Winning a state title

Here's a wonderful trip down memory lane...showing the last two minutes of the 2014 state championship game that we all vividly remember:


This trip down memory lane was sponsored by the Local Pantry, located along Highway 55 in Brooten:

Time to subscribe

If you're not a subscriber of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, now is the time to sign up!

Right now you can get a 15-month long subscription for the regular cost of a 12-month subscription:
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2014/12/subscribing.html

Bonanza Valley Voice
PO Box 250
Brooten, MN 56316

Socializing in the old days

Scheduling change

The home dance invitational next Monday will start at 6:30 p.m.!! Make note!

The B-B-E Dazzlers dance team will host a 10-team meet that night at the elementary school.

**And here's some great entertainment for Saturday night: "Kentucky Thunder" will be playing from 8 p.m. to midnight at Rooney's Bar in Sedan. No cover charge, and no one under age 21.

Home wrestling tournament is Friday

Photo by Greater Visions Photography, Belgrade.

The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will host an eight-team tournament on Friday, January 2 with an early start time of 10 a.m. Teams included are Becker, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, Minneota and Ottertail Central. The players and coaches invite everyone to come in and cheer them on.

(Video) Girls' basketball vs. Osakis

Here's the final minutes of the game against Osakis last week:


I hope you've had a great weekend!

Thrashing Benson

A four-game losing streak came to a halt tonight at the Willmar Christmas tournament when the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team thrashed Benson 78-56. They posted 39 points in both halves of play to win convincingly over the Braves. Austin Trustheim was on fire while scoring a career-high 23 points while hitting seven of eight free throw shots. Three other players scored in double figures: Tanner Heinsius (18), Jordan Wosmek (14) and Dalon Bitzan (12). Altogether 11 players got playing time.

As a team, the Jaguars shot 31-of-51 from the floor and 13-of-16 at the line.

Next is a road game at Minnewaska Area on Monday, January 5. The Lakers are 4-4 overall and 4-3 (third) in the West Central North Conference. I'd rate them as a "tough but beatable" opponent. Winning there would be a huge win for the 3-6 Jaguars.

Area boys' basketball scores on December 27:
Windom Area 51, BOLD 48

Albany Area 53, Providence Academy 37
Sauk Centre 58, MACCRAY 57

Area girls' basketball scores on December 27:
MACCRAY 62, Ortonville 46
Lac qui Parle Valley 71, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 34

Halftime

Check this out!

B-B-E 39, Benson 26 at the break.

Final score: B-B-E 78, Benson 56!!

Stung in overtime

Jordan Wosmek attempts a drive along the baseline for a reverse layup late in the second half of regulation tonight in Willmar. The score was tied 64-64 when regulation play was complete.

With 5:17 to go in the second half, Coach Anderson talks to his Jaguars during a timeout. Tanner Heinsius had just scored two free throws to make it BOLD 52, B-B-E 51.

Two free throws just seconds into the overtime period was all the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team could score after regulation against the BOLD Warriors tonight in the first round of the Willmar Christmas tournament. After having a 28-20 lead at halftime, the Jaguars were taken aback for a period early in the second half while the Warriors went on a 14-0 run. With 13 minutes to go, the 10-point lead the Jaguars held earlier in the second half was a distant memory while BOLD was ahead 36-32.

And some video, showing the end of the first half tonight:


The Warriors improved to 3-4 with their third straight win. The Jaguars are 2-6 heading into their game against the Braves with a 4 p.m. tip off on Saturday back at the Willmar senior high school. I am unaware of any radio coverage of the Benson game. I had trouble loading up the broadcast schedule at the website of 93.5 KSCR (Benson radio) = http://www.935kscr.com/#!sports/c15ks

I'll post a quick update tomorrow night after the Benson game is complete. Besides that, the sports department will be closed through Tuesday night as the January 1 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice is assembled for the printer. I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Area boys' basketball scores on December 26:
MACCRAY 85, New London-Spicer 75
Albany Area 75, Monticello 63
Sauk Centre 70, Windom Area 53
Willmar 76, Benson 65
Marshall 64, Montevideo 30

Halftime

Halftime tonight at Willmar: Jaguars 28, BOLD 20.

Rough ending! In overtime: BOLD 68, B-B-E 66. The Jaguars play Benson at 4 p.m. tomorrow to finish the Willmar tournament.

Willmar tournament

The varsity Jaguars play at 6 p.m. tonight against BOLD at the Willmar senior high school. It will be on 100.1 FM.

The JV Jaguars play at 2 o'clock at the middle school.

Saturday's varsity game starts at 4 o'clock.

A Savior is born

Merry Christmas to you and your family from the sports department of the Bonanza Valley Voice!

Jesus is the true reason for Christmas!!

Ponder that!

The Birth of Jesus Christ

1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

 

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

https://www.bible.com/bible/59/luk.2.11-12.ESV

Almost here

AMEN!

Christmas is almost here! I hope you are having a wonderful and joyous day and evening with your family.

Christmas is coming!

Click on the link to see a video of a visit from Santa Claus to the elementary school on Monday night:
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2014/12/santa-claus-visits.html

Not giving an inch!

Bailey Buchholz gets a high-five from Coach Anderson after Osakis called a timeout with 2:25 left in the first half. Hailey Braegelman had just scored on a layup after the Jaguars got a steal by the press. The score was B-B-E 28, Osakis 21.

For the second home game in a row, the Jaguars drew an outstanding crowd. That was GREAT!

Play by play, possession by possession, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team didn't give one inch tonight in hustle, heart or sheer determination against one of the top teams in the area, the undefeated Osakis Silverstreaks. After leading 34-33 at halftime, the Jaguars started trading the lead with Osakis through over 12 minutes of the second period. With 6:30 left, a right-baseline shot by Hailey Braegelman made it Osakis 54, B-B-E 53. Just 46 seconds later, it was 61-53. The closest the Jaguars got from that point on was six points. Final: Osakis 77, B-B-E 71.

Next for the Jaguars (5-2) is a trip to Maple Lake on January 6. Osakis improved to 6-0 with the non-conference win.

Here's action from the first half tonight:

No less than four teams were scouting the Jaguars and Silverstreaks: Sauk Centre, Browerville, Eden Valley-Watkins and Minnewaska Area.

And just for fun...here's a short video clip from the Christmas Bingo contest held late Tuesday afternoon at the high school. The B-B-E Broadcasting/Journalism students had their hands full covering the event:


Some area Monday night boys' basketball scores:
Melrose Area 72, New London-Spicer 45
Minnewaska Area 85, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 75
West Central Area 86, Ortonville 73

Area girls' basketball scores on December 23:
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 42, Battle Lake 37
Holdingford 45, Royalton 39
New Prague 75, Willmar 34
Alexandria 66, Albany Area 53
Minneota 67, Wabasso 49

Area boys' basketball scores on December 23:
Royalton 47, Isle 45 (Royals get first win of the season after an 0-7 start)
Albany Area 67, Litchfield 47
Holdingford 58, Osakis 45 (Huskers get third win in a row after an 0-4 start)
Pierz 74, Foley 56
Battle Lake 52, Frazee 37
Central MN Christian 57, Dawson-Boyd 56 (first loss for Blackjacks; CMCS takes first place alone in the Camden North Conference)
Parkers Prairie 61, New York Mills 49

Area wrestling scores on December 23:
Paynesville Area 53, Eden Valley-Watkins 30
Rocori 60, Paynesville Area 15
#8 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 49, Kimball Area 16 (K-M-S head coach Wes Haglund earns his 200th career win, an impressive feat in the sport of wrestling)

Halftime

At the half against visiting Osakis: Jaguars 34, Silverstreaks 33.

Final: Osakis 77, Jaguars 71.

Jam the Gym!!!!

We had a fantastic crowd at the home opener last Tuesday. 

Tonight's home game between our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team and the Osakis Silverstreaks will be on Smooth Magic 107 FM.

It may be a non-conference game, but it is one of those games where the Jaguars could make a statement by defeating a very good and undefeated Class 2A Osakis team.

Let's jam the gym tonight! 

Bring out a big crowd with a high level of energy and intensity to cheer our Jaguars on to a big win!!!

Out of steam

An excellent start by the B-B-E Jaguars at Sauk Centre faded right before halftime tonight in non-conference boys' basketball action. Final: Mainstreeters 79, Jaguars 57. The Jaguars led 27-26 with a little over four minutes left before halftime before Sauk Centre opened up a 43-31 lead at the break. Earlier in the half, the Jaguars had a 22-17 lead with 6:30 to go.

Next for the Jaguars (2-5) is the Willmar holiday tournament on Friday with a 6 p.m. tip off against BOLD.

JV Jazz team members (not the whole JV team)...a full picture of the JV Jazz Dazzlers will be in the Christmas issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

At the A-C-GC Invitational tonight, the B-B-E Dazzlers JV Jazz dance team took first place. Very cool! Look for a feature story on the B-B-E Dazzlers dance team in the Jan. 1, 2015 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. Also, mark your calendars for their Monday, January 5 home dance invitational at the elementary school (7 p.m.). It includes 12 teams overall!!! How cool is that!

More coming later.

Basketball on the Train

Tip off tonight in Sauk Centre will be at about 6:15 p.m. with game coverage on 106.5 FM.

Darwin

This photo is from the Pope County Sheriff's Office, taken on Lake Minnewaska:

And in other news...I am in a mad dash to wrap up work in Sauk Centre for the last time ever. No time to blog until at least Monday night.

Kids get early Christmas

There were a lot of happy children who enjoyed a stop at the Belgrade Municipal Hall tonight.

I want to commend the Belgrade Commercial Club for sponsoring this wonderful event. Attendance has always been overwhelming in the years I've gone to it.

Here's a glimpse of an early Christmas for Belgrade kids, courtesy of the Belgrade Commercial Club:


Bob Mathison did an outstanding job running the show during what felt like a circus at times because of the heavy turnout. And that's a good thing!

I'll be taking most of Saturday "off" for some R and R! It's been a hectic week.

If you get bored, feel free to browse this "Life in the Bonanza Valley" blog:
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com

Wrestlers get two more wins! Girls basketball wins

It's been another terrific night for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team. At the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City quadrangular, the Jaguars beat state-ranked Osakis and Eden Valley-Watkins to improve to 4-0 in dual meets. The team score against Osakis was 40-32; at 220 pounds, Joe Reller was "in trouble" when he ended up turning his Osakis opponent, Ronnie Towle. Reller ended up getting a pin just 15 seconds shy of the end of the third period that set his team up for the big section win.

It's the first time since the late 1990s that they've won their first four duals of the season. At some point I will determine what year back then the Jaguars started 5-0 in duals.

Their A-C-GC dual started a little after 8 p.m. The Falcons were 4-0 heading into the night and rated 17th in the latest Class 1A Guillotine rankings. Osakis, who came in 6-2 in duals, was ranked 16th in that same poll.

At A-C-GC tonight, the Falcons beat Osakis 47-23.

**Final score in the final dual that concluded just after 21:30: A-C-GC 32, B-B-E 30. It was a barn-burner! Talking about "moral victories" is cliche, but this one was just that. The Jaguars (4-1, 2-0 Central Minnesota Conference) weren't out of it until the 220-pound match was concluded. Isaiah Gilbert's 6-1 decision at 152 pounds gave the Jaguars an 18-15 lead. Steven Mady at 170 got a pin to put the Jaguars up 24-18, but the Cubs got a major decision and then two pins to go up 32-24 heading into the heavyweight match. Ben Feuerhake made a statement with a pin for the Jaguars to cap the night of some very exciting wrestling.

At Kimball Area, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team beat the Cubs 50-29 for a 5-1 start to the season. The Cubs fall to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference. This is the first time since the 2008-2009 season that the Jaguars have started 2-0 in the CMC. That year they started 4-0 before losing to Eden Valley-Watkins 58-47; their final CMC record that year was 11-3 for the best-ever girls' basketball run through a conference schedule at B-B-E.

How many times have the Jaguars started 2-0 in girls' basketball in the CMC? Just twice: 2008-09 and now the 2014-15 season. They joined the CMC in 1999 and were in the West Central South Conference from 1989-1999. The first year of B-B-E as an athletic pairing had the Jaguars competing in the Prairie Conference. The most wins in a single season they had in the WCC-South was 10.

Next for the Jaguars is a home game on Tuesday against undefeated (4-0) Osakis.

Check back later tonight for results from the A-C-GC wrestling match!!!

Wrestlers trounce Kimball

What a superb night for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team! Wow! They beat Kimball Area on the road tonight by a 47-27 score in a Central Minnesota Conference dual to improve to 2-0. It will also count in big ways in February when Section 5A is seeded. The Cubs were undefeated at 2-0 in the CMC and 5-4 overall heading into the night and had previously picked up solid Section 5A wins over Minnewaska Area (57-21), LP/GE-Browerville (45-33), Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (63-12) and had lost to Paynesville Area (42-39).


106: Canon Swanson, B, pin Josh Donnay :35
113: Tyler Bents, B, dec Michael Donnay 2-0
120: Josey Tensen, B, pin Payton Schiefelbein 5:26
126: Kaleb Voss, B, tcfl Joseph Donnay 17-1
132: Blane Tschida, K, pin Spencer Amundson 1:11
138: Quinten Berres, K, pin Trevor Kern :55
145: Adam Jager, B, dec Payton Hanan 9-5
152: Colby Schramel, B, won by injury default over Brady Mehr
160: Tanner Schreifels, K, dec Isaiah Gilbert 4-1
170: Skyler Schiefelbein, K, pin Steven Mady :23
182: Ben Thompson, B, pin Austin Hentges :58
195: Kimball won by forfeit
220: Joe Reller, B, pin Grant Garding 1:38
285: Ben Feuerhake, B, won by forfeit


Next is the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City quadrangular tomorrow night in Grove City where they'll face the state-ranked Falcons, Osakis and Eden Valley-Watkins. Their match with EV-W will count in the CMC standings.

The Pep Band sounded great tonight!

At home the boys' basketball team lost to Holdingford by a 62-28 score. And hats off to the "small but mighty" B-B-E Pep Band for their performance before tip off and during halftime. Next for the boys' basketball team is a road game at Sauk Centre on Monday.

And thank you to Brady and Smooth Magic 107 FM for the play-by-play coverage of tonight's game. I have received an updated broadcast schedule from The Train (106.5 FM) and will post that information in the coming days.

Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on Dec. 18:
Kimball Area 67, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 58

Tomorrow night, besides the wrestlers at Grove City for a quadrangular, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a huge section and conference game at Kimball Area.

GO JAGUARS!

Area boys' basketball scores on Dec. 18:

Rockford Area 60, Annandale 44

Pequot Lakes 65, Pierz 59

Eden Valley-Watkins 56, Browerville 51

BOLD 64, Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 56

New London-Spicer 52, Paynesville Area 44

Rocori 59, Willmar 44

Albany 62, Becker 47

Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 54, Lac qui Parle Valley 44

West Central Area 58, Upsala 45

Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 85, Pillager 58

Parkers Prairie 76, Verndale 59

Maple Lake 82, Mayer Lutheran 65

MACCRAY 89, Renville County West 73

Area girls' basketball scores on December 18:

Upsala 65, Isle 48

Montevideo 66, Benson 36
Parkers Prairie 64, Battle Lake 59 2OT
Eden Valley-Watkins 60, Maple Lake 33

Pep Band, radio tonight

The B-B-E Pep Band will perform at tonight's home boys' basketball game against Holdingford.

Also, the varsity game will be covered on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Thanks for the coverage, Brady!

Beating Rockford

Kinlee Swanson knocking down a free throw. 

Katelyn Heinze making a move in the paint.

I've got more video to post later tonight.

Soon I'll be creating a new online photo gallery where sports and other photos can be purchased. I hope to get that going before Christmas.

*Thursday night's boys' basketball game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

Area girls' basketball scores on Dec. 16:
Albany 62, Sauk Rapids-Rice 28
Verndale 48, Royalton 37
Willmar 67, St. Cloud Apollo 18
Brandon/Evansville 51, Hancock 42
Browerville 85, Upsala 66
Osakis 71, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 38
Dawson-Boyd 67, Renville County West 45
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 52, MACCRAY 44
West Central Area 51, St. John's Prep 33
Minnewaska Area 56, Yellow Medicine East 53
Paynesville Area 50, Benson 19
BOLD 45, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 41
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 79, Montevideo 63
Sauk Centre 71, Melrose Area 34

Area boys' basketball scores on Dec. 16:
Rockford Area 61, Norwood-Young America 56
Melrose Area 54, Litchfield 50
Holdingford 53, Foley 32
MACCRAY 86, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 33
Battle Lake 66, Brandon/Evansville 34
Albany 79, Sauk Rapids-Rice 77 OT
Benson 66, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 57
Eden Valley-Watkins 71, Pierz 63
Upsala 54, Kimball Area 47 (at Upsala)

Christmas program video

Click on the link to see some video from today's elementary Christmas program:
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2014/12/video-elementary-christmas-program.html

Big news in Jaguar Country

Coach Weller and Kinlee Swanson.

This is re-posted from the college Facebook page:

North Dakota State College of Science Volleyball (NDSCS) Head Coach, Jane Passa is happy to announce the signing of 5'7" outside hitter Kinlee Swanson to the 2015 season.

Swanson is a three-sport athlete from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (BBE). She was selected as All-Area, All-Conference, All-State Honorable Mention, CMC Player-of-the-Year, and Most Valuable Player in a her time at BBE for Volleyball.

She was also a two-year basketball captain as well as All-Conference Honorable Mention. In track she was All-State, three-time All-Conference, and third in the state for the long jump.

Needless to say...Kinlee Swanson is "ALL" that, and we are delighted to welcome her to NDSCS! We are so excited to have you continue your athletic and academic successes with us!

Congrats Kinlee!

Kinlee Swanson shown powering down a kill against Sauk Centre this past season.

My thoughts: Swanson is the type of student-athlete that you want in your school. Hard-working, humble and a no-excuses type of person. A team player who fights to the end, never has a bad thing to say about anyone and who is willing to go the extra mile to make everyone around them better. They don't come any better than that.

Halftime

The halftime score tonight: Jaguars 38, Rockets 23.

Game is on both radio stations!

Final: B-B-E 80, Rockford 67. Next for the Jaguars girls' basketball team (4-1) is another CMC game on Friday when they travel to Kimball.

Here's a short video from a timeout late in the second half while the Jaguars had a 68-51 lead:


Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on Dec. 16:
Maple Lake 38, Holdingford 26
Kimball Area 57, Pierz 55
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 28

I won't get back to update this until well after midnight. Too much unfinished work left to do in Sauk Centre.

And on another note: Smooth Magic 107 FM will cover the home boys' basketball game on Thursday night. Thanks for the coverage Brady!!

By 3 a.m. I finished up and have no energy to do anything else. I'll need most of Wednesday to recharge my batteries.

Sound advice

Feuerhake champ at Grant County

Ben Feuerhake, heavyweight champion at the Grant County Invitational.

Way to go Ben Feuerhake! The junior heavyweight pinned three opponents in Barret on Saturday while taking first individually and leading the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team to a fifth-place showing at the 12-team Grant County Invitational. Colby Schramel placed second as the other Jaguar who made it to the finals.

Next for the Jaguars is a tough and very important dual meet at Kimball on Thursday night. The Cubs are not only a Central Minnesota Conference member, but they are also jockeying for a top-four seed in Section 5A.

Santa Claus in Brooten!

Santa Claus was his jolly ol' self in Brooten tonight for the lighted Christmas parade.

Jana Zenner, Mr. Gossen, Mrs. Gossen and Brad Lieser manning the Rooster's Bottle Shop float in Brooten.

Brooten had all sorts of Christmas cheer to share today with visitors and residents of the town. The list of events was exhaustive! I heard that the crowd picked up after 1 p.m., and the free showing of "Ice Age - a Mammoth Christmas" had a nice-sized group of children and parents at the Brooten American Legion.

And the lighted parade was very, very fun to take in. It helped that the temperature hovered in the mid-40s!

Here's video of the magnificent lighted parade!

To see what went down in Sunburg tonight, click below. The music was a nice touch.
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2014/12/santa-claus-visits-sunburg.html

I have more photos and video to post on Sunday when I get time. Feel free to bookmark the following link and follow this for more news-related events. I finally got around to starting a website that will be geared towards news and community events. From time to time I'll still post non-sports updates on this Jaguar Sports blog, but that won't happen as much as it has in the past. As you'll see in the header of this new website, it will include news/events on what happens in the Brooten, Terrace, Sedan, Sunburg, Elrosa, Padua and Grove Lake areas as well as random news for the B-B-E school district.

http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com

My next move is to set up an online photo gallery to share photos for the B-B-E community...hopefully that will be sooner than later.

Santa in Elrosa!

Santa Claus met plenty of children this morning in Elrosa.

The Elrosa Commercial Club's Santa Day in Elrosa was a huge success this morning. A drawing for Elrosa Bucks was held afterwards, and during the hour-long event dozens of kids enjoyed visiting with jolly ol' Saint Nick himself. At least 47 kids showed up to take in the event along with dozens of parents, grandparents and other family. The Commercial Club gave away 15 $10 gift cards as an added perk.

*Update at 16:47...here's some video from Elrosa:


That's all I can report...time to get back to downtown Brooten for all of this!
http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2014/12/santa-claus-day-in-brooten.html

Overpowered in second half

Ryan Olmscheid dribbling on the wing.

Jacob Tensen out on the right wing looking for a teammate to pass to.

The Pierz Pioneers overpowered the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team in the second half on their way to a 74-52 road win tonight. The Pioneers were up 25-24 at halftime. The Jaguars fell behind 18-12 midway into the first half before pulling in front 20-19 with three minutes left on a 15-footer by Austin Trustheim.

The game was close all through the first half and in the opening minutes of the second half. Pierz was relatively cold on the outside up until there was about 12 minutes left in the game.

With 13:25 left in the game, Jordan Wosmek canned a three-pointer, and soon after that Trustheim hit a rebound shot to make it Pierz 37, B-B-E 33. The Pioneers then blistered the nets on the three-point line and blew it open. With 9:36 to go, they were up 57-37.

Fourteen points was the closest the Jaguars would get from that point on. Although they played between eight and nine players, depth became an issue in the second half. The Pioneers went a strong 10 deep.

Here's a short video from the second half:

Next is Holdingford in another home game on Thursday. The Huskers (0-4) played a relatively solid game against seventh-ranked and undefeated Eden Valley-Watkins tonight. The Eagles won 50-27 on their home floor to move to 7-0 overall. EV-W is having their best season since 2006-2007 when they finished 17-7 overall after an 8-1 start.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow is a very, very busy day: Santa Claus in Elrosa, Brooten and Sunburg. A big Christmas sale at the Belgrade Hardware Hank store along with a book signing event at Jana Mae's/Mudslingers Café in Brooten. A junior high basketball tournament in Holdingford (won't make that). The engine block won't cool off during the day.

Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on Dec. 12:
Kimball Area 68, Rockford Area 53
Maple Lake 78, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 63
#7 Eden Valley-Watkins 50, Holdingford 27

Area boys' basketball scores on Dec. 12:
Melrose Area 67, Sauk Centre 53 (undefeated Dutchmen led 23-22 after getting a shot off in the final seconds before halftime; the score was 12-12 with seven minutes to go in the first half)
Albany 69, Annandale 42
St. Cloud Apollo 63, Willmar 38
Litchfield 73, Paynesville Area 52
Dawson-Boyd 78, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 41
West Central Area 60, Royalton 32
Swanville 62, Osakis 41
Upsala 79, St. John's Prep 59
Henning 52, Ashby 50 OT
Battle Lake 75, Parkers Prairie 35

KaDe Shack

If you haven't made it here, you're missing out! Great food, great atmosphere, great music and great company! The Supporting Chief Derrick Bjork event was an official success.

Halftime

Pierz 25, B-B-E 24.

Pierz won.

Radio coverage

Don and Bill will be back in town tonight to cover the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball game against the Pierz Pioneers on our home court.

If you can't make the game, catch the action in one of two ways:
106.5 FM on the radio
Or online: http://www.willmarradio.com/the_train

I haven't had much time to write about the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team this week. They have been idle with a week of tough practices as they gear up for a big 12-team tournament at West Central Area (Barrett) tomorrow. It'll be a bruising day of wrestling. Here are the teams included with the Jaguars and Knights: Alexandria, Ottertail Central, New York Mills, Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta, Mille Lacs, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, Fergus Falls, Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd/Montevideo (United), Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley/Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (Border West), Pelican Rapids.

Also, good luck to the B-B-E Dazzlers dance team as they travel to Albany tomorrow for a big 19-team invitational. Teams included with the Albany Pawettes and the Dazzlers are ACGC, Aitkin, St. Cloud Apollo, Duluth Marshall, Fergus Falls, Frazee, G-F-W, Mayer Lutheran, Melrose Area, Monticello, New Ulm Cathedral, New London-Spicer, Paynesville Area, Pelican Rapids, Pierz, Rockford Area and St. Cloud Cathedral. The invitational starts at 12 p.m.

Back to winning

Powered by Jordan Wosmek's 23 points, B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team pulled away from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in the second half and posted a 57-36 win in a non-conference border battle. At halftime, the Dazzlers varsity jazz squad performed.

Tonight was the first meeting of these two teams in the hardwood since December 2010. In the 2007-2008 season, a pretty solid K-M-S team beat the Jaguars in the season opener 74-67.

Next is Pierz (1-2, 0-1) at home tomorrow night. Kimball Area beat Pierz 75-54 in Kimball on Tuesday night. *The Train 106.5 FM will carry the Pierz game. Pass the word.

Area boys' basketball scores on Dec. 11:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 76, BOLD 58
Browerville 76, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 65
Paynesville Area 71, Benson 69 
#7-ranked Eden Valley-Watkins 53, New London-Spicer 46
Central MN Christian 75, MACCRAY 59
Upsala 87, Onamia 44
Minnewaska Area 70, Yellow Medicine East 46
Ortonville 73, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 51
Underwood 70, Ashby 43

Area girls' basketball scores on Dec. 11:
Staples-Motley 59, Pierz 46
Eden Valley-Watkins 49, Melrose Area 24
Paynesville Area 59, Holdingford 27
Sauk Centre 73, Albany 67 (Mainstreeters led 42-37 at halftime)
Browerville 74, Swanville 34
Osakis 50, Upsala 40
Central MN Christian 45, MACCRAY 24
Lac qui Parle Valley 61, Renville County West 26

Order girls basketball clothing!

Click on the graphic for best viewing.

Rambow, Inc. of New London is currently taking orders for B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball clothing. The deadline to place orders is Sunday, December 14!

(Video) 'Clue' musical late in Act II

The video clip is a few weeks old, but it's fun to watch:


Remember to support the B-B-E Fine Arts programs throughout the year! Speech season is just around the corner!!

Local bank branches' Christmas open house information

Click on the graphic above for best viewing.

Our local banks are an extremely important part of our B-B-E community. This time of year I hope you are able to take a moment to relax in the warm atmosphere of the banks' Christmas/Holiday open house celebrations. I am hopeful to hit all four of our local locations between this week and next week!

Every day this week, North American State Bank is having a celebration in the Belgrade branch, and on Friday they will have an open house in Elrosa. (See above)

The Central Minnesota Credit Union is having a Christmas/Holiday open house on Friday, Dec. 19 at their Belgrade branch. Also that Friday (12-19-14), Bonanza Valley State Bank is having a Christmas/Holiday open house as well. Advertising for the CMCU and BVSB open houses will be posted next week.

A good read

I thought this was interesting. I heard a great deal of talk about "specialization" and how at bigger schools, kids are encouraged to pick one sport and play that sport year-round. Not a good trend.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-dannemiller/the-one-question-every-parent-should-quit-asking_b_6182248.html

Basketball teams split

I don't have a final score from Howard Lake, but the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team fell to 1-2 with a loss. They look to regroup this Thursday with a home game vs. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. Pierz visits on Friday night. (Final at HL-W-W: Lakers 72, Jaguars 28.) The 28 points is not a typo. It's the lowest offensive output by a boys' basketball team since Jan. 16, 2007 when the Jaguars lost 57-26 at Eden Valley. Interestingly, that year, they regrouped and put up a valiant fight six weeks later when they lost 60-57 to EV-W in the last home game of the season. I still vividly remember both of those EV-W games.

Whether it was their old gym or new gym, HL-W-W has always been a tough place for visitors to play basketball. (Above) Brian Goodwin, then a junior, shown keeping his dribble after being tripped up by a Lakers guard on Jan. 17, 2013. The Jaguars won that game 58-52 for their 45th conference win in a row.

As ugly as tonight's loss was, we can be sure that the Central Minnesota Conference record book will have B-B-E's name in it for years and years and perhaps decades. The streak ended at 70 games. It's absolutely incredible considering that the old boys' basketball record for consecutive CMC wins was 44 games (HL-W-W from 1999 to 2002).

*How's this for irony: the Jaguars snapped HL-W-W's conference winning streak in March 2002 in truly epic fashion with a 63-62 road win when Josh Eckstein put in a rebound shot at the buzzer at Hubert H. Humphrey Gymnasium in Howard Lake in front of about 800 well-traveled B-B-E fans; HL-W-W was the last team to beat the Jaguars in the CMC (Dec. 15, 2009 by a 77-64 score) at their new high school south of Howard Lake; and after beating CMC teams 70 times in a row, tonight the Jaguars fell to HL-W-W at the same location they suffered their last CMC loss almost five years ago.

Adding to all of that: since the start of the 2008-2009 season (six years ago), the Jaguars have lost just four games in the CMC. Three of those four losses have been at HL-W-W's new gymnasium (Feb. 6, 2009 in overtime - Dec. 15, 2009 - Dec. 9, 2014). The fourth on that list was at Rockford on February 20, 2009.

Here's what I wrote about that February 2009 loss: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2009/02/jaguars-boys-basketball-suffers-first.html 

Here's what I wrote about that December 2009 loss: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2009/12/jaguars-boys-basketball-leads-early-at.html

Oh, how could I forget? The old record, that 44-game CMC winning streak, owned by HL-W-W? To break that streak, the Jaguars beat none other than HL-W-W by a 58-52 score in Howard Lake (yep, that new gymnasium) for their 45th win in a row in the CMC on Jan. 17, 2013. I was lucky enough to personally watch that game.

Whew, this is the material sports writers live for. You can go an entire career without witnessing this at the high school level.

CMC boys' basketball scores on Dec. 9:
@ Kimball Area 75, Pierz 54
Maple Lake 63, @ Holdingford 40
Eden Valley-Watkins 64, @ Rockford Area 54

The traps were working at peak efficiency at K-M-S tonight. PHOTO BY CK PHOTOGRAPHY

It was a different story at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight, where the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team throttled the Fighting Saints in a 62-33 win. They led 27-21 after a rough first half. The Jaguars (3-1) get a few days off to focus on practice before they host Rockford Area (0-3) next Tuesday for the Central Minnesota Conference and home opener. The Rockets may be winless, but they've had a tough early-season schedule and will present a challenge for the Jaguars. (The three teams who have beaten Rockford have a combined record of 10-1.)

Area girls' basketball scores on Dec. 9:
New London-Spicer 71, #2-ranked Sauk Centre 59 (I never saw that coming; the Mainstreeters went stone cold on the three-point line shooting 8-for-39 on the arc)
Eden Valley-Watkins 73, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 41
BOLD 43, Benson 41
CMCS 47, RCW 43 2 OT
Dassel-Cokato 66, Maple Lake 46
Pierz 55, Upsala 45
Kimball Area 49, Swanville 32
Dawson-Boyd 64, MACCRAY 30
Ada-Borup 75, NCE/U-H 59
Albany 56, St. Cloud Cathedral 35
Ashby 34, Battle Lake 30

Area boys' basketball scores on Dec. 9:
Brandon/Evansville 56, Bertha-Hewitt 43
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 68, Minnewaska Area 57
Melrose Area 66, Benson 53
Montevideo 73, Sauk Centre 53
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 70, Yellow Medicine East 66
Paynesville Area 58, BOLD 51
St. Cloud Cathedral 74, Albany 71 OT
Sebeka 61, Frazee 52
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 56, Swanville 51 OT
West Central Area 62, Osakis 42
Upsala 60, Royalton 26
Battle Lake 63, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 23
Parkers Prairie 62, Henning 37

Santa Claus Day in Brooten

Come to Brooten on Saturday! You won't want to miss out on this. From what I have seen throughout the area, this may be the busiest "Santa Day" around.

The B-B-E wrestling club is sponsoring a Candy Cane Dash 5K and 1K. The walk/run starts at 10 a.m., and registration is at Trinity Lutheran Church starting at 9:30 a.m. Kids games will also be held.

A Boy Scouts (B-B-E Troop 66) bake sale is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American Legion building.

**At Jana Mae's, local author Les Graham will sign copies of his book "Jude's Gentle Giants" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. As I have time, I hope to write a little more about his book between now and Saturday. http://www.janamaes.com/

At the Brooten American Legion building, a free movie showing of "Ice Age - a Mammoth Christmas" starts at 1 p.m.

Santa Claus greets children from 2 to 3 p.m., also at the Legion hall. Each child will receive a bag of treats.

Free sleigh rides by Horse Power Acres will be from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. outside the American Legion building.

All week you can register at Brooten Commercial Club business members for a drawing of $300 to $600 in Brooten Bucks. The drawing will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Legion hall. Drawings will be for $20, and if you are present that amount doubles to $40.

A Parade of Lights will be on main street starting at 6 p.m., where floats decorated with Christmas lights will drive by.

The night wraps up with "Christmas caroling by the fire." The campfire and caroling will be at the old Brooten high school parking lot following the parade. S'Mores will be provided.

See you Saturday!

...and if you are able to, be sure to squeeze in a trip to Belgrade on Saturday during the hours of 8:30 a.m. at 2 p.m. for the Belgrade Hardware Hank's Holiday Open House!

Glacial Ridge Health System Christmas toy drive

Members of the Glacial Ridge Ambulance staff with some of the toys collected.

Here's a message from Glacial Ridge Health System in Glenwood:

The Glacial Ridge Ambulance team thanks everyone who contributed to our Holiday Toy Drive! We are proud to be part of giving hundreds of area kids a merrier Christmas because of your generosity. The toys pictures are only a portion, about one-third, of what was collected! All financial donations are spent locally, everything stays local. Gifts are distributed through the Pope County Family Collaborative and the BBE School District. Thank you to Shopko, Screen Prints Plus and Fleet Supply for discounting purchases going toward the toy drive. Happy Holidays!

Concert rebroadcast, bank open houses, SANTA!

Mark it on your calendars: Smooth Magic 107 FM will re-air last night's B-B-E Christmas/Holiday concert on the radio (and their Internet stream) at 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 22.

In other community news...

The North American State Bank Christmas/Holiday "Customer Appreciation" open house is taking place every day this week at their Belgrade branch. NASB's Elrosa branch will host their Christmas/Holiday open house *this* Friday, December 12 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m with coffee and cookies served.

Children from throughout the Elrosa area are invited to town to see Santa Claus on Saturday!

This Saturday, December 13 is a big, big day for area kids (and young-at-heart adults)...I have heard through reliable sources that Santa Claus will be visiting Elrosa, Brooten and Sunburg that day.

I have to double-check the time for Santa Claus in Brooten, but in Elrosa it will be 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Sts. Peter and Paul parish center as stated in the photo. Santa Claus will be in Sunburg at 5:30 p.m. that night.

**Santa will be in Brooten from 2 to 3 p.m. Click on this link to read more about the events in Brooten: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2014/12/santa-claus-day-in-brooten.html

***Also Saturday, the Belgrade Hardware Hank is hosting a Holiday Open House from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Refreshments and door prizes will be available, and the employees are offering free gift wrapping, a free gift just for stopping and special sales throughout the store.

And a friendly reminder:

Share the message!

Joy to the World!!