extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Homecoming tennis: Jaguars win!! (VIDEOS)
For their Homecoming match, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team is hosting MACCRAY today. They are also holding a fundraiser in support of the Easton Rood family. The girls on the team brought baked goods and sold them with a free-will offering during the match.
(Volleyball update is posted below)
Updates:
At No. 2 doubles, the Presley Detloff and Shelby Anderson have a 5-0 lead in the first set against MACCRAY. In the second set, the Jaguars have a 3-0 lead.
At No. 1 doubles, the Jaguars have a 4-1 lead in the first set. *Final score of the first set: B-B-E 6, MACCRAY 2. MACCRAY then won the first point of the second set. After they trailed 2-1, Olivia Thieschafer and Tiyana Schwinghammer won two straight points to go up 4-3. ** The Jaguars won the final point to close out the set with a 6-3 win.
At No. 2 singles, Paige Prentice has a 5-4 lead after she trailed 3-2 in the first set. MACCRAY won the next two points to go up 6-5. Prentice won a tiebreaker 7-4 to win the first set 7-6!! Then she won the second set by a 6-3 score. This was a huge win for the Jaguars. Prentice put it all on the court and gave one of her best performances of the season by sealing the match in two sets.
As of now, B-B-E holds a 2-1 lead in team points. MACCRAY won in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
At No. 3 doubles, Karley Hiltner and Izzy Graham hold a 2-1 lead in their opening set.
**Update: the Jaguars girls' tennis team won their Homecoming match! They won by a score of 4-3. Matches were won at all three doubles matches and No. 2 singles. It was a very even and well-played match. Multiple sets were back-and-forth across the seven matches. It was exciting to see the Jaguars squeeze out this win. They hold a 4-5 record going into the last match of the regular season. The Jaguars close out the regular season next Monday, October 4 at 4:15 p.m. at B-B-E high school against Wadena-Deer Creek.
Here's video of the player introductions prior to the match:
More to come. I'm looking for results from the volleyball match at Kimball.
*Here's a post-match interview with senior Kylie Winter on Tuesday night following her team's 3-2 win over Paynesville Area:
Here's a video I forgot to post in the last couple of weeks...it features B-B-E's first touchdown scored at Brock Field in Benson on September 17. The touchdown takes place in the opening minute of this video:
**And here's the official results out of Kimball high school tonight!
In a road conference match during Homecoming week, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won 3-1 over the Cubs to improve to 13-6 overall and 4-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Game scores were 26-28, 25-15, 25-18, 25-12. Three players were in double figures for kills, and as a team, the Jaguars hit with a robust 31 percent hitting efficiency. The Jaguars also racked up a whopping 15 ace serves. Next is a trip to Alexandria on Saturday for the JV and varsity teams.
I had to double-check the dates on the reports that I looked at today, but after triple-checking the data, we see that the Belgrade, Brooten and Elrosa zip codes have posted the number 14 for the second straight week. Just as crazy: the numbers were identical across the three zip codes from the September 16 report and September 23 report =
Belgrade 56312: 8 new cases
Brooten 56316: 4 new cases
Elrosa 56325: 2 new cases
What can we take from that? Well, don't ask me that if you want an expert answer. Because my view is that there are no signs that COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across our local communities. The numbers I'm seeing just don't bear that out. I'm sure that statement rubs people the wrong way (the doom and gloom crowd). And as I've said before: this all does not mean that COVID-19 is not a threat. Don't put words in my mouth.
It's worth pointing out that at MACCRAY, where they've been fully open with masking optional in the K-12 buildings since the first day of school on August 17, the Clara City zip code posted just 2 new COVID-19 cases in the last week. Maynard posted a zero, and Raymond posted a 13. They are close to having seven weeks of the school year completed!! Last week's number in the Raymond zip code was 8, so maybe that's what the doom and gloom crowd calls a surge? (13 new compared to 8 new a week ago)
Time to get to the grill out at B-B-E high school!!!
We're into Day IV of the 33rd annual Homecoming in Jaguar Country! Today the tennis team takes the spotlight. The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosts MACCRAY today for a non-conference dual at the high school. Action begins at 4:15 p.m. Come early and enjoy the concession stand the team will have set up!
For dress-up days, Thursday is "Let's Get Physical: Workout Gear/Jersey" day at the high school. During the day, the boys will hold a volleyball tournament. Also, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team travels to Kimball Area for their fourth conference match of the year.
Here's an eight-minute long video from Water Fest last Friday in Glenwood. B-B-E sixth graders participate in this event every year, although last year's was cancelled:
The video features a presentation with a red-tailed hawk by the Osprey Environmental Learning Center out of Sandstone. More coverage was published in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
Soon I put the Homecoming hat back on and head to the high school, where they are holding a grill out for lunch. This is going to be another fantastic day in Jaguar Country! You could not ask for a better day for grilling hot dogs and hamburgers! Do we not live in the best part of America? I say we do!
A most spectacular day in Jaguar Country (VIDEOS!)
The thesaurus will need some overtime to find the words that properly describe how wonderful today was in Jaguar Country. The entire student body of B-B-E, from preschool through 12th graders, participated in the sixth annual Color FUND Run at the high school campus (and southern side of Belgrade).
A video from the Color FUND Run finish line will be added here after 21:30 tonight.
Here's video from the start of the senior high race, which formally kicked off the event...and it also features the start of the junior high race (about the 5:00 mark) It has been two years since we've pulled this off in Jaguar Country! I definitely had a lot to remember and catch up on from the first five that we've had:
**And here's a second video quality-checked and ready for posting...this was taken about 20 minutes after the senior high race began at 13:00. It features senior high and junior high students crossing the finish line:
There's a lull in kids crossing the finish line between the 43-second and 2:20 mark, and I had to pan the camera around the campus...then it picks up again with dozens and dozens coming across in different groups. I had to give the volleyball players a hard time (about 5:00 in the video) for walking towards the finish line. Of course, I was joking around, because they did indeed go five games last night and are definitely running in very little sleep this week! (Who's not?)
I want you to know that for the record, this was a day for the ages! It was such an awesome, awesome day to be a part of at the school campus. All six Color FUND Runs that we've had at B-B-E have been very special. I think this one ranks as the best, mostly because we continue to put everything back in place after a challenging and nerve-wracking 2020-2021 school year. The more we put that in our rear view mirror, the better!
After today's Color Run, students in the Class of 2022 and Class of 2023 participated in a very well-played and exciting Powder Puff flag football game at the football stadium. The seniors won! I don't remember the exact score off the top of my head. It's on video, and I'll get to that eventually tonight.
The Class of 2022 won today's Powder Puff flag football game by a 45-42 score!
Be very proud of this student body! We have our share of bumps and bruises, but we love each other. We would go to the ends of the earth for one another. Today was a prime example of that. No school in central Minnesota can pull off a day like we had today in Jaguar Country. Let that sink in.
More to come later. I still have to circle back to volleyball coverage from last night! Since the start of last night's volleyball match, I've shot between 600 and 700 photos on three different cameras plus video...and over night we got a 16-page Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper issue to press!! No rest for the weary! I looked it over and see about 150 photos from the Powder Puff game. AND the grand total of pictures taken since the start of last night's volleyball game easily surpassed 700.
We are over half way through Homecoming week at B-B-E and there's a lot more fun to be had and memories to be made. Please continue praying for the safety of all of our children and their families as #BBEHoCo week continues!
THANK YOU to Coop's Corner, Bayer Gas and Grocery and Bonanza Valley State Bank for sponsoring this blog post! All three of those businesses are owned by graduates of Brooten, Belgrade and B-B-E high schools! That's neat! For the record: the Bohmer family are all Brooten and B-B-E graduates; Dani Davis is a 2008 B-B-E graduate; and Mark Bayer is a Belgrade graduate, and Connie Bayer is a Brooten graduate.
The excitement of homecoming week continues in Jaguar Country today! The Color FUND Run gets underway at noon. Off the top of my head this is a sixth annual event. That event and the Powder Puff football game will consume my afternoon.
Yesterday the temperature hit 85! And today it's supposed to climb to about 83 degrees. Wow!
The Wednesday of B-B-E Homecoming week is by far one of my favorite days of the year.
Here's the exciting game five last night!:
**AND here's a throwback to 2019...the last Color FUND Run at B-B-E...it seems so long ago:
**And let's go way back to 2017 in this video!
I hope you can get outside today!
On Wednesday night, I will get a new blog post added with video from today's excitement.
A big SHOUT OUT to the loyal and dedicated weekly support of Bonanza Valley State Bank and the Belgrade Hardware Store for regular advertising that helps keep our Bonanza Valley Voice going!
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team improved to 3-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference tonight with a huge Homecoming 3-2 barn burner win over neighboring rival Paynesville Area.
The Jaguars won game five 15-8 after falling 25-22 in a closely-fought game four. Video is uploading.
**Here's video from game one tonight; this video ends with the Jaguars holding a slim 15-13 lead:
Game one was a wild one, with the Bulldogs fighting back from a 19-16 deficit to tie it at 20-20. The Bulldogs were in a 6-1 run that put them in the lead by a 22-20 margin. Allison Dingmann drilled a kill into a block, but then Paynesville had a kill to regain a two-point lead. The Jaguars hit long to bring game point and a 24-21 lead for the Bulldogs. Then it got crazy! The Bulldogs hit long in back-to-back series to narrow it to 24-23. Tayjah Marthaler then had a huge ace serve to tie it at 24-24. Game one wasn't over by a long shot. The Jaguars served on game point at 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27. With the game tied 27-27, Brooklyn Fischer had a solo ace block. The Bulldogs bumped a Paige Rupp attack into the net to end the game in favor of B-B-E 29-27. Wow.
Game scores were 29-27, 25-14, 14-25, 22-25, 15-8.
I was so proud of our small but mighty B-B-E pep band tonight! I am biased, though, as I was fortunate enough to play with the band for a few songs. It's been over two years since I've picked up my trumpet. That changed tonight!
More to come in the morning. I have to finish off a monster 16-page issue tonight. Please remember to keep our students and their families in your prayers this week! We all want everyone to make it home every night amidst all the fun and excitement of Homecoming week in Jaguar Country.
A quick note: tonight's volleyball match will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!)
**Click here to watch the Bonanza Valley Voice coronation video = https://bit.ly/2XYOqg7. This was posted on Tuesday afternoon.
Updates to follow on this blog post later tonight.
Here's the live video player for tonight's volleyball match:
It will be a great Homecoming match! The Bulldogs trail the Jaguars in the Central Minnesota Conference standings by one match. There's a lot of volleyball left to play this season, but the Jaguars have their eyes set on staying undefeated in the CMC.
Game one final score: B-B-E 29, Paynesville 27.
**We are in game four, and the Jaguars have a two-to-one advantage in sets. Game four is tied at 18-all!!!
Here's a throwback! This is a low-quality photo of the Homecoming Queen and King (Becca Gruber and Austin Kollman) way, way back in the fall of 2013. Eight years ago! They were Class of 2014 graduates. Also seated are the crown bearers Marissa French and Louie Tensen...just first graders back then.
The 33rd annual B-B-E Homecoming week is underway. The coronation program was held tonight at Olson Auditorium, B-B-E high school. The program was terrific. Kudos to the student council and everyone who had a hand in organizing it!
**Click here to watch the Bonanza Valley Voice coronation video = https://bit.ly/2XYOqg7. This was posted on Tuesday afternoon.
Will VanBeck and Paige Rupp are the B-B-E Homecoming King and Queen. I've got video, but I won't be able to get that posted until the morning. It has been a long and mentally exhausting day. Remember: you can always catch up on what is coming for area events at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website community calendar: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/page/bonanza-valley-community-calendar/102.html.
A final note:please pray for the safety of our B-B-E student body and their families this week. Pray for our kids' mental, physical and spiritual well being. I have frayed nerves already and it's just day one of Homecoming week. I won't get much sleep until at least next Saturday night.
Precious Lord, he who dwells in the shelter of You – the Most High – shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Lord, I pray that You are my child’s refuge and fortress, the God in whom they can and should put their trust! I pray that no evil shall be allowed to befall on my child, no plague will come near his/her tent. I rejoice for You have commanded Your angels concerning my child to guard him/her in all of his/her ways. Amen. Psalm 91:1-2, 10-12
Here's a video clip taken off of the live stream from Pine River-Backus high school last Thursday:
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won 3-0 to improve to 11-6 overall with the win. They host Paynesville Area tomorrow night in a big border battle and conference match to rev up Homecoming week in Jaguar Country!
Today the JV football Jaguars are in action at Upsala at 5 p.m., and the elementary flag football (grades 3-4) and volleyball (grades 5-6) are in action at home. The elementary volleyball Jaguars play at the elementary at 6 p.m., and the flag football Jaguars are at the high school stadium.
Last Sunday was a busy day just as Saturday was this weekend. Here's a video taken at the Padua Pub last Sunday near the end of the St. Donatus Catholic church fall ham and turkey dinner. Scott Jacobson, Brooten Class of 1971 graduate, helped auction off pies and other goodies:
An endless list of activity today. The one thing I want to really stress is to come to Swift Falls later today for the Turkey Fest! The parade is at 5:30 p.m. The full schedule was published on page three of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Click on the following link and you can see a video from the 2018 Turkey Fest parade in Swift Falls: https://bit.ly/39BxVZY. The pot luck turkey cook-off runs from 3 to 5 p.m.
The Brooten Fire Department Bar Bingo begins today at 2 p.m. at the KaDe Shack.
And! Tonight the Sedan Fire Department holds their 40-gun raffle. Social hour starts at 6 p.m. at Heidi's Bar.
Here's a video from tennis action yesterday...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosted Melrose Area. I left to the football game with the score at Melrose 5, B-B-E 1. The No. 3 singles match was still in progress.
Friday Night Lights IV: Jaguars lose an unforgettable shootout (VIDEOS)
An unforgettable shoot out took place on the home gridiron tonight between our B-B-E Jaguars football team and the Upsala/Swanville Area Patriots. It was a second half I will never forget, but unfortunately, the Jaguars came up short in the end.
*Here's a video from early in the second quarter tonight. The Jaguars converted first downs and drove into U/SA territory before they stalled out on downs:
The video above features part of B-B-E's third offensive series of the game. The series started as the second quarter began with the Jaguars on their own 45-yard line. It was very good field position, and the Jaguars needed to capitalize. Gavin Kampsen and Easton Hagen both earned first downs, but the drive stalled out on fourth down on the U/SA 33-yard line with 6:54 left in the first half.
The Jaguars trailed 24-18 at halftime and then fell behind 30-18 in the third quarter. The Jaguars proceeded to score 22 unanswered points in one of the wildest third quarters of football that I've seen in my life. A total of 34 points were scored between both teams in the third quarter. Gavin Kampsen scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 2:54 left in the third quarter to put B-B-E ahead 40-30. I have a lot of notes to comb through before I can write up the basis of that 22-point scoring spree. The Jaguars led 40-36 at the start of the fourth quarter.
After falling behind 40-30, U/SA started their next series on their own 35-yard line with 2:50 left in the third quarter. They later scored with 16 seconds on the clock on a four-yard touchdown carry. They were stopped on a two-point conversion run by Easton Hagen and Maximus Hanson about three yards short on the right sideline.
The tide turned heavily in U/SA's favor when they scored on a pick-six interception return of about 35 yards with 11:02 left in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was good to put the Patriots ahead 44-40.
The final dagger came when U/SA scored their final touchdown on a seven-yard run with 2:57 left in the game. The conversion play failed to leave the score at 50-40.
Final score: U/SA 50, B-B-E 40. The Jaguars fall to 2-2 overall, while U/SA is now 3-1 at the mid-way point of the regular season. For B-B-E, quarterback Luke Dingmann had 14-for-25 passing marks for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Gavin Kampsen led the ground game with 107 yards rushing. As a team, the Jaguars gained 160 yards on the ground. I'm 99.9% sure that the 90 points scored is a record for the B-B-E football field. The 48-37 win for Homecoming in 2017 is what I believe stands with the record for most points scored in a game (85).
U/SA gained 311 rushing yards and 136 passing yards. Levi Lampert was the receiver for all 136 yards, and he did so on three pass receptions.
Fun stats: through four games of the season, the Jaguars have 1,183 yards of offense with 733 yards coming on the ground.
Last week I got way ahead of myself, didn't look at the schedule, and somehow got Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in my head after the Benson game. Wrong! Wrong! Long Prairie-Grey Eagle is the Week Five opponent, and now the Jaguars set their sights on the Thunder as they gear up for the 34th annual B-B-E Homecoming football game. LP-GE was 0-3 heading into tonight's home game with state-ranked Kimball Area. *More on that below.
It was FABULOUS to see the B-B-E Pep Band back in action! They performed tonight out on the track in the northwest side of the football stadium. They performed at least during one football game in 2020, and I am excited to see them again next week for volleyball on Tuesday and football on Friday.
More to come. Video is uploading.
**Here's video featuring the first touchdown scored by B-B-E's offense tonight. They scored with just over one minute remaining in the first quarter to narrow a deficit to the Patriots to 16-12:
The game was a knock-down brawl from start to finish. B-B-E started out with the upper hand when Ryan Jensen returned the opening kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars a 6-0 lead with just 15 seconds gone. U/SA recovered from that punch in the gut by scoring 16 unanswered points in the first quarter. B-B-E cut into the 16-6 deficit with a touchdown featured in the above video.
It's easy to look back and say, "If this, this, this or this didn't happen, we would have won" and twice big plays made a huge difference for the U/SA Patriots. The first big break they got was in the first quarter, when U/SA's Levi Lampert caught a pass on the sideline and raced to the end zone for an 83-yard touchdown. There's just one problem: the receiver stepped out of bounds before catching the pass. He was an ineligible receiver, but there was no call. The other big play that made a huge difference for U/SA was the interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Credit to the Patriots on that play.
The 48-minute shootout had both teams trading punches in a back-and-forth affair. The Jaguars were on fire in the third quarter with a 10-point lead. In a tip of the hat to the U/SA Patriots, it was impressive to witness their comeback win. I am frustrated by a few things that took place tonight. At one point in the third quarter, I had to walk out of the stadium and let my blood pressure get back down to a safe level...but that has to be set aside for now. One thing we can't forget is that U/SA is a fellow Section 4A team. We could very well see them in the playoffs.
I was emphatic and dead serious when I told some of the players at the conclusion of the game that they should be very proud of the game they played tonight. The Jaguars gave all the fight in the world right to the bitter end of a very tough loss. They showed they can play a very tough brand of football and can play with one of the top teams in Sub District III. The Patriots entered tonight's game with 126 points scored through the first three games. I can see them winning three of their last four games and going into playoffs with a 6-2 record. It's hard to say at this point how they'll fare against Kimball Area in Week Eight. To this point, no one has put up anything that resembles a competitive game against the Cubs.
**Update:Long Prairie-Grey Eagle fell to 0-4 on the season with a 57-6 loss in Long Prairie to No. 5-ranked Class 2A Kimball Area (4-0). The Cubs are having what is possibly the best season they've had in the 21st century. Both Kimball Area and No. 4-ranked BOLD are the lone undefeated teams in Mid-State District, Sub-District III.
Mid-State, Sub-District III scores in Week Four, September 24: #4 BOLD 34, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 14 (at Murdock; the Fighting Saints led 14-13 in the second quarter before BOLD's Hunter Borer caught a 33-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-14 lead into halftime)
Kimball Area 57, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6 (at Long Prairie)
#8 Browerville 57, Benson 19 (at Browerville)
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 62, Maple Lake 14 (at Maple Lake; ACGC's Landon Blom had 221 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns while the Falcons out-rushed the Irish 369 to 37)
Area football scores for Week Four on September 24:
Holdingford 31, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 13
Pelican Rapids 28, Parkers Prairie 8
Montevideo 34, Minnewaska Area 28 (the Lakers fall to 0-4, while the Thunderhawks earned their first win)
Eden Valley-Watkins 42, Paynesville Area 36 (triple overtime at Paynesville - wow)
New London-Spicer 21, #10 Annandale 17 (at Annandale)
Osakis 52, Barnesville 50 (triple overtime at Osakis! Wow)
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 41, Melrose Area 13
Hancock 44, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 28
West Central Area/Ashby 22, Hawley 13
Verndale 62, Ortonville 16
New York Mills 26, Pine River-Backus 12
Willmar 17, Sartell-St. Stephen 14
Becker 21, Hutchinson 12
Rockford 20, Pierz 12
Royalton 20, Sauk Centre 0
And about the B-B-E live stream tonight: YouTube wasn't cooperating...I talked to Billy Tensen about it after the game. They had a very strange issue with the livestream and were unable to get it going. It must have been some type of tech glitch when they type in the codes to set up the broadcast. I've been there. It sucks. They were very perplexed, because they've done this dozens and dozens of times on YouTube and never had a problem. The live streams worked flawlessly throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year.
Today is GAME DAY in Jaguar Country! The Upsala/Swanville Area Patriots (2-1) will be a formidable opponent. In the first game of the year, the Patriots held Maple Lake to just 29 net yards of offense and surrendered just one first down all game. U/SA won by a final score of 36-0 after leading 28-0 at halftime; they totaled 290 yards of offense.
I really hope you can make it to tonight's game. Later this afternoon, I'll get the live video player posted for those living out of the area who want to watch it virtually.
*Here's video featuring the second scoring drive of the Benson game at Friday Night Lights III:
Here's that live video player for Friday Night Lights IV:
Updates to follow on this blog post.
GAME UPDATES
U/SA holds a 16-12 lead in the middle of the second quarter.
**The live stream is down.
***With 11 minutes left in the game, the Patriots are ahead 44 to 40.
With under 7 minutes to go, the Patriots have the ball at midfield with first down.
With 3:19 left, the Patriots have third down on the BBE 7-yard line.
With 2:57 left, the Patriots scored on a seven-yard run by Lenarz to take a 50-40 lead. The 2-point conversion pass was knocked down.
BBE was unable to move the chains on their next possession. With 1:54 left, USA took over on the Jaguars 41-yard line.
The Patriots have ran two plays and accumulated eight yards of offense. B-B-E called a timeout to stop the clock with 104 seconds left in the game.
Final score and more in a new blog post for Friday Night Lights IV, so hit refresh to read more on tonight's game.
Next week is Homecoming!! Make sure you are there!!!
THANK YOU to Coop's Corner of Belgrade and Bonanza Valley State Bank of Brooten for sponsoring this sports update
Tonight is an exciting night as the new band teacher recruits fifth graders to the band program! (Class of 2029 students) The next issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper will include a feature article on the new band teacher.
*Update: at Parkers Prairie tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team lost a heartbreaker by a 4-3 margin. They are 3-5 overall going into tomorrow's home match with Melrose Area (4:15 p.m.).
**UPDATE: the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has won the first two sets at PR-B. In game three, the Tigers took an early 3-0 lead before they served long for a B-B-E side out. PR-B took leads of 4-1 and 6-3 before they committed two unforced errors to make it 6-5. Paige Rupp's kill tied the game at 7-7 and made PR-B call a timeout.
A lift call on PR-B later tied the game at 10-10. A tip by Brooklyn Fischer put the Jaguars ahead 11-10. Ava Mueller's kill made it a 12-10 lead.
A kill by Mueller broke a 13-13 tie. A let serve for an ace by Mueller made it 15-13 Jaguars.
PR-B later took a 20-19 lead with neither team gaining any momentum. A kill by Mueller tied it up at 20-20. With the game tied at 21-21, PR-B hit long to give the Jaguars a 22-21 lead.
Back-to-back ace serves from Kailey Fischer brought game and match point at 24-21. Mueller then finished off the Tigers with a left-handed dump kill for a 25-21 game three win. The Jaguars improved to 11-6 with the win.
The scores of the first two games were 25-20 and 25-15. For the night, the Jaguars served at an 89 percent clip and earned 14.5 percent hitting efficiency.
Next: the Jaguars get two days of practice tomorrow and next Monday before they are set to host Paynesville Area (13-2, 1-1) next Tuesday in what will be a rough-and-tumble Central Minnesota Conference border battle. I have said for weeks now that the upcoming volleyball match will be "crazy" fun!
Major decline: B-B-E zip codes post a 14 (40% drop)
BREAKING NEWS
A 40 percent reduction in new cases was what was reported in today's Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 zip code report for the zip codes of Belgrade, Brooten and Elrosa. Two of the three B-B-E zip codes showed big declines, while one remained the same, compared to the prior week. For the September 23 report, the B-B-E zip codes of about 4,300 people posted the number of 14 new cases in the period of September 16 to September 22.
Belgrade 56312 - 8 new cases (12 last week)
Brooten 56316 - 4 new cases (4 last week)
Elrosa 56325 - 2 new cases (7 last week)
While we can't hang our hat on "14 is a great number and we have nothing to worry about" - this huge reduction of 40 percent is something to celebrate and feel good about. This is happening while our school is wide open and full of activity.
The numbers are almost stunning to review by other area zip codes. Almost without exception, all COVID case count increases were static or declining from the September 16 report to the September 23 report. This is all happening while all area schools are utilizing full-time school with masks "recommended" but optional for K-12 students at school - with one exception. That exception is Alexandria elementary schools, where the doomsdayers force masks on children in order to allow them into their buildings.
IRONIC: despite their population being almost the same, there is more per-capita COVID in the Alexandria community than there is in Willmar...yet Willmar is not forcing masks on their children as a requirement of entry into their buildings. Let that sink in.
I can't get more added here until after lunch, and hopefully I'll get the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website updated soon as well. I glanced at two nearby zip codes and saw small numbers: Kerkhoven was 3 and Sunburg was 2 and New London was a 6.
Here's a snap shot of news items from area school districts...as published in their respective local newspapers. All very interesting!
*Update: a bomb threat was emailed to the Osakis school district this morning. They evacuated the buildings and are investigating. Really crazy to see that happening. Please pray for the Osakis school staff, students and families and hope that they learn what happened.
From the Eden Valley-Watkins Voice
The superintendent at EV-W included in his school board report this month that his staff saw a dramatic increase in anxiety-related issues with kids in the first week of school. He didn't have much detail (at least what was printed in the story) but in attempt to at least spitball what he felt was going on, he said many kids have anxiety over being in school now five days a week after a year of all the disruptions, dramatic changes to how they could interact with one another plus the every-other-day scheduling that they went through last year.
I highly doubt that issue is specific to EV-W, so please don't take this item as suggesting that they have a unique issue based on something that only they have done. In fact, studies are showing that anxiety-related problems with children increased by dramatic and disturbing levels over the last year-and-a-half since schools across the U.S. were closed for various lengths of time. How do you un-do the harm inflicted on a child by anxiety-related issues? Anyone out there have any bright ideas?
This next item I've learned wasn't in the newspaper, but I heard the information from a school board member in the Sauk Centre school district. I have known this school board member for a "long, long time" and trust them implicitly. I can't share many details, but basically, they shared that a high school teacher in Sauk Centre took it upon themselves to lecture his/her class on getting the COVID vaccine...then...then...wait for it...then decided in his/her rotten mind that they needed to say, "But please don't let your parents know we talked about this."
Upon saying that last part to the class, the best next course of action would be to set your ID badge on your desk, walk straight out to your car, drive away and never come back. That's my view! I mean, seriously! Talk about anxiety issues. That teacher needs to get their head examined by multiple professionals.
What was published in this week's Sauk Centre Herald was interesting. On their front page, a story about student illnesses was published that said in the first three weeks of school, 114 of roughly 1,000 K-12 students had been out of school due to illness. Only 13 of the 114 were COVID cases, while the rest consisted of colds, flus and strep throat. I've written about "immunity debt" in my newspaper recently, and the one thing I'll say here is that if nothing else - Sauk Centre is erasing a big chunk of immunity debt that seems to have built up in that community. Immunity debt is a difficult burden to overcome for children and adults. I found this article useful to explain what this all means = https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-immunity-debt-and-how-may-it-affect-kids-5196462.
(Google it if you want to know more on that.)
From the Dawson Sentinel:
At Dawson-Boyd schools, they are facing a severe paraprofessional shortage. It is severely impacting their special education department, according to what was published in the newspaper in the Sentinel's September 22 issue. Superintendent David Hansen also mentioned that the labor shortage is affecting their janitorial staff. In terms of the para shortage, he stated that Dawson-Boyd is short by three paras in the high school and four in the elementary school. To give that a little perspective, Dawson-Boyd is similar in school enrollment to B-B-E, although perhaps a bit smaller. Dawson-Boyd's grades 9-12 enrollment given by the MSHSL is 160, while at B-B-E that figure is 182. A shortage of paras at that level would be also difficult at B-B-E. We are extremely blessed to have the workforce we do at B-B-E across all areas of staffing.
The last item I have to share before getting to other tasks for today is that at the MACCRAY school district, "no news is good news" - and that's something they should be very happy about there. At MACCRAY, they have been in school for this 2021-2022 year longer than anyone else in central Minnesota. Just like B-B-E did last year, the MACCRAY school started the year earlier than usual because of an upcoming major building project. They have a huge project coming in 2022. Anyway, to my point...this week's Clara City Herald newspaper had nothing of interest related to COVID and their school. They have been plodding along diligently with full-time, in-person school without a mask mandate for staff or students.
MACCRAY had 12 days of school completed by the time Labor Day weekend arrived. On the night that the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team traveled to MACCRAY high school, their students already had 11 days of school completed. They have had no major COVID issues to speak of. Could that change? Of course it could. But as of today, the MACCRAY school has completed 22 days of school on their four-day week model. That equates to 14.8% of the whole school year. By the weekend that figure will be over 16% of the school year. They are cruising along.
It has been a very interesting day as I shift from one news cycle to the next. I was pretty blown away by what I read in newspapers from area towns. There's a lot to digest! I will write a few notes on that in a new blog post.
One bit of news really jumped out at me: the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley school has folded the varsity football team for the remainder of the 2021 season. The remaining games on their schedule will be forfeits. In grades 9-12, the C-G-B Wolverines had just 15 players on the roster. That's absolutely mind-boggling. This is a football program that was a state title contender in the early 2010s and won at least one state 9-man title (in 2012 if memory serves me correct). I learned today that too many kids on the 15-player roster have been injured, and folding was their only option beyond bringing up 8th graders to the varsity level.
C-G-B was 0-3 in their first three games and lost their last game by a 46-0 score to Verndale at the football field in Graceville. In the pandemic season of 2020, the Wolverines were 2-4 with wins over Brandon-Evansville and Sebeka. C-G-B's last winning season was in the fall of 2015, when they finished 8-2 and earned their last playoff win. Since 2015, the most wins they've had in one season was three. C-G-B was 7-4 in 2014 and section runners-up. They were 10-1 in 2013 with their season ending in the section finals.
I dug back in some newspaper archives, and I saw that C-G-B played in the 2008 Prep Bowl, in which they lost 22-16 to Houston to finish as state 9-man runners-up in a 13-1 season. I also saw that they were indeed 9-man state champions in 2012 and finished 13-0. C-G-B made it to the state semifinals in 2009.
From 2006 through the 2015 season, C-G-B did not have a losing season. In that span, they finished .500 just once.
Enough on C-G-B football!
Here's another mind-boggling item that popped out at me: in the Chokio Review newspaper published last Thursday, the newspaper reported that the C-A elementary school has just two students enrolled in first grade. At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, C-A's kindergarten class had six students in it. However, over the summer, four of those six children moved away.
B-B-E sports update: the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosts Melrose Area on Friday this week in a make-up match. Their meeting with Melrose was rained out on Monday. The Friday match starts at 4:15 p.m. at the high school. Also, the tennis team travels to Parkers Prairie tomorrow for a Prairie Conference match.
The other home varsity event yet to come this week is Friday Night Lights IV, when the B-B-E Jaguars football team hosts Upsala/Swanville Area at 7 p.m. at our football stadium.
Try this one on for size...it's a 22-minute clip. My gentle advice is to watch the full clip!
Did you know? In the last 18 months, the rate of the increase in childhood obesity was fastest in children ages 6 to 12 in the U.S. From my view, the guidance and recommendations and mandates from our federal government have led to untold levels of irreparable harm for children. It's shameful. We have to do better by our children.
What have you done today to seek better personal health for yourself and your family?
In other news: we have a most magnificent day in Jaguar Country today! That is some especially wonderful fall weather outside. Get out and get some sunshine!
The No. 8-ranked B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team improved to 10-6 overall on the season with a 3-0 win at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (1-8) tonight. Game scores were 25-21, 25-16, 25-13. The Jaguars hit 26.2 percent as a team and served at an 89.2 percent clip.
The Fighting Saints are the defending Camden North Conference champions last season. After suffering heavy graduation losses, this year they remain winless (0-4) in the brutally tough Camden Conference league; their lone win was by a 2-0 margin in a weekend tournament over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.
B-B-E has two days of practice ahead of them before they travel to Pine River-Backus high school on Thursday this week for a non-conference match with the Tigers. It will be a rematch of the 2018 Section 5A championship, which the Jaguars won by a 3-1 margin to end a seven-year state tournament drought.
**Update: the B-B-E Jaguars JV football team has improved to 3-0! They defeated Benson tonight by an unofficial score of 14-0 in Belgrade. I don't have that score confirmed, but I have confirmed that the Jaguars won by shut out. This means that through three games, the JV Jaguars have yet to be scored on! They beat K-M-S 22-0 in the season opener and then beat Benson last week by a 12-0 score.
Tomorrow there are no varsity events on the schedule.
CORRECTION to the Friday, September 17 blog post:
The Jaguars host Upsala/Swanville Area this week on September 24 for Week Four. The Homecoming game for Week Five on October 1 includes Long Prairie-Grey Eagle. The USA Patriots are 2-1 overall but have a powerful offense that's averaged 42 points a game through three games. Their lone loss was in Week 2 to No. 5-ranked BOLD by a 49-38 score.
The home girls' tennis match with Melrose Area was cancelled due to today's rain.
From what I'm seeing, the home JV football game is still on; it has a 5 p.m. kickoff time at the high school football stadium.
Here's another video clip from the concerts held last Saturday, September 11 in rural Sunburg. This video includes Kentucky Thunder singing.
Tonight there's a school board meeting at 7 p.m. at the elementary school library.
*Looking ahead: the Homecoming coronation will be held on Monday, September 27, at Olson Auditorium at the high school at 7 p.m.
Also! I cannot read sometimes! Good gravy. The Jaguars host Upsala/Swanville Area this week for Week IV. The Homecoming game for Week Five on October 1 includes Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.
Fall Festival in rural Georgeville...and church (VIDEOS)
As advertised in the last two Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper issues, Rustic Design Flower Farm is hosting their second annual Fall Festival today. You can see a few photos from last year's Fall Festival by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3AscarE. This event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. The owner of Rustic Designs Flower Farm is 1995 B-B-E graduate Mary (Walsh) Solbreken. Many of you remember her niece, Morgan Gronli, a three-sport star athlete at B-B-E and a 2018 B-B-E graduate.
Also today: Chippewa Falls Lutheran church is holding a drive-through hog roast from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are located on the north side of beautiful Terrace.
Also today! The St. Donatus Catholic Church is hosting a dine-in and take-out Turkey and Ham Fall Dinner at the Padua Pub. They serve from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the banquet hall. More details were published in the last two issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
If you didn't get to church last weekend, here's a video you can watch from last Sunday's outdoor worship at Brooten Community Church:
Following worship, parishioners and guests enjoyed a wonderful pot luck picnic with grilled hot dogs, brats and hamburgers. My family was blessed by taking part in the picnic, and we are grateful for their hospitality.
Additional coverage of local events and more is posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.
And here's another video from the concert in rural Sunburg last weekend. This was one of the last songs sung by Kentucky Thunder (short link) = https://bit.ly/3nO13pw.
Today the varsity girls' tennis and varsity volleyball teams both competed in tournaments. Also, there was JV and C-squad volleyball at the EV-W tournament.
Updates to follow later tonight after I get all the results.
Here's an update on volleyball:
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team went 3-1 in the Crosby-Ironton tournament today. They won two pool play matches to earn a spot in the championship round. The first win was over Crosby-Ironton 25-14, 25-13. They swept Little Falls 25-17, 25-13. In the semifinals, the Jaguars lost in a 2-1 match to Ada-Borup West. Game scores were 21-25, 25-22, 11-15.
In the third-place match, the Jaguars won 25-18, 25-12 over Hermantown. B-B-E takes a 9-6 record into next week's action. Their next match is a border battle on Monday (Sept. 20) at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg.
Here's video from doubles action in the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area match on Thursday:
I hope you were able to enjoy outdoor time on this beautiful fall day!
Update from the Prairie Conference girls' tennis tournament:
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team had a terrific showing with seven of the 10 spots earning top-four finishes. The Jaguars had two runner-up finishes, four third-place finishes and one fourth-place finish. Next for the varsity girls' tennis team is a home match on Monday, September 20 at 4:15 p.m. with a border battle against Melrose Area.
Also on Monday is a school board meeting at 7 p.m. at the elementary school library.
Friday Night Lights III: early deficit spells doom for Jaguars (VIDEO)
First off, I want to state very clearly that I'm still proud of our Jaguars. The pieces are there. They have the components of becoming a good football team this season. They have to find a way to come out firing right after the opening kickoff. That is absolutely crucial at this early juncture of the season. I have full confidence that they will do just that. Yes, the luster of the 2-0 start to the season is now a memory. However, they absolutely have more opportunities to add games to the win column before the start of playoffs. The Jaguars have much to work on next week, and in my opinion, that work starts this weekend. Winning next Friday's game starts tomorrow! Their focus, attitude, demeanor and desire are something every player on the roster, up and down the ranks, have to straighten out if they are going to have a chance at improving to 3-1 next Friday. That is a personal responsibility they owe to themselves and their team. Yes, their shot at being 3-0 went down the tubes tonight, BUT a 3-1 start to the season would be extra special from my vantage point. That goal is achievable if they put their minds to it across the next six days leading into Friday Night Lights IV.
And now for commentary and a light overview of tonight's game:
Big running plays by Benson put the B-B-E Jaguars football team in a hole in the first quarter tonight, and they didn't really find a spark until late in the second quarter after they fell behind 26-0. The Braves took a 12-0 lead with 5:25 left when Thomas Dineen blasted the B-B-E defense with a 71-yard touchdown run on Benson's second drive of the game. That touchdown drive used one play and lasted a whole 14 seconds. Benson's first drive of the game ended with a 64-yard touchdown run by Dineen with 8:09 on the clock in the first quarter.
The Jaguars got on the scoreboard with a 16-yard touchdown reception by Jamison Reed with 5:09 left in the second quarter. That touchdown drive used just two plays to cover 56 yards in a span of one minute, 12 seconds. Reed caught a 40-yard pass from Tanner Shelton on the first play. That drive was set up by a huge 30-yard kickoff return by Ryan Jensen to the B-B-E 44-yard line. Reed's touchdown made the score 26-6.
Benson took a 32-6 lead into halftime.
B-B-E came out more focused in the third quarter. Benson received the kickoff and started their first drive of the third quarter on their own 18-yard line. On second-and-20, Benson got a 49-yard reception to move deep into B-B-E territory to the Jaguar 32-yard line. They later had second down on the B-B-E 17-yard line when the Braves coughed up a fumble. Ethan Spanier recovered it for the Jaguars at their own 15-yard line. The drive was snuffed out by a big loss on a quarterback sack, however, bringing a punt at the B-B-E seven-yard line with about four minutes left.
Benson scored with 49 seconds left in the third quarter to go up 40-6.
B-B-E started their next drive after the kickoff on their own 17-yard line. It was their seventh offensive series of the game. A 15-yard reception by Blaine Fischer gave the Jaguars a boost on third down to get to their own 40-yard line. Will VanBeck then hauled in a 45-yard reception from Shelton. B-B-E later had first-and-goal on the Benson five-yard line. Easton Hagen caught a five-yard reception after wrestling the ball away from a Benson defender in the end zone. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Jaguars trailed 40-12 after a failed two-point conversion. That score stood to halftime, as the teams' JV units played out the rest of the game without scoring.
That's all for now. This is a big weekend with a ton of activities to get to!
Final score: Benson 40, B-B-E 12. The Jaguars were out-gained by a margin of 459 yards to 276 on offense. Benson gained 327 rushing yards, while the Jaguars had 164 yards on the ground. Benson completely dominated the time of possession tonight and was led by junior Thomas Dineen's 268 yards on an eye-popping 29 carries.
The Jaguars host Long Prairie-Grey Eagle next Friday night. The Thunder fell to 0-3 on the season with a 34-16 loss in Long Prairie to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Falcons earned their first win tonight. While LP-GE is 0-3, I don't want anyone thinking they will be a pushover next Friday!!
The Jaguars host Upsala/Swanville Area on September 24 for Week IV. The Homecoming game for Week Five on October 1 includes Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.
**Here's video from the opening minutes of the game tonight:
**Here's more footage from the first quarter:
That two-game winning streak to start the season is over. The Jaguars have to regroup now. They have a good chance of re-starting a new winning streak, but it starts with a solid week of practice next week as they prepare for Long Prairie-Grey Eagle for Friday Night Lights IV.
Other games in the Mid-State District, Sub-District III: at Olivia, Browerville was handed their first loss by a 28-14 score to BOLD. At Swanville, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg fell to 0-3 with a 52-28 "shoot out" loss to the U/SA Patriots.
Kimball Area improved to 3-0 with a 66-0 thrashing of visiting Maple Lake.
It's game day for the B-B-E Jaguars football team!
The Jaguars put their 2-0 record on the line against a very good .500 Benson Braves team. The game is at Brock Field in Benson with a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!)
Here's video from the third quarter of Friday Night Lights II at Maple Lake:
I plan to post game updates tonight from Benson on this blog post. Share the link!
Game updates:
At halftime the Braves are ahead 32-6. No more updates until after the game. More will be poster in a new blog post for Friday Night Lights III.
Thank you to Bonanza Valley State Bank of Brooten for sponsoring this blog post and supporting the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department!
Here's a special shout out to the staff of Brink's Beer Joint in Swift Falls for bringing back their annual Turkey Fest celebration! Thank you, Ben Honebrink! After a one-year hiatus, the Turkey Fest is back and set for Saturday, September 25 and running through the afternoon and evening hours.
Here's the order of events at Turkey Fest: For children: a bouncy house, face painting and kids games and prizes will be offered
1 p.m. - Bean Bag tournament; $20 per team and 150 percent payback
3 to 5 p.m. - First Responder pot luck turkey cook-off; cook turkey your way and win cash! We buy, you cook, call 320-843-4900 to sign up
5:30 p.m. - Turkey Fest parade; top two floats win a $50 gift certificate!
6 to 9 p.m. - live music by CJ Dafoe;
A crucial Central Minnesota Conference win (VIDEOS)
In a key Central Minnesota Conference match up tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team prevailed by a 3-1 margin over Eden Valley-Watkins tonight at EV-W high school. The Jaguars had solid 14.5 percent hitting. Senior Paige Rupp drilled a season-high 13 kills on 16.2 percent hitting. Junior Ava Mueller had 25 percent hitting with 15 kills on 36 attacks. At the service line, the Jaguars had a monster night with just three service errors, six ace serves and a serving percentage of 96.6. Mueller served three ace serves. Serving at 100 percent were Rupp, Kailey Fischer, Tayjah Marthaler and Brooklyn Fischer. Game scores were 25-23, 15-25, 25-13, 25-14. B-B-E is 6-5 overall and 2-0 in the CMC.
EV-W fell to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the CMC. They also lost earlier this week at state-ranked Watertown-Mayer by a 3-0 margin. The Eagles are an outstanding unit on the volleyball court this fall. This past Saturday, EV-W went 4-0 to claim the title at the Becker tournament.
This was a huge and exciting win! The Jaguars cut into a 16-11 deficit in game one to trail 17-14. The Eagles then scored two straight to hold a 19-14 lead. That's a tough deficit to climb out of, especially on an opponents' home floor. The Jaguars then got a kill and an ace serve for back-to-back points from Ava Mueller. The Jaguars earned a third straight point when the Eagles hit long to narrow the score to 19-17. After EV-W called a timeout, the Eagles had what's called a "double" hitting error. Brooklyn Fischer then earned a thunderous ace block to tie the game at 19-19. EV-W later held a 22-20 lead, but they had two successive attacks go long to tie it up at 22-22. An EV-W net violation put the Jaguars in front 23-22. The Jaguars then committed a net violation to tie it at 23-23. Allie Dingmann had an ace attack off a tip for a 24-23 lead. Dingmann's kill ended the game for B-B-E as they earned a thrilling 25-23 comeback win.
After the Jaguars lost 25-15 in game two, they bolted out to a quick 3-0 lead in game three. The Eagles then turned the tables and scored five straight points to lead 5-3. Ties followed at 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7 before the Jaguars rallied again. With Mueller serving, the Jaguars scored six straight to lead 13-7. The Eagles struggled the rest of the game as B-B-E scored five of the last six points in a 25-13 win.
*Here's video from the final points scored in game one tonight:
Allie Dingmann put the finishing touches on game one with a kill to give the Jaguars an exciting 25-23 comeback win. The Eagles held a 16-11 lead earlier in the opening set.
In game four, the Jaguars caught fire early and had the pressure cranked up from start to finish. They built a quick 7-1 lead with three kills from Mueller and another from Tayjah Marthaler. The Eagles cut it down to a 10-6 deficit, but that's as close as they got. B-B-E scored the last four points in a 25-14 win.
**Here's a video interview of senior Avery Sczcesniak that's one week old now, featuring her after the Jaguars defeated Holdingford in the CMC opener:
More to come.
In a key CMC match up tonight, No. 7-ranked Class 2A Maple Lake won by sweep at Paynesville Area to keep pace with the Jaguars in the CMC race. The Bulldogs fell to 12-2 overall with the loss. The Irish, meanwhile, are 6-3 overall. That record is deceiving, however, as two of their losses were five-set barn burners to quality teams from Dassel-Cokato and St. Cloud Cathedral.
In another CMC match tonight, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City lost 3-1 at Holdingford. Both teams are now 2-8 overall.
I was browsing over the state rankings released on September 12, and I saw that Sauk Centre was ranked No. 11 in the Class 2A poll. Dassel-Cokato was ranked No. 12.
This is exciting! Very exciting! I just learned this tonight while visiting with coaches at football practice...the B-B-E Jaguars JV football team is 2-0 after they won on Tuesday at Benson by a 12-0 score. The Monday game was postponed due to weather, and I haven't had a chance to follow up on it until today. The varsity team heads to Benson tomorrow night for Friday Night Lights III. If you can't make it in person to Benson (and I REALLY hope you can!) then you can tune in at 107.1 FM to catch play-by-play coverage of the game on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.
I'm finally getting more albums added to the Fall 2021 sports gallery at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug gallery. The link to see the fall sports albums is = https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/Fall-2021-Sports.
Although I will arrive late and will miss part of game one, I'll get updates posted here from Eden Valley.
The tennis match got rained out. I watched a good part of it but was not there when the rain hit. When I left, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team was tied at 2-2 with Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville area.
Update: the Eagles have a 19 to 17 lead in game one over our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team. As noted in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, tonight's volleyball match is carried on Smooth Magic 107 FM.
**The Eagles had a 16-11 lead before the Jaguars mounted a huge comeback in game one! Final: B-B-E 25, EVW 23.
In game two, the Eagles are ahead 11 to 6.
Final score of game two: EVW 25, B-B-E 15. That was rough.
JAGUARS WIN!! 3-1 final!! Time to go home. BIG DAY tomorrow!! *Refresh for a new blog post with video.
We're riding what is our third wave of COVID-19 in the Bonanza Valley area going back to the spring of 2020. The first one hit around mid to late October and into November last fall. The second came in March and April of this spring. Now we're in the third one, and fortunately it's not causing a great deal of local collateral damage. That statement is not made to minimize the damages caused by the COVID-19 virus or the pandemic. It's a statement based on what I know has happened locally in the past three weeks or so of this third wave.
The new COVID-19 case number posted today by the MN Department of Health for the zip code areas of Belgrade, Brooten and Elrosa is a 23. This marks a slight increase from last week's number of 19. The current high number for the current wave is a 32, which was the number posted two weeks ago on September 2.
One lengthy streak came to an end, as the Elrosa zip code area of 56312 posted the number 7. That's the highest one-week total Elrosa has had since January 2020.
The Brooten 56316 zip code posted a large decline by over half, as the new case number posted here was a 4. That's down from 9 last week.
In Belgrade 56312, they had a slight increase to post a number 12 this week, which is up slightly from last week's number of 10.
I'll post more information at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. That link will be added to this blog post. Also added at the website will be a news article on a report about the increase in adult obesity in Minnesota from 2019 to 2020. The website link is = https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Note: that web article on the newspaper website has been updated with data from area zip codes as of 2 p.m. today.
Do you want to hear something crazy? I just learned this today. It is very sad that more of us don't know this in the U.S. What's so crazy? Here it is = over in the United Kingdom, across the past two years or whatever it's been now of COVID "mitigation" strategies, they have never, ever, not for one day, mandated that children under the age of 12 wear a mask or face covering in schools. Let that sink in for a moment.
What are we to take from that? The United Kingdom has done actual scientific studies on the efficacy of masking children in schools under the age of 12. Never have any of those studies suggested to their leaders that children should be mandated to wear a mask/face covering in school. Do children in the U.K. wear masks in school? Yes, absolutely they do. But they're not required to. So does this mean that they don't love children in the U.K. as much as we do in the U.S.? What is it???? My theory that can be shared out loud = political and health "leaders" in the United States are too lazy to do something like randomized, controlled studies of an important issue such as mandatory masking in schools. I have other theories, but that can't be shared out loud. These studies would not be difficult, as some schools across the U.S. (mostly private schools) have not mandated masking of kids during the school day. Find the data! It would not be that difficult for the U.S. government if they actually wanted to do that.
For the 18 months of this pandemic, some (many) areas of the U.S. have masked children as young as two years old, but the U.S. government has never conducted a clusterized, randomized study of the effectiveness of masking kids. Can you think of something more absurd?
Currently in the Bay Area of California, where their leaders are bat shit crazy and should be committed, children exercising in outdoor, Olympic-sized football stadiums are masked during Phy. Ed. classes. Let that sink in for a moment.
Now that I've got you all fired up, settle back and enjoy music in the video below:
This afternoon I had to play a few Kentucky Thunder videos that I recorded in rural Sunburg late on Saturday night this past weekend. Needless to say, all of this information I've just written about has me really fired up. Time to take a step back and not let my blood pressure get out of control.
In sports today: the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosts Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala Swanville Area in a Prairie Conference match at 4:30 p.m. The Jaguars are looking to even their overall record at 4-4, which would be tremendous. Also tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball teamtravels to Eden Valley-Watkins for their second Central Minnesota Conference match of the season.
Because I've added a great deal of opinion on this post, I'm not adding advertising. I will get a new blog post added early this evening to post sports updates on, and that will be sponsored by one of our many fine local businesses who support the work of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper and sports department.
