Tonight: B-B-E hosts Upsala for 2nd year in a row in the sub-section semis

Below, the final point is earned to win the match against Kimball in the playoff opener on Oct. 28...

(Herald video) Jaguars mount a touchdown drive on their first series at Lester Prairie...plus another clip

(bel0w) Sam Scoblic hauled in a long bomb from Alex Heigl in the closing minutes of the first half. Heigl was getting knocked to the ground by B-B-E's lineman as he made the throw to Scoblic, who was in double coverage. You can't fault the B-B-E secondary; Scoblic just made an incredible catch.

...and a quick side note about the Tuesday night volleyball playoff match at the B-B-E High School...the match against Upsala will be aired on Smooth Magic 107.1 FM out of Glenwood. Visit their website to listen online via their streaming station at http://www.kmgk1071.com

Noteworthy...

Noteworthy: if the talent-laden Minnesota Vikings had one ounce of the character, stamina and mental toughness of our Jaguars football team, they'd be 8-0.

A little looking back:
The 1988 B-B-E Jaguars football team that finished 8-2 had one 26-0 regular season loss at state-ranked Browerville in week two and a playoff second-round 40-8 Section 4B loss at Morris.
The 1993 squad that finished 5-5 had a 35-0 loss at St. Cloud Cathedral plus three other closer regular season losses to go with a 28-20 Section 5C second-round loss at Osakis. The 1997 team finishing 7-4 had two losses by 8 and 9 points to go with a 40-18 loss on Homecoming to state-ranked Morris Area in the regular season and a 14-12 Section 5AA final loss at EV-W. The 2008 team finishing 5-5 lost five games by a combined 165 points, including a 55-6 loss in the Section 5A semifinals at Minneota.

The 2011 Jaguars finished 4-6, with their six losses coming by a combined 31 points; that bests the 1997 team's total margin of losses of 41 points.

B-B-E's first-year quarterback shines this season

A handful of Jaguars watch as their defense makes plays in the first half against the Bulldogs last night...
Sophomore quarterback Brian Goodwin (#5) finished the season with a 107-of-178 passing mark (60.1%) for 1,061 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed 72 times for 184 yards, fourth best on the team.

As a team, the Jaguars rushed for 1,755 yards on 404 carries, good for a solid 4.34-yards-per carry.

**Below, the Jaguars score their first touchdown against LP/HT on Saturday night on a one-yard (one foot actually) option carry by Goodwin with 7:03 left in the first quarter.

(Herald video clip) Jaguars' final drive of the game in the 4th quarter gains momentum

...Breaking it down: With the Jaguars sitting with their backs to the wall after falling behind 22-21 late in the 4th quarter at Lester Prairie, on 2nd and 10 with 2:26 left, Kuefler makes an incredible first-down catch along the right sideline worth 9 yards. Kollman then earned a first down at the Jaguars' 41. Kuefler leaped for a first down catch to get into LPHT territory on the Bulldogs' 39.

The fan support was outstanding at Lester Prairie...

(Herald video clip) LPHT narrows the deficit to 21-14 late in the third quarter

The Bulldogs, after falling behind 21-6 in the third quarter, were driving it down field with relative ease on their next series. They advanced into B-B-E territory and had 2nd-and-10 around the 40. Alex Heigl passed over the middle, when B-B-E's Austin Kollman leaped up and snared the football. On his reach up, he was able to corral the ball and bring it down, but he had so much momentum from running hard to where the ball was thrown that he ended up juggling the ball a couple of times as he came down with it and ultimately dropped it as he fell to the ground.

Sam Scoblic scored on the next play (I think it was the next play) on a sweep to the left and it was 21-14 just like that. Kollman's near-interception that I described above was just one of numerous plays that B-B-E came up just barely short on.

It was that kind of game. The ball just wasn't going to bounce B-B-E's way in that second half.

This one hurts so bad - Jaguars lose 22-21

Coach Gossen fires up his offensive unit during a late-game timeout tonight at Lester Prairie...the Jaguars had 4th down at the LP/HT 18-yard line with 2 yards to go to convert. They converted and got to the 15 with a first down, but things did not go well over the final 65 seconds of the game...

The Jaguars football team lost 22-21 to finish to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the Section 4A playoffs.

The Bulldogs won the game on a 2-point conversion pass to take a 22-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.

What makes it sting is the fact that the Jaguars came out of halftime on fire, drove down field for a touchdown score to go up 21-6...but LP/HT responded with great plays over the final 1 1/2 quarters of the game. The Jaguars definitely had their chances down the stretch, though.

In the other Section 4A semifinal, Kimball Area destroyed #2-seed Le Centre 28-0. The Cubs led 28-0 at halftime.

Kimball Area and LP/HT square off next Friday, Nov. 4 at the Orono football stadium in the championship game.

A few football scores that I know so far:
Sauk Centre 48, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0 !!!!!
Pierz 20, Holdingford 0
Paynesville Area 60, Eden Valley-Watkins 24 (WOW; Bulldogs led 22-18 at halftime)
BOLD 28, Benson 7
Annandale 14, Albany 9

More to follow later.

Jaguars lead 14-6 at halftime in Lester Prairie!

B-B-E's sophomore quarterback Brian Goodwin scored from 1 yard out to cap an 11-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to open the game. The drive included a 4th-down conversion.

The Jaguars hold a 14-6 lead at halftime after going up 14-0. The Jaguars' second touchdown drive included an incredible 19-yard leaping reception by senior wideout
Tyler Tensen on a ball that was bobbled twice in the air.

Sam Scoblic's 48-yard run into the red zone helped set up a 2-yard quarterback sneak by Alex Heigl for LP/HT's touchdown.

A few random first half stats:
Total yardage: 134 yards to 133 for LPHT. The Bulldogs went 11 plays and 74 yards to score their touchdown.
The Jaguars scored from 42 yards out.
33 plays to 29 plays for LPHT.
Jaguars were dominating time of possession in the 1st quarter. The Bulldogs took back the line of scrimmage in the second quarter.
92 yards on 23 carries for B-B-E rushing. Austin Kollman ran 10 plays for 47 yards.
Patrick Rooney had 5 carries for 20 yards with a 2nd quarter touchdown run.
Through the air, Goodwin was 5-of-10 passing with 42 yards with a key pass completion on fourth-and-13 over the middle. He completed two 4th down passes in the first half, including one for 13 yards to James Kuefler in the opening quarter.
LPHT had 118 yards on the ground on 21 carries. Scoblic leads with 51 yards rushing. Alex Heigl, very dangerous on his feet, had 10 rushes for 59 yards.
Heigl was 3-of-8 passing for 15 yards.
No turnovers by either team in the first half.
LPHT had 3 penalties for 30 yards; BBE had 3 penalties for a loss of 20 yards.

Three Central Minnesota Conference teams win football semifinals games!

Rockford, Maple Lake and Pierz all won today.

Maple Lake defeated Mayer Lutheran 20-14 in Section 4AA.

Rockford beat #1-seeded DeLaSalle 16-14 in Section 5AAA.

Pierz defeated Holdingford 20-0 in Section 6AA.

I'm almost to Lester Prairie.

GO JAGS!

Two scheduling notes for Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood plus other information about tonight's game in Lester Prairie and the LP/HT Bulldogs

Coach Moscho will be interviewed on Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood on Saturday morning beginning around 7:15.

You can tune in to the football game coverage between B-B-E and Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity at the Smooth Magic 107 website: http://www.kmgk1071.com

Kickoff is at 7:00 on Saturday night in Lester Prairie. No parking is available in the east end zone at Lester Prairie's high school stadium; the road past that area is still closed. The east end zone will be the site of a potluck picnic before the game. Utensils and water will be provided, and folks are asked to bring a dish to share. Everyone is welcome!

For those who can mapquest it or have GPS, the Lester Prairie High School is located at 131 Hickory Street North. It is a K-12 campus that houses around 400 students. They graduate an average of 31 students a year. Like B-B-E, they have two licensed administrators, an elementary principal and a high school principal/superintendent.

The 9th-ranked LP/HT Bulldogs (7-1) earned the Gopher Valley A Conference tri-championship. The Bulldogs tied the Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms and Le Centre Wildcats for first place in the league with a 5-1 record. LP/HT was not ranked in any of the regular season polls, but in the Oct. 24 poll released on the eve of section playoffs, they earned the #9-ranking in Class A. In week four, Blooming Prairie lost a shootout with Le Centre 40-35 for their only loss of the season. Blooming Prairie defeated LP/HT in week three 49-28. To see LP/HT dismantling Le Centre in week eight by a 33-12 shows a couple of things: (1) Le Centre has really tapered off entering playoffs and (2) LP/HT takes a red-hot level of momentum into the post-season. Also noteworthy: Royalton was ranked #17 in that Oct. 24 state rankings poll.

In LP/HT's win at Le Centre, sophomore quarterback Alex Heigl accounted for five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing) as the Bulldogs featured a dominant passing attack in the first half and a bruising running game in the second in their regular season finale.

Heigl took the reins as the Bulldogs' quarterback last year when their starting quarterback went down a few games into the season with an injury. The team had a disappointing finish after Heigl took over. He said their road to redemption started early.

“During the offseason, we worked so hard,” he was quoted as saying in a newspaper article. “All of us on the field tonight, we worked so hard over the offseason. Camps, weightlifting, sprinting, everything. We just wanted to win.”

As a quarterback, Heigl took extra time out of his summer in order to prepare.

“I went to a lot of football camps. Just really improved my throwing,” he said.

Against Le Centre, Heigl completed 9 of 13 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. All nine of Hiegl’s completions were to fellow sophomore Nick Machemehl. Sam Scoblic led the Bulldogs with 149 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Scoblic is a "sledgehammer of a running back" who combines power with deceptive speed.

Below, the first touchdown is scored by B-B-E in the 2nd quarter at Royalton...


Click at the following link to see a photo gallery with 145 photos from last night's volleyball playoff opener:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1351526&CategoryID=66250&ListSubAlbums=0

B-B-E Jaguars win volleyball playoff opener! Up next - an outstanding Upsala team

A very excited group of Jaguars high-five one another following their three-game win over Kimball tonight...their defense played particularly well in games one and four, when they held the Cubs to 13 and 14 points.
Becca Gruber aims high for an attack against the Cubs early in game four tonight...

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team advanced in the Sub-Section 5A-West playoffs with a 25-13, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14 win over the Kimball Area Cubs tonight in Belgrade. They take on Upsala (29-2) next Tuesday night in Belgrade in a semifinal round match.

In tonight's action against conference rival Kimball, the Jaguars came out on fire in game one's 25-13 win. Coach Weller commented about his team's play, "It started with our defense tonight. In that first game they played outstanding defense. It made for great passing and led to great play by our setters, Mariah and Brittany. I can't say enough about how well they played getting the ball to our hitters and keeping the tempo at a high pace."

The Cubs fought neck-and-neck with the Jaguars in the early stages of game two before pulling in front 19-16 on their way to a close 25-22 win.

In a pivotal game three, the Jaguars pulled out to leads of 8-6, 17-12, 22-17, 22-20 and 24-21 on their way to a 25-21 win.

In game four, the Jaguars held small leads of 5-3, 7-5 and 15-12 before going on an 8-0 run and and taking control down the stretch in a convincing 25-14 win.

Kimball finishes the season 13-14 overall, while the Jaguars improve to 23-7. Every season since 2003, the Jaguars have won 23 or more matches. Their win total in each season since 2003 has been: 25, 23, 28, 28, 27, 31, 27, 28 and in 2011 to be determined!

Upsala defeated Eden Valley-Watkins 25-21, 25-15, 25-23 tonight in the other quarterfinal round match of the Southwest pod in Section 5A.

Sub-Section 5A-West quarterfinal round results + other Section 5A scores:
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Browerville 0 (a mild upset; Browerville was the #2 seed in their pod)
Sebeka 3, Verndale 0
Upsala 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Onamia 3, Pine-River Backus 0
Rush City 3, Ogilvie 1
East Central 3, Barnum 1
Nevis 3, Isle 0

Yes, even a couple Power Rangers had to make an appearance and cheer on the Jaguars to a victory tonight...
That was a colorful crew of characters mixed in with the B-B-E student section tonight!
(Video) The Jaguars earn a win in game three tonight against Kimball...they had outstanding hometown support from the fans, especially the B-B-E student body!

From earlier in game three tonight...

Check out the video while you can! On Saturday afternoon they'll be marked private.

Area volleyball playoff results tonight:
Sauk Centre 3, Minnewaska Area 0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-11)
Albany 3, Pierz 0
Little Falls 3, Holdingford 0
Melrose Area 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1
Benson 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0
Marshall 3, LQPV 0
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 3, Parkers Prairie 1
Underwood 3, Battle Lake 0
Litchfield 3, New London-Spicer 0
St. Cloud Cathedral 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0
Central MN Christian 3, Renville County West 2
MACCRAY 3, Lakeview 0

**By the way, the football game in Lester Prairie will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM in Glenwood. Thanks, D-Mac!

Jaguar volleyball opens playoffs vs. Kimball Area tonight

The first serve drops at 7:00 tonight at the B-B-E High School.

Check back for updates into the evening.

Wosmek's 2nd interception at Royalton on Tuesday night

Coming Friday night: Jaguar volleyball will host...Kimball!

It's a home match on Friday night, when the Jaguars volleyball team looks to defend their top seed while hosting Kimball Area at 7:00. Kimball defeated Osakis in a 3-2 match tonight by game scores of 18-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-18, 8-15 at Osakis in the play-in round of Sub-Section 5A-West. Eden Valley-Watkins swept Swanville 27-25, 25-18, 25-19 in the other play-in match to advance to a meeting with Upsala on Friday.

Below, the Jaguars score their first touchdown at Royalton as the final minute elapsed of the second quarter...

It was a tense game from start to finish. The Jaguars took almost the entire first half before they woke up and started playing good football.

In my opinion, it didn't help that during most of the first half, the B-B-E sideline players and fans along the west side of the field acted as if they were at a funeral!

B-B-E Jaguar football history in playoff openers

This puts into perspective how rare it has been for B-B-E to find success in the playoffs...shown are the number of wins or losses in postseason play. Last night's 26-13 come-from-behind win at Royalton was only the 9th playoff win in 24 seasons of B-B-E football in school history.
1988 (1 win, 1 loss; Jaguars finish 8-2 with the most wins in school history, including a 4-0 mark to win the Prairie Lakes Conference championship)
1989 (no playoff berth)
1990 (no playoff berth)
1991 (no playoff berth and 0-8 finish)
1992 (1 loss)
1993 (1 win, 1 loss)
1994 (no playoff berth)
1995 (no playoff berth and 0-9 finish)
1996 (no playoff berth and 0-9 finish)
1997 (2 wins, 1 loss in Section 5AA final by a 14-12 score at Eden Valley-Watkins; Jaguars finish 7-4 with second-most wins in school history)
1998 (no playoff berth and 0-8 finish)
1999 (no playoff berth and 0-8 finish)
2000 (1 loss)
2001 (1 loss and 0-9 finish)
2002 (1 loss)
2003 (1 win and 1 loss)
2004 (1 loss and 0-9 finish)
2005 (1 loss)
2006 (1 win and 1 loss)
2007 (1 loss)
2008 (1 win, 1 loss)
2009 (1 loss)
2010 (1 win, 1 loss in Section 4A final)
2011 (1 win + more to be determined!)

*Player introduction last night at Jim Langer Field in Royalton...


And yet another video clip...click on the link to see action from the third quarter at Royalton at the Sauk Centre Herald website:
http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=381&NewsVideoID=25

Friday Night Lights Part IX: Jaguars take it to Royalton in second half of a convincing 26-13 win to open playoffs!

What can I say! It was a great night at the office for the B-B-E Jaguars tonight...below, the team gathered at the north end of the field prior to hearing the post-game speech from the coaching staff...
Coach Gossen fires up his offensive unit during a timeout late in the first half at Royalton tonight...the Jaguars scored their first touchdown with 28 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 13-8 at halftime.
Zaph Dotson calmly hauled in an interception at the 50-yard line with one minute left in the game to seal the win for the Jaguars tonight...

What an incredible playoff-opening win! Talk about earning it on the field! For the second year in a row, the B-B-E Jaguars football team has won a playoff opener. Better yet, it's the first time ever at B-B-E that the football team has won a playoff opener two years in a row.

After trailing 13-2 in the first half, the Jaguars came alive and poured it on with a great run over the final three minutes of the second quarter and a dominating performance in the second half. Final score: B-B-E 26, Royalton 13.

**Keys to the win: Brian Goodwin was 11-of-19 passing for 111 yards with no interceptions, while fellow sophomore Austin Kollman carried 20 times for a season and career-high 157 yards on the ground; he also ran in two of the Jaguars' three touchdowns. Ola Smedshammer booted a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 19-13 lead. With 79 seconds left, Kollman ran in a 35-yard touchdown for the final score of the game.

The Jaguars (4-5) travel to top-seeded Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity (7-1) on Saturday night for a 7:00 game at Lester Prairie.

Check out this video clip from the first half...about six seconds into the video, take note of Patrick Rooney's stick at the goal line:
http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=381&NewsVideoID=24

Section 4A quarterfinal round results on Oct. 25:
Le Center 61, Mpls. North 8 (It was 54-0 at halftime)
Kimball Area 39, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 21 (Cubs led 21-15 at halftime; with 5 min. left in the third quarter the Cubs led 33-15; the Falcons made it 33-21 heading into the fourth quarter)...interesting fact: Kimball last won a playoff game in football in 1994. A-C-GC, meanwhile, lost the playoff opener for the first time since 1997.

*Action from late in the fourth quarter tonight...

**Added Wednesday morning...the Jaguars earn a safety against Royalton in the second quarter late in this video clip, after the Royals started an ill-fated drive on their own one-yard line.


Area football scores in 2011 playoff openers:
Sauk Centre 56, Osakis 29 (Mainstreeters kick the crap out of Osakis in the second half after both teams went into halftime tied at 21-21; there's no other way to put it)
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 15, Breckenridge 14 (a pretty big upset; LP-GE trailed 14-0 in the 2nd quarter)
Eden Valley-Watkins 34, Minnewaska Area 33 (OT!!!!!!!!)
BOLD 27, Yellow Medicine East 0
Albany 26, St. Cloud Cathedral 18 (Huskies trailed 12-0 at halftime)
Zimmerman 28, Melrose Area 14
Annandale 21, New London-Spicer 20 (a pretty big upset; Wildcats were the #2 seed)
Foley 21, Litchfield 19
Holdingford 28, Upsala/Swanville Area 0
Pierz 47, Wadena-Deer Creek 7
MACCRAY 46, Canby 27
Paynesville Area 36, Lac qui Parle Valley 27 (Eagles scored in final 11 seconds left after trailing 36-21; they out-scored the Bulldogs 21-8 in the 4th quarter to make the final closer than the game was)
Benson 30, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 14 (a huge win for the Braves; kudos to their coaches in knocking out the Tigers)
Browerville 33, New York Mills 0
Mahnomen 30, West Central Area 14
Minneota/Lincoln HI 39, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 7
Dawson-Boyd 79, Ortonville 14
Maple Lake 40, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 28 (3rd seeded Irish avoid the upset)

Area football playoff game summaries/random information...
**Holdingford kicked USA all over the field in Swanville (USA had one drive get inside the red zone but they fumbled) as the Huskers win 28-0. **On the first drive of the game at Osakis, the Silverstreaks were held to a 4th-and-1 possession at their own 30-yard line by Sauk Centre. Oddly, and I do mean oddly...they tried going for it. Sauk Centre promptly stood them up at the line. Two plays later, Roosevelt Austin is blasting in a 25-yard touchdown and the Mainstreeters hold a 7-0 lead over the #2-seed Silverstreaks. Osakis tied the game at the 6:21 mark in the 1st quarter to make it 7-7. Sauk Centre then went up 15-7 before the end of the 1st quarter. Early into the second quarter (maybe 1 or 2 minutes) Austin scampered for a 62-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 in favor of the underdog Mainstreeters. Osakis would then score on a double reverse play on 4th-and-7 from the Sauk Centre 10-yard line to make it 21-14 with 5 minutes left in the first half. Osakis would tie it at 21-21 (not sure which quarter that was in). Then Sauk Centre went up 28-21 in the third quarter and rolled from there. **At Eden Valley tonight, the 7th-seeded Minnewaska Area Lakers trailed 14-0 in the first quarter before battling back for a 14-14 tie in the second quarter. The Eagles led 21-14 at halftime. Minnewaska Area scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to take a 27-21 lead in the fourth quarter. The Eagles then tied the game in the fourth quarter and forced overtime. In the fifth period, Minnewaska's Blake Johnsrud scored on 1st-and-5 to make it 33-27. On EV-W's possession, Brendan Ashton carried the ball every time during their touchdown drive, which ended with Jared Streit's PAT kick that won the game 34-33.

See more on the Jaguars at http://saukherald.com

B-B-E's goal line stand in the second quarter vs. Kimball

Jaguar volleyball earns top playoff seed for 5th straight year

Plenty of excitement is in the air for the B-B-E volleyball team's quest for another deep playoff run...

To open the Sub-Section 5A-West playoffs, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is the top seed in the southwest pod of Section 5A. All playoff matches prior to the November 3rd sub-section championship will begin at 7 p.m.

The full rankings for 5A-Southwest, just released this morning, are as follows:
1 - B-B-E
2 - Upsala
3 - Eden Valley-Watkins
4 - Osakis
5 - Kimball
6 - Swanville

The Jaguars open up playoffs on Friday night this week at 7 p.m. with a home match against the winner of the #4 Osakis vs. #5 Kimball Area match. Those two teams meet on Thursday at Osakis.

Second-seeded Upsala will most likely host Eden Valley-Watkins on Friday.

The Jaguars and Cardinals appear to be on a collision course to meet in the sub-section semifinals for the second straight year. More information will follow today and throughout this week.

Random notes on Royalton's football team

The Jaguars football team's playoff-opening opponent will be the Royalton Royals. They went 6-2 overall this season, including a 4-1 mark in the Prairie South Conference. Royalton finished in second place in the Prairie South, one game behind champion Browerville.

Royalton rushed for 391 yards against K-M-S during the Saints' Homecoming game in Murdock on Oct. 14. The Royals added 60 yards passing through the air. K-M-S gained 351 yards on the ground and passed for 88. Both teams combined for 40 first downs.

The Royals' Andy Poster, a senior, is their quarterback. He hit Tyler Seiben (senior) for a 25-yard reception on the Royals' first play of the game. Cade Stang (sophomore) ran for 15 yards on the second play of the game, and on the third play of the game, Royalton's Mitch Zimmerman (senior) ran in a 40-yard touchdown.

Zimmerman would run two more touchdowns on carries of 70 and 35 yards as the Royals built a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.

Zimmerman finished with 246 yards on 15 carries in the K-M-S win.

A week earlier on Oct. 7, the Royals hosted West Central Area for Homecoming. At halftime, the visiting Knights held a 6-2 lead. Royalton lost four fumbles in the first half that ended multiple looks deep inside WCA territory.

On Sept. 30, Royalton gave up touchdowns on two of Browerville's first three plays of the game and ultimately lost 40-7. The host Tigers held Zimmerman to 70 yards on 16 carries. Sophomore Tony Gadacz (sophomore) added 65 yards on 15 rushes for the Royals.

On Sept 23, Gadacz carried three touchdown runs in the Royals' 21-14 win over Ottertail Central. This is the lone game of the fall that I would rate as a "quality win" for Royalton.

Last week to end the regular season, Royalton built a 33-0 halftime lead over winless Wadena-Deer Creek, a score that stood going into the fourth quarter. The Royals ended up winning 40-14.

More action from the past few weeks...

The Jaguars had a 10-8 lead at the beginning of this video clip in game five at Maple Lake...

Over the next day I'll be marking almost every Jaguar volleyball and football clip I have private...many already are.
The Jaguars take a 21-6 lead into halftime against Kimball last week...


Here's my photo album with 249 pictures from this past week's win over Kimball on the gridiron:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1347458&CategoryID=66250&ListSubAlbums=0

More volleyball and football action

From the Pierz football win...

The good also comes with the bad in sports...here's the final 18 seconds of the game at Eden Valley, in which the Jaguars came up short in a 21-20 loss...


View the Jaguar volleyball clips while you can this weekend...some time shortly I'll be locking all meaningful B-B-E volleyball video clips private. They'll be locked down through the completion of the playoffs.

Section 4A seedings completed a half hour ago...Jaguars are 5th

Section 4A seedings, including overall record, overall rank out of 65 Class A teams:
1 - Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity (7-1, 15th)
2 - Le Center (6-2, 19th)
3 - Kimball Area (5-3, 20th)
4 - Royalton (6-2, 23rd)
5 - B-B-E (3-5, 24th)
6 - Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (4-4, 32nd)
7 - Minneapolis North (0-8, 58th)

Fun facts: the Jaguars held Kimball to three yards of rushing on 19 carries last night! They also won the turnover battle by a 3-0 margin, getting one interception by James Kuefler and three fumble recoveries. As a team, the Jaguars earned an incredible eight quarterback sacks. Wow, is all I can say.

Up next for the Jaguars football team: a trip to Royalton next Tuesday, October 25, with a 7:00 kickoff in the Section 4A quarterfinals.
The Jaguars punch in a quarterback sneak from one yard out in the first quarter against Kimball to take a 14-6 lead...

Friday Night Lights Part VIII: Jaguars throttle Kimball Area 44-28

This was usually the scene in the Kimball backfield tonight...the Jaguars were good at making the Cubs' ball carriers miserable while holding Kimball quarterback Cameron Hunt to minus 41 yards rushing on nine carries!
The Jaguars were bringing the heat all night long on the Kimball back field...Below, Brady Weller pressures the Cubs quarterback in the fourth quarter.

Though it got a little closer down the stretch than hometown fans wanted, the B-B-E Jaguars football team withstood a high-octane Kimball Area Cubs offense in a convincing 44-28 win to cap the regular season. The Jaguars, who rushed for a season-high 237 yards as a team, led 21-6 around halfway into the second quarter, a score that stood at halftime. Their effort in the first half was remarkable, as they shut down the Cubs while coming back from an early 6-0 deficit. They went up as much as 30-6 before both teams traded punches as the fourth quarter clock ran down.

Most interesting is the fact that Kimball was eyeing a number-one seed in the Section 4A playoffs before B-B-E blew up that idea. They still may get it, even after tonight's loss. After what I've heard so far from other football results, I'm guessing the Jaguars will travel to Le Center or to Royalton for the Section 4A opener. They will be the #5 or #6 seed. I'll know more by the morning.

Based on Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity's big 33-12 win at Le Center, the Bulldogs (7-1 overall) may be slight favorites heading into the Section 4A tournament. They've now won 5 in a row and appear to be peaking at the doorstep of the post-season.

Tonight's win gives the Jaguars a 3-5 overall record. That's the first season with the exception of 2008 when the Jaguars were 4-4 that they have earned more than two regular season wins since 1997. The following includes the years that B-B-E went 2-6 in football since a 7-4 overall record in 1997: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Kimball Area takes a 5-3 record into the Section 4A playoffs, including a 4-3 mark in the Central Minnesota Conference. The Cubs tied Maple Lake for third place in the CMC, with Eden Valley-Watkins clinching second with a 5-2 record. The Jaguars took fifth place alone at 3-4, their highest finish in the CMC since finishing in a three-way tie for third place in 2008 with a 4-3 mark.

**Results of games involving Section 4A teams on Oct. 19:
Royalton 40, Wadena-Deer Creek 14
A-C-GC 43, Minnewaska Area 14
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 33, Le Center 12

Central Minnesota Conference football scores on Oct. 19:
EV-W 42, Rockford 14
B-B-E 44, Kimball Area 28
Pierz 30, Holdingford 16
Maple Lake 41, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 14

Pierz wins the CMC title for the first time since 2006 with a 6-1 record. EV-W had won the last four crowns. What's absolutely crazy is that the Jaguars lost three CMC games by a total of a mere eight points. Had those three games been wins, the Jaguars would have tied Pierz at 6-1 for the CMC title. Good grief, they came that close to earning the school's first football conference championship since the inaugural 1988 season.

The second win of the season on the home field this fall for the Jaguars...

Patrick Rooney scores from one yard out through a huge hole with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter...after Smedshammer's PAT kick the score was 37-14.


Area football scores on Oct 19 to end the regular season:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 34, BOLD 29 (MA/CA scores with 23 seconds left to win at UMM's Big Cat Stadium)
Paynesville Area 48, Lac qui Parle Valley 27
Montevideo 27, Minneota/Lincoln HI 7
Benson 34, Yellow Medicine East 13
Upsala-Swanville Area 25, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 14
New London-Spicer 48, Albany 46 (CRAZY)
Browerville 42, Osakis 21
Ottertail Central 49, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 7
United North Central 27, West Central Area 13
Melrose Area 25, Sauk Centre 14 (Melrose wins second in a row)

More to follow into the night.

More from last night's volleyball win

38-0!

Coach Weller and the Jaguars huddle up one final time following their win tonight over Kimball Area...the team has won five conference titles in a row with perfect 7-0 records each time!
Dating back to October 2006, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team now sports a perfect 38-0 record in the Central Minnesota Conference.

They completed a perfect trip through the CMC in 2011 with a 25-22, 29-27, 25-22 win over Kimball Area tonight for Dig Pink, Seniors' and Parents' Night on the home court.

In game one, the Jaguars trailed 14-8 before storming back for a three-point win. Game two was a barn-burner that lasted through numerous overtime vollies. The Cubs held game point at 27-26 before the Jaguars scored the final three points to win.

Following the match, Coach Weller said about the volleyball program's current winning streak in the CMC, "We've had so many outstanding players over the years at B-B-E. The girls work hard on their game and have a lot of pride in winning the conference. Tonight showed how every team we face gets up to play us. We always get their best shot."

**Don't miss out on this week's Sauk Centre Herald Oct. 20 issue, with a feature article on page B2 about the Jaguars volleyball team. Not a subscriber? Get signed up today! Click on this link to order a print subscription:
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The fans were pumped up following the win...

**Just added Wed. morning...Match point tonight is earned in this clip, showing Brittany Roelike's left-side kill (on the far right of the screen)...

Central Minnesota Conference volleyball results on Oct. 18:
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Rockford 0
Pierz 3, Holdingford 0
Maple Lake 3, HL-W-W 0 (played on Oct. 17)

Area volleyball scores on Oct. 18:
Osakis 3, West Central Area 1
Sauk Centre 3, Paynesville Area 0
New London-Spicer 3, Minnewaska Area 2 (Wildcats win game five 15-12)
BOLD 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0
Melrose Area 3, Foley 1
Yellow Medicine East 3, Benson 2

The B-B-E fan showing was great at Eden Valley on Friday night

More from the heartbreaker on Friday night

...the Jaguars get a crucial fourth down conversion late in the drive...

On the fourth-down carry, the Jaguars were given what I will call an "incredibly bad" spot by the referees. Nevertheless, the chains came down and showed the carry was good by a hair.

Shortly thereafter, something took place that I'll never forget. An Eagles fan literally walked into the endzone from under the goal post and called the referees a bunch of "dumbasses". Fitting considering what town we were in.

The B-B-E Jaguars have met Eden Valley-Watkins on the football field 13 times in conference play since the Jaguars joined the Central Minnesota Conference in 1999. Their record during that series is 0-13. During that span, the Jaguars have never scored first on EV-W, and they've also never led at halftime.

In fact, during most of those 13 meetings, the Jaguars have rarely scored at all. It's been an ugly, ugly series for sure.

Three other years, the Jaguars and Eagles met in football: 1995, 1996 and 1997. In '97, the Jaguars lost 14-12 in another incredibly difficult heartbreaker during the Section 5AA championship game.

Section 4A outlook...depending on the outcome of a few other games on Wednesday night, as well as whether or not the Jaguars defeat Kimball in the regular season finale, the Jaguars will end up seeded either 5th or 6th. I don't see a way they can climb as high as 4th. Their first-round game will either be at Royalton, Lester Prairie or Grove City.

It all starts with a win against current #1-seed Kimball Area. (Yes, Kimball is in the same section as the Jaguars, and they are ranked #1 through week six)

Rooney's touchdown to take the lead at 20-14 vs. Eden Valley-Watkins

The 20-14 lead, made good after a PAT by Ola Smedshammer, only stood for roughly 30 seconds, however...as bad and bitter as the loss was, no one can deny that the Jaguars' last touchdown drive was a thing of beauty. They did a flaw-less job of mixing up the pass and run while chewing up over 6 minutes of the clock. Ultimately, though, EV-W needed only around 20 seconds on the clock to score the game's last touchdown.

**Just added on Sunday morning...From a little earlier in the drive, with the Jaguars attempting to convert a third down play at the EV-W 22-yard line...


**Added late Saturday night...some photos from the Jaguars' final scoring drive at Eden Valley on Friday night...



My photo gallery at the Sauk Centre Herald website including over 80 pictures from the fourth quarter of the game are here:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1342857&CategoryID=66250&ListSubAlbums=0

Friday Night Lights Part VII - It's harsh in so many ways - there's no other way to put it

It was that kind of ending tonight at Eden Valley...
Final at Eden Valley tonight: EV-W 21, B-B-E 20.

The B-B-E Jaguars football team took a 13-0 lead into halftime and also into the fourth quarter at Eden Valley tonight. It was almost unthinkable, considering their last three trips to Eden Valley resulted in 45-0, 54-0 and 54-0 losses since 2005. Last season at B-B-E, the Eagles led 49-0 at halftime.

In tonight's game, a flurry of scoring resulted in the fourth quarter, as the lead changed hands three times. The Jaguars scored on a six-yard run by Patrick Rooney with 47.8 seconds remaining and got a PAT from Ola Smedshammer to go up 20-13 and erase a 14-13 deficit. Rooney ran it in untouched; it was a thing of wonder.

The unthinkable seemed in reach. All the Jaguars needed was one or two plays in the waning minute to earn the win.

The Eagles (5-2) then scored with 18 seconds left and booted a PAT to take a 21-20 lead that stood until the final horn. Cruel man, just plain cruel. The Jaguars have now lost five games by a total point margin of 30 points. In most B-B-E football seasons, they've had 30+ point losses in just one game.

It's harsh in so many ways, I can't even describe it at this point. Would it have been easier to lose 14-10, 20-7 or 27-0? I don't know. All I know is, this loss makes "bitter loss" an understatement. I walked back to the car shaking my head the whole way.

Central Minnesota Conference scores on October 14:
Pierz 27, Maple Lake 6
Kimball Area 35, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 12
Holdingford 28, Rockford 0 (Huskers led 22-0 at halftime)

*(Below) Scenes from the Jaguars' final touchdown drive...in the second clip, the Jaguars converted on a third-and-one from their own 43-yard line with just over six minutes left in the game.



**Games involving Section 4A teams...yes playoffs are just around the corner!
Paynesville Area 30, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 14 (the Bulldogs do the Jaguars a favor)
Royalton 48, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 33
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 49, Medford 17 (LP/HT is 6-1)
Le Center 49, Mankato Loyola 6

Area football scores on October 14:
Melrose Area 29, Minnewaska Area 23 (Dutchmen score with :25 left to win)
Hutchinson 48 Litchfield 18
Benson 26, Lac qui Parle Valley 6 (a great border battle win for the Braves)
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 38, United North Central 6
BOLD 27, Albany 14 (Huskies score first 2 touchdowns of the game at Olivia, but the Warriors pour it on from there and win handily)
MACCRAY 49, Fulda 0
Montevideo 20, New London-Spicer 18
Browerville 26, New York Mills 0
Barnesville 41, Osakis 0
Eagle Valley 28, Verndale 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 28, Yellow Medicine East 25
Willmar 21, St. Cloud Apollo 20
Upsala/Swanville Area 27, Wadena-Deer Creek 12 (W-DC has lost 15 games in a row)
West Central Area 9, Ottertail Central 7 (WCA's first win in the Prairie South Conference)

Coming up: Friday Night Lights Part VII

The Jaguars (2-4) travel to Eden Valley-Watkins (4-2) in a battle of Central Minnesota Conference teams both jockeying for better playoff seeding position as the regular season winds down.

Kickoff is at 7:00 at Eden Valley.

Jaguars volleyball splits first two games at Eden Valley-Watkins, wins game three and is pushed to five games but wins final set 15-6 - They CLINCH!

Coach Kevin Weller (in the middle of the huddle below) has led every Jaguar team he's coached at B-B-E to a conference title...his coaching record in the CMC now stands at 34-0!
The Jaguars volleyball team is looking to clinch a 6-0 Central Minnesota Conference record and a share of the title as well as they head into game four at Eden Valley-Watkins tonight.

The Eagles, who hover just over .500 at 11-10 overall, bring hustle and great tipping to their game and threw the Jaguars off balance as tonight's match developed.

Update at 9:10...the Jaguars won game five 15-6 after jumping out to a 5-0 lead. They have now won a share of the last six Central Minnesota Conference titles!

Fun fact: the Jaguars have won nine conference titles in the CMC on top of two won in the old West Central South Conference (1994, '95).

Now 21-7 overall, they host Kimball Area next Tuesday night in the final match of the season.

Central Minnesota Conference volleyball results on Oct. 13:
Maple Lake 3, Pierz 0
Holdingford 3, Rockford 1
Kimball Area 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 1

CMC standings as of Oct. 13:
B-B-E (6-0) *clinched share of title
Holdingford (4-2)
Maple Lake (4-2)
Pierz (4-2)
Kimball Area (3-3)
Eden Valley-Watkins (2-4)
HL-W-W (1-5)
Rockford (0-6)

Unbeaten Osakis squeezes out 4-3 win over Melrose in Section 6A girls' tennis title match

Osakis (20-0) advances to the state tournament for the first time in school history in girls' tennis. They beat Melrose 4-3, with the 4th point being earned with a 6-3 win in a third-set supertiebreaker.

At the Section 5A individual tournament, no Jaguars advanced past the first day.

More will follow later.

More from the incredible Pierz football game

The pregame tailgate party had a nice location huddled between the high school and the storage shed...


Action from late in the fourth quarter...

Area volleyball results on October 11

Area volleyball results on October 11:
Maple Lake 3, Dassel-Cokato 2
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Osakis 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Parkers Prairie 3, Underwood 2
Upsala 3, Browerville 0
Central Minnesota Christian 3, MACCRAY 1 (a mild upset; CMCS is now 20-5-1)
Albany 3, Paynesville Area 0
Holdingford 3, Swanville 0
West Central Area 3, Royalton 0

Game four action against Sauk Centre...

The Jaguars win game five at Maple Lake...what a match!

The Jaguars volleyball team looks to clinch a share of the Central Minnesota Conference title when they travel to Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday night. They now have won 20 or more matches in every season since 2003. They won 16 matches in both 2000 and 2001 and went 19-9 in 2002, the year of their first-ever section final appearance.

Section 5A girls' tennis update

In the Section 5A semifinals held yesterday at Gold's Gym in Sartell, top-seeded Annandale defeated #5-seed St. Cloud Cathedral 6-1, while #2-seed Providence Academy beat #3-seed Glencoe-Silver Lake 4-3. In the section championship held Monday afternoon, Providence Academy defeated Annandale 6-1 to advance to the state tournament.

In the quarterfinal round last Thursday, Providence Academy defeated the Jaguars girls' tennis team 6-1. The Jaguars finish a very successful season with an overall record of 9-9. It marks the second-best record in school history for the tennis team, which was founded in 1992.

Flag Football photos from halftime of Friday night's big Homecoming win over Pierz...and video

Video with just over two minutes left in the second quarter...

The B-B-E Pep Band performs at halftime...


More photos and other videos will be added on Monday. Tonight I have a very large story to write!

Jaguar volleyball finishes strong at St. Michael-Albertville tournament

I don't have complete results yet, but I am pleased to report that the Jaguars volleyball team placed 15th out of 32 teams at the St. Michael-Albertville tournament on Friday and Saturday this weekend.

The Jaguars beat St. Cloud Tech 2-1 before losing 0-2 to Class AAA Andover on Friday night. On Saturday they lost in the opening match of today to Class AAA powerhouse Waconia 2-1 and then Class AAA Rosemount 2-1 before beating Elk River 2-0 in the match for 15th place.

Nevis defeated Rosemount 2-0 on Saturday before losing 0-2 to Waconia and then defeating Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 2-0 in the 11th-place match.

Maple Lake fell into the 25th-32nd place bracket after losing both matches on Friday night. One of their two losses last night was in two games to Elk River, which is interesting. The Irish won all three matches on Saturday in their bracket, including a 2-1 win in the 25th-place match over Champlin Park.

Up next: a short trip to Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday to face the Eagles in a Central Minnesota Conference match. If the Jaguars (20-7, 5-0 CMC) win that night, they will clinch a share of the Central Minnesota Conference championship. They've won the CMC every year since 2006 and finished runners-up in 2004 and 2005. Other CMC titles were earned in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

In the Mora tournament today, Pierz lost 2-0 to the host Mustangs in the championship match after going 2-0 in pool play and winning the semi-final over Class AAA North Branch.

A photo gallery with over 200 photos from last night's Homecoming tailgate party and football game can be viewed at the Sauk Centre Herald website:

http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1338334&CategoryID=66250&ListSubAlbums=0

More will follow on Sunday night.

Friday Night Lights Part VI: JAGUARS DEFEAT #3-RANKED PIERZ!

BELIEVE IT!

Senior Kyle Rosengren soaked it up tonight following his team's incredible win over state-ranked Pierz tonight......the final score...

Final at Belgrade: B-B-E 31, Pierz 21! It's the first win ever for B-B-E over Pierz since they joined the Central Minnesota Conference in 1999. It's also the first B-B-E football win over a state-ranked team since the 1993 playoff opener, when the #7-seeded Jaguars (4-4) traveled to Bertha-Hewitt (8-0) in the Section 5C quarterfinals and knocked out the Bears 22-21.

The Jaguars haven't beaten a state-ranked team in the regular season since the last game of the 1988 season, a 14-7 win at Swanville-Grey Eagle for the Prairie Lakes Conference championship.

In tonight's win, the Jaguars led 17-14 at halftime after Ola Smedshammer booted a 32-yard field goal as time expired to end the second quarter. His kick sailed high in the air and landed directly over the bar of the goal post. It was crazy. (Video coming soon of his field goal kick.)

Neither team found the end zone in the third quarter.

Pierz came back early in the fourth quarter to take a brief 21-17 lead, but the Jaguars poured it on as the game wore on and Pierz was sent home with a shocking, numbing loss. Sophomore quarterback Brian Goodwin dashed the Pioneers' hopes with a 39-yard touchdown run in the waning minutes of the game. An interception with about 2 minutes left in the final quarter by sophomore James Kuefler sealed the deal.

The Pioneers fall to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference. The Jaguars are in a three-way tie for fifth place at 2-3 with Rockford and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. See below the video clips for tonight's other scores in the CMC...

**Just added Saturday morning...Ola Smedshammer's 32-yard field goal to end the first half. Incredible!!


The Jaguars huddle up before exiting the stadium with the huge win. The crowd just ate it up...


Central Minnesota Conference football results in week 6 (Oct. 7):
Eden Valley-Watkins 20, Kimball Area 14
Rockford 15, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 14
Maple Lake 18, Holdingford 6

Central Minnesota Conference standings through week six:
Pierz (4-1)
Eden Valley-Watkins + Kimball Area + Maple Lake (all 3-2)
B-B-E (2-3)
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (2-3)
Rockford (2-3)
Holdingford (1-4)

Area football scores on October 7:
Barnesville 63, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
Benson 30, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 22 (a mild upset)
Albany 33, Melrose Area 0 (Huskies win big on Homecoming night)
BOLD 35, Paynesville Area 22
Royalton 22, West Central Area 6
Browerville 34, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 13
Osakis 19, Upsala-Swanville Area 16 (it was Homecoming in Swanville tonight)
New London-Spicer 54, Sauk Centre 6 (Ouch!)

More will follow in the morning.