Thursday, March 31, 2011

Jaguars vs. Wolverines - first half action at State

Jaguars lead 32-22 with under four minutes to go in the first half against MACCRAY in the Class A state semifinals.

The Jaguars took a 41-29 lead into the break against Maccray...needless to say, Coach Montriand was well pleased with his team's effort to come back from a 19-8 deficit.


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More state tournament memories from last weekend

Starter introduction prior to the state championship game...


B-B-E Pep Band performing prior to the state championship game...


The National Anthem performed by a student from the BOLD school district prior to the state championship game...


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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Extra clips from the state boys basketball tournament...

Early in the first half vs. Goodhue...




Tuesday, March 29, 2011

You can actually hear the clip this time...



I posted this last Friday, but there was hardly any volume available to hear it.

Best of luck to the B-B-E Speech Team, as they host sub-sections on Friday

The Sub-Section 5A-17 meet is on Friday, April 1, at the B-B-E High School from 2:30pm to 7:00pm.

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View photo galleries containing almost 1,400 photos from the Jaguars' run at the state tournament

The link to the Sauk Centre Herald website photo gallery is: http://saukherald.mycapture.com

Yes, you read that right - we have a total of 1,387 pictures from the three state tournament games! Two photographers came up with that colossal number of digital still shots.

Check back on Wednesday morning to see a handful of additional photos - with some videos too - from the state tournament games.

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Looking ahead ... before looking back - Spring sports are underway at B-B-E

No, this photo is not a recent picture - note the green grass in the background...below, Coach Weller gives some results to players on the team last year at a meet in Melrose.

In a nutshell...

The Jaguars boys and girls track and field teams will be guided by first-year head coach Micki Weller, who has been an assistant coach over the past few seasons. (By the way, she will do an outstanding job with this program)

The girls team will be led by section qualifier Whitney White, the lone senior on the team. They have a pretty deep roster loaded with athletes and should make some noise at meets this spring.

A deep boys team will be led by Ben Borgerding and Grant Bell, both section qualifiers last season. Once again, they should be a fun team to follow and will pile up the points at meets this spring.

The first meet for the track and field team will be on April 12 at Paynesville.

I will analyze other spring teams later this week. Also, as promised a couple days ago, more memories from the Jaguars boys basketball team's run through the state tournament will be posted as well.

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Still mired in the journalism from the state tournament...

...look for more state tournament highlights here a couple days from now. The past three days have been physically and emotionally rough, the highs and lows of the state tournament trip have caught up to me.

It will get better day by day, though, just as Coach Montbriand stated after the game yesterday.

Time for a break.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Clips from the second half and post-game of the state championship

With over five minutes left, the Jaguars trailed 47-46 after Kevin Kuefler made a tough shot in the paint.


The Jaguars' state title hopes are dashed...


The Jaguars accept their runner-up medals after the state championship game.


In his post-game interview with a handful of newspaper reporters, Coach Montbriand noted how difficult the loss was for the players. Most understandable. What impressed me, though, was that not long after he said that, Brady Koehler and Kevin Kuefler appeared from the locker room and gathered enough composure to go through interviews with the St.Cloud Times and West Central Tribune. That speaks volumes about their character and mental toughness. Those two did an outstanding job as captains of the team. They will be very, very hard to replace (along with the other seniors as well.)

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Heartbreaker of epic proportions - Jaguars fall in the state championship game 70-58

Our fans were absolutely fantastic throughout the entire state tournament.

Just before tip off...

The Jaguars finish a sparkling season 32-1, holding the state runner-up trophy following the game.

For the game, the Jaguars launched 80 field goals, but only 27 went through the net.

The Jaguars were not out-rebounded in the game - but they did turn the ball over more times than Springfield did.

Rebound stats: B-B-E 56, Springfield 47. Turnovers: B-B-E 14, Springfield 11.

More to follow later on Saturday. Don't forget! The welcome home is at 6:30pm tonight at the B-B-E High School.

Action from today's game...


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More action from today's state championship game.

The B-B-E Pep Band performing at halftime of the state championship game...

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Halftime of the state championship - Jaguars trail 27-26 - we will pull through!

The Jaguars led 2-0 and 10-5 early but the Tigers responded with a big run that put
them ahead 19-14.

Two buckets in a row on the right block by Connor Goodwin brought the Jaguars back within one point, and they went into the locker room with a 27-26 deficit.
Nothing they can't handle!

Second half is coming at 1:02pm.

Key stats at the half: the Jaguars shot a cold 13-of-37 from the field, while Springfield was 10-of-27. (Translation - if the Jaguars shoot a little better in the second half, they win!

Other stats: the Jaguars committed 10 turnovers, but that's not bad either. Protect the ball a little better in the second half - they win!

The rebounding edge goes to B-B-E at the half by a 28-16 margin.

The Jaguars take the court!

Action from late in the first half, with over 2 minutes to go...




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Welcome home for the boys basketball team is tonight (Sat.) at 6:30pm at the high school

Let's see a packed gymnasium at the B-B-E High School tonight! 6:30pm. Trophies will be on display, along with our beloved Jaguars boys basketball team.

Get on your text messaging and mobile e-mail and spread the word!!

Kevin Kuefler is interviewed by the St.Paul Pioneer Press following the MACCRAY win


...pretty neat for a son of a dairy farm family!

More video from the past two days...

From the Goodhue game...


Starters introduced at Target Center...


From the Springfield win in the semifinals...

KSTP news! a pile of crap!

So I'm working at the hotel room early Saturday morning, and we can only pick up KSTP and KARE-11 news. I was watching KSTP and they got to the sports. (Joe Schmidt was the sports broadcaster in the 8am slot)

They went to the high school state tournament - and they highlighted only the two Class AA semifinals. Not a word on the Class A field.

BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have drawn my ire.

Is today not the most exciting day in B-B-E school history?

First, a few scenes from the MACCRAY game...





Today the unbeaten Jaguars boys basketball team goes for a state championship. Tip off against Springfield is at 12pm noon at Target Center.

What a ride it has been this season! The team continues to impress fans of their own team, as well as any opponents they face.

Yesterday, after falling behind 19-8, and their second-best scorer on the bench with three personal fouls (Brady Koehler), the outlook was grim.

Who expected a 12-0 run rattled off in a matter of a few minutes that put them in the lead at the 7:47 mark? It was the most thrilling show of resiliency that I've ever seen. On a big stage like that, against an opponent that had a good shot at beating them complete with a multi-talented Division I player, the Jaguars did not fold.

Good grief, "did not fold" does not even describe it. They came back with a vengeance and punched MACCRAY in the throat while spurning a 33-10 run after falling behind by nine.

A 33-10 run in a state semifinal game! Crazy. We love it. We hope to see more of it this afternoon.

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Here's the end of the game and the post-game celebration! Jaguars are STATE TITLE bound!



More coming on Saturday morning!

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Jaguars handled one of the top Class A teams with ease in the second half today

Early in the first half, Kevin Kuefler took an elbow to the gut - no call, of course.

Connor Goodwin looking for an outlet pass...

If Connor is closely guarded... he'll just shoot over you!

Check out these two figures: 36-15 in points off turnovers and 52-20 in points in the paint. Such were the stats that stood in favor of the Jaguars boys basketball team today, after they shredded the MACCRAY Wolverines 86-69 in the Class A semifinals at Target Center.

The Jaguars, now an incredible 32-0 on the season, will face Springfield in the Class A state championship game tomorrow (Saturday) at Target Center. Tip off is at 12pm noon.

Can you believe it? After countless B-B-E teams in girls basketball, wrestling, football, boys basketball, and even volleyball, all struggled to get to the state tournament...we now have a team that has at least a 50/50 shot at winning a state title! The Jaguars volleyball team has made four state trips (05, 07, 08, '10) and knocked on the door of the state title match - back in 2008.

This is the first time, though, in B-B-E history, that we've sent a team to state that is as favored as our Jaguars are this year to win a state championship.

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How cool was that? Mike Max raves about the B-B-E Jaguars boys basketball team

Did you listen in on the interview? At 6:20 tonight, Coach Montbriand was interviewed on Sports Tonight with Mike Max on WCCO radio, 830 AM.

Mike Max raved about our team! It sounded like he watched the whole game. Pretty special.

If you missed the interview, don't worry, I recorded it and will be posting some of it on here and probably will try getting some of it in the Sauk Centre Herald as well.

Stay tuned for more tonight!

Bring your "A game" for cheering tomorrow, as we'll need all the support we can get to root our Jaguars on to a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

Enjoy some video from today's action at Target Center...

Prior to the Class A state semifinal game vs. MACCRAY - the Jaguars take the court for the first time, about to begin the pregame drills.


Reserves are introduced at Target Center today...


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Tune in to WCCO radio (830AM) tonight (Friday) at 6:20pm! Coach Montbriand is on the Mike Max show

Pretty awesome news! I just got the tip from Coach Montbriand a little bit ago.

He will be interviewed on Sports Tonight with Mike Max on WCCO. What an honor for our school and B-B-E community!

Check this out from WCCO news last night...

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Jaguars are STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND




The Jaguars won! They are bound for the Class A state tournament championship game! Tip off is at noon on Saturday, at Target Center.

Let's see over two thousand B-B-E fans at Target Center tomorrow!

More will follow later tonight, after 7pm when I get back online.

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Halftime at Target Center: B-B-E 41, MACCRAY 29!

What an INCREDIBLE turnaround for the Jaguars! They closed out the first half after trailing by nine points with a 33-10 run vs. the MACCRAY Wolverines.

The Jaguars shot 17-of-31 from the floor (54%) with Kevin Kuefler leading the way at 20 points, and Connor Goodwin draining 10. The Wolverines shot 47% (10-of-21) from the floor.

Stay tuned!

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


MACCRAY leads 19-12 in the first half in this clip.


More coming later tonight!

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Jaguars storm back from a 19-8 hole vs. MACCRAY in the first half

With about six minutes left, it's 26-22 advantage Jaguars!

Action with about eight minutes left, the MACCRAY Wolverines leading 19-14...

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Jaguars take the court at Target Center!

Jaguars stick it to Goodhue in the first half

The Jaguars go up 19-9 with a little over eight minutes to go until halftime vs. Goodhue.




**In a nutshell...I will expand on this later when I have more time, but late in the game yesterday, some of the most unsportsmanlike, shoddy, shameful displays of behavior were witnessed by the B-B-E coaches, players, and many of the B-B-E fans who were watching closely what was going on.

In one instance, a Goodhue player shoved Kevin Kuefler near the halfcourt line on the far sideline (from the BBE fans and media) - Kevin fell to the floor and banged up his elbow. Thank God, he was okay. That Goodhue player walked past Coach Montbriand and smarted off these words, "How do you like that, coach?"

Unbelievable. Coach Montbriand was, needless to say, stunned.

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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Remember! Radio coverage for the Jaguars at State - can you STAND the excitement? The tension is crazy

If you can't make it to the Class A semifinal game between B-B-E and MACCRAY on Friday, you can listen to all the action on 106.5 FM The Train out of the Norway Lake/Sunburg area.

Also, you can tune in at 107.1 FM out of Glenwood. The Smooth Magic 107 coverage can also be heard via the internet and a good connection by visiting their website and opening up Windows Media Player. http://www.kmgk1071.com

Again, thanks for the coverage - Don, Bill, and D-Mac!

Interesting:
It will be an epic battle tomorrow, as BBE and MACCRAY duel for a state championship berth - both have never met in boys basketball. Both athletic programs were formed at about the same time. ('88 for BBE and 1989 for MACCRAY)

Both schools have a portion of their district inside Kandiyohi County - with Willmar in between. Their high schools are about 43 miles apart.

**My final update on Thursday...I finally have one album uploaded (one more is coming from the Goodhue game) from today's state quarterfinal game. The photo gallery can be found at the Sauk Centre Herald website. Click here: http://saukherald.mycapture.com

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Cheaper by the second - Goodhue loses its class

Late in the second half. Though you really can't see it in this very rough video clip, Goodhue was getting cheap.

Awesome! B-B-E Choir members perform the National Anthem at State

The B-B-E Acoustix, under the direction of BBE Music Instructor Katy Westrom, perform the National Anthem before today's basketball game at The Barn.


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Jaguars will play at Target Center at noon on Friday in the Class A semifinals

The Class A state semifinals are at the Target Center on Friday. NOT at Williams Arena. Information I posted earlier today here was incorrect.

Spread the word! Make sure our Jaguar fans all get to the correct location!

Stay tuned, by 9pm tonight I'll have more photos and videos posted here from today's terribly exciting action!

State tournament update

State tournament update - MACCRAY leads 25-22 at halftime against Maranatha Christian Academy.

An ally-oop play to Seth Hinrichs and his ensuing slam dunk put the Wolverines ahead 23-22 with 13 seconds to go.

The Wolverines scored near the buzzer to give them a three-point cushion.

B-B-E faces the winner of this game tomorrow at noon at Williams Arena.

Stay tuned for more! Time to get back to the office.

A quick shout out to Tom Elliot, sports editor at the St.Cloud Times. He's been most helpful at getting me settled in to the surroundings at Williams Arena.

Thanks for the ink on our team, Tom!

Incredible! Jaguars are Final Four bound after earning a 70-54 state quarterfinal win

The Jaguars are Final Four bound! Shown, a handful of the team smiling as the final buzzer is about to sound.

The Jaguars are now 31-0 heading into the Class A state semifinal game.

Tip off is at 12pm (noon) on Friday at Williams Arena.

The Wildcats (24-8) fell behind as much as 37-25 in the second half before rallying to get within three, down 40-37.

The Jaguars responded with tighter defense on Goodhue's Ashton Erie (their big gun) and pulled away down the stretch.

Key stats in the game: in the first half, the Jaguars lost the turnover battle by a 16-11 margin. In the second half, they committed only nine turnovers. For the game, the Jaguars held a commanding 53-24 advantage on the boards.

We will see you down at STATE tomorrow! The dream continues...

About eight minutes to go, Jaguars up 46-37 in the second half today...


More will be uploaded later on Thursday evening.

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Jaguars lead 53-44 with just under five minutes to go!

Jaguars lead at halftime at STATE!



The Jaguars boys basketball team, in their first state tournament game in school history, holds a 31-22 lead at halftime over Goodhue.

With five minutes gone in the game, the Jaguars had jumped out to a 13-5 lead over the Wildcats.

Goodhue made a couple runs, including a 7-0 spurt late in the half, before the Jaguars picked it up and built their current nine-point lead.

Stay tuned for the second half!



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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

B-B-E sports blog exclusive - Dreams become reality

Dreams become reality
Jaguars stay hungry and stay humble

Earlier last week, B-B-E boys basketball senior Kevin Kuefler, arguably the best male athlete on the hardwood this area had this winter, posted a simple quote on his Facebook Wall.

"Dreams can become reality."

Not surprisingly, within a couple days it had 25 "likes" from his Facebook friends, and all week not only Kuefler, but the entire team, had picked up words of encouragement through social media, in the hallways of B-B-E High, or just passing on the street around the small towns that comprise the 23-year old athletic pairing.

Following his team's historic section championship win on Friday night, Kuefler commented, "Dreams can become reality. It's a long season, but the road to the state tournament starts when you're young. You keep developing your game. We've been waiting a long time for this night. We have to stay hungry and stay humble."

Staying hungry and staying humble is just the formula a coach or parent could ask for as a support system for the only undefeated team remaining (30-0) in Minnesota.

"There's a ton of excitement at school. People are wearing our school colors around. We had to stay focused, though. We've been doing that all year, being focused, and staying patient heading into the games," Kuefler added.

Regarding having an accomplished, veteran head coach Dave Montbriand to oversee their success this year, Kuefler said, "Coach Montbriand has had a lot of good teams that deserved this but fell a little bit short. For us to get through to state for him is really special."

Kuefler noted that he has only been to "The Barn" (Williams Arena) one time before in his life, saying, "I really don't know what to expect. Hopefully we can come out strong, keep this going, and make some noise in the tournament. We're not done yet."

Another senior on the team who played big roles in countless wins, forward Brady Koehler understandably struggled to put into words how he and his teammates felt after they punched down the door to the state tournament, "This is the highlight of my life, I can't find words to describe how I'm feeling. It's unbelievable. We want to keep it going next week at state."

About the keys to the win over Norman County East, Brady added, "We kept them off of the offensive boards and didn't give them easy layups. They had a couple in the first half, but we adjusted and shut them down."

Brady's twin brother Brent Koehler, who ignited the Jaguars' offense in the second half with four three pointers against Norman County East, commented about being 30-0, "We don't let it get to our heads. We go out on the court and play to win every night. We don't think of the record."

Regarding practices and how hard they are pushed when it's not a game night, Brent said, "Our first and second teams in practice are pretty much equal. We challenge one another and push each other to get better.

Asked what the team's formula for success is, Brent added, "We really get after the ball and know how to turn turnovers into fast break points. What is nice too is having so many great defensive players to put on the other guys' best shooters. Our whole bench really picks each other up."

One of those great defensive players on the team, senior Casey Murdock, remarked about the team's crowning achievement thus far in the season, "It feels great to be the first team to get to state. We didn't let the pressure get to us, we just played as a team and stuck together. It was a tough adjustment at first to get on the college floor (at UMM), but we got used to it quickly and it will prepare us for state."

Murdock gave a plug for his team's phenomenal freshmen point guard, Brian Goodwin, saying, "All great players rise to the occasion, and Brian Goodwin is one of those players."

Brian's father, assistant coach Brad Goodwin, summed it up best after the win on Friday, "What is so special about this team, is that somebody might have an off night, but we have too many weapons. Everybody picks everyone else up."

The cohesiveness and mental toughness of the Jaguars will be put to the test this Thursday, when they tip off at 11am with Goodhue in the Class A state quarterfinals. At that point, B-B-E fans will look for a group of truly great players - their Jaguars boys basketball team - to rise to the occasion for a spirited run at the state championship.

Note: See below for more photos and video added on Wednesday this week, the eve of the State Basketball opener. Are you pumped for the game?

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More scenes from Friday night's section championship game

This clip begins with the Jaguars holding an 18-17 lead with eight minutes left in the first half of the section championship game on March 18.

Halftime approaches in the section title game, with the Jaguars holding a nine-point lead.







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Well, this is no good - school is closed today - fan bus information is below

B-B-E schools are closed today due to the weather. No Pep Fest or rousing "send off" for the basketball team. They depart this morning for Minneapolis.

Hopefully I-94 isn't in too bad of shape!

From the West Central Tribune...
Advance tickets for the B-B-E boys state tournament game on Thursday are on sale until noon today in the high school and elementary offices. Tickets are $14 for adults and $9 for students.

BBE plays at 11 a.m. Thursday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

A fan bus will also be offered for Thursday’s game and any others that may follow. The cost of a coach bus is $12 per person or a school bus is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Elementary students must be accompanied by an adult.

Call Shayla at 320-254-8211, ext. 2100 at the high school or Jodi at 320-346-2278, ext. 1218 at the elementary school for tickets or to sign up for a bus.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Switching up gears from boys basketball talk...

This is pretty neat! B-B-E High School will host the upcoming Sub-Section 5A-19 speech meet, scheduled for Friday, April 1. The B-B-E Speech team is one of the best in the area.

Best of luck, in your post-season!

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Starter introductions prior to the Section 6A championship game



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Monday, March 21, 2011

Don't miss this week's Sauk Centre Herald!


Tomorrow's issue of the Sauk Centre Herald includes an eight-page section on the Jaguars boys basketball team. A host of photos, team statistics, and team stories are included.

A huge thanks to the 32 area businesses who sponsored advertisements that paid for the special section's publishing.

Not a subscriber? You're definitely missing out! Click here to visit the Sauk Herald website and learn how to sign up for their newspaper: http://saukherald.com They have E-subscriptions priced the same as the regular print edition.

Neat! Nice artwork there - a sign along the gymnasium at UMM on Friday night


...and check out part of the white out! What a great idea!