Lakers ahead in the 5th

The Lake Henry Lakers have a 2-1 lead in the 5th inning over Winsted. Update: the Lakers lost 3-2.

More action from the football season opener

The post-game talk:



And some photos, including some from the Youth Tackle football practice on Thursday night...

Varsity and JV players lined up for the National Anthem last night. 

Alex Schumann (bottom with the football) recovered a lost fumble by LP/HT in the first quarter. The referee is signaling that B-B-E gained possession.

Mr. Williams (Coach Williams) helped out at Thursday night's Youth Tackle football practice and is shown demonstrating how to give a good block on the offensive line. He's a new science teacher at the high school.  

The Youth Tackle 5th/6th grade team shown running plays and learning the assignments of each position.

And good luck to the Lake Henry Lakers in the Sweet 16 round of the Class C state amateur baseball tournament today. They face Winsted in Delano with a 5:00pm start.

Friday Night Lights Part I: Jaguars win season opener!!!!

That was fun!!

The Jaguars had plenty to smile about after tonight's game, a rare season-opening win. They know what they have to work on next week if they want a chance at beating Kimball in Week 2.

It was a great start to the season for the Jaguars football team after they defeated a very good Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Bulldogs team by a 42-29 score tonight on the home field. It's the program's first season-opening win since 2010, when the Jaguars beat West Central Area in Barrett 13-0. What a difference 2 years makes...back in the 2011 season opener at B-B-E, the Bulldogs pulled out a narrow 8-0 win with sophomore quarterbacks leading both teams. I haven't looked at tonight's offensive totals but I am expecting some huge numbers by both teams.

Here's the other years that the Jaguars won season openers...it's not a long list either: 1988, 1990, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2010 and now 2013.

Read a bit farther below to see more on the first half of the game.

The Jaguars took a knee as the final 15 seconds of the game ticked off the clock...start to finish it lasted 2 hours and 44 minutes!



Coming up is a home game against Kimball Area for a Week 2 battle in the Central Minnesota Conference opener. The Cubs are 0-1 after getting hammered by Class AAA Jordan by a 47-14 score tonight.

A wild, action-packed second half...
The Bulldogs drew first blood after halftime when they pulled in front 15-14 with about 5:35 left in the third quarter. LP/HT had a short field to work with on that touchdown drive when Tesch returned an interception 28 yards to the B-B-E 29 with 9:12 on the clock.

James Kuefler stepped up when his team needed him and took advantage of some good blocking by his kickoff return team and brought the ball back 19 yards to set up the Jaguars with a 63-yard field. Two plays later they were in Bulldogs territory, and on second and long Tommy Cebulla had a 12-yard catch for a nice gain. With 33 yards to go, the Jaguars used four plays to score, including a 27-yard scamper by Austin Kollman to set up first-and-goal at the LP/HT three-yard line. Kollman scored from three yards out to put his team back in the driver's seat with 2:17 left in the third quarter. Kuefler grabbed the two-point conversion pass to make it 22-15.

Billy Borgerding (14) and Brendon Loch (78) teamed up to take down LP/HT's talented junior running back Nate Tesch during action in the fourth quarter tonight.

Later in the game...
A six-yard touchdown catch by Tommy Cebulla put the Jaguars up 42-22 with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs started with a 60-yard field on their next drive and worked the ball down field to score what I believe is the most meaningless first-team touchdown I've ever seen in a high school game with 15 seconds to go.

I am quite proud of the way the guys handled a poor ending in the first half and a poor start to the second half. They allowed the Bulldogs to score 15 unanswered points to swipe the lead away at the mid-way point of the third quarter, but over the last 17 minutes of the game it was all Jaguars. They hung together and rallied when they needed to. Oh, can't forget to also mention, great job on the turnout tonight! I don't think it was 1,000 fans like I asked for but it was certainly in the 600 to 700 range. Let's turn it up another notch for Week 2, sound good???

To top it off, senior fullback Austin Kollman rushed for a whopping 242 yards! After the game, the coaches gave heavy praise to the blocking and the hard work of the offensive linemen. Even with those lofty numbers by Kollman, the Jaguars developed important offensive diversity throughout the game and showed signs of great things to come this year.


Area football scores in Week 1, Friday night:
A-C-GC 41, BOLD 16 (Falcons make a statement tonight against the Class AA Warriors, who were a state semifinalist last year)
Sauk Centre 35, Yellow Medicine East 12 (Mainstreeters snap a 7-game losing streak dating back to September of last year)
NL-S 56, Mound Westonka 0
Melrose Area 14, Benson 12
Minnewaska Area 31, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 14
Jordan 47, Kimball Area 14
Benilde-St. Margaret's 47, Albany Area 8
Wadena-Deer Creek 39, West Central Area 22
Paynesville Area 54, Montevideo 34 (wow!)

Halftime tonight: Jaguars have a slim lead over LP/HT

In the season opener tonight on the home gridiron, the Jaguars football team put up an early 14-0 lead only to see the LP/HT Bulldogs come back to put up 8 points with no time left on the clock before halftime.

Here's the game's first touchdown that was scored with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter:

The second half is set to begin at about 8:35pm.

Unofficially, the Jaguars have about 115 yards on the ground, while LP/HT's quarterback has 65 yards rushing and 28 passing.

A small-town wedding: Stearns County style

Brandon and Tessie Felling, newlyweds, leaving Elrosa in their horse-and-carriage as they head out to the reception at the Felling dairy farm west of town...

It was a change of pace from my usual chasing that happens prior to a home football game. Their wedding was held at Sts. Peter and Paul catholic church in Elrosa at 3:00pm today.

A lone football score

From last night:
Mayer Lutheran 48, Eden Valley-Watkins 19

Are you ready for tonight's game????

1,000 fans! Let's do this Jaguar Country!

How fabulous would it be to start out the school year with a 1-0 football team! I'd say, pretty darn fabulous!!

The "Jaguar Country" flag shown flying high during the October 2006 home playoff game against Ortonville, when the Jaguars thrashed the Trojans 53-19.

The adrenaline is already flowing on my end as I look forward to tomorrow night's home opener at the high school sports complex, when the Jaguars take on the Bulldogs in a non-conference section rivalry game. I hope you're getting pumped up about it too. I know I will hardly catch a wink of sleep tonight. Coaches at tonight's Youth Tackle football practice (5th/6th grade) reminded all their players to come to the game tomorrow and cheer on the varsity team to a season-opening win. I say you should join us! The coaches and players have worked hard preparing for the season. Now it's our turn to do a little work by getting your friends and neighbors to drive to town, grab a good spot to watch the game and cheer your hearts out for our Jaguars.

Varsity football players run a play at practice this afternoon under the hot conditions of today's weather.

Hey, Jaguar Country, let's turn out a thousand fans for tomorrow night's football game?

Why not?

We can do it! We should do it!

If for some reason you can't make it to the game, and as far as I'm concerned that would mean you simply live too far away to make it to town...you can catch the action on KMGK 107.1 Smooth Magic of Glenwood. D-Mac will have the call for his first sports broadcast of the 2013-14 athletic year.

Otherwise, drink up on fluids, dress for the hot weather and come to town for the game.

Here's a clip from last night's practice under the lights...


Today the Jaguars practiced in the "belly of the beast" in the dead center of the hot weather, late afternoon. It helped prepare them for what will be a hot, hot night tomorrow for their season opener.

Later tonight I will post some Thursday night football scores as I learn them. I just saw that Holdingford defeated St. Cloud Cathedral (a 3A team) by a 22-19 score. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted made the Central Minnesota Conference 2-0 in season openers by defeating Norwood-Young America 32-20 tonight. Then!!! I see Maple Lake made the CMC 3-0 against non-conference opponents with a 28-21 win at St. Anthony Village. No score yet on Eden Valley-Watkins or Rockford Area.

Update: Watertown-Mayer defeated Rockford Area 17-7 in Watertown tonight. (Last year they beat the Rockets 52-20)

Other football scores from around the area tonight:
Osakis 40, Browerville 0 !!!
Hutchinson 16, Becker 13 OT !!!
Barnesville 37, Ottertail Central 0
Royalton 41, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 
Upsala/Swanville Area 44, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6

Border battle goes to Sauk Centre

Morgan Pastian is shown in action this morning against Sauk Centre. She played a wale of a match at three-singles but lost a first-set tiebreaker and then fell 5-7 in the second set under difficult conditions.

Under very hot and humid conditions this morning, visiting Sauk Centre won a non-conference border battle by defeating the Jaguars girls' tennis team by a 5-2 score.

B-B-E and Sauk Centre split the first two matches completed, and the next two finished in the same fashion. The Mainstreeters then clinched the win by taking the last three points.

Here's my Sauk Centre Herald photo album from the match: http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/B-B-E-fall-varsity-sports/Girls-tennis-border-battle/31530604_gFbzZB

Here's action from three-singles today during the second set...


A friendly reminder on shuttle bussing this week:

Aug. 26-30 Shuttle Bus Schedule

Pick up in Brooten at 3:45

Drop off in Belgrade 3:55

Leave Belgrade to come back to Brooten 4:00

Arrive back in Brooten 4:10


I heard that 7th/8th grade football has practice today but not tomorrow.

Under the lights!

The offense taking reps on the field tonight.

The offense listens to direction from Coach Gossen, offensive coordinator.

Friday Night Lights Part I, 2013 edition is this Friday. Kickoff against Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity is 7:00pm under the bright lights of the high school sports complex. Pass the word and stress the importance of turning out all your friends and neighbors for this game! The Jaguars have the potential have a special year, and it starts this Friday with a huge crowd that can fire up the team and cheer them on to victory.

GO JAGUARS!

Here's just short of a six-minute clip from game four on Monday night...


Here's a snapshot from 7th grade orientation tonight for the Class of 2019...

Mr. Bullard welcomed the students and their parents in the auditorium.

School begins in five days!!! There were many "deer in the headlight" looks from the 7th graders, but overall I think most learned quite a bit tonight and will all do well once school gets underway next Tuesday.

Sunday night! and a tennis announcement

Just peeked at the forecast...a low of 49 degrees is coming on Sunday night! (hopefully)

What a welcome relief that will be. Think of that today while we all endure another hot, blistering summer day.

The B-B-E vs. Sauk Centre girls' tennis match tomorrow will start at 9:00am. It was moved earlier in the day (from 4:15) because of the hot weather.

A look back to Monday night...Kinlee Swanson gets high-fives from her teammates after getting a kill against Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta in the team's season opener.

Here's the Sauk Centre Herald photo album link to Monday night's volleyball match:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/B-B-E-fall-varsity-sports/BBE-vs-MACA-volleyball-082613/31499147_bxNZ8z

For followers of the Jaguars football team, it was just announced that JV/varsity practice today will be moved to 7:30pm and be conducted under the lights of the high school football stadium. It's a great move that makes perfect sense under this withering heat wave that is expected to continue through the week.

(Video) B-B-E vs. MA/CA volleyball

More video from last night's season opener:


Tonight I heard that tonight's volleyball match at A-C-GC was scrubbed due to the high heat and humid conditions. Apparently the main gymnasium floor at A-C-GC high school had condensation on it, and it was unfit to play on.

I heard that at our home opener last night, a couple times players nearly completely lost all footing, but fortunately no one fell or slipped and got hurt. It was a hot, sweaty night to say the least.

B-B-E elementary open house is tonight

The open house runs from 6:00 to 8:00pm tonight.

Staff at the B-B-E elementary are busy today preparing for the open house tonight.

(Video) From the last minutes of the 'Wizard of Oz' last Friday night...

(Video) B-B-E vs. MA/CA volleyball season opener

Here's action from the end of game one...a wild ending

Jaguars win a thriller!

WINNING!

The Jaguars volleyball team won an intense four-game match over Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta under extremely hot and humid conditions tonight. Game scores were 26-28, 25-15, 26-24, 25-19. (Above) Five of the six players on the floor react to the win after MA/CA committed a hitting error to end the match.

The match was not for the faint of heart, and luckily for Jaguar fans, their team delivered when it had to in key moments of games three and four when the Tigers were threatening to gain control. The Jaguars fell behind 20-12 in game three but came through to eventually win in four.

Game one saw the Tigers go up 4-2 early before the Jaguars took a small 7-6 lead. That was short-lived, though, as MA/CA held 2 to 3-point leads until late in the game when the Jaguars got up 20-18. The Jaguars led 23-22 but then trailed 24-22. They battled and battled, getting even at 26-26 before the Tigers scored the last two points to win 28-26.

The Jaguars completely caught fire in game two and used a 7-0 run to take control early. They kept putting the screws to MA/CA and earned a pile of service points by Karlee Kern, stretching a 9-4 lead to 18-4. MA/CA got salty towards the end, but it was not enough as B-B-E evened the match with a 25-15 win.

The most exciting stretch of the night happened near the end of game four, when the Jaguars fought past an 18-18 tie with a kill by Kinlee Swanson into a block and then four straight ace serves by Randi Gafkjen. She practically put her team on her shoulders and delivered the knock out punch they needed to erase MA/CA's hopes of an upset. Two hitting errors by the Tigers ended the match that lasted almost 100 minutes.

The B-B-E student section reacts with great emotion after the match ended tonight in the favor of their beloved Jaguars volleyball team. BEST FANS IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA!

I can't say enough about our student section tonight! They were fantastic! Just like the team did, they delivered when they had to and gave the Jaguars a much-needed boost under difficult playing conditions. Way to go!

These guys came ready to cheer!

Up next: a trip to Falcon Country to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City high school tomorrow night.

The water pressure will be challenged across B-B-E (at least in the towns) as everyone flocks to the showers...we cheered and the girls played under sauna-like conditions. Tomorrow won't be any better, according to the forecast.

I'd have video clips for you to watch by now, but Youtube is being a pain! Stay tuned. (A half hour later no progress...Youtube has crashed for the time being.)

Photo galleries added, updated

My last bunch of photos have been added to the Prairie Fire Children's Theater 'Wizard of Oz' album from last Friday night:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/EVENTS2013/Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa-area/Wizard-of-Oz-by-Prairie-Fire/31415723_kr4tJQ

Here's my album from the girls' tennis quadrangular at Minnewaska Area last Thursday:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/B-B-E-fall-varsity-sports/B-B-E-tennis-at-Minnewaska/31469742_DZ3K3W

Here's my album from the state tournament game in Delano on Saturday:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/Baseball/STATE-Elrosa-vs-Sobieski/31470145_WWdsLG

And now time to get ready for some volleyball!

Lake Henry advances to Sweet 16

Lake Henry advanced to the final weekend of the Class C amateur baseball tournament with a 3-1 win over Bluffton tonight.

The Lakers play in the Sweet 16 with a game on Saturday, August 31 at 5:00pm against Winsted. That game will be played in Delano. If Lake Henry beats Winsted, they play in the state quarterfinals at 1:30pm on Sunday. A win there puts them in a state semifinal game, also held on Sunday. The championship game is scheduled for Labor Day at noon in Maple Lake.

Don't forget: volleyball opens tomorrow night!

A much-anticipated season opener is tomorrow night, when the Jaguars volleyball team hosts Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta in what will undoubtedly be a very hot, sauna-like gymnasium - hopefully in front of a packed hometown crowd.

Scenes from 'Wizard of Oz' performed on Friday night

An extremely bad heat wave is on its way

Please remember to check on any elderly neighbors you have in your neighborhood in the next couple of days.

The high on Sunday is supposed to be 96, while the forecast high for Monday is 97. Crazy.

It looks really bad for the football opener next Friday...with a forecast high of 91. Wow! I expect if it gets up to 91 that afternoon, the temperature at kickoff will be around 83-85 degrees. Wowzers!

Elrosa drops out of State play

Final at Delano tonight: Sobieski 3, Elrosa 0.

Up against a team with a 20-4 record this year, Elrosa did not back down one bit and played just as solid of an all-around game as they did last week and had the score deadlocked at 0-0 through six innings of play. In the end they fell prey to an outstanding pitcher, Tyler Jendro, a graduate of Southwest Minnesota State-Marshall.

The Skis scored once in the 7th and twice in the 8th while keeping the Saints' bats almost silent down the stretch while punching their ticket to the Class C Sweet Sixteen round.

Below, action from the 5th inning when Elrosa got a nice rally going...



Elrosa finishes the year with a fine 13-8 record and very high hopes for another great season in 2014.

Here's my photo album from the state opener on August 17:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/Baseball/STATE-Elrosa-vs-Loretto/31385057_khH3g4

And here's my photo album from 'Wizard of Oz' at the high school theater last night:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/EVENTS2013/Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa-area/Wizard-of-Oz-by-Prairie-Fire/31415723_kr4tJQ

In other news...I just saw D-Mac's Fall 2013 broadcast schedule. Guess where he'll be for the season-opening football game? Yep, that's right...the B-B-E high school football complex. He's got the call for B-B-E vs. LP/HT football this Friday night, August 30. Kickoff is at 7:00pm. I am hoping for an overflow crowd!! Wouldn't that be special!!!!!!

Good luck Saints!

First pitch is at 5:00 today. I'm hanging out in Howard Lake now before heading to Delano. Maple Lake, Delano and Howard Lake are the 3 sites for the Class C state tournament this year.

'Wizard of Oz' was great!

What a fantastic performance by the 26 kids and their coaches.

A scene from the middle part of the play:


Here's the website to the Prairie Fire Children's Theater company:
http://www.prairiefirechildrenstheatre.com/

Pictures coming too.

Don't forget the play tonight!

It starts at 7:00 at the high school.

(Video) Street dance music at Bel-Fest 125th

Here's a clip from the Saturday night street dance in Belgrade on August 10:

Girls' tennis suffers first loss of the year

In their opening match at the Minnewaska Area quadrangular today, the Jaguars girls' tennis team lost 4-3 to Class AA Montevideo in a battle that could have gone either way. They had a 3-2 lead in points but lost at two and three-doubles.

After that, the Jaguars had yet to play Minnewaska Area and Parkers Prairie.

**Update: the Jaguars lost 6-1 to Minnewaska and beat Parkers Prairie 7-0.

Here's action from one-dubs today...I mispronounced Mattea's name by the way...


In other news, I met 10 new teachers who are joining the B-B-E staff this fall. One is a B-B-E graduate (Beth Vos, special education) while the others are from central Minnesota and the metro area. Catch up on what I learned about them in next week's Sauk Centre Herald.

Looking for some entertainment for you or your family on Friday night? Consider attending the Prairie Fire Children's Theater performance of "Wizard of Oz" at the B-B-E High School theater stage. I am unaware of the admission charges, but I know the performance starts at 7:00pm.

(Above) A glimpse of the practice held this afternoon at the high school stage.

The Terrace Mill Children's Theater finishes up their 2013 season with the second of two shows this week. They had one last night too.

And don't forget about the Elrosa Saints!

Elrosa fans had plenty to smile about last Saturday in Delano as their Saints team won their first-round game.

The Saints take on Sobieski at 5:00pm in Delano on Saturday night in the Round of 32 of the Class C state amateur tournament. As of last count, the fan bus sheet has 35 signed up at Bucky's, Bayer's Gas and Grocery and North American State Bank-Elrosa.

Jaguar football fundraiser ends tomorrow (Nope!)

Have you gotten a Jaguar football discount card yet?

The 2012-13 card.

The sales for Jaguar football discount cards ends tomorrow. If you haven't purchased one, talk to your nearest Jaguar football team member!

**Update on Thursday afternoon: the fundraiser is extended to next Monday morning. Football players will continue selling the cards over the weekend. They're also selling water softener salt at $6 to $7 a bag depending on what type is used.

(Sorry, I've already gotten two discount cards for my wife and I)

'Clean up' mode from summer

I'm still rather heavily buried wrapping up summer projects and getting all my cameras in order for the upcoming fall athletic season.

Action continues tomorrow with a girls' tennis quadrangular at Minnewaska.

The wheels keep turning!

Here's the link to my Miss Belgrade program photo gallery:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/EVENTS2013/Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa-area/BelFest-125th-Miss-Belgrade/31359599_z8KZZ3

Elrosa Saints fan bus is a GO!

I just heard that 28 people have signed up for Saturday's fan bus to Delano to cheer on the Elrosa Saints in the second round of the Class C state amateur tournament.

There's room for about 20 more...so sign up tomorrow and get your spot reserved! You can sign up at Bayer's Gas and Grocery, Bucky's Bar or at North American State Bank in Elrosa.

$10 for adults, 12 and under are free. Bus departs at 2:00pm in Elrosa and 2:15 from the Brother's Bar in Belgrade.

GO SAINTS!

Here's the end of the game on Saturday in the state opener:



In other news: the 5th-6th grade Youth Tackle football preseason meeting is tonight. I'm anxious to see what they have for turn out. Hopefully it's strong as it has been in past years and last year.

The girls' tennis team looks to improve on their 1-0 record with the Minnewaska Quad coming up on Thursday. Thank goodness the weather will relax somewhat!

(Video) More action from the state tournament opener

From early in the game between Elrosa and Loretto:

Playing with pride and winning with pride: Elrosa 6, Loretto 0

A video from the first inning showing Elrosa scoring the game-winning run. That was all they needed in the shut out win.


It was a 6-0 win for the Elrosa Saints in their Class C state amateur baseball tournament opener over Loretto tonight in front of a huge crowd of hometown fans. It's been quite a run this year for the Saints, who lost 3 of their first 4 games of the regular season.

An RBI-single by Pat Illies to score Ethan Vogt from second base in the first inning ended up being the game-winning run. The Saints (13-7 overall) plated one run in the 3rd, 4th and 7th innings to add built a 4-0 lead before getting two runs in the 8th for the game's final score.

Ethan Vogt pitched a complete game with five hits, three strikeouts and three walks. Loretto, who has played in four of the last five state tournaments, used three pitchers in the loss.

Up next for Elrosa: the second round of state next Saturday in Delano at 5:00pm against Sobieski. A fan bus will be offered as well. Details will follow on that. They had 34 take the bus today, which made for a fun experience for those fans.

State begins tonight!

If you're within driving distance of Delano,  come out to cheer on the Elrosa Saints tonight.  First pitch is at 7:00pm.

And then a car accident that could have been much worse

Right as it appeared that the downed power line in Brooten was being buttoned up, a bad, bad accident took place at the intersection of Highway 55 and Highway 71 in Belgrade.

I'm not going to report the makes/models of the cars (pending notification of families affected by the accident)...I will report this:

* two ambulances carried victims in the accident west out of Belgrade on Highway 55, which leads me to believe they were heading to Glenwood. The two left Belgrade within 5 minutes of one another, and the second one left Belgrade at about 10:35pm.

* I counted two cars in the accident - it looks like a broadside or head-on type of accident.

* the damaged cars are being towed away at 11:00pm.

* it appeared to me that one car pulled out off of Highway 71 (heading northwest) while an east-bound car on Highway 55 met them in the accident at that intersection. (With the split of Highway 71 as it meets Highway 55, it's not easy to explain.)

That's all I know as of 11:00pm, and it's bed time. Big day tomorrow with the Elrosa Saints opening up the state tournamet!! (See more on the fan bus below)

*UPDATE: the two cars involved in the crash that happened at about 10:00pm were a Pontiac G6 4-door and a 4-door Nissan Altima. The G6 was driven by 2012 B-B-E graduate Alysa Leedahl of Brooten, who was alone in her car at the time. The Nissan had 3 teenagers in it from Fargo/Moorhead.

All four were transported to Glacial Ridge Health Systems in Glenwood.

A view of the accident scene in Belgrade from the south...the Nissan Altima is facing sideways across Highway 55. It appeared that it pulled out in front of the G6 at that intersection (of Hwy 71). The G6 is sitting on Highway 71 facing eastbound, perpendicular to the Altima.

The father of the B-B-E girl driving the Pontiac posted this to Facebook:
"Last night was one of those that every parent dreads...Alysa was in a car accident and spent the night in the hospital. Thankfully she is ok, as are the passengers in the other vehicle. She has a pretty nasty gash on her head and lots of bruises but will come home today. Thanks for the prayers and please go hug your kids."

After seeing the accident scene first hand I have to say, air bags and seat belts saved four lives in this case.

Downed power line in Brooten

VIDEO:

**Note: officially by 10:00 the "all clear" hadn't been issued to the Brooten Fire Department. It could have been a bad situation if a walker/jogger/biker happened along in that area and had an encounter with the line. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

For the time being, please avoid that part of town.

Jaguars take tennis opener from LP-GE/USA

Action from one-dubs today...


The Jaguars girls' tennis team opened their 2013 season with a bang by defeating Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area in a 7-0 shut out today on the home courts. It was a dominating win, with 6 of the 7 points earned in straight sets.

They are next in action next Thursday at the Minnewaska Quad.

Wanted: fan bus riders for Elrosa's state opener

Cost is only $10 for a spot on the bus to Delano on Saturday. Call North American State Bank in Elrosa to sign up.

Call 320-697-5533 and ask for Jeanne. Kids 12 and under ride free!

After 4:00pm today e-mail me at saukheraldreporter@gmail.com and I'll pass the info. on to Jeanne before Saturday afternoon. They've got room for about 20 more on the bus.

The bus leaves Bucky's at 4:15 in Elrosa and from the Brother's Bar in Belgrade at 4:30. They have no plans on stopping on the way there or on the way back, so feel free to pack a lunch and bring beverages as well.

Tennis triangular is Friday

The Jaguars girls' tennis team begins their season while marking the official beginning of the 2013-14 athletic year at B-B-E.

The triangular starts at 8:30am. Teams included are Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area and B-B-E.

Tradition doesn't graduate: Jaguar volleyball ranked 5th

The Jaguars are shown celebrating and high-fiving one another after winning the 2012 season opener against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on August 28 of last year.

In the preseason Coaches Association state volleyball poll, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is ranked fifth in Class A. They have won sub-section titles nine years in a row...just one of many amazing statistics that B-B-E has earned through the years in volleyball.

The Jaguars open the 2013 season with a home match on Monday, August 26 against Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta. The MA/CA Tigers went 16-9 last season.

Fun fact: this is the 9th year in a row that the Jaguars have been ranked in the Top-10 of the preseason volleyball poll.

Athletic fundraisers are underway

The varsity football team is selling (and delivering) bags of water softener salt.

The varsity volleyball team is selling cookie dough. Here's what I know about that: "It is $16 for 48 preformed cookies. The flavors are triple chocolate brownie, peanut butter cup, white chocolate chunk macadamia, chocolate chunk, m&m, and oatmeal raisin."

(Web link) Loretto Larks qualify for 4th state trip in 5 years

Loretto, Elrosa's first-round opponent at the state tournament, is appearing in their fourth state tournament in the last five years.

Here's their team website: http://www.ihigh.com/lorettolarks

Elrosa Saints draftees for state

Elrosa drafted Chris Braaten of Norway Lake-Sunburg and Nick Stangler of New Munich. Both pitchers have state tournament experience, while Braaten is a veteran of great Ridgewater College playoff teams.

Here is action from the bottom of the 6th inning against Regal...Austin Kampsen battled and battled at the plate against Ethan Vogt on two outs. Regal had two runners on, but Vogt coaxed an infield grounder to end the inning:



This Elrosa Saints state tournament update is brought to you by the proud support of:

(Photo gallery) Bel-Fest 125th grand parade

Here's the link to the Sauk Centre Herald photo gallery from the grand parade on Saturday in Belgrade:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/EVENTS2013/Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa-area/Bel-Fest-125th-grand-parade/31148364_Fcj3nL

I've got other photos to add from the Bel-Fest activities that will be posted some time in the next few days.

Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy...

Elrosa gets Loretto to open state

Loretto is the runner-up of Region 12C, and they play Elrosa to begin the Class C state amateur baseball tournament next Saturday (August 17) in Delano. First pitch is at 7 p.m.  Later tonight I'll see what I can find out about Loretto and post it here.

In the Region 12C championship today, Howard Lake defeated Loretto 6-4 to win that region crown.

Loretto finished in a four-way tie for fourth place (14-8 record) in the North Star League-Central. Maple Lake, the defending Class C state champion, won that league's Central division with a 19-3 record.

Spring Hill will begin the state tournament against the third-place team in Region 6C, which is Jordan, on Sunday, August 18 at 2:30pm in Delano.

Lake Henry begins the state tournament with a first-round bye and then the first game on August 25 at 7:30pm in Delano.

Go Saints!

Elrosa falls to 3rd in Region 15C

The Elrosa Saints lost 9-6 to Spring Hill in the Region 15C elimination bracket final game today in Farming. They scored all of their runs in the last two innings, three in each frame.

They open up the Class C state tournament next Saturday night at 7:00pm in Delano against either Howard Lake or Loretto, whoever is the runner-up in Region 12C.

Lake Henry beat Spring Hill 11-1 in the championship game. The Lakers scored all their runs off of home runs, beginning with Jason Kampsen's three-run homer in the first inning.

More state information will follow.