extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday Night Lights Part V: Maple Lake Irish 32, Jaguars 18
The Jaguars football team was held scoreless in the fourth quarter as Maple Lake (2-3, 2-2 CMC) won on their Homecoming night 32-18. The game couldn't have started better for the Jaguars, as they led 10-0 heading into the second quarter.
Up next: the Jaguars host undefeated Pierz (5-0, 4-0 CMC) for Homecoming next Friday night, Oct. 7.
Central Minnesota Conference football scores on Sept. 30 in week five: Eden Valley-Watkins 33, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 20 Kimball Area 17, Holdingford 16 ! (Cubs are 4-1 for the first time this century) Pierz 41, Rockford 0
Area football scores on Sept. 30 in week five: Adrian 28, Maccray 20 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 28, Yellow Medicine East 6 Ottertail Central 33, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0 (Ouch) Upsala-Swanville Area 15, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 12 New London-Spicer 34, Melrose Area 6 Montevideo 28, Minnewaska Area 14 New York Mills 20, West Central Area 0 (Ouch, that was NYM's first win) Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 40, Paynesville Area 34 (Crazy) Osakis 34, Wadena-Deer Creek 27 (Hats off to Osakis; they're 5-0) Browerville 40, Royalton 7 Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 33, Ortonville 0
Area football updates - Jaguars trail 21-10 at halftime after blowing an early 10-0 lead
The Jaguars football team put up 10 unanswered points to start the game at Maple Lake tonight, then proceeded to give up 21 to the Irish to trail 21-10 at halftime.
They mounted a furious third quarter comeback, though, and now trail 21-18 late in the third quarter!
GO JAGS!
Halftime scores: Pierz 28, Rockford 0 (yes at halftime) Eden Valley-Watkins 21, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 6 Minnewaska Area 14, Montevideo 14 (yes at halftime!) Albany 14, Sauk Centre 0
Third quarter updates... New London-Spicer 20, Melrose Area 0 Montevideo 21, Minnewaska 14 Pierz 41, Rockford 0 (crazy)
More from last night's terribly exciting win at Maple Lake
<<< Video clips pulled due to technical difficulties >>>
A quick side note...Coach Westrom will be on Smooth Magic 107 on Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. in an interview with Dave McClurg on her Jaguars girls' tennis team.http://www.kmgk1071.com
That's as incredible as I've seen! Jaguars win five-game thriller at Maple Lake! Now 4-0 in the CMC - Girls' tennis wins too
The Jaguars celebrate their incredible win at Maple Lake tonight...Oh boy that was amazing!
The Jaguars celebrate earning match point, taking game five by a 15-13 score at Maple Lake!
What an incredible night for Jaguar fans!!!
It was the most exciting and entertaining regular season volleyball match I've ever witnessed. (I've got the photo above posted on the Sauk Centre Herald's Facebook page too.)
At Maple Lake, two heavyweights slugged it out on the court, with the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team picking up a huge win in Central Minnesota Conference action after taking game five by a 15-13 score.
What was most incredible about the win was that Maple Lake really lit up the Jaguars in game four. The score ended up 25-17 in favor of the Irish to tie the match at two games apiece.
I have to hand it to Coach Kiebel's Maple Lake team after they lost. They played with a ton of heart and hustle against B-B-E. The Irish took it to the Jaguars in game four to even it at 2-2. B-B-E looked tired at that point while the Irish appeared as fresh as if the match had just started. The Jaguars dug deep, though, and found a way to win in game five after taking leads of 9-5 and 14-10 that was too much for the Irish to overcome.
In the deciding game five, Maple Lake took leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2 before the Jaguars went on a 5-0 run to seize control. The five points came on a BBE kill, a ML hit out of bounds, a BBE kill, a ML hit into the net and another BBE kill. The Jaguars dug deep and found a way. The Jaguars went up 14-10 on a kill by sophomore middle Becca Gruber and then watched as Maple Lake scored 3 straight points to make it a cliffhanger. Becca had a huge ace stuff to end the match. It was truly epic.
Maple Lake (14-2, 3-1 CMC) was the #10-ranked team in Class AA coming into the match. The Jaguars (12-3, 4-0 CMC) are ranked #8 in this week's Class A poll.
Up next: the Willmar Cardinal Classic tournament on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Teams included are the host Cardinals, Benson, Central Minnesota Christian, New London-Spicer, Renville County West, Annandale and Buffalo. I noticed a couple Annandale scouts were at the match tonight in Maple Lake; they're 5-10 overall and play at Maple Lake next Monday night. Here's video showing the end of game five!!! Take special note at about the 1:15 mark!!!
Also tonight, the Jaguars girls' tennis team did something truly special too, on a different level, as they clinched the school's first winning regular season record for girls' tennis with a 6-1 win at West Central Area. They are now 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the Prairie Conference heading into next Monday's match at Annandale. The Section 5A playoffs open up next week too.
Central Minnesota Conference volleyball scores on Sept. 29:
Pierz 3, Rockford 0
Kimball Area 3, Holdingford 0
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0
Area volleyball results on Sept. 29: Minnewaska Area 3, Paynesville Area 0 Minneota 3, MACCRAY 1 Wadena-Deer Creek 3, Sauk Centre 0 Browerville 3, West Central Area 1 Upsala 3, Royalton 0 Albany 3, New London-Spicer 2 Benson 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 2
<<< Video clips pulled due to technical difficulties >>>
Tomorrow, Thursday, the Jaguars girls' tennis team goes for win number nine of the regular season with a trip out west to Barrett to face the West Central Area Knights in the final Prairie Conference match of the season.
Only once in the history of the program have the Jaguars won at least nine matches, that happening in 2007 when they finished 10-14 overall.
Two of the Jaguars volleyball team's wins went into extra points against the visiting Silverstreaks tonight.
The Jaguars (11-3) lost game one after trailing 22-18. They won game two 27-25, game three 25-15 and game four 26-24. Whew! That was close.
With the loss, Osakis is now 6-10 overall, and they haven't defeated the Jaguars since 1999.
Now it's on to Maple Lake on Thursday night!
Below, part of the opening minutes of game two last night against Maccray...
Area volleyball results on Sept. 27: Sauk Centre 3, Minnewaska Area 0 Hancock 3, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 0 Swanville 3, West Central Area 0 Benson 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 1 (the Braves take a half-match lead in the West Central South Conference standings) Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Upsala 2 (a pretty big upset in my opinion, as Upsala falls to second in the Prairie Conference standings; it's Upsala's first Prairie Conference loss since Oct. 13, 2009) Mayer Lutheran 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0 Kimball Area 3, Royalton 1
Jaguars volleyball loses in four to powerhouse Maccray team - Girls' tennis defeats Sauk Centre
Coach Westrom gives the news to Mackenzie Winter and Myranda Zarbok that their win at two-doubles gave the Jaguars the team win over Sauk Centre today...the score was 4-0 in favor of B-B-E at that point... The Jaguars celebrate a 25-22 win in game two over Maccray tonight. It was an incredible turnaround after they got smoked in game one 25-12...
A final score in a home tennis match today: B-B-E 5, Sauk Centre 2. It's the Jaguars girls' tennis team's first win over the Mainstreeters since 2000. The Jaguars improve to 7-7 overall, while Sauk Centre falls to 11-7. It's the first win for girls' tennis against Sauk Centre since at least 2000.
Great job Jaguars!
In volleyball action, the Maccray Wolverines brought a powerful hitting attack to town and handled theJaguars volleyball team in game one by a 25-12 score after taking an 8-0 lead out of the gates.
The #9-ranked Jaguars (10-3) recovered from that fiasco and took a 6-0 lead in game two in their way to a 25-22 win. The Wolverines (12-3) then won a closely-contested game three 25-22 and game four 25-21.
Maccray is for real, entering the match ranked #11 in the Sept 19 state rankings. Their only losses of the season are to two of the top-10 ranked teams in Class A, as well as a very good Tracy-Milroy-Balaton team (in five games at Tracy). At this past weekend's Class A Showcase Tournament at Bethel University, Maccray won in straight games over Deer River, Fosston and #4-ranked Nevis. They finished 4th place overall with losses to Southwest Christian and Mayer Lutheran.
It's the first loss on the home court for the Jaguars on the volleyball court since Sept. 28, 2006. That's okay though. Facing a team of Maccray's caliber most certainly will help prepare the Jaguars for a whale of a battle on Thursday night at Maple Lake.
Up next: another home match, coming Tuesday night (tomorrow), when they host sub-section rival Osakis at 7:00.
Prior to tonight's volleyball match...a very big crowd was on hand.
Both Sauk Centre and Maple Lake's head coaches were busy scouting tonight... More to follow shortly.
Jaguars girls' tennis lands three first-place finishes at Prairie Conference Tournament
At three-singles, Jordan Gruendemann took first place for the Jaguars girls' tennis team at Saturday's Prairie Conference tournament in Long Prairie. At one-doubles, the sensational sophomore duo of Daisha Meyer and Mattea Eckstein took first place as well.
Osakis took first place in the team standings, while Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area took second and B-B-E took third.
Up next: the Jaguars girls' tennis team hosts Sauk Centre at 4:15 on Monday at the high school courts. The Mainstreeters are 11-5 not including the results of their Thursday match at Osakis, which I don't have yet.
Jaguars trail at Rockford 6-2 and lose at Rockford 6-2 - Pierz wins at EV-W in OT
The Jaguars football team fell behind 6-0 at Rockford and then late in the second quarter scored on a safety to make it 6-2.
**End of third quarter...the Jaguars trail 6-2. Dammit - the Jaguars lost 6-2. That's a final score.
Central Minnesota Conference football results on Sept. 23: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 22, Holdingford 14 Pierz 27, Eden Valley-Watkins 21 (OT!) Kimball Area 8, Maple Lake 7
Area football updates... At halftime, Pierz led 13-7 at Eden Valley. Then with 4:32 left in the 3rd quarter, the Pioneers were ahead 21-13! **This game is going to overtime, with both teams sitting at 21 points each.
At halftime, Sauk Centre led 14-13 over Minnewaska. The Mainstreeters took a 26-13 lead early in the fourth quarter. **Sauk Centre won 26-13.
Area football results on Sept. 23: Browerville 41, West Central Area 6 (WCA's Homecoming - Ouch!) Willmar 34, Sauk Rapids-Rice 16 Montevideo 56, Albany 49 (Unbelievable!) Holy Family Catholic 17, New London-Spicer 6 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 20, Lac qui Parle Valley 6 Osakis 48, United North Central 8 Barnesville 50, Upsala/Swanville Area 6 Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 29, Bethlehem Academy 6 Ortonville 42, Hancock 32 Paynesville Area 28, Melrose Area 12 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 20, Wadena-Deer Creek 8 Benson 39, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 28 Royalton 21, Ottertail Central 14
Game scores were 25-8, 25-13, 25-15 at Rockford tonight, as the Jaguars volleyball team improved to 3-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference.
They next take on a very tough MACCRAY team in a home match next Monday night. Sub-Section rival Osakis comes to town the following night.
In a tough match against an 11-2 Melrose Area squad tonight, the Jaguars girls' tennis team lost 7-0 to the conference champion Dutchmen. The Jaguars are in action on Saturday in Long Prairie for the Prairie Conference tournament.
Here's the opening minutes of the Jaguars' win at New London-Spicer on Sept. 12...
Central Minnesota Conference volleyball results on Sept. 22: Holdingford 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0 Maple Lake 3, Kimball Area 0 Pierz 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 1
CMC volleyball standings as of Sept. 22: B-B-E (3-0) Maple Lake (3-0) Pierz (3-0) Holdingford (2-1) Kimball Area (1-2) Eden Valley-Watkins (0-3) Rockford (0-3) Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (0-3)
I predict that Pierz will beat Rockford in week four (next week) to improve to 4-0 in the CMC. Meanwhile, the Jaguars travel to Maple Lake next week (Thurs. Sept. 29) in a colossal battle of state-ranked teams who are both 3-0 in the league. That one will be a match to load up the carpools for!
Area volleyball results on Sept. 22: Sauk Centre 3, Albany 0 (the Mainstreeters are 5-0 in the West Central North Conference, while Albany falls to 3-2 in the league; Sauk Centre won 25-20 in game one and then was up 23-11 in game two before winning 25-20 again; game three was a breeze for the Maroon in a 25-12 win) Osakis 3, Royalton 0 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, New London-Spicer 1 Rocori 3, Litchfield 2 Melrose Area 3, Minnewaska Area 0 MACCRAY 3, Renville County West 1 BOLD 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0 Swanville 3, Paynesville Area 2
The non-conference match between the two former Section 5A rivals will begin at 4:30pm today at the B-B-E High School courts. Melrose Area was moved to Section 6A for the playoffs beginning this fall. They have competed in Section 5A with B-B-E since at least 2005.
Melrose Area is 10-2 overall in duals and clinched the West Central North Conference title earlier this week with wins over Sauk Centre and Minnewaska Area. The Dutchmen sit at 5-0 in the WCCN, while Sauk Centre is in second place at 3-2.
Jaguars girls' tennis at WCA is postponed - Maple Lake knocked from unbeaten ranks in volleyball
Due to rain, the WCA vs. B-B-E girls' tennis match will be held on September 29.
Area volleyball results on Sept. 20: Monticello 3, Pierz 2 Willmar 3, Rocori 1 Mayer Lutheran 3, Maple Lake 0 (Maple Lake is 12-1) Upsala 3, Osakis 1 Bemidji 3, Nevis 1 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 3, MACCRAY 2 (Wolverines 1st loss of the year, they drop game five 15-12) Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Browerville 0 Benson 3, Montevideo 2 West Central Area 3, Eagle Valley 1 Albany 3, Paynesville Area 0 Annandale 3, Kimball Area 0 A-C-GC 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0 (A-C-GC is 9-2 overall and 5-0 in the West Central South Conference)
Area girls' tennis results on Sept. 20: Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 7, Yellow Medicine East 0 Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 5, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 2 Sauk Centre 4, New London-Spicer 2 (rain-shortened)
Jaguars sweep K-M-S in non-conference volleyball action
Senior hitter Amy Bast goes up for a kill at K-M-S tonight...Photo by Ted Almen, Kerkhoven Banner. Game scores for the winning Jaguars volleyball team were 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 as Coach Weller went deep on the bench tonight at Kerkhoven in a non-conference sweep over the 2-8 Fighting Saints. Amy Bast and Mariah Rach served six and four aces, respectively, as the Jaguars improved to 9-2 overall.
The Jaguars next travel to Rockford (3-9, 0-2 CMC) on Thursday night for their third Central Minnesota Conference match of the season.
Area girls' tennis results on Sept. 19: LQPV/D-B 5, Benson/K-M-S 2 (LQPV/D-B is 15-0) LP-GE/USA 5, New London-Spicer 2 MACCRAY/RCW 4, Pipestone Area 3
Area volleyball results on Sept. 19: Benson 3, Yellow Medicine East 2 Sauk Centre 3, Paynesville Area 0 Underwood 3, Bertha-Hewitt 0 Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Royalton 0
Friday Night Lights III - Oh boy, that was tough as Jaguars lose 14-11 - Parity rules in the CMC
With 3:14 left in the game...the Jaguars led 11-0. It all went south from that point!
The Lakers (1-2) scored all of their 14 points in the final 3 minutes and 14 seconds of the game. The Jaguars (1-2) had two minutes left in the game to drive downfield for a potential game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown, but they went 4-and-out.
In the first half, sophomore Austin Kollman scored on a one-yard run through an opening big enough to drive a semi through with 4:39 left in the second quarter. With the PAT kick missing, the Jaguars led 8-0 at that point. They had earned a safety in the opening minutes of the game to go up 2-0.
With 3:25 left in the third quarter, Ola Smedshammer booted a 25-yard field goal to put the Jaguars ahead 11-0.
For the game, the Jaguars were outgained on offense by a 202-190 yard margin. I'd say at least 1/3 of HL-W-W's offense was earned in the game's final four minutes. Brian Goodwin continued his outstanding play at quarterback for the Jaguars after turning in a 7-of-12 passing performance for 45 yards against no interceptions and no lost fumbles. Both teams earned only six first downs.
Below, Kollman's touchdown plunge is shown from the second quarter tonight...
Read a little further and you'll see that perhaps, the Jaguars blew a shot at winning the Central Minnesota Conference title with the loss tonight.
**Get a load of this! Final at Eden Valley = Holdingford 6, EV-W 0! One of the Holdingford coaches told me that they made a few changes from last week and came out on fire to hand the Eagles their first shut out loss since losing 6-0 to Pierz on Sept. 8, 2006. Eden Valley-Watkins was ranked #2 in the latest Class AA poll. The Eagles' 35-game winning streak in the CMC ended as well.
Also, Pierz 21, Kimball Area 20!
And...Maple Lake 33, Rockford 7
Area football scores on Sept. 16: New London-Spicer 19, Minnewaska Area 13 Lac qui Parle Valley 40, Sauk Centre 13 (Ouch) Albany 52, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 13 Montevideo 23, Melrose Area 12 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 14, West Central Area 6 (WCA totaled only 109 yards of offense, while KMS rolled up 212 yards rushing) Paynesville Area 50, Yellow Medicine East 36 (the Bulldogs piled up 530 yards of offense, including 434 rushing yards) Hutchinson 30, Dassel-Cokato 7 Marshall 49, Redwood Valley 6 Sartell 8, Brainerd 3 (Uuf Da!) St. Cloud Cathedral 20, Little Falls 13 Rocori 26, Willmar 7 Becker 27, Mora 26 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 28, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 24 Barnesville 61, Wadena-Deer Creek 6 BOLD 29, Benson 16 Browerville 39, Ottertail Central 7 Blooming Prairie 49, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 28 Dawson-Boyd 72, Lakeview 3 Osakis 44, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 19 St. Cloud Cathedral 13, Little Falls 7 MACCRAY 31, Minneota/Lincoln HI 13 (an upset win for the Wolverines) Royalton 38, New York Mills 18 Upsala/Swanville Area 35, United North Central 0
More to come later, with video and photo highlights.
Coming tomorrow night: Friday Night Lights Part III
The Jaguars football team has something to prove on Friday night at the B-B-E High School stadium, as they host the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers in Week Three of the 2011 prep football season. Oddsmakers aren't putting too much stock in B-B-E's chances...but I am.
Last year the Jaguars were held to 60 yards rushing by the hosts in Howard Lake in week three. Then-senior Brady Koehler was able to pass for 16-of-28 for 187 yards but was picked off three times. Worse yet, the Jaguars had two lost fumbles, including one on the game's opening kickoff. HL-W-W scored 28 unanswered points in the first half, and their then-three-year-old football stadium turned into a house of horrors for B-B-E.
The Lakers of 2011 (0-2, 0-1 CMC) are led by returning starting quarterback Jared Gailey. In week one against Norwood-Young America, he went 13-of-24 on passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. In week two against Pierz, he threw 8-of-22 for 90 yards with one touchdown and two picks.
Gailey has three good wide receivers and a co-captain at tight end to pass to. In his backfield, Gailey has four good running backs to get the ball to. HL-W-W is breaking in some new guys on the offensive line. They have both starting tackles from 2010 returning with two new guards.
Defensively, the Lakers bring back both starting defensive ends and three starting linebackers. They have one returning starter in the secondary.
According to HL-W-W head coach George Montgomery, now in his 13th season guiding the Lakers football team, his defense should have plenty of speed.
"The kids know what they're doing," Montgomery stated. "We will have some sophomores playing big roles and will need our older guys to help them out."
HL-W-W brings back 25 letterwinners from last season, including six starters on offense and five starters on defense. They have 53 guys on the 9-12th grade roster; identical to B-B-E's numbers.
See you at the game!
Below, the Jaguars score their first touchdown of the season at Holdingford last Friday...
Action from late in the first half at Holdingford...
Jaguars girls' tennis wins at Parkers Prairie - Volleyball beats HLWW in four
The Jaguars girls' tennis team won 5-2 against the Panthers tonight in a Prairie Conference match. They are now 6-6 overall, while Parkers Prairie falls to 5-8. The Jaguars (2-2 Prairie) travel to Barrett next Tuesday for a conference match against the West Central Area Knights. Next week is Homecoming at WCA.
In a home match tonight, the Jaguars volleyball teamwon 3-1 over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. The Jaguars, who are now 8-2 overall, found some impressive serving in Mariah Rach (9 ace serves) and Becca Gruber (7 ace serves). They won 25-5, 25-15, 21-25, 25-20.
Central Minnesota Conference volleyball results on Sept. 15: Pierz 3, Kimball Area 1 Holdingford 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 2 Maple Lake 3, Rockford 0
Area volleyball results on Sept. 15: Browerville 3, Swanville 1 Upsala 3, Eagle Valley 0 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Royalton 0 Osakis 3, West Central Area 1 Melrose Area 3, Paynesville Area 0 Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 3, Hancock 2 (@ Hancock, a mild upset) Sauk Centre 3, New London-Spicer 0
Jaguars girls' tennis goes toe to toe with state-ranked Osakis in Prairie Conference action
Though the Jaguars girls' tennis team lost 5-2 to Osakis, they played very well according to Coach Westrom. Osakis improved to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in the Prairie Conference with the win. They were ranked #5 in the latest Class A coaches' poll.
B-B-E's number one doubles team of Daisha Meyer and Mattea Eckstein pulled off a huge upset by defeating a team that was 10-0 coming into the match.
Westrom stated, "That Silverstreaks' doubles team had just beaten a very good doubles team from Staples-Motley. It's a huge win for Daisha and Mattea!"
At three singles, Jordan Gruendemann won to improve to 5-0 on the season, a great start for the junior after recovering from an early season ankel injury.
The Jaguars (5-6, 1-1 Prairie Conference) travel to Parkers Prairie (5-7, 2-1 Prairie) on Thursday for another Prairie Conference match. The Panthers defeated New York Mills 6-1 on Tuesday.
Area girls' tennis results on Sept. 13: Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4, West Central Area 3 Melrose Area 5, New London-Spicer 2 LP-GE/USA 6, Minnewaska Area 1 Parkers Prairie 6, New York Mills 1
Area volleyball results on Sept. 13: Sauk Centre 30, 25, 25 - Melrose Area 28, 14, 10 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, West Central Area 0 Albany 3, Minnewaska Area 1 Kimball Area 3, Paynesville Area 0 Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Osakis 2 (Eagles won game five 15-11)) Holdingford 3, Royalton 0 Hancock 3, ECHO Charter 0 Minneota 3, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0 Pierz 3, Zimmerman 0
An excited Jaguars team celebrates match point tonight at NL-S...
On the road at New London-Spicer, the Jaguars volleyball team won 3-0 to improve to 7-2 overall on the season. Game one was competitive most of the way, although NL-S only led twice at 1-0 and 7-6. The Jaguars, meanwhile, went up 15-10 and 17-11 before the lead dissipated to 20-19. After a Coach Weller timeout, the Jaguars earned a huge solo block by Taylor Braegelman and an ace serve by Brittany Winter to regain the momentum. An ace serve by Raeann Sorenson brought game point, 24-20, before both teams earned points with the Jaguars winning 25-22.
Games two and three were won by the Jaguars by identical scores of 25-14. They really stepped up their game in games two and three, as told by the game scores. The improved passing caught the attention of the Upsala girls' basketball coach Paul Pelzer, who was one of the two referees for the match. Pelzer, whose daughter Aimee is a leader of the Cardinals volleyball team, noted that he was very impressed by the depth and balance of the Jaguars and their excellent setting and passing game.
Let's hope they can keep it up as their schedule gets tougher and tougher. Big dates on the horizon are September 26 (home vs. 5-0 MACCRAY), September 29 (at 11-0 Maple Lake), October 3 (home vs. 6-0 Sauk Centre) and October 6 (home vs. 7-1 Pierz). Both Pierz and Maple Lake are the top competitors in the Central Minnesota Conference.
Tough competition also awaits the Jaguars at the Willmar Tournament (Oct. 1) and at the St. Michael-Albertville Tournament (Oct. 7-8).
The Jaguars next take on Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (1-6) in a home match at 7:00 on Thursday night. The Lakers were 0-4 going into their home tournament on Saturday, where they went 1-2 in pool play and did not make the finals round. In the Lakers' CMC opener on Sept. 8, they were defeated by Pierz 25-18, 25-15, 25-13.
Action from the end of game one...
Area volleyball results on Sept. 12: CMCS-Prinsburg 3, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 2 (CMCS won game five 17-15) Maple Lake 3, Holy Family Catholic 1 Albany 3, St. Cloud Cathedral 1 MACCRAY 3, Redwood Valley 1
Kimball Area volleyball tournament results from Sept. 10: Kimball Area 2, Swanville 0 Kimball Area 2, Royalton 0 Holdingford 2, Kimball Area 0 (Kimball Area is 4-1 overall)
Stacy Polzine Mcintyre Memorial tournament at the U of M-Morris on Sept. 10: Sauk Centre 25, 25 - Hancock 20, 14 (championship match)
Pierz won the Ogilvie Tournament with a 5-0 record... Pierz 2, Rush City 1 Pierz 2, Milaca 0 Pierz 2, McGregor 0 Pierz 2, Aitkin 0
A-C-GC is 2nd at Litchfield Invite The Falcons edged Litchfield in a pool play match 25-23, 25-21 before falling to Dassel-Cokato 14-25, 25-23, 14-16 in the championship match.
Southwest Minnesota Volleyball Challenge update...Jaguars begin Saturday's action with a win
The Jaguars volleyball team defeated a very tough West Fargo team in their opening match of today at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge in Marshall.
The Jaguars (5-1) play again at 1:15 against Class AAA Chaska and then finish the tournament with a 3:45 match against an opponent to be determined.
**Update...the Jaguars lost 2-0 to Chaska.
**Exciting news...the Jaguars defeated Class AAA Burnsville 2-0 in the final match of the day. They finished 19th out of the 32 teams in the field and improve to 6-2 overall, a record identical to what they had exactly one year ago.
(Don't look now, though, but Maple Lake is 10-0 and gaining steam...)
Up next: a trip to neighboring rival New London-Spicer on Monday for a non-conference match against the Wildcats, who are 1-2 overall.
Friday Night Lights Part II - Jaguars drub Huskers on 30-year reunion night of Holdingford's state championship team
The Jaguars would not be denied tonight at Holdingford...below, Brian Goodwin (#5) punches in his team's first touchdown of tonight and of their season on a two-yard carry in the first quarter with 5:18 on the clock... Below, the opening kickoff by B-B-E foreign exchange student Ola Smedshammer at Holdingford; it was a touchback, one of many that he booted in the game... It can only be described like the comparison of night and day. A completely different B-B-E Jaguars football team took the field tonight in Holdingford than what came out in the season opener in week one. In just about every respect, the Jaguars punished the Huskers on the gridiron through three and a half quarters while turning a 7-0 halftime lead into a 23-0 score.
Two garbage touchdowns given up by the B-B-E JV team did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the Jaguars' coaches and players following the sound of the final horn. The scoreboard read: B-B-E 23, Holdingford 14. It is only the second time the Jaguars have won at Holdingford since joining the Central Minnesota Conference in 1999. The win is also the first victory earned by the Jaguars in a conference opener since Sept. 8, 2006 when they buried Rockford 27-0 during a 2-0 start to that season.
Below, the Jaguars celebrate the win tonight at Holdingford...
The Jaguars (1-1) host winless Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted next Friday in week three. The Lakers fell 20-6 to sixth-ranked (AA) Pierz at Howard Lake. My two cents: when you host an 0-2 team you put a dagger into their season by making sure they fall to 0-3!
**A quick volleyball update from Marshall...the Jaguars volleyball team went 1-1 in their opening matches at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge. They lost 2-0 to East Ridge, a Class AAA team, before defeating Southwest Star Concept in a 2-0 match. The SSC Quasars went 22-8-1 last season and 1-1 in the Section 3A-South playoffs. The Jaguars' match against SSC started at 8:45 p.m. tonight. In their first match of the day tomorrow, the Jaguars face West Fargo in the 17th-24th place bracket.
Central Minnesota Conference opener results on Sept. 9: Kimball Area 19, Rockford 18 #6-ranked Pierz 20, HL-W-W 6 #2-ranked Eden Valley-Watkins 37, Maple Lake 29 OT!
Area football scores on Sept. 9: Albany 28, Minnewaska Area 21 Paynesville Area 46, Benson 40 Montevideo 48, Sauk Centre 46 (Montevideo led 48-27 before the Streeters made a run) United North Central 20, Royalton 19 BOLD 21, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 12 Brainerd 31, Willmar 7 Dawson-Boyd 25, MACCRAY 7 (this is Dawson-Boyd's year) Barnesville 41, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0 Lac qui Parle Valley 33, Yellow Medicine East 0 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 21, West Central Area 14 St. Cloud Cathedral 18, Milaca 13 Osakis 32, New York Mills 7 Ottertail Central 35, Wadena-Deer Creek 6 Plainview-Elgin-Millville 56, Melrose Area 13
Jaguars girls tennis starts the Prairie Conference season with a 7-0 win
On the road in the upper echelons of "central Minnesota", the Jaguars girls tennis team blanked New York Mills 7-0 to improve to 5-5 overall and move to 1-0 in the Prairie Conference dual meet standings.
The Jaguars go from facing probably the bottom team in the Prairie to facing the top team when they host Osakis on Tuesday (9/13) at 4:30. The Silverstreaks are 9-0 in dual meets this season, after getting past Section 6A rival Staples-Motley 4-3 on Tuesday.
The Jaguars continue Prairie Conference play next Thursday at Parkers Prairie.
Jaguars volleyball is taking it to Holdingford tonight
Taylor Braegelman shown in action on the service line at Holdingford tonight...she earned one ace serve to go with two ace blocks and 10 kills for the night...Photo courtesy of Herman Lensing, Albany Enterprise. After winning a tight game one by a score of 25-22, the Jaguars volleyball team put the hammer down and buried Holdingford 25-11 in game two.
I'm happy to report that they are running on all cylinders.
The Jaguars won game three 25-11 and went home with a sweep while starting the Central Minnesota Conference season 1-0.
Up next for the Jaguars volleyball team: a trip to Marshall on Friday night and Saturday for the Southwest Minnesota Challenge Invitational at Marshall High School and Southwest State University. Last season the Jaguars finished 3-2 at the invite, which has 11 state-ranked teams this year out of a total field of 32.
Other Central Minnesota Conference volleyball opener results on Sept. 8: Pierz 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0 Kimball Area 3, Rockford 1 Maple Lake 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Other area volleyball scores on Sept. 8: Sebeka 3, Bertha-Hewitt 1 Minnewaska Area 3, Paynesville Area 1 Swanville 3, Eagle Valley 1 Upsala 3, Browerville 0 Benson 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1 Albany 3, New London-Spicer 0 Royalton 3, West Central Area 2 Melrose Area 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1 (Melrose is 3-0)
Jaguars set to face Holdingford on Friday night on the gridiron
Below, the break between quarters in the first half during the Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity game last Friday night...
Action from the second quarter...
The Jaguars will have to really step it up compared to their mistake-ridden performance for the season opener. They cannot fall to 0-2!
Holdingford has a younger team this year than they have the past two seasons. They held up well in the early stages of their season opener against St. Cloud Cathedral, but down the stretch they faded while blowing a 14-6 lead.
On Friday the temperature will climb into the 80s, which means it will be warm at kickoff and test the conditioning of both teams.
Previewing the Holdingford Huskers volleyball team
Click here to read Herman Lensing's season preview article on the Holdingford Huskers volleyball team...published in the August 31 issue of the Albany Enterprise.
Holdingford is 1-2 in their pre-conference schedule and host the Jaguars volleyball team on Thursday night. They finished 11-16 overall last season, including a 4-3 mark in the Central Minnesota Conference. They ranked fourth in the final CMC standings.
Jaguars girls' tennis falls in competitive match with New London-Spicer
The final score at New London-Spicer last night in non-conference girls' tennis action was 5-2 in favor of the host Wildcats.
The Jaguars (4-5) travel to New York Mills on Thursday for the Prairie Conference opener. Last year in their inaugural season as members of the Prairie, the Jaguars finished in second place in the regular season standings and also the individual conference tournament.
Area volleyball results on September 6: Sauk Centre 3, Minnewaska Area 0 New London-Spicer 3, Paynesville Area 0 Litchfield 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0 Montevideo 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Holdingford 0 Sebeka 3, Osakis 2 Melrose Area 3, Albany 2 (a mild upset win for the Dutchmen) West Central Area 3, Ashby 0 Battle Lake 3, Brandon/Evansville 1 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 3, Benson 0 Rockford 3, Maranatha Christian 1 Pierz 3, Crosby-Ironton 1 Nevis 3, Menahga 0 Hancock 3, Henning 1 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 3, BOLD 1 CMCS 3, K-M-S 0
Coming tonight...more scenes from the Jaguars football season opener
Sophomore Brian Goodwin calls out a play during the second quarter...he went the night without throwing an interception, a good sign for the first start of his varsity career... Below, the Jaguars are going to work on defense in the second quarter...
