19-9) reversed a loss to the Onamia Panthers from September 13th, at the Bethel University Showcase tournament. The teams met there at the opening match of Day 2, and the Panthers won 2-0 over the Tigers. Nevis also lost to Bertha-Hewitt on September 22nd in a five-game match. Nevis showed tonight that you can never count a team out, especially one that has lost to you earlier in the season, it just adds motivation to the underdog. They are a team peaking at the right time of the year, making the biggest playoff run in their school history. The 29 wins the volleyball team have earned this season won't mean much if they don't beat Nevis on Saturday night. They have to come out strong and dominate the Tigers. I can't stress enough how people cannot say "Oh look at their record" or any other nonsense. Nevis is a worthy opponent who will throw all they have at our Jaguars. I can't deny, though, I am dreaming of "state" already. Shame on me! We're not there yet. I'll add more on Friday night. I need to somehow relax and get some sleep! I was a nervous wreck last night and hardly slept a wink. I'll add photos on my Sauk Herald online photo gallery, and a couple pictures to this website as well.

Photo gallery URL = http://saukherald.mycapture.com

Other volleyball results: Midnight struck for the Cinderella team of the area, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, as they fell in a five-game barn burner at Southwest State University to the #3 Class A ranked Minneota Vikings (23-4). Game five was 15-11. Unbelievable... going into the match, K-M-S was the heavy underdog but almost pushed the Vikings off the cliff. The Fighting Saints played spectacular in games 1 and 3, and went into game four with a 2 to 1 lead in games! In game four they played poorly, though, and fell in a tight game five. K-M-S finishes an outstanding season 19-9-2, including a 5-5 mark in the very-tough Camden Conference. They are the 2nd-best volleyball team to come out of K-M-S. St.Cloud Cathedral smoked Sauk Centre in 3. Yellow Medicine East won in 4 over Lac qui Parle Valley. New London-Spicer ended their season in a 3-0 loss to Rocori in Section 6AA-South. The Wildcats finish 20-7-1, winning 2 more matches than they did in 2007. They also made it one match further in the playoffs, making a sub-section championship for the first time since 2001. Sadly, they're full of underclassmen, and NL-S will be back next year. (Sorry, no love from this guy for the Wildcats) Football update... At halftime, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City leads Eden Valley-Watkins 22-21 at St.Cloud State's Husky Stadium. The Falcons snuck ahead before halftime after trailing 21-15 with 4:00 left on the clock. **Update at 11:39pm...Eden Valley-Watkins won! They're advancing to the state tournament for the 5th straight season. What an amazing run for the Eagles. They somehow pulled out a win over the run-it-down-your-throat Falcons. Every year in that streak of state-tournament appearances, the Eagles have knocked A-C-GC out of the Section 5AA playoffs. Good night, all. 

  This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

Thursday Night - Section 5A Final Four Round at Brainerd High School

We've got the smartest fans out there!


The Jaguars volleyball team will compete in their 7th straight sub-section championship match on Thursday night at 6:00 at the Brainerd High School. They are 28-1 overall will face a very good 24-6 Bertha-Hewitt Bears team for the right to play in the Section 5A championship. That match will be Saturday night at a location to-be-announced.

By around 10:00pm on Thursday night I should be back from Brainerd and will get this site updated with fresh information on (hopefully!) continued playoff action for our Jaguars.

It will be fun to see a large crowd of B-B-E fans on hand to cheer our Jaguars on to another huge post-season win.

See you in Brainerd.

Jaguars Volleyball Makes It SEVEN In a Row, Sweep the Bombers in Semi-Finals for Sub-Section Championship Berth - 6:00pm Start on Thursday at Brainerd

Let's get pumped for a sub-section berth...!

An estimated crowd of 600 B-B-E fans watched the Jaguars team tonight at the Melrose High School, which has seating for 1,000 fans on each side.


The Jaguars volleyball team will play in their 7th straight sub-section championship match, when they take on the Bertha-Hewitt Bears on Thursday at 6:00 at the Brainerd High School. The Sub-Section 5A-South championship will be on the line for both teams.

The Bertha-Hewitt Bears moved to 23-6-1 overall this season with a 3-1 win over Osakis in the other semi-final match tonight. The Bears finished 5-1 in the rugged Park Region Conference, with their 5-1 league record putting them behind Sebeka, who won the title with a 6-0 record in the loop. Sebeka was knocked out of the North-5A playoffs tonight by Nevis.

The Jaguars are now 28-1. They have played in a sub-section title match every year since 2002. They also advanced to sub-section championship matches in 1994, 1997, and 2000. All that rich history doesn't mean much right now, though, as it's all about winning playoff hardware in 2008. I look for them to stay hungry and stay focused as they close in on setting more records for B-B-E volleyball.

Players to watch on the Bertha-Hewitt volleyball team, including parts of the game where they excel on the court: Morgan Kapphahn, back row player - Kendra Stokes, middle hitter - Jessica Finck, middle hitter - Corrina Tindal, setter - Alida Moenkedick, middle hitter... Finck was the 2007 Park Region Most Valuable Player, when she was just a sophomore.

Keep in mind... there are NO seniors on the Bears volleyball team. They are young and they are good and they play with no fear. They will be a very solid test for our Jaguars and it will be a very entertaining match.

In Sub-Section 5A-North action, Nevis (18-9) swept Sebeka (22-6 finish). Nevis was the #1-seed in the northwest "pod" of Section 5A, while Sebeka was the #2-seed.

In the other 5A-North semi-final, where #3-seed Barnum was facing #1-seed Onamia in the northeast "pod" final, Onamia came out on top 3-1 over the Bombers. The Onamia Panthers are the 20th-ranked Class A team in the latest A.P. coaches poll.

What we have in Section 5A is actually rare in high school playoffs... The Final Four includes all number-one seeds. Brainerd High School will have some excellent volleyball action on Thursday night.

In Sub-Section 6AA-North, Sauk Centre swept Melrose Area, with St.Cloud Cathedral sweeping Albany. Sauk Centre and St.Cloud Cathedral will face eachother for the second year in a row in the sub-section championship.

In Sub-Section 6AA-South, New London-Spicer won a barn-burner over Litchfield in a five-game match. Game five went to the Wildcats 15-13! It marks the first time since 2001 that the NL-S Wildcats will play in a sub-section championship match. (That happens to be the last year that the Jaguars did not make it to the sub-finals, and they in fact lost to NL-S that season in the semi-finals in a five-game match where game five went to the Wildcats by a 15-13 score)

Litchfield finishes 19-10. They were one of only three teams to beat our Jaguars back in the 2006 regular season. The Wildcats, who are coached by former Jaguars volleyball coach Mimi Knutson, are now 20-6-1. They will face Rocori (26-3) in the Sub-Section 6AA-South Championship at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School at 7:30 on Thursday night.
Rocori, out of the tough Central Lakes Conference, defeated Annandale 3-1 in their semi-final match. Annandale (13-11 finish) hails from the tough Wright County Conference, where the Cardinals went 3-5.

At 9:35...I just heard the incredible news that the 6th-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints knocked off the #2-seeded Lakeview Lakers in one of the Sub-Section 3A-North semi-finals, 3-2. Game five went to K-M-S by a 15-12 margin. It was K-M-S's second-straight five-game win in post-season action. Hats off to Shannon Schmidt's Fighting Saints, as they will need an extra "push" on Thursday night when they face top-seeded and #3 state-ranked Minneota (22-4) at the Southwest Minnesota State University campus at 7:30. Coach Schmidt is in her 8th season at K-M-S, and their 19-8-2 record is now the 2nd-best ever in volleyball at their school. In 2004, she led their team to a 3rd-place finish at the state tournament, when they finished 24-6-1.

Lakeview out of Cottonwood finishes their best-ever season in volleyball 20-8-2, however... that includes a 1-1 record in the playoffs. (Again, footnote material.. that's tough!) Lakeview was our Jaguars football team's first opponent in football last week.

Update at 10:07... I just heard out of Section 6A-South... Where State-ranked Parkers Prairie choked big time against Underwood and fell 3-1. The #1-seeded Parkers Prairie Panthers entered the playoffs with a 25-1 record and the school's first-ever Little Eight Conference Championship. They then went 1-1 in the playoffs, quickly becoming a footnote in the post-season action. Underwood, who was the 4th seed, is 21-8 and will face 3rd-seeded Brandon-Evansville in the Sub-Section 6A-South championship, as Underwood (22-6-1) pounded the 2nd-seeded Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Titans in a sweep. The Titans finish their season 20-3-4, with the 20 wins being the most earned by that pairing, which began in 2004.

The Parkers Prairie Panthers were defeated by our Jaguars in the 2007 Willmar tournament championship match. They had an outstanding regular season this year, but I heard that full-blown drama/in-fighting on the court tonight ended their season. It's too bad when that happens... a team has to have great chemistry, even in the tough times, in order to continue advancing in post-season action.

It was undoubtedly a very long, somber trip from the University of Minnesota-Morris fieldhouse back to the Parkers Prairie high school tonight. The Panthers were rated the #12 team in Class A, right behind Southwest Christian of Chaska. If you remember, back in September Southwest Christian gave our Jaguars their only loss of the year.

Section 3AA scores:
Jackson County Central 3, Worthington 0
Lac qui Parle Valley 3, Benson 1
Marshall 3, Pipestone Area 0
Yellow Medicine East 3, Montevideo 0

**In one of my "Oh, Boy" moments... Someone at the Belgrade V.F.W. was not thinking when they scheduled a Steak and Pork Chop feed on Saturday, November 1st. This is the night of the Section 5A championship match. I am hoping our Jaguars will win on Thursday over Bertha-Hewitt and be able to play for "State" on Saturday night. If they do play on Saturday, uhh...sorry, there won't be anyone in town on Saturday during the hours of this V.F.W. event! What a bone-head move! Sorry just calling it like I see it. Postponing this event 2 weeks, to November 15th... would erase any chance of it conflicting with a high school event.

Probably too late to do that, though, as it's being advertised in this week's local newspapers.

More coming on Wednesday night...stay tuned!

This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

B-B-E Choir Concert on Monday Night

The combined choirs of the B-B-E High School sing "American Heroes (A Salute to the Armed Forces)", arr. by Carl Strommen.

That song concluded tonight's Fall Choir Concert, held at the B-B-E High School auditorium in front of an overflow crowd of parents and relatives.

High School music teacher Katy Westrom led the B-B-E Junior and Senior High Choirs during the Fall Choir Concert, held at the high school auditorium. Cookies and great fellowship followed, and a free will donation was taken on behalf of B-B-E's music program.

Former B-B-E Music teacher Maggie Harp was accompanist, along with Pennock-area youth who shared their tremendous violinist talents with the large crowd on hand.

More will be published on this event in next week's local newspapers. Also, for parents and relatives of any choir member, please take a chance beginning next week to view the photo album from this event, as I will be posting the 50+ photos I took of the concert on the Sauk Herald photo gallery.

The URL is http://saukherald.mycapture.com

If for some reason the above video clip does not play on your computer, please e-mail me at jaguarssports@mchsi.com and let me know. Thanks for your support of B-B-E high school activities. It's wonderful to be a part of a community that comes out in full force to support not only athletics, but also the Fine Arts.

Don't forget...Tuesday night is the volleyball sub-section semi-final match. Let's send a big statement to Section 5A and the rest of the state as we come out in droves to cheer on the Jaguars Volleyball team. The match begins at 7:00 at the Melrose Area High School, when the Jaguars play the Braham Bombers (16-8).

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Ouch, Hard to Sugar-Coat This One, Jaguars Football Loses 55-6 at Minneota in Section 5A semi-finals, Wrap Up 5-5 Season

 

The Jaguars take the field for the game-opening kickoff at Minneota. In the above photo, Shane Weller hauls in a pass as the Minneota defenders try to no avail to wrestle the pigskin from his hands.

The Jaguars football team put a final stamp on a five-win season with a 55-6 loss to #1-seeded Minneota today. Their 5-5 final record ties the 1993 team for the third-best football season in B-B-E history.

They made many memories this year, for sure, but today...well, they'll want to quickly forget about today. In the end, the Jaguars have to understand how costly the losses at West Central Area and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted were. If they would have won in both of those games (which was more than do-able, and both of those first 2 teams that we played were not teams that were any more talented than the Jaguars)... If they'd have started the season 2-0, and ultimately 4-0... a final record of 6-2 going into playoffs would have had them rated as a NUMBER ONE SEED! The Jaguars would actually have been hosting K-M-S today in the semi-finals, and Dawson-Boyd would've traveled to a #2-seed Minneota. Imagine that. K-M-S pulled out a come-from-behind victory at Dawson-Boyd in the other 5A semi-final. After taking a 17-7 lead, K-M-S fell behind 21-17 after the Blackjacks scored two unanswered touchdowns. The Fighting Saints then took a 24-21 lead in the 4th quarter before earning an interception on a potential game-winning drive by Dawson-Boyd in the final 90 seconds. K-M-S will take an 8-2 record into the Section 5A finals to face top-seeded Minneota (9-1) at 5:00 at the Southwest State University campus on October 31. My only hope is that we can keep the momentum of winning football games going. The class of 2009 will be the first-ever group of players who went through the Jaguars varsity football program without a winless season. That's special in my opinion. The Jaguars' final mark of 5-5 is the third-best record of football in B-B-E history. It ties the 1993 team's win/loss accomplishments. And once again I'll state that they should be proud of their 4-3 mark in the Central Minnesota Conference, earning a 3rd-place tie in the league. Other area football scores: Eden Valley-Watkins 26, BOLD 0 St. Bernard’s 41, Upsala/Swanville 19 Royalton 42, Lester Prairie 16 New London-Spicer 31, Foley 10 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 41, Maccray 7 Pierz 28, Morris Area 12 Adrian 29, Wabasso 21 Springfield 49, Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 28 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 8, Windom Area 0 Luverne 19, Minnesota Valley Lutheran 12 Litchfield 54, Redwood Valley 14 Hutchinson 17, Marshall 15 **Volleyball playoff update**...The Jaguars volleyball team will face the Braham Bombers in the Sub-Section 5A-South semi-finals. The match will be Tuesday night at 7:00 at the Melrose High School. Braham is 16-8 after sweeping Kimball Area in the quarterfinals last Friday night. This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

Jaguars Volleyball Wins 10th Straight Playoff Opener vs Eden Valley-Watkins in Sub-5A-South Quarter's... Eve of the BIG Football Game at Minneota

The Jaguars Volleyball team takes a 27-1 record into the semi-finals of Sub-Section 5A-South, held next Tuesday at the Melrose Area High School. The Braham Bombers (16-8) will be the opponent in a match held at 7:00.

Melrose is basically a home match for B-B-E, and I hope the success we've had in that gym will only continue next Tuesday night.

**An important update on the playoff schedule...The Sub-Section 5A-South championship match time has been moved up. If the Jaguars beat Braham on Tuesday, they would then play on Thursday, October 30, at 6:00pm at the Brainerd High School. This is a very welcome change, meaning we won't be playing in the late match and getting home around midnight.

I will say that however small the chances are, that Braham still has a chance of beating our Jaguars...Make NO mistake, they will be tough. Any team that has 16 wins should be given great respect. The Bombers finished 9-3 in the 10-team Great River Conference, good for 3rd place behind Onamia (25-4 overall) and East Central (17-4 finish, they lost out tonight). They played in a tough Duluth East Invitational on September 27th.

Braham has 6 seniors on their roster. Viki Petrikova, a senior middle hitter, is one of their leading hitters as well as servers. Kat Nelson is a right outside hitter, another leading attacker for the Bombers. They have a talented sophomore hitter, Hannah Dahlman, who is a younger sister to recent boys basketball stars from Braham that most of Minnesota knows about. Maria Shockman is an outside junior hitter who has also led their team in the attack department. Allison Turnquist is their senior setter, and they run a 5-1 offense.

The Bombers started the season 4-3, and they are now on a run of 12 wins against 5 losses, including winning 6 of their last 7 matches. They have played in three 5-game matches, losing their season opener in five, and then winning five-game matches on September 4 and October 13.

Eden Valley-Watkins finishes their season 9-13 overall, including a 3-4 mark in the CMC (a 4-way tie for 3rd place). Eagles head coach Rebecca Kuechle told me that they will lose only two seniors to graduation, although one of them is a big loss...4th-year starter and basketball standout Hannah Linz.

Around Section 5A tonight, there were no big upsets to speak of. More scores will be posted below.

**A few notes about football, I caught just a bit more scouting information on Minneota tonight. This comes from a Canby football player, who stated that the Vikings are "small but quick" on the line. It makes for an intriguing matchup, as our Jaguars are not blessed with particular size on our line either.

Eighth-seeded Canby had 4th-and-goal on the one-yard line in the final minute of their quarterfinal game at Minneota on Tuesday night. A holding penalty backed them up to a fourth-and-six possession, and they could not convert to force overtime on the top-seeded Vikings.

The forecast for Saturday looks decent. What I see is a high in the upper 40s, partly sunny, and windy.

Kickoff for the Jaguars vs. Minneota Section 5A semi-final game is 3:00 on Saturday, in Minneota. Their field is heavily secluded, so I don't expect wind to be a factor.

I learned quite a bit of interesting information from a K-M-S football fan tonight. I'll add that after the result of the football game tomorrow. K-M-S travels to #2-seed Dawson-Boyd in the other semi-final game.

Section 5A volleyball scores:
-South sub-section
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Upsala 0
Braham 3, Kimball Area 0
Osakis 3, Browerville 1

-North sub-section
Barnum 3, East Central 2
Nevis 3, Menahga 0
Onamia 3, Cromwell 0
Sebeka 3, Pine River-Backus 1

The Jaguars next opponent, Braham, is 16-8 overall after posting a 3-0 win over Kimball Area tonight. The match was held in Braham, who is the #2-seed in the southeast "pod" of Sub-Section 5A-South. Kimball was the #3-seed. The Cubs finish their season 13-9, the best season in many years at Kimball. They had 11 talented juniors on their roster and will be a force in the Central Minnesota Conference in 2009.

Braham's only regular-season opponent common to our Jaguars volleyball team was Onamia, who beat the Bombers 25-17, 12-25, 15-25, 15-25 on September 18. I'll add on top of that, Braham defeated Kimball tonight by similar scores to what the Jaguars did over Kimball on October 9.

Our Jaguars defeated Onamia 25-16,25-13 at the Bethel University Showcase. Onamia is 25-4 after winning their playoff opener tonight, and they are the #1-rated team in Sub-Section 5A-North.

Other area volleyball playoff scores:
-Sub-Section 3A-North
#6-seeded K-M-S defeated #3-seeded Canby 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 15-12 (K-M-S is now 18-8-2 going into the sub-section semi-finals to face #2-seeded Lakeview)
Minneota 3, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 0
MACCRAY 3, Renville County West 1
Lakeview 3, Wabasso 2

-Section 6AA
Albany 3, Pierz 2
Annandale 3, Dassel-Cokato 2
Litchfield 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0
Melrose 3, Holdingford 0
New London-Spicer 3, Maple Lake 0
Rocori 3, Paynesville Area 0
Sauk Centre 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
St. Cloud Cathedral 3, Little Falls 0

This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

It's Eden Valley-Watkins !! The Eagles Sweep Ogilvie to Earn the Right to Face Our Jaguars in the Sub-Section 5A-South Volleyball Quarterfinals

Get there Early!! It could get ugly with only 600 seats for the fans at the elementary. Word is that fans will need to be there at least one hour early to find a place to sit. Otherwise, you'll be peering in from the hallway.

Keep in mind, we easily get 800 to 900 fans at playoff volleyball matches in recent years...when we're on the road. Interestingly, all those fans won't be able to see tomorrow night's match, as there are only seats for 600 fans (at the very most) at the elementary gym.

Although their record is only 8-11 after tonight's win, the Eagles will be very tough. They took out Ogilvie in three games tonight, in Ogilvie no less. They will surely be "up" for tomorrow's match with our Jaguars. It's a typical conference rivalry that's going to the next level... playoffs. It will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. A third meeting in the same season between any two teams, regardless of records, is always a battle.

We'll be ready.

In the Section 6A cross country meet today at the Little Crow Golf Course by New London, Jaguars sophomore runner Grant Bell placed 21st out of approximately 100 runners. Bell's time was 18 minutes, 12.75 seconds. Eighth-grader Jared Sorenson finished 51st with a time of 19:14.75.

This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by:

What's This I Hear? ...

Just a brief update on Wednesday night... I've heard the following more than a few times this week, which troubles me. While the Jaguars football team will have no worries about over-confidence going into their Section 5A semi-final match-up at Minneota on Saturday... talk is going around that the Jaguars volleyball team has had "state" on their minds and in their conversations a little more than they should have recently. They are a long ways from the big dance, the playoffs haven't even started for them. I absolutely do not want to see a repeat of 2006, when the Jaguars were upset to Montevideo in the section final.

I will say it often over the next 10 days or so...Section 5A in volleyball is very tough, MUCH tougher than in 2007. Read this week's newspaper, you'll see a list of teams in one of my articles that I feel will give the Jaguars a tough challenge in their bid for their third state trip in the past four seasons.

Over-confidence has taken down WAY too many Jaguars teams in the past. I've seen it way too often, in boys basketball, girls basketball, and yes.. volleyball as recent as 2006. This year's Jaguars volleyball team has the most potential of any state-quality team B-B-E has ever had, in any sport. They are very well-coached, hard-working, dedicated, and immensely talented.

Alright Jaguars... show me that I have nothing to worry about, and that you'll come out firing on all cylinders in every playoff match, starting with Friday night's sub-section quarterfinals...

A quick piece of info from the Marshall Independent... Minneota head football coach Chad Johnston was quoted today saying about the Jaguars football team, "We saw them play and I think they'll be slinging the ball all over the place," said Johnston. "They have a good quarterback, but he throws more than he runs. This time of year, it doesn't matter what team you play. You have to play or it's done."

(To your last sentence, Coach Johnston, well-stated!)

**Another important update...Glenwood's radio station will broadcast the football game on Saturday. Here's an e-mail I got from their announcer, Dave McClurg...

"Thanks for the info on the Jaguars' game on Saturday. Nice to be extending the season!

We will be covering the BBE game at Minneota Saturday afternoon. I anticipate being on the air with our pre-game coverage around 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

In addition to airing the game at 107.1 FM, we'll be streaming audio of the game Saturday, at www.smoothmagic107.com or www.kmgk1071.com. Both will link to our station's web site.

See you down in Minneota Saturday."
Dave

Jaguars Football Makes it 4-for-4 in Home Playoff Openers at B-B-E, Down-to-the-Wire 28-20 Win vs. Lakeview... **Video Added, Click Below

Video Title: "We Must Protect This House"

 

Above: Quarterback Jackson Illies firing up the team prior to kickoff at tonight's Section 5A playoff opener. This is what high school sports is about, a team coming together on their own high school athletic grounds, battling for playoff glory not only for themselves and the school, but also for the community in general.

The team lined up for the National Anthem, standing tall and standing proud on their high school athletic complex. The game marked only the 4th time in B-B-E history that the Jaguars football team hosted a home playoff opener. They won 13-7 over Ortonville in 1988, Kimball Area 41-8 in 1997, and Ortonville 53-19 in 2006. (This is the 21st year of B-B-E athletics) **Football Schedule: The Jaguars will travel to Minneota on Saturday for a 3:00 game against the #1-seeded Vikings, who survived a 20-13 battle with 8th-seeded Canby tonight. Tonight's game took place during a light drizzle almost the whole time, and the pass-oriented Jaguars found a way to pull out a win over a ground-oriented Lakeview Lakers team that played with endless heart and stamina. A potential game-tying drive ended in the red zone for the Lakers as time ran out. Lakeview's quarterback, senior Dakota Fiene, was everything that's been talked about in the media. Credit must be given to his phenomenal skills displayed in tonight's game. The Jaguars trailed 6-0, then led 14-6 going into halftime. They went ahead 21-6, then Lakeview scored to make it 21-12. The Jaguars moved in front 28-12 before the Lakers scored the final touchdown of the game. The Lakers finish the season 5-4, while the Jaguars take a 5-4 record into the next round, the Section 5A semi-final.

Minneota is 8-1 and survived an incredible battle from 8th-seeded Canby in a 20-13 final score. There is no explanation for that result other than the fact that they've been neighboring rivals since the start of high school ball. Whenever that happens you throw both teams' records out.

And by the way, players are reminded of the need to be IN CLASS at 8:25am tomorrow. Coach Richards will be checking up on attendance! A great deal of information will be added on Wednesday night, including photos added to the Sauk Herald online photo gallery from this game. The B-B-E community now must focus to do their part, and fill up the fan busses and get the car pools going for Saturday's 3:00 game in Minneota. The high school office will be taking names/money for an adult/student fan bus. This will be FUN! By the way, I hope that video works...if you have problems playing the clip, e-mail me at jaguarssports@mchsi.com and let me know. The Jaguars absolutely have the talent, skill, strength, and ability to win Saturday's game. The only question is, do they have the desire? The entire teams needs to focus on earning a win, all 9th-12th grade players on the roster. Only the team can answer my question, it's on them as to how well they work and prepare mentally and physically for this game. I definitely rate this as the biggest game the B-B-E Jaguars have played in since the 1997 Section 5AA championship at Eden Valley. It's absolutely winnable, and a complete game effort is called for and must be delivered. Win or lose, if they leave it all on the field on Saturday, I'll walk away satisfied for this season. The bottom line, the pressure is all on Minneota. The Vikings nearly caved tonight to the pressure, almost losing to a team they defeated 41-0 on September 19th! Section 5A scores: K-M-S 54, RCW 6 Dawson-Boyd 38, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 0 (K-M-S travels to Dawson-Boyd on Saturday in the other Section 5A semi-final game) Scores involving Central Minnesota Conference teams: Section 5AAA: Mora 45, Rockford 12 Section 6AA: Breckenridge 33, Holdingford 13 & Pierz 35, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 14 Other area scores: -Section 6AAA: Albany 29, Sauk Centre 6 New London-Spicer 49, St. Cloud Cathedral 21 Milaca 28, Minnewaska 7 Foley 27, Staples-Motley 6 -Section 5AA Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 52, Lac qui Parle Valley 12 BOLD 20, Paynesville 6 Eden Valley-Watkins 43, Yellow Medicine East 6 MACCRAY 44, Benson 14 -Section 6AA: Morris 12, West Central 7 -Section 4A: Upsala/Swanville 29, Ogilvie 8 Royalton 72, St. Agnes 34 !!! 106 total points scored, amazing -Section 6A: Browerville 49, New York Mills 0 Osakis 32, Pillager 6 The Jaguars Varsity/J.V. tennis banquet was held tonight at the John O's Dinner Theater. Shown are the seniors on the theater stage, while Coach Westrom talks about their accomplishments this season. More details on their banquet will be published in next week's local newspapers. The banquet was completed by about 6:15, leaving ample time for anyone there to make it to the high school athletic complex for the football playoff game. A large number of J.V. and Varsity tennis players were at the football game, including Coach Westrom. That's great school spirit and camaraderie between the high school sports programs, supporting one another in their efforts. This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

From the Marshall Independent ... October 10th Story on Lakeview's Quarterback

Former Lakers’ running back turned quarterback Dakota Fiene has led the Lakers offensive attack both on the ground and through the air. This story was written when Lakeview had a 4-2 record. I actually expected them to lose their final two games, but the Lakers proceeded to prove me wrong and win at Class AAA Pequot Lakes 21-12 last Wednesday night. Predictions are worthless, especially in the playoffs, when the phrase "any given night" takes new meaning. The Lakers are 5-3 going into the Section 5A quarterfinal game against our Jaguars, held Tuesday night at 7:00 at the B-B-E High School athletic complex stadium.

"Running Wild" By David Griswold
POSTED: October 10, 2008

COTTONWOOD - The Lakeview football team is wearing a 4-2 record thus far on the season, and a big reason for the Lakers success has been with the offense.

Lakeview has put up 145 points this season an average of 24.2 points per game and over 60 percent of those points have come from senior quarterback Dakota Fiene.

Fiene has touched the end zone 15 times on the season 13 rushing and two passing and has combined for 1203 yards.

"Dakota's a playmaker," said Lakeview head coach Grant Will. "He has the ability to score anytime he gets the ball in his hands."

This is Fiene's first year under center as the Lakers quarterback after spending his time in the backfield in the year's prior.

"He's continuing to make better decision throughout the year," Will said. "We're doing a little bit better job of spreading the ball around."

Fiene says his passion is with the running back position, but he was excited to take on the challenge of running the offense as the quarterback this year.

"I was looking forward to the challenge," Fiene said. "It's always been a dream of mine (to be a running back) but I can pretty much get the same out of being a quarterback and even more."

Fiene engineers a run-heavy offense that focuses around the option play, which allows Fiene to attack defenses either on the ground or through the air.

"He went to quarterback camp over the summer, so he came in with good throwing mechanics," Will said. "He does a nice job of throwing the ball on the run when we ask him to. He's making real good decisions with the football, if it's a passing play and nothing is there, he can take it down and run with it."

Fiene has rushed for 960 yards on the season, but has also spread the ball around through the air for 143 yards.

"He's an accurate passer we just haven't thrown the ball a lot," Will said. "Dakota can throw the ball. He's got a strong arm."

One of the major adjustments Fiene has had to make from running back to quarterback is establishing chemistry with the receivers surrounding him.

"Sometimes when you have to throw the ball, you have to trust (the receivers) a lot more than with running the ball," Fiene said. "(The chemistry) is getting there, it's always a work in progress but it's getting better."

The option-built offense came into effect for the Lakers this year because of the athleticism Fiene obtains.

"Running the option if you do it right is a wonderful offense," Will said. "It forces the defense to play assignment football and it's a lot of fun to watch. The kids really enjoy running that kind of offense."

With any offense, a solid blocking game is a key ingredient to success. The line up front allows Fiene to get outside of the pocket and execute.

"I feed off of them and they feed off them," Fiene said. "I always like watching them work because they don't get much credit. I always like to give them the credit they deserve."

Alongside Fiene in the option is his brother Maverick from the running back position. If Dakota Fiene sees the opportunity, he can flip the ball back to Maverick Fiene as his option to give the Lakers the best chance for positive yardage.

"It's been fun," Dakota Maverick said about playing with his brother. "I know he (Maverick) is enjoying it just as much as I am."

But the clich remains that defense wins championships, and not only does Dakota Fiene possess the ability to score points, but he can also prevent them.

"He's been just as big for us defensively as he's been offensively," Will said. "Defensively he plays safety for us and he is excellent breaking on the ball. He comes up and takes tremendous angles on kids and makes the open tackle. He attacks strong."

Since stepping into the quarterback position, Dakota Fiene has developed a quarterback's knowledge of the game, giving him an edge because he knows a quarterback's tendencies in certain situations.

"It definitely gives you a little bit of an advantage that sometimes you don't get," Dakota Fiene said.

His abilities have been noticed from the collegiate level as Dakota Fiene has been scouted by numerous colleges throughout the area, including Augustana (S.D.), Winona State and Division I South Dakota State University.

"It's always been something I've wanted to do," said Dakota Fiene on playing amongst the college ranks. "It has come up a lot faster than I was expecting it, but I'm just going with the flow and making best of my opportunities."

Before he takes his football career to the collegiate level, Dakota Fiene and the Lakers still have to carry-out the remainder of this season. Lakeview will play host to Dakota Valley (S.D.) today at 7 p.m. and conclude the regular season on the road against Pequot Lakes on Oct. 15.

"I want to get through the next two weeks with two wins, get to the section championship and hopefully go to state," Dakota Fiene said. "We all have the same goal and we're all striving for that. It would be nice to go to state in my final season."

Tuesday Night, Jaguars Football Hosts "Dangerous" Lakeview Lakers Team at 7:00 -- Bundle Up & Bring Everyone You Can to Cheer Our Jaguars to Victory!

An action shot from the Monday session of football practice, with the JV offense going against the Varsity defense.

The Jaguars football team will start a "one-game-at-a-time" approach to the Section 5A playoffs when they take on a dangerous, talented Lakeview Lakers team at 7:00 on the high school sports complex stadium.

The Lakers opened their season with a 19-0 shutout win over Holdingford, and they finished the season 5-3. They are led by senior quarterback Dakota Fiene, who moved into the quarterback position for the first time this year. He's rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, and he'll keep the Jaguars' defense busy all night long. The Marshall Independent reported that Fiene has been scouted by Augustana (S.D.), Winona State, as well as Division I South Dakota State University.

I expect a close battle and the Jaguars must limit their penalties, as well as take care of the ball. Their most successful games this season came when they committed no lost fumbles and 3 to 4 penalties.

I just talked to the Minneota head coach, Chad Johnston, and I learned that the time for the semi-final game is still up in the air. The comment was made that some students have ACT exams on Saturday mornings, so a 3:00 game might make the schedule tight.

**Tuesday afternoon update: The semi-final game would be on Saturday at 3:00 in Minneota, if the Jaguars beat Lakeview tonight.

Right now the semi-final is the last thing we need to worry about. The Jaguars have to get past Lakeview first.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

School Board Meeting Monday Night at the High School

The meeting begins at 7:30. I'll be getting enrollment figures for the 2008-2009 year. I'm anxious to find out if we've held our own and actually slowed the recent annual drop in K-12 enrollment. From what I've seen and heard, we have. A very good thing. **Update from after the meeting... I confirmed with Superintendent Bullard that the enrollment has indeed held steady. Here's a basic "crunch" of the numbers: On the final day of the 2007-2008 year, the school had 690 students in the system, K-12. In the first six weeks of school for the 2008-2009 year, the school has had 725 students. Roughly 20 students are children of seasonal workers who will be leaving the district for the winter months and returning next spring. Even with that, that still leaves us with around 705 students. Considering that 67 seniors graduated last year, and only 48 are in the Kindergarten class right now, something exciting is happening in the B-B-E school district. We've had new families move into the area, and their kids are now B-B-E students. Very exciting indeed.

I stopped by the Jaguars football practice today at the high school athletic complex. Coach Richards was leading the team drills in preparation for Tuesday's home playoff football opener. The Jaguars will host Lakeview of Cottonwood (5-3 record) at 7:00. I label the Lakeview team as "dangerous" and more than able to upset our Jaguars, so our team must come out mentally prepared for a tough, hard-hitting game.

Feel free to view my online photo gallery of numerous junior high and varsity Jaguars sports teams.

The URL is = http://saukherald.mycapture.com

Playoffs Are Set for Jaguars Cross Country, Football, and Volleyball

The entire B-B-E community should be getting geared up for some exciting playoff action over the next few weeks. We should also celebrate the price of gas getting closer to the $2.50/gallon range (as the economy crashes around us).

Before I get into the playoff details...I want to make a special note on the 2-year anniversary that I created this website. My first post went up on Monday, October 16, 2006, when I began writing about the Jaguars' football team. Things developed quickly from there, as I gave heavy coverage on the Jaguars' volleyball and football teams as they went into the playoffs that fall. Since then I've had almost 17,000 page views...including over 100 views just on Thursday!

The Jaguars cross country team will perform in the Section 6A meet at 3:30 at the Little Crow Golf Course in New London on Thursday, October 23. Grant Bell, Jared Sorenson, and Kelsey Cassidy will be competing.

The Jaguars volleyball team opens up Sub-Section 5A-South playoffs on Friday, October 24. The night before that, Eden Valley-Watkins and Ogilvie will face off in a play-in round for the right to face our Jaguars.

The Jaguars football team opens up Section 5A playoffs on Tuesday, October 21, when they host the Lakeview Lakers (5-3) at 7:00 at the high school athletic complex. Make sure to read below in my Wednesday night post to learn more about the football playoffs, and to read information on the Jaguars football team. I went on and on, there's much to read...it may be my longest post ever on this now 2-year old website.

I want to add that the Jaguars' 4-3 Central Minnesota Conference record helped them achieve the highest spot in a conference schedule since 1993. That season, the Jaguars tied Morris at 3-3 for 3rd place in the West Central South Conference, both trailing state-ranked Class B St.Cloud Cathedral (WCCS champs at 6-0) and Class A Sauk Centre (WCCS runner-up at 5-1). In those years, Minnesota had four football classes and nine-man (AA, A, B, C, and 9-man).

**Saturday update...

I keep forgetting to mention how significant it is for the Jaguars football team to have a home playoff game. The following are the years the Jaguars have earned a home playoff game: 1988, 3rd seed in Section 4B - 1997, 2nd seed in Section 5AA (which meant a 2nd home playoff game for the semi-final round that year) - 2006, 4th seed in Section 5A. That means this is only the fourth time in B-B-E history that the Jaguars have had a first-round home playoff game. Putting it into greater perspective, that's only the 4th time out of 21 seasons! That is what brings excitement to a program, getting to start playoffs at your own high school, where school spirit thrives for the high school student body. It is a special time, for sure.

The Jaguars have to play with a chip on their shoulders as they approach the playoffs. They need to look at each game as a night when they can prove themselves, show they are for real, and show they can be winners in the post-season. More important than earning glory for B-B-E, the players need to focus and play well mainly for themselves. The seniors on this squad have dedicated four years of varsity football to get to this point, where they have a shot of advancing past the first round and possibly further.

I gotta throw out a bit of scouting information on Lakeview's football team, it's too interesting to just sit on it. The 5-3 Lakers are led by senior first-year quarterback Dakota Fiene, who is a converted running back. He's a dynamic ball carrier, check out his stats... 147 carries for 1,045 yards, a 7.1-yard per game average, with 13 rushing touchdowns. In the Lakers' upset win over Class AAA Pequot Lakes on Wednesday night, Dakota rushed for 151 yards!

Pequot Lakes was 4-3 coming into the game, including a 27-14 win over the Roseau Rams in Week 7. (Roseau beat West Central Area 34-21 in Week 3, by the way)

The second-leading ball carrier for the Lakers is Dakota's sophomore brother, Maverick Fiene. He's rushed 33 times for 217 yards (6.5 yds per rush) and one TD.

Dakota's passing stats are as follows: 19 pass completions, 44 pass attempts, 274 passing yards, 3 TD's, 5 INT's. That's for the whole regular season. This suggests Lakeview is a run first, pass second football team.

Back to volleyball...The following is the seedings for the sub-section pod that the Jaguars are in, with the teams' overall records.

1- B-B-E (26-1)
2- Braham (14-7)
3- Kimball Area (12-8)
4- Ogilvie (11-12)
5- Eden Valley-Watkins (7-11)
6- Royalton (4-17)

I predict Eden Valley-Watkins will beat Ogilvie and face the Jaguars in the sub-section quarterfinals. It would be fun to see Kimball beat Braham in the other match on October 24. If it played out that way, the Jaguars would face the Kimball Cubs on Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00.

I won't comment on the rest of the playoffs until we get past the 2nd-round match.

Final Central Minnesota Conference volleyball standings:
#1- B-B-E (7-0)
#2- Pierz (6-1)
#3- Holdingford (4-3)
#4- Kimball Area (3-4)
(tie) HL-W-W (3-4)
(tie) Eden Valley-Watkins (3-4)
#7- Maple Lake (2-5)
#8- Rockford (0-7)

This Jaguars sports playoff update brought to you by the following business that is unfortunately in the midst of an inventory sellout process. It's very sad to see a B-B-E business close. We wish the owners luck in their future endeavors.

Friday Night Lights Part VIII - On Wednesday - Jaguars Square Record at 4-4 With 28-15 Win over Holdingford, Lock Up Home Playoff Game in Section 5A

The Jaguars football team met a handful of rare benchmarks for the B-B-E football program, by beating Holdingford 27-15 tonight in the final game of the regular season. It was also Parents' Night. Noteworthy: (1- Earning a home playoff game, 2- finishing with a winning conference record, 3- winning three regular season home games, 4- finishing in third place in the conference, 5- Scoring the 2nd-most regular season points in B-B-E history) Tonight was a must-win situation for the Jaguars, as they needed a win to earn a top-four playoff seed in Section 5A. The Jaguars open up playoffs hosting the Lakeview Lakers next Tuesday night at the high school football stadium. Lakeview finished their season 5-3, although two of their five wins were against Junior Varsity teams from Marshall and Luverne. This is due to Lakeview not playing in a football conference. **Thursday night update: Lakeview will join the Little Sioux Conference in 2009, meaning they will have a real schedule and won't be playing J.V. teams. They have had success on the gridiron in recent years. In 2007, they went 5-3 in the regular season, earned the 5th seed, and lost the playoff opener at Renville County West in a high-scoring affair 50-38. In 2006, they played 11-man and 9-man games in the regular season, finished 4-4, and then went 1-1 in the Section 3, 9-man playoffs. In 2005, they went 5-3 before falling in the Section 3, 9-man playoff opener 36-34. My point is, they know how to win games. I've been digging up information on Lakeview and sending it Coach Richards' way. After their practice on Friday morning, I'll begin posting some of this scouting information on this website. A pile of information can be found further below regarding the upcoming Section 5A football playoffs. The Jaguars scored a total of 188 points during the regular season, a high number considering they fell in a shutout to Pierz in week 5. That is the 2nd-most points scored in B-B-E history. The school record is 206 regular season points, set in 1988 (with 1/3 of those points in just one game). I don't want to take away anything earned by the 1988 team, but in terms of offense alone, the 2008 Jaguars set the B-B-E record without a doubt. None of the 188 points this season were directly from turnovers. In 1988, in that game where the Jaguars put up 68 points on winless Brandon/Evansville, only 6 of the 10 touchdowns scored were on offense. (Two were kickoff returns, one a punt return, and another a fumble recovery...all ran back for touchdowns.) The 2008 team's defensive average of 26.9 points given up per regular season game is also noteworthy. (215 total points given up in the 8 games) Keep in mind, that in 2 of the games, against Pierz and Eden Valley-Watkins, the Jaguars gave up 103 points. In the other 6 games, they gave up 18.6 points per game. This is in a Class AA/AAA conference, one of the toughest small-school conferences in Minnesota. In 2006, the Jaguars gave up 222 points in the regular season (27.8 ppg), which was the fewest given up since 2000...until this season. In 2000, when the Jaguars went 2-6 overall in the 2nd year in the CMC, the Jaguars gave up only 177 points (22 ppg). They also had one shutout and lost to Eden Valley-Watkins 19-7 and to Pierz 27-7 in a season in which they were competitive in all but 3 games. The problem year-to-year was consistency. After giving up only 177 points in the 2000 regular season, the 2001 Jaguars gave up 283 points in an 0-8 regular season. As a point of comparison, the year before Coach Richards took over, the 2004 Jaguars gave up 361 regular-season points! (45 points per game surrendered!). The 2003 Jaguars, which was a good team that won their playoff opener, gave up 250 regular-season points. In Coach Richards' first year, the Jaguars gave up 340 points in the regular season. Then 222 in 2006, and then in 2007 they gave up 243 points. So if you put them in order, Coach Richards' teams have given up 340, 222, 243, and now 215 regular season points. That goes a long ways towards being competitive on game night, and it is easier to bring excitement to the program when you're not giving up 40 to 60 points to your opponent in every game. In 1997, the Jaguars gave up 114 regular-season points (including a 40-18 loss on Homecoming night to state-ranked, undefeated Morris Area), for a 14.3 points per game defensive average. In 1988, the Jaguars gave up 83 points (10.4 ppg)...but remember, that year, the Jaguars played against smaller Prairie Conference/Prairie Lakes Conference members. A very special achievement in 2008, the Jaguars finished the Central Minnesota Conference with a 4-3 record, locking up a three-way tie for 3rd place in the league. It is only the 2nd time in B-B-E history that the Jaguars have had a winning conference record. It also ties the school record for most wins in a conference since the 1988 pairing of the former schools. In 1988, the Jaguars went 4-0 to win the Prairie Lakes Conference in their final season in that small-school league. The only other seasons that the Jaguars have finished with at least a .500 conference record came in 1993 and 1997. In both of those seasons, the Jaguars finished 3-3 in the West Central South Conference. Every other season, the Jaguars have went either 0-7, 1-6, or 2-5 in their conference schedules. They should be very, very proud of their 4-3 record in the Central Minnesota Conference this year. Eden Valley-Watkins won the CMC title alone for the second straight season. Pierz finished in 2nd place for the second year in a row. For the first time ever, B-B-E finished in third place in the CMC, tying Maple Lake and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. Final CMC standings: #1- Eden Valley-Watkins (7-0) #2- Pierz (6-1) #3- tie, B-B-E, Maple Lake, and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (4-3) #6- Rockford (2-5) #7- Holdingford (1-6) #8- Kimball Area (0-7) Central Minnesota Conference game results: Eden Valley-Watkins 19, Maple Lake 0 (The Irish give the Eagles' a heckuva game) Pierz 41, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 14 (A big statement for the Pioneers) Rockford 38, Kimball 20 Results involving Section 5A teams: -Renville County West 42, Southwestern United 3 -Canby 22, Ortonville 13 -Lakeview 21, Pequot Lakes 12 (A big upset in my opinion) -Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 26, Minneota 12 (Minneota finishes 7-1, they are the #1-seed) Other area scores: Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 49, Benson 7 BOLD 49, Paynesville 21 Browerville 42, Parkers Prairie 25 Hillcrest Lutheran 48, Hancock 35 Milaca 53, Sauk Centre 27 Minnewaska 17, Montevideo 14, OT (A big upset win for the Lakers) Mora 38, Melrose 21 (The Dutchmen finish 1-7, ouch!) Morris Area 27, Lac qui Parle Valley 18 Royalton 62, New York Mills 28 Osakis 30, Pillager 20 Ottertail Central 35, United North Central 14 St. Cloud Apollo 34, Willmar 12 Yellow Medicine East 12, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0 (LP-GE's second straight winless season) Foley 38, NL-S 24 (a game showing how tough the West Central North Conference is) West Central Area 18, Wadena-Deer Creek 13 (WCA's first win since the opener) The playoff predictions and scenarios and analysis begins at warp speed... The Section 5A seedings are completed for football, and the rankings have been posted on the Minnesota State High School League's website. I have them outlined below. I was right on a few predictions, and I failed on one of them, in terms of who would win their games tonight. First of all, K-M-S pounded Upsala-Swanville Area 33-6. K-M-S led at halftime 26-0. Both of those teams finish the season 6-2, as well as 3-1 in the Prairie South Conference. They both share the conference title with Royalton in a three-way tie. The Fighting Saints pull themselves into a tie with Dawson-Boyd in the Section 5A standings. Even when using the points system, they remain tied, as both had one Class AA team on their schedule. (Both lost to their Class AA opponents) As I predicted, Renville County West won their final two games of the season, both convincingly as well. Last week they won 41-20 over a poor Red Rock Central (Lamberton) team, and tonight they shredded a bad Southwestern United (Heron Lake/Brewster pairing in southwest Minnesota) team 49-3. RRC finished 1-7, and SW-United finished 3-5, with both playing against all Class A opponents. Minneota lost to Class AA state-ranked Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 26-12, in Tracy. Minneota will go into playoffs with the number one seed in Section 5A. At least they are beatable, as they learned tonight. The thing about this loss though, is that it will just make them hungrier to win playoff games and advancing to state. If our Jaguars beat Lakeview in the opener, they would travel to Minneota for a 3:00pm afternoon game on Saturday, October 25, for the Section 5A semi-final. Minneota hosts eighth-seeded Canby in their first-round game. Canby is 1-7, and they won their final game of the season against Ortonville to make the final spot in the Section 5A playoffs. Ortonville finished 1-7 as well, but they ended up ranked #9, meaning their season is done. Right now, it's all about the Lakeview Lakers, a team out of Cottonwood. This school district lies between Marshall and Granite Falls. Their 9-12th grade enrollment is 172 students, compared to B-B-E's 219. I will work over the weekend to learn everything I can about their team. Updates will probably take place every day on this website over MEA weekend. I am surprised that Lakeview picked up the #5 seed. I need to find out how this happened. I think it is a mistake, as they only had 6 games "count" for seeding purposes. Two of their games were against Junior Varsity teams from Luverne and Marshall. In the 6 "real" games, their record was 3-3. I definitely think Renville County West is the better team, so I honestly will not complain about this one! RCW moves in at the #6 slot, and they will face K-M-S in the first round. Dawson-Boyd is the #2 seed, and they will host #7-seed Russel-Tyler-Ruthton in the opener. R-T-R finished 3-5, with two wins in their final two games. The Section 5A championship is set for 5:00 on Halloween, October 31, at the brand new Mattke Field at Southwest State University in Marshall. In order to get that far, the Jaguars need to pull off two playoff wins. That has happened only once in B-B-E history, in Section 5AA in 1997. With all the above said about how the Jaguars have been making history this season, Coach Richards made a comment that the guys don't need more pressure on them than they already have. He's right. Our guys are tired of hearing how poor our football program has been in the past. It's tough enough operating in the Central Minnesota Conference, but it just makes it harder when the Jaguars have to run against B-B-E football history. This year they can make big strides to bringing excitement and enthusiasm to the Jaguars football program. It will only help with turnout in future seasons. Section 5A playoff seedings: (1 hosts 8, 2 hosts 7, 3 hosts 6, and 4 hosts 5) #1- Minneota #2- Dawson-Boyd #3- Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg #4- B-B-E #5- Lakeview (Cottonwood, near Marshall) #6- Renville County West #7- Russel-Tyler-Ruthton #8- Canby All first-round playoff games are at 7:00pm on Tuesday, October 21, with the high seeds hosting. If the high seeds all win, then Minneota and Dawson-Boyd will host the second round games. ****Playoff seedings were completed today for Section 5A in volleyball. The Jaguars locked up one of four #1-seeds in the four "pods" of Section 5A. I will comment more later on about the seedings, but I have to comment on how absolutely furious I am that the section geniuses decided for the second year in a row to place the sub-section championship matches at Brainerd High School. This is on a school night no less! This is crazy, stupid, wild, insane. I can't say enough how nuts this is. Last year, Osakis & B-B-E both traveled to Brainerd for the Sub-Section 5A-South championship. Our schools are 35 miles apart, yet we both had to travel over 90 miles to our sub-section match! I will get to the bottom of who made this decision, and their names will be made public. I think the northern schools in Section 5A were the culprits. It was a political decision, in my opinion. Why not allow this match to be played somewhere in the southern half of the section...say, Long Prairie/Melrose? Not only is this a BIG drive, but this match is the "late" match, set to begin around 8:30pm! As I said before, on a school night! On top of all that, people are broke! Hello, we are in a recession, folks are struggling to make ends meet. We live in rural, small town America and gas money is not growing on trees. Did I mention that I'm furious about this? **Thursday night update...Today at the Post Office, I ran into Duane Swenson, who runs Region 5A for the MSHSL. Section 5A for volleyball actually falls out of the jurisdiction of Region 5A, so he has no control over what happened when the sub-section matches were both designated to be played in Brainerd. He basically backed up what I was just saying, that it's politics that caused this fiasco. This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

2008 Central Minnesota Conference Champions, the B-B-E Jaguars Volleyball Team -- Friday Night Lights Part VIII Coming Up...on a Wednesday Night !!

The nine seniors on the varsity roster sang the National Anthem, and I have to say, they did a fine job.

The Jaguars volleyball team earned two big accomplishments tonight on the hardwood. With a 3-0 sweep over visiting Holdingford, the Jaguars wrapped up their second straight undefeated Central Minnesota Conference championship. It is the 8th time in B-B-E history that the Jaguars have won a volleyball conference title. The first two came in 1994 & 1995, and then in the CMC the Jaguars won conference in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and now 2008.

The Jaguars overall record is 26-1, setting a new school record for regular season wins. Holdingford is 14-12-1, and 4-3 in the CMC.

Tonight was also Seniors' night, where the underclassmen on the varsity squad honored the nine seniors on the roster.

It was announced following the match that the Sub-Section 5A-South playoffs will begin on Friday, October 25. High seeds will host the sub-section quarterfinals. Play-in matches, if any are needed, are the night before. Each of the two sub-sections in Section 5A are split into two sub-sub-sections. (Weird, I know) I don't have a handle on how it all works out. However, sometime during the day on Wednesday I will find out the seedings and will post on here the full playoff schedule. Stay tuned!

Area volleyball scores:
Kimball 3, Rockford 2 (Game five was 15-8)
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Maple Lake 2 (Game five was 15-9)
Melrose Area 3, Minnewaska Area 0
Sauk Centre 3, Mora 1
New London-Spicer 3, Albany 0
St. Cloud Cathedral 3, Foley 0
Yellow Medicine East 3, Morris Area 0
BOLD 3, Paynesville Area 1
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Verndale 0 (Bertha-Hewitt finishes the regular season 21-6-1)
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Milaca 1
Osakis 3, Swanville 0 (Osakis wins the Prairie Conference Championship for the 2nd straight season, 8-0 final league record)
Parkers Prairie 3, Hancock 1
Browerville 3, Upsala 2
Royalton 3, Eagle Valley 2

In area football action...sometimes, not often...but sometimes I am right. Last week I predicted that Maccray would beat Dawson-Boyd in their regular season finale. Tonight, in Dawson, the Blackjacks lost 21-14 to the visiting Wolverines (7-1). Two lost fumbles and two interceptions led to the Blackjacks' loss.

Maccray is a Class AA team, so Dawson-Boyd does pick up Section 5A points. Their record is 6-2 going into playoffs next week. All 7 of Dawson-Boyd's other opponents this season were Class A teams. I will add, some of those 7 Class A teams were GOOD, like Minneota and Adrian. Minneota drubbed Dawson-Boyd 41-14 in Week 3, a game held in Dawson. With their loss tonight, Dawson-Boyd is out of the running for a number-one playoff seed. Also, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg is now in the running for the #2-seed. If they beat Upsala-Swanville Area in Swanville tomorrow night, they will finish 6-2. Dawson-Boyd and K-M-S would be 6-2, with identical Section 5A points as well, since both have 7 Class A opponents, and one Class AA opponents. I do not know what tiebreaker would decide who is #2 and who is #3.

I have contacts who will be in Swanville and in Tracy, where the key games are going to take place. I actually predict that Minneota will defeat Tracy, even though Tracy-Milroy-Balaton is a state-ranked Class AA team, and Minneota is ranked in Class A. As for the U-S-A vs. K-M-S game, I can only hope that the Patriots will tag the Fighting Saints with their third loss of the season.

By 9:00 I will have a good idea of which teams will be winning those two crucial games, unless they go down to the wire.

Minneota, who sits at the top of the Section 5A standings, is 7-0 and will face unbeaten Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Wednesday night in a classic battle for the Little Sioux Conference championship. The winner will be the champion alone, the loser will be runner-up. Win or lose, Minneota owns the #1 playoff seed for Section 5A. Even if they finish 7-1, they would still lead the pack in the section standings.

Read up on Minneota at the following link, at the Marshall Independent newspaper online = http://marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/505137.html?nav=5021 This is a great story that previews the Minneota vs. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton matchup.

One thing that is wild, just wild...if the Jaguars would've won at West Central Area in the season opener, they would be in the running for a #2 playoff seed with their last game of the season on Wednesday night. They would be 4-3 right now, and a 5-3 regular season for the Jaguars would beat out K-M-S and Dawson-Boyd's 6-2 record in the Section 5A standings. The key thing about getting a #1 or #2 playoff seed is that it means you would host the first two rounds of playoffs going into the section championship. While a home playoff game doesn't guarantee a win by any means, it sure helps.

Nevertheless, if the Jaguars can stay focused and dig deep and beat Holdingford on Wednesday night, they would be in the running for a #3 playoff seed. I like our chances of winning the section if that happens. However, K-M-S needs to lose to Upsala-Swanville Area in order for this scenario to play out.

I won't be saying any more about playoffs until after Wednesday night's game. In advance...pardon me when I go nuts if the Jaguars beat Holdingford. It would lock in a #4 and possibly #3 playoff seed, and a first-round home playoff game.
If that indeed happens, I will have a considerable amount of information to post, regarding football playoff history at B-B-E.

As of now, all postings on here between now and mid-November will be playoff-related. We're looking at roughly a month's worth of playoff action ahead of us with the football and volleyball teams. The cross country teams are also gearing up for their playoffs, at the Section 6A meet at NL-S on October 23.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Jaguars Volleyball Ties School Record For Wins in a Regular Season, 25-1 Overall After 3-0 Sweep Over K-M-S, J.V. Football Beats Kimball 26-6

Bennett Weller runs downfield for the Jaguars' first touchdown in their J.V. win over Kimball tonight.

The Jaguars won in three sets over neighboring Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight. They are 25-1 going into the final regular season match, held tomorrow night in a home event against Holdingford. It will be Seniors' Night for the team. The underclassmen on the Jaguars' team have a nice surprise for the 8 seniors on the squad, something I had a little hand in helping out with. It will be a fun night, no doubt.

K-M-S falls to 13-7-2 overall. They are 5-5 in the Camden North, which is arguably the toughest Class A conference in Minnesota. The Fighting Saints were playing without fourth-year varsity player Nicole Pedersen, a 6-foot middle hitter, who was out with illness. It was a huge absence in their lineup, similar to if we played without Lensing for a match.

Holdingford is 13-11-1 overall. They are 4-2 in the Central Minnesota Conference. They raced out to a 4-1 start in the CMC, the best start in volleyball for Holdingford this decade. On October 9th, the Huskers dropped a heartbreaking 5-game match to Pierz, with the fifth game going 15-9 to the Pioneers.

This past Saturday at a tournament in Kimball, the Huskers went 2-1, with results as follows:
Holdingford 25-25, Royalton 16-17
Kimball 25-25, Holdingford 8-20
Holdingford 25-25, Eden Valley-Watkins 21-13

In recent years, the Jaguars have set and re-set the school record for volleyball wins in the regular season. In 1994, the Jaguars finished 22-0 before playoffs, the only undefeated regular season record in B-B-E history. In the playoffs that year, the Jaguars made a spirited run to the Sub-Section 5A-3 championship, in the old two-class volleyball system in Minnesota. They lost to Sauk Centre in a five-game match at St.Ben's University. That was the first time the Jaguars earned playoff hardware in volleyball.

In 2003, they set a new record by going 23-3 before opening up Sub-Section 6AA-17 playoffs. In 2005, they broke that record by going 24-2 before earning the program's first trip to "state". Then in 2006, they went 25-3 in the regular season before being upset by Montevideo in the Section 6AA championship.

The Jaguars J.V. football team won their final game of the season today, in a 26-6 win over visiting Kimball Area. I will be adding a photo album from that game, as well as their game against Pierz two weeks ago, at my online photo gallery.

The address is http://saukherald.mycapture.com Over MEA weekend I'll finally have a chance to catch up on all my photos, as I have yet to upload folders of J.V. football, varsity playoff girls tennis, J.V. girls tennis, 7th/8th grade football, and the varsity football's win at Kimball.

Area volleyball scores:
-Pierz 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 1
(The Pioneers clinced 2nd place in the CMC, at 6-1, with this win over the Lakers. The Jaguars must lose to Holdingford tomorrow night in order for Pierz to tie for a share of the CMC crown. Pierz is 16-13 overall, and they could be a dangerous team in Sub-Section 6AA-North, where Sauk Centre and St.Cloud Cathedral reside.)
-Melrose Area 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0 (Melrose is 12-13 overall, 5-7 in the West Central North Conference, LP-GE is 2-9 in the WCCN and 5-16-4 overall)

In a sidebar comment, how about the Benson Braves football team? They are experiencing an incredible turnaround after going 0-9 in 2007 on the gridiron. Last Friday they defeated defending West Central South Conference champion Montevideo 27-21 to push their record to 5-2. It's unfortunate that they are in Section 5AA, where A-C-GC and Eden Valley-Watkins will chew up the competition and battle for a trip to state in the section championship. One of Benson's assistant coaches is Roger Lindahl, who played for some of Belgrade's toughest Redmen football teams in the late 1970s.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Monday Night - Jaguars Volleyball Hosts Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg

The Jaguars volleyball team will host K-M-S tonight in their final non-conference match of the season. K-M-S sports a 13-6-2 record, including 5-5 in the ultra-tough Camden North Conference that includes state-ranked Minneota and Lakeview, as well as area powers Renville County West and Maccray.

The Jaguars J.V. football team hosts Kimball at 4:30. That's where I'm headed now.

Friday Night Lights Part VII...Jaguars Football Puts a Beating on the Kimball Cubs in a Record-Setting 54-16 Win in CMC Action

The Jaguars football team won their third game of the regular season in a road game against the Kimball Area Cubs. The Jaguars put on a passing clinic, while also earning 102 rushing yards. The 54 points is the most put up by any Jaguars football team since the 1988 edition destroyed Brandon-Evansville 68-12. That season the Jaguars went 7-1 in the regular season, won the Prairie Lakes Conference title, and then went 1-1 in the Section 4B playoffs. That is the only B-B-E football team to win a conference championship.

In Friday's win, the Jaguars earned 379 yards passing. That sets a school record for passing yards in a game. Also, a new record for points scored in one quarter was set, when the Jaguars erupted for 28 points in the 2nd quarter to stake a 40-16 lead at halftime. In the record-setting game in 1988 against Brandon-Evansville, the Jaguars scored 26 points in the 2nd quarter while building a 46-12 halftime lead. In 2002, the Jaguars broke that record by scoring 27 points in the 4th quarter of a 40-24 win over Maple Lake.

Photos from last Thursday's CMC cross country meet have been uploaded to my online gallery at the following link =
http://saukherald.mycapture.com
Now I'll begin work on editing/uploading photos from the Kimball volleyball and football games.

The Jaguars squared their conference record at 3-3. It marks the first time since joining the high-power CMC in 1999 that the Jaguars have recorded three wins in the league. They can put an exclamation mark on that achievement with a win over Holdingford next Wednesday. It is a home game, as well as Parents' Night.

The 54 points put up by the Jaguars breaks the second-best point total in a game for a B-B-E football team. In the regular season finale in 1997, the Jaguars hosted a 1-6 Montevideo Thunderhawks team before entering Section 5AA playoffs. The Jaguars earned their lone shutout of the 1997 season with a 43-0 win.

Since 1997, the Jaguars have scored 40 or more points only once in the regular season, in 2002, when they defeated Maple Lake 40-24 on Parents' Night in the last game of the regular season. They actually scored all 40 points in the second half of that game, including 27 in the 4th quarter alone! The Irish actually led 6-0 at halftime.

In the 2006 playoff opener, the Jaguars shredded visiting Ortonville 53-19. That is now the 3rd-most points in a game by any Jaguars football team.

The best seasons since the inaugural 1988 edition of Jaguars football came in 1993 with a 5-5 finish and 1997 with a 7-4 finish. In '93, the Jaguars went 4-4 in the regular season (3-3 West Central South Conference) and 1-1 in the Section 5C playoffs. In '97, the Jaguars went 5-3 in the regular season (3-3 West Central South Conference) and 2-1 in the Section 5AA playoffs.

Central Minnesota Conference results:
-Eden Valley-Watkins 54, Rockford 6 (EV-W destroys a 2nd straight CMC team)
-Maple Lake 20, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 19 **THIS IS HUGE!...this means if the Jaguars beat Holdingford next Wednesday night, the Jaguars will tie for 3rd place in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 4-3 record)
-Pierz 47, Holdingford 8

Area football scores:
-Albany 12, Foley 6
-Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40, Lac qui Parle Valley 3
-BOLD 27, Morris Area 6
-Benson 27, Montevideo 21
-Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 38, Underwood 6 (CGB is 6-0 for the first time since 1997)
-Minnewaska Area 35, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6
-New London-Spicer 49, St. Cloud Cathedral 6
-Ottertail Central 28, Upsala/Swanville Area 16 (Wow, USA was 6-0 coming into the game)
-Rocori 19, Willmar 17
-Royalton 40, Osakis 8
-Sauk Centre 21, Melrose 14 (A typical classic battle between the West Central North Conference rivals, Melrose will probably miss the Section 6AAA playoffs)
-Paynesville Area 30, Yellow Medicine East 27 (Come-from-behind win for the Bulldogs)
-Royalton 40, Osakis 8

Scores from games involving Section 5A teams:
-Dakota Valley (SD) 40, Lakeview 7
-Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 14, Canby 6 (Canby is 0-7)
-Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 41, Browerville 13 (K-M-S saves their season)
-Renville County West 41, Red Rock Central 20

In volleyball action on Friday night... New London-Spicer was embarrassed by a pretty good Lac qui Parle Valley team in the first round of pool play at the Subway Classic in Marshall, MN, hosted at Southwest State University. The Wildcats fell by scores of 25-15, 25-10 to the Eagles. Lac qui Parle Valley had a record of 15-5 coming into the tournament.

NL-S went on to also lose to Class A top-ranked Windom Area 25-12, 25-15 in pool play on Saturday. They edged Russel-Tyler-Ruthton in the third-place match, sitting with a 20-6 overall record going into the final week of regular season play.

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