Friday Night Lights Part I - Jaguars are blanked on opening night

Shown is Austin Kollman (#42) carrying the ball on a big gain with under two minutes to go in the first quarter tonight. Unfortunately, the drive stalled out near the red zone, one of many great opportunities the Jaguars couldn't convert on...

In their season opener tonight at the B-B-E High School sports complex, the Jaguars football team lost 8-0 to fellow Section 4A member Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity. The Bulldogs scored the game's only touchdown in the second quarter on a 31-yard reception. The Jaguars had their chances, with three drives getting inside the 15 yard line, but were stricken by countless penalties and a distinct lack of a killer instinct that is a requirement on the gridiron.

The Jaguars have rebounded from tough season opening losses to have a good season. In 1993, the Jaguars lost their first three games before rebounding to finish 4-4 and win a playoff game in Section 5C. In 2008, the Jaguars lost a close one at West Central Area 27-21 but fought their way to a 4-3 finish in the Central Minnesota Conference and ultimately a 5-5 final record including a playoff win. All is not lost, even though this is a game they should have won. It's as simple as this: if they clean up the mistakes and stop shooting themselves in the foot, they'll win more than a couple games this fall. It's a blessing for the Jaguars to have ample depth this year; they have 53 guys on the roster, rating as one of the best turnouts in B-B-E history. I can rattle off a long list of area schools who can't say the same: Sauk Centre, K-M-S, Minnewaska Area, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle and Lac qui Parle Valley. In the case of Minnewaska Area, even though their K-12 school has over 1,000 kids, they only have 25 students on the 9-12 varsity roster. OUCH.

In week two, the Jaguars will travel to Holdingford next Friday, Sept. 9, for the Central Minnesota Conference opener. The Huskers also lost a close battle tonight, as they were beaten 21-14 by St. Cloud Cathedral at Husky Stadium at St. Cloud State University. Both teams will be desperate for a win.

Over a hundred photos from tonight's game will be uploaded to the Sauk Centre Herald website...you can find them by clicking here: http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1315013&CategoryID=66250&ListSubAlbums=0. They'll all be up some time on Saturday morning.

The Jaguars come up with a huge goal-line stand coming with about 2 minutes left in the third quarter; the big hit by Zaph Dotson that stopped the Bulldogs takes place 9 seconds into this clip...


Area football scores on Sept. 2:
Albany 26, Benson 9
Barnesville 25, Browerville 15
Eden Valley-Watkins 28, Pipestone Area 6
Jackson County Central 20, A-C-GC 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 13, Minnewaska Area 7
Montevideo 41, Lac qui Parle Valley 12
New London-Spicer 33, Paynesville Area 28
Willmar 14, Alexandria 0
St. Cloud Cathedral 21, Holdingford 14

Scores I missed from last night...
West Central Area 22, Wadena-Deer Creek 21
Osakis 19, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 9

**Other scores from Week One that I missed...
Kimball Area 49, Randolph 20 (Randolph was 1-8 last year and 3-6 the year before playing in the Gopher Valley A conference, which now includes LP/Holy Trinity)
Upsala-Swanville Area 3, New York Mills 0
Mayer Lutheran 16, Maple Lake 9 (Mayer Luth. gets payback after losing twice to the Irish last season, including in the Section 4AA playoffs)

More will follow over the weekend...additional photos will be posted here on Sunday night. Time for a little vacation, before the fall seasons kick into high gear!