Circle it: next Friday night

B-B-E basketball fans get a rare opportunity to watch the prime competition our Jaguars boys' basketball team will have to get to the Class A state tournament next March.

Next Friday, the Upsala Cardinals play in Sauk Centre for their 2013-14 season opener.

Upsala and B-B-E will likely meet in the Sub-Section 5A-South championship game. If the Jaguars win that game, they'll play in the Section 5A championship game which will be on March 7 at Crosby-Ironton high school (114 miles from the B-B-E high school).

This is really crazy: the toughest Central Minnesota Conference games of the season will be in the first half of December. In fact, they're the first two CMC games on the 14-game schedule. On Tuesday, December 10, the Jaguars travel to Pierz. Three nights later they travel to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.

Then on Saturday, to bookend an incredibly difficult week, the Jaguars compete in the Minnetonka Invitational on Saturday, December 14.

Whew!