Playoffs come to an end for the Jaguar girls' basketball team, Boys' basketball team is conference champions!

Taylor Braegelman playing tight defense on Brandon/Evansville's Megan Friedrich.

Final against Brandon/Evansville: Chargers 49, B-B-E 44. The Jaguars finish the season 9-19 overall, a two-win improvement over last year. They graduate three starters (the three seniors on the team) but bring back a large majority of this year's regular players. Brittany Roelike, Mariah Rach and Taylor Braegelman will be missed - they gave their heart and soul to the program.

*Update on Friday morning: the Chargers shot 46 percent from the floor (15/32) while the Jaguars managed 38 percent shooting (18/47). The key difference in the game was Brandon/Evansville's seven made three-pointers.

Here's action from early in the first half:

Sub-Section 6A-South girls' basketball scores on Feb. 28:
Underwood 56, Battle Lake 44
Parkers Prairie 72, West Central Area 38
Hancock 65, Henning 64! (Hancock, #5 seed, wins at Henning, the #4 seed)

At the boys' basketball game, the Jaguars had a 25-16 lead with 3:08 left before halftime. See more information below. More to follow after 9:00pm!

Boys' basketball final score: B-B-E 70, HL-L-W 50. The Jaguars had a 51-35 lead with 8:27 to go. Saddled with 2 early fouls,  Brian Goodwin led the Jaguars with 28 points, and Billy Borgerding also added a great deal of offense with 21 points. They improve to 23-1 overall with the win while also clinching a share of their fifth straight Central Minnesota Conference title! They won it outright with a 13-0 mark, as a loss tomorrow night still gives them sole possession of first place. HL-W-W is 11-2 in the conference. Tomorrow night conference rival Kimball Area comes to town for the last game of the regular season.

While I've got your attention here...check out the following business article at the Sauk Centre Herald website:
http://www.saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=363&ArticleID=14942

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on Feb. 28:
Litchfield 56, Minnewaska Area 24
Sauk Centre 71, Melrose Area 47 
Albany Area 74, Pierz 45
Osakis 65, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 41
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 55, Paynesville Area 54
Eden Valley-Watkins 63, Benson 28
Staples-Motley 83, Holdingford 50
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 58, Maple Lake 46
St. Cloud Cathedral 47, Rockford Area 29
Foley 39, Kimball Area 29


Area boys' basketball scores on February 28:
Upsala 70, Royalton 41
Hancock 65, Paynesville Area 63 OT
Henning 60, Eagle Valley 52  (Henning, the #2 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South, is 21-4)
Holdingford 47, St. John's Prep 44
Melrose Area 103, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 68 (the West Central Conference playoff game between the North and South division winners)

Defensive struggle in Brandon

The pre-game huddle before tip off tonight.

At halftime in the sub-section quarterfinal round, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team trails 19-17. They had a 12-7 lead with 7 minutes left but needed another 4 minutes, 20 seconds to score another field goal. A jump shot by Mariah Rach from 12 feet out made it an 18-15 deficit with 2:20 remaining.

A potential game-tying shot by Taylor Braegelman rolled off the rim at the buzzer.

**Update from the boys' basketball game: at halftime, the Jaguars are up 27-20 over the Lakers. 

Girls' basketball playoff game will be on the radio

If you can't make the trip to Brandon tonight, be sure to listen to the game on 106.5 FM the Train.

Check back here for updates on the boys' game as well.

Send-off for State wrestlers is this morning

They'll walk through the halls at the B-B-E High School at 9:00am today. Following that they will board their bus and head to the Twin Cities.

At the elementary, they'll go through the hallways at 8:15am.

If it works for your schedule, come out and give them a proper send-off!

Here's a couple photos from the elementary this morning:

B-B-E's state-bound wrestlers: Josey, Patrick and Tyler

Good luck, Jaguars!

*Added Thursday afternoon: here's the photo album from the Pierz basketball game last Friday (a 67-35 win in Central Minnesota Conference action):

http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1618227&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=1

And here's the URL for the B-B-E basketball playoff photo album at the Sauk Centre Herald website. (You'll want to bookmark this one!)

http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/category.asp?eventID=1618174&CategoryID=69413

Good luck tonight to the girls' and boys' basketball teams!!! GO JAGUARS!

Photo album from the girls' basketball playoff opener

Click to view:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1617533&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Here's the correct link...and unfortunately, I botched the order when I uploaded the photos so they are not in chronological order...
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1618221&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Here's the end of the game:


I've created a playoffs-only album at the Sauk Centre Herald website that will include albums from every postseason B-B-E basketball game (boys and girls teams)...you will want to bookmark this URL! I can't promise getting the photos up right away but within a couple days after each playoff game, a new sub-album will be added:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/category.asp?eventID=1618174&CategoryID=69413

Boys' basketball seeding is complete!

The 2013 Sub-Section 6A-South boys' basketball seeding is:
1 - B-B-E 
2 - Henning
3 - Battle Lake
4 - the winner of Friday night's Wheaton/Herman-Norcross vs. Ashby game
5 - the loser of Friday night's Wheaton/Herman-Norcross vs. Ashby game
6 - West Central Area
7 - Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley
8 - Underwood
9 - Brandon/Evansville
10 - Parkers Prairie
11 - Hancock

Upon completion of the regular season, which still has a great deal riding on these last two games this week, the Jaguars boys' basketball team will prepare for a playoff opener against either Underwood or Brandon/Evansville. Those two teams meet in the play-in round of sub-section play on Monday, March 4 at Underwood.

The Jaguars host the playoff opener on Thursday, March 7 with a 7:00pm tip off. The sub-section semifinal will be in the early evening hours of Saturday, March 9 at Jim Gremmels Court on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Morris. The sub-section championship is Tuesday, March 12 at UMM. The Section 6A championship game is on Friday, March 15 at UMM.

Defending Sub-Section 6A-North champion Ada-Borup is the top seed in the north division of the section, followed by Ulen-Hitterdal at number two and Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at number three.

While playoffs are on the horizon, the two games coming up this week are huge! The Jaguars most certainly want to keep their winning streak alive in the Central Minnesota Conference. They host second-place Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted on Thursday and Kimball Area on Friday.

Jaguars light up the scoreboard at Holdingford

With one minute left, B-B-E 70, Holdingford 50.

**Final: B-B-E 73, Holdingford 51. The Jaguars improve to 22-1 overall and 12-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Brian Goodwin led the Jaguars with 30 points, while Billy Borgerding added 17 to power the Jaguars' attack.

Up next: a true battle for the championship in the Central Minnesota Conference, this Thursday night, when the Jaguars host Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. The Lakers are only a half game out of first place at 12-1 in the CMC.They beat Kimball Area 71-43 tonight to improve to 18-6 overall.

Area boys' basketball scores on February 26:

Browerville 59, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 47
West Central Area 60, St. John's Prep 35 (WCA will be a tough 'out' in the sub-section)
Battle Lake 71, Bertha-Hewitt 37
New London-Spicer 69, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 59 OT! (a huge sub-section win for NL-S in Morris)

More will follow after 10:30pm.

Good luck, Jaguars!

The Jaguars boys' basketball team plays at Holdingford (6-16, 3-10 Central Minnesota Conference) tonight. Updates will follow after 8:00pm.

**Update: B-B-E 29, Holdingford 21 with 4 minutes left before halftime. At the half, the Jaguars are up 34 to 25. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Jaguars are up 50 to 34.


At Ashby, the Sauk Centre boys' basketball team leads 40-29 with a minute left in the first half. (That score stood at halftime.) Both teams are 18-5 coming into the game. *With 14:44 left, Sauk Centre has a 51-33 lead in the second half. With 7:00 left, Sauk Centre is up 76-40 with the mercy rule in effect.

Further updates to come after 9:00.

 

GREAT news: Diesel, the lost mastiff dog, is back home

Early tonight it was reported that the lost dog is back home with his owners. GREAT news!

*Urgent: lost male mastiff last seen between Brooten and Belgrade

Lost male mastiff. Last seen between Belgrade and Brooten on Hwy 55. No collar, 200 plus lbs. If anyone sees him or knows where he is please call or text 320-290-7292 or 320-248-8622. Reward offered.

More from last night's playoff win

The Jaguars defense at work in the first half against W/H-N.

...and working hard on defense in the second half when they gave up only 8 points!

**Volunteers needed!

The 24th annual B-B-E Prom is April 27th with Post Prom starting that night/morning at the Elementary school in Brooten at Midnight. We need many hands to make this event to be successful. We arrive around 11:30 P.M. so we are there before the kids and are usually out by 5:30 A.M. the next morning. If you don’t think you can last all night, split the shift with someone else or bring a friend to keep you company. This can be people that do not belong to BBE as well, although they must be adults. Enjoy watching the hypnotist which starts at 3:15 A.M.

Please clear your calendars and get the night off to come and help chaperone at Post Prom. Please call Teresa Winter 320-254-8861 or email at dtwinter@wisper-wireless.com and let her know you will be there to volunteer.

Thanks in advance to make this night possible for all of our kids to enjoy!!

Halftime in the playoff opener: Jaguars up by double digits! and they win!

Katelyn Heinze and Mackenzie Winter (34) denied a clear shot at the basket and forced the W/H-N player to pass out.

Lots of excitement in the post-game huddle tonight. Bring on Brandon/Evansville!

At halftime, the Jaguars girls' basketball team has a 33-22 lead over 11th-seeded Wheaton/Herman-Norcross. The Warriors have kept themselves in the game thanks to four three-pointers.

Three radio stations are on hand: KKOK of Morris, the Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg and Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood.

*Final: B-B-E 72, W/H-N 30. A very nice win for the Jaguars! Becca Gruber led the team with 20 points, but 10 players scored overall in a very balanced attack. The Warriors (3-17) were held to only 8 points after halftime. In the first half W/H-N shot 4-for-10 from the three-point line but made only one of 10 three-point shots in the second half.

With 9:15 left, a steal and layup by W/H-N's freshmen Jordan Stafford made it 50-30, but the Warriors did not score the rest of the way. A shot in the paint by Becca Gruber with 6:15 left made it 60-30, and the rest is history.

The second half brought plenty to smile about for the Jaguars; (shown) Taylor Braegelman goes to the bench for good with about 4 minutes left and her team leading 66-30.

Now 8-18 overall, the Jaguars travel to Brandon/Evansville (Brandon) on Thursday night. The Chargers head coach, Hall of Fame member Dick Simpson, was in attendance tonight. His team is 14-9 overall and winners of 5 of their last 6 contests; they beat the Jaguars 47-36 on their court on February 4. *Another note: the playoff game on Thursday night will be aired on the Train, 106.5 FM, with Bill Dean and Don Leukam providing play-by-play coverage.

Another fun fact: the Jaguars girls' basketball team is 3-1 this season with D-Mac (Smooth Magic 107 radio broadcaster) calling the game.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Sub-Section 6A-South girls' basketball scores on February 25:
Battle Lake 43, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 33
West Central Area 47, Ashby 37

Area girls' basketball scores on February 25:
Parkers Prairie 59, Upsala 56 (at Upsala)
Kimball Area 62, St. John's Prep 44

More to follow later.

Hope to see a large crowd tonight

Can't make it to the big playoff game? You can tune in with Smooth Magic 107 FM or the Train 106.5 FM to hear play-by-play coverage.

Tip-off is at 7:00pm at the B-B-E high school.

First-half action against Pierz from Friday night's big win

K-3 Jaguar wrestlers win NL-S tournament!

More details to follow. GREAT job!!

The K-3 Jaguar wrestlers with their championship trophy. A proud group of hard-working B-B-E student-athletes who have a very bright future on the mats!

 At an 8-team tournament at New London-Spicer today, the B-B-E Jaguars K-3 wrestlers defeated Class AAA Waseca 34-22 in the championship match after picking up two wins earlier in the day.

Raising the TEAM trophy! Nice work!

Against Annandale/Maple Lake (Class AA) in the opening match, the K-3 Jaguars won 60-0. In the second match against neighboring rival K-M-S, the K-3 Jaguars won 39-14.

Against Waseca, the K-3 Jaguars built a 28-22 lead going into heavyweight. In the final match, Bryce Feuerhake won by pin to put a thrilling ending on the exciting afternoon.

The Jaguar wrestlers have so much to be proud of

Coach Borgerding visits with Colby Schramel shortly after he lost a 10-5 decision in the wrestlebacks on Saturday in the Section 5A individual tournament at Long Prairie. Schramel made it to the 5th-place match, however, where he won an exciting 6-5 decision over Jared Kunstleben of Paynesville.

Coach Borgerding and Coach Marks earned Assistant Coaches of the Year honors at the Section 5A meet on Saturday at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school. Great job! *Information on the state wrestling tournament will be posted later today. The individual pairings have been released by the MSHSL. A state tournament preview story highlighting the B-B-E athletes will be posted some time on Sunday afternoon at the B-B-E sports section of the Sauk Centre Herald website.
http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=402&TM=54116.46

**Update: here is the link to that article:
http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=402&ArticleID=14921

And good luck to the K-3 Jaguar elementary wrestlers at NL-S today!

Notes on Pierz: the Pioneers landed 12 wrestlers in the Section 7A semifinals at Crosby-Ironton high school this weekend. Holdingford, who was runner-up as a team in Section 7A behind Pierz, will send 7 wrestlers to state.

Josey Tensen makes it to 'State'! As does Patrick Rooney! and Tyler Tensen!

Josey Tensen (left) earned a state wrestling trip...while members of the B-B-E coaching staff earned Section honors today at LP-GE high school.

 
Sophomore Josey Tensen became the youngest member of the Jaguars wrestling team to make it to the Class A state tournament since Travis Rath made it as an 8th and 9th grader in 2005 and 2006.

Tensen finished second at 106 pounds today in the Section 5A individual tournament. He lost 6-2 to Brendon Coyer of Osakis in the championship match and does not have to get through a True Second match.

At 182 pounds, Patrick Rooney defeated Travis Wills 7-1 to win a Section 5A championship.

At 126 pounds against state-ranked Quinten Berres, Tyler Tensen lost 12-3 in the championship match. Tyler faces Whitcomb of A-C-GC in the True Second match later this evening. **UPDATE: Tyler Tensen is heading to the state tournament for the second year in a row after he pinned Whitcomb in the True Second match at 126 pounds. Great job!!!

Patrick Rooney and Tyler Tensen are both advancing to the state tournament for the second year in a row; Josey Tensen made it for the first time in his career.

Austin Jaeger took third place with no True Second at 138 pounds.

Colby Schramel at 120 pounds earned 5th place; Matt Schmitz finished taking 3rd place at 160 pounds; Jordan Lewis took 5th at 145 pounds and at Heavyweight, Ben Feuerhake took 6th place.

What a day for the Jaguars!

Here's Marshall Zachman battling in the wrestlebacks earlier this afternoon:

To top it off, coaches Chuck Marks and Danny Borgerding were named Section 5A Assistant Coaches of the Year. The late head coach Rich Vos (R.I.P.) was awarded the Section 5A Coach of the Year award posthumously, while Coach B.J. Friedrichs was also named Section 5A Coach of the Year.

Further information will be posted later tonight. Stay tuned!

Saturday action

The LPGE high school will be rocking this afternoon as the site of the Section 5A wrestling tournament.

At a youth girl's basketball tournament in Morris today, the B-B-E Jaguars beat Wheaton-Herman/Norcross 23 to 20 in their opener.

Section 5A wrestling updates will follow shortly.

Colby Schramel battles a LP-GE wrestler at 120 pounds this afternoon.

Patrick Rooney will go up against state-ranked Travis Wills of Kimball Area in the 182-pound championship later this afternoon. Tyler Tensen faces Quinten Berres of Kimball Area in the 126-pound title match.

At 220 pounds, Marshall Zachman lost out of contention against a wrestler from HL-W-W. At 120 pounds, Colby Schramel lost out in a 10-5 loss to an LP-GE wrestler.

**Awesome news...the 6th grade girls' basketball team emerged as champions at Morris today. They beat the host Tigers team 28 to 26 in the title game. WAY TO GO!!

THIS is great! Coach Rich Vos and Coach BJ Friedrichs were named Section 5A Coaches of the Year. Vos was awarded the honor posthumously.

Section 5A individual wrestling!!

All afternoon today, wrestlers involved in the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament will do battle on the mats at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school while attempting to earn berths in next week's Class A state wrestling tournament.

For the Jaguars wrestling team, Colby Schramel, Jordan Lewis, Alex Schramel, Matt Schmitz and Ben Thompson will compete in the wrestle back round beginning at 12 noon today. The LP-GE high school will have three mats going starting at that time.

'Harlem Shake!' brought to you by the B-B-E Class of 2017

"Harlem Shake" video clips have been overrunning Youtube in the last few weeks...a group of industrious, creative B-B-E 8th graders got in on the action and created this video clip:


Bravo for the creativity!

Speaking of anything musical...the Pep Band sounded fantastic tonight at the boys' basketball game...great job!

I don't have an official count of the Pep Band tonight, but it had to be one of the larger Pep Bands at B-B-E in many, many years.

Jaguars take apart Pierz in boys' basketball action!

The Jaguars ran the Pioneers right off of the floor tonight.

Final score in the home boys' basketball game tonight: B-B-E 67, Pierz 35. Way to go! The Jaguars led 46-16 at halftime. By the time there was 8:30 left on the clock in the first half, the Jaguars had doubled up Pierz with a 24-12 lead. With 3 minutes before halftime, the Jaguars led 35-16.

I got caught "looking" at what ended up being one of the most beautiful slam dunks you could imagine...some time around 2 minutes left in the first half, James Kuefler took the ball nearly the length of the court, leaped up at the basket and dunked the ball. It was what I labeled a "soft" dunk that didn't rip the back board apart but simply got the job done and got the ball through the rim.

The route was on!

Hopefully the next time he does that...the videocamera will be rolling!

Pierz drops to 13-11 overall and 8-5 in the Central Minnesota Conference with the loss.

At Long Prairie, three Jaguar wrestlers made it to the championship match in the Section 5A individual tournament: Tyler Tensen, Josey Tensen and Patrick Rooney. Many others are still in contention in the wrestle back brackets.

Here's the beginning of the pregame drills!


Tomorrow will be an exciting day for sure!

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on Feb. 22:
Eden Valley-Watkins 54, Holdingford 48
Kimball Area 60, Rockford 43 (Cubs are toughening up as the season's end nears!)
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 77, Maple Lake 63

Area girls' basketball scores on February 22:
West Central Area 60, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 42
Eden Valley-Watkins 45, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 43 OT! (Whew! EV-W wins the CMC title outright for the first time since 2008-09; they shared the title with Pierz in 2010-11; HL-W-W is the CMC runner-up)

Area boys' basketball scores on February 22:
Browerville 82, Osakis 42
Upsala 112, West Central Area 76 (Cardinals, now 22-0, shoot 67% from the field including 17/30 on the arc - Whew! They led 57-40 at halftime)
LP-GE 50, Royalton 32
Melrose Area 98, LQPV 39
Sauk Centre 82, BOLD 46
A-C-GC 83, Benson 63
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 48, Montevideo 46
Paynesville Area 80, Yellow Medicine East 64
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 72, Dawson-Boyd 67 (@ Dawson...R-T-R shows they are the team to beat in Sub-Section 3A-North)
Ashby 67, Underwood 53
Battle Lake 66, Brandon/Evansville 16 (Battlers led 45-12 at halftime...one of their transfers from Wadena-Deer Creek scored 8 points, senior Evan VanErp...Battlers go 10-2 in the Little Eight Conference and win the championship outright for the third straight year)
Park Rapids 64, Ulen-Hitterdal 60 (@ Ulen)
Breckenridge 68, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 60

8 are great!

Eight Jaguar wrestlers won their first-round matches at the Section 5A individual tournament tonight in Long Prairie.

They include Ben Thompson,  Tyler Tensen, Josey Tensen, Alex Schramel, Austin Jaeger, Matt Schmitz, Jordan Lewis and Patrick Rooney.

More will follow later.

Call for tickets today! Local Talent Featured in “Don’t Hug Me” Opening March 1st

Critics love the show “Don’t Hug Me” to be presented March 1,2,3,8,9 and 10 at Classic Company Dinner Theater in Brooten.  “Don’t Hug Me”, a musical comedy, features local actors including Pauline Segaar (Brooten and Alexandria), Randy Pederson (Glenwood), Jon Marchand (Brooten), Chris Jensen (Belgrade), and Julie Lloyd (Sedan).  The show,with script by Phil Olson and  music by Paul Olson, through special arrangement with Samuel French Company,  won “Best Original Musical” in the Los Angeles Artistic Director Achievement Award. The production is under the direction of Julie Lloyd, and the first local production of the newly opened Classic Company Dinner Theater in Brooten.

It's the coldest day of the year in Bunyan Bay when a slick karaoke salesman arrives at the bar and turns the locals' lives upside down. Veteran actor, Pauline Segaar, commented, “This is one of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever performed in.  The script is so well written and the humor weaves throughout both the dialogue and the music.” Julie Lloyd added, “People will really enjoy the characters….among them, we have our very own Minnesotan Archie Bunker (Randy Pederson as Gunner Johnson)!  Rehearsing the show has been so much fun, I can’t wait for the public to see it and share the laughs. ”  Lloyd, a veteran director of BBE High Schools and Terrace Mill Children’s Theater  is excited about presenting local talent on the stage at Classic Company.

The show is the first musical comedy to be produced by Classic Company Dinner Theater, and will be presented as a dinner show.  Friday and Saturday (March 1,2 and 8,9)  seating and dinner begins at 6:00pm, with the show at 8:00pm.  Sunday matinees (March 3 & 10) seating and dinner begins at noon with the show following at 2:00pm.  Tickets are $40 for the dinner & show, and are available in advance by calling Classic Company Dinner Theater at 320-346-2323.

**Click here to see a cast photo at the Sauk Centre Herald website:

http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=49&ArticleID=14920

 
Here's one very memorable moment...when Kaleb Voss started the Jaguars wrestling team out on the right foot with a huge win at the beginning of the Kimball playoff match last Friday night...
 

Good luck tonight, Jaguars! They open the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school...the tournament continues tomorrow starting at noon.

Here's a direct link to a Youtube clip from that wrestling match you'll want to check out and pass around with other Jaguar fans...Patrick Rooney earning a key win at 182 pounds against state-ranked Travis Wills!
http://youtu.be/3MgOCk9541k

Jaguar girls' basketball wins at Rockford!!

The Jaguars girls' basketball team had plenty to smile about as they headed home from Rockford tonight...a win makes the 78-mile drive go much, much better!

At Rockford tonight the halftime score is: Rockets 15, Jaguars 13. Defense! In the closing minute, the Jaguars nursed a one- to two-possession lead, up 34-30 with a minute left before ultimately winning 39 to 35! They improve to 7-18 overall as they prepare for the Sub-Section 6A-South play-in round game coming next Monday night on the home court. Don't miss out on that game! They host Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in front of what will hopefully a full gymnasium for the playoff opener. Look further below on this blog to see the full playoff bracket for Section 6A.

The Jaguars finished 2-12 in the Central Minnesota Conference.

It was reported that the Jaguars earned a clean sweep over the Rockets tonight...with the C- and B-squad teams both earning season sweeps with wins tonight.

At halftime at Pierz: the Kimball Area Cubs girls' basketball team trails 20-18! Final: Pierz 43, Kimball Area 38.

A final score in girls' basketball: BOLD 61, #5-ranked Sauk Centre 54.

More to follow later.

Blast from the Past: recalling a 13-win season for the Jaguar wrestlers

From the tail end of the 2000-2001 season:

Adam Marks (135), Mike Felling (140), Darren Lieser (189) and Andy Larson (HWT) qualified for the state tournament after competing in the Section 6A individual tournament in Braham. Lieser pinned all of his opponents to win the 189-pound title. The longest time needed to pin one of his opponents on the day was 2:30 in the championship against Jeremy Wentland of Holdingford. As a junior in 2000, Lieser went to the state tournament and placed 6th at 189 pounds.

Coach Chuck Marks was named Section 6A coach of the year.

TEAM news: In the Section 6A quarterfinals, the Jaguars beat Royalton 38-17 by winning 8 of the 13 matches wrestled. B-B-E then faced top-seeded Paynesville in the semifinals (at Royalton) and lost 50-18. The Bulldogs were ranked sixth in the state. B-B-E won four matches, including Dusty Baker (103), Martin Engen (171), Darren Lieser (189) and Andy Larson (HWT). Lieser was ranked 2nd in the state in the latest Guillotine 189 poll.

2001 Section 6A wrestling team seeding: #1 Paynesville, #2 Pierz, #3 Braham, #4 B-B-E, #5 Royalton, #6 Hinckley-Finlayson, #7 Rush City, #8 Ogilvie.

For the 2000-2001 season, the Jaguars had only 3 seniors on the team but still managed a 13-9 overall record. They lost their last 2 duals to EV-W and W/HN. Their roster also included 6 freshmen and 4 sophomores. Late in the regular season, B-B-E beat Class AA Morris Area 38-25 in a triangular at Sauk Centre; the Tigers had received votes in the Guillotine polls at the time.

Senior Adam Marks earned his 100th career win by pin over a Sartell guy during B-B-E's 42-19 whipping of the Sabres. At the time, Marks was only the 8th wrestler in B-B-E history to get to 100 wins; he started for the Jaguars from 8th grade through graduation and was 22-3 heading into the last week of the regular season in February 2001.

B-B-E's game against Pierz will be on Smooth Magic and the Train

A few scheduling notes.

The boys' basketball home game against Pierz tomorrow night will be carried on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood and 106.5 FM the Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg.

On Monday, the playoff game (also at home) between the Jaguars girls' basketball team and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross will be carried on both Smooth Magic 107 and the Train.

**While I've got your attention...be sure to pick a night/afternoon to attend the next dinner theater presentation coming to Classic Company Dinner Theater...see below to read more. Show dates run on six days between March 1 and March 10.

Click on the graphic to enlarge it for best viewing.

Boys' basketball game against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted is February 28

That Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball game will take place on Thursday, February 28 at home. It was supposed to take place last night but was postponed due to B-B-E schools closing for the day due to extremely cold winds and roads battered and beaten with hard pack snow.

I hope we have the problem of splitting up fans between a girls' basketball playoff game and the boys' game that night! I'm not sure what I'd do.

Coming tonight: more information on the Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors girls' basketball team.

Girls' basketball team seeded 6th along with a ton of excitement!

The Jaguars huddle up during a late timeout against Rockford on January 24.

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team opens the sub-section playoffs with a first-round game next Monday on the home court against #11-seeded Wheaton/Herman-Norcross. Tip-off is at 7:00pm. If the Jaguars win the play-in game, they travel to Brandon/Evansville for the Sub-Section 6A-South quarterfinals on Thursday, February 28 for a 7:00pm tip-off against the #3-seeded Chargers (12-9, 7-5 Little Eight Conference).

State-ranked Parkers Prairie (20-1) is the top-seeded team in the sub-section.

W/H-N had a fantastic volleyball season, compiling a 26-2 overall record before falling in a five-game marathon to Underwood in the Sub-Section 6A-South championship on November 1. They haven't fared so well on the basketball court, however, as they are 3-14 overall this winter with a 1-5 mark in the Pheasant Conference.

Click on the brackets to enlarge the graphic.

For the Jaguars, the 6th seed is their best playoff ranking since the 2008-09 season, when they were ranked 5th and fell to New London-Spicer 50-39 in the Sub-Section 6AA-East semifinals. In the first round, the Jaguars won at #4-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in exciting fashion by a 64-63 score. NL-S went on to win the section title and finish third in the Class AA state tournament.

B-B-E was ranked fourth for the sub-section playoffs in the 2007-08 season but lost to eventual Class AA state champion Albany in the Sub-Section 6AA-East semifinals.

By the way...finally...I have the photo album uploaded from the section wrestling playoff match on Friday night:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1614143&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=1

Another 'gem' of a photo from Friday night's wrestling playoff match

Reaction from the team as Kaleb Voss earned his third-period pin at 106 pounds against Kimball on Friday night.

You'll want to click on the photo to be able to see the entire scene. (Coach BJ Friedrichs is on the far right of the photo.)

We had a simply amazing crowd on Friday night

Former B-B-E wrestler Cole Tensen, himself a state-bound wrestler as a Jaguar, cheers on his Jaguars during the Kimball match on Friday night.

A large turnout of fans for B-B-E came from the high school student body...as well as a few elementary students. (Far left) Riley Lenarz took the time to cheer on his Jaguar wrestlers even though he had a day-long basketball tournament in St. Cloud the following day. (Yes, he cheered his heart out just like everyone else did!)

Loved that crowd on Friday night. I will never forget the playoff wrestling atmosphere we had. I'm quite happy that I got some of it on video!

Turn about is fair! It's "game on" between Sauk Centre and Melrose Area

The night of the B-B-E vs. Melrose boys' basketball game, a game in Sauk Centre was postponed against Benson due to weather.

Fast forward a few weeks, and a boys' basketball game involving the Jaguars (tonight) was scrubbed due to the weather. However, area basketball fans still can take in a game, as the Sauk Centre high school gym will be the site of a very good game between the Mainstreeters and the Dutchmen. At stake is first place in the West Central North Conference as well as jockeying for the #1 seed in Sub-Section 6AA-North.

A large contingent of Sauk Centre fans were in Melrose on January 31 to be a part of that awesome environment on what was a bitterly cold night...so if it suits your fancy, make tracks to SCHS tonight to be a part of another great basketball clash.

School's closed

No classes today, February 19, at B-B-E schools. The school day will be made up on a future Monday. The beauty of a 4-day week...no extra school in the summer!

Also closed today: A-C-GC, Benson, BOLD, Chokio-Alberta, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Herman-Norcross, K-M-S, LQPV, MACCRAY, Morris Area, NL-S, Ortonville, West Central Area, Wheaton, Willmar and Yellow Medicine East.

Schools operating on the regular hours today in this area include Alexandria, Osakis, Sauk Centre, LP-GE, Melrose Area and Paynesville Area.

I'll check back with an update on after-school activities. I'm guessing there won't be any.

**No varsity/B/C games against HL-W-W tonight. A make up date will be announced later on. That game has to be made up. (Playoffs are on the horizon!)

One group of students was late in getting to school in Sauk Centre this morning, as their bus got stuck on a country road. I haven't heard what stretch of road it was.

2 hours late

B-B-E is two hours late for Tuesday, February 19.

Weather-dot-com says we'll get "up" to five below zero today! Well, isn't that a treat! At 06:20, we've got 8 below zero with 33 below wind chills and gusts up to 31 miles per hour out of the northwest.

Not sure what the prospects are for the Jaguars boys' basketball team's championship-caliber game against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (16-6, 10-1) tonight. It's one of those games I've had circled on the schedule all season long.

The Jaguars, by the way, have a 20-1 overall record. The Lakers have won 9 of their last 11 games since losing on their floor to our Jaguars by a 58-52 score on January 17.

I think if you put that special emphasis on a game, you invite weather to make a mess of things.

*Whew! Check this out...yesterday afternoon (Monday) Willmar school buses were sent back to town with kids still on them to avoid getting caught out on rural roads in the blizzard. Willmar schools released students at 12:30pm.

Game is nixed

The Ashby game is canceled and won't be made up.

Coming Monday: girls' basketball action at home

Katelyn Heinze (24) reaches for a loose ball on defense during the second half of the Pierz game Friday night.

The Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts Ashby (3-15) in a non-conference make up game on Monday night.

It will also be Seniors Night for the team.