Let the winter games begin! (Girls' basketball victorious!)

Let the mask-free winter sports season begin!

Tonight in their season opener, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team blew open a close game at halftime to defeat Melrose Area 70-45.

Scoring in double figures were juniors Abby Berge (26 points) and Allison Dingmann (14 points). Next: the Jaguars travel to Pine River-Backus on Friday.

B-B-E zip codes post a 26: 35 percent decline in new cases

The Belgrade, Brooten and Elrosa zip codes posted a new COVID-19 case count number of 26 in the latest report released by the MDH. The report was released yesterday for the period covering November 18 to November 24. The new number of 26 represents a 35 percent decline in new cases compared to the figure released on November 18. The breakdown is as follows:
Brooten 56316: 9 new cases (cumulative total 272 since January 2020)
Belgrade 56312: 14 new cases (cumulative total 495 since January 2020)
Elrosa 56325: 3 new cases (cumulative total 45 since January 2020)

A few other area zip code figures:
Spicer 56288: 21 new cases
Sunburg 56289: 1 new case
Alexandria 56308: 226 new cases
Kerkhoven 56252: 3 new cases
Murdock 56271: 5 new cases
New London 56273: 22 new cases
Pennock 56279: 11 new cases
Glenwood 56334: 46 new cases
Melrose 56352: 29 new cases
Osakis 56360: 21 new cases
Paynesville 56362: 33 new cases
Sauk Centre 56378: 40 new cases

That's all. I've got a newspaper to get to press today.

Winter sports set to go from 0 to 100 mph (updated)

 The varsity winter sports season ramps up in a big way next week at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa with all four sports getting underway:

The girls' basketball team opens on Tuesday, November 30 at Melrose Area high school.

The boys’ basketball opens on Thursday, December 2 at home against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. *This game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

The wrestling team hosts the Jaguar Invite on Friday, December 3 to start their season.

The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team travels to Minnewaska on December 3 for their season opener. 

Also, the girls' basketball team travels to Pine River-Backus on Friday, December 3 for another non-conference game. That game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

And here's a short clip from the musical:


That musical clip features an example of how complicated and difficult many of the scenes were. The performers did such a fantastic job.

In other news...you can watch Thanksgiving Eve worship at East Norway Lake Lutheran church by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website (short link): https://bit.ly/3CSw7bq.

 

Speaking of sports...what in the wild world of sports is happening here? None of this sounds like something that's inevitable or acceptable:


Are we willing to find out what went wrong with these young athletes? Or do we just shrug our shoulders and accept it?

Still waiting on the COVID report

I'm still waiting for the weekly COVID-19 zip code report from the Minnesota Department of Health. I'm sure the Thanksgiving holiday has messed up their schedule for all of their work. And that's understandable.

This does give me a chance to catch up, as I haven't been able to keep up to a regular schedule myself lately. It's a battle every week. And remember: journalists have to battle just to get information from our government and Big Pharma. For example, Pfizer is now fighting to keep their vaccine "safety" data private through the year 2076. We're moving deeper and deeper into crazy town by the day it seems.

These are the numbers reported in the November 18 zip code report last week:
Brooten 56316 - 20 new cases (12 new the week before)
Belgrade 56312 - 18 new cases (7 new the week before)
Elrosa 56325 - 2 new cases (6 new the week before)

More to follow later today (hopefully!). Once the November 25 report is released by the MDH, I'll get this post updated ASAP. *Update: I learned that the next weekly COVID report will be released on Monday, November 29.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It got down to around 8 degrees last night...brrr!! I guess that's the end of gardening this year.

Here's a video from worship service at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church last Sunday:


While Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, let's not forget from whom all blessings flow!!!!

Small business Saturday is coming

Just a quick, friendly reminder that Small Business Saturday is coming this weekend. I hope you can avoid the madness of large box stores (who don't support my newspaper) and instead take in what our locally-owned businesses have to offer on Saturday! We're in this together in our small towns.

Yes, I survived my night of publishing. The newspapers are hitting newsstands as I type this. Most of you won't see it in your mail box until Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Santa Claus coming to Sedan

Here's a community announcement to get out before we head into the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Glacial Ridge ABATE chapter is holding Santa Day at Heidi’s Bar in downtown Sedan on Saturday, December 4 from 2 to 5 p.m., when kids can come out and meet Santa Claus and have their picture taken with him. All are welcome!

This blog's gonna go dark for most of Tuesday. We are putting together an especially special 14-page issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in an attempt to provide ample coverage of last weekend's musical. It hits newsstands tomorrow afternoon.

Celebrating the musical (VIDEO)

Here's a video recorded after the last showing of the musical (last night):


It was a very special time to celebrate our musical students!

I did a quick tally of my musical photos, and I'm still missing the figure from one camera chip. My total so far is 833 pictures. Holy smokes!

This show is GREAT! (Sunday night VIDEO)

**Here's a short clip from Act I tonight at the final performance of the musical! This is certainly one of my top-five moments in the musical. Love Love Love this! 


Little Shop of Horrors at the Olson Auditorium stage tonight has drawn a really nice Sunday evening crowd. Bravo! I haven't counted, but it looks similar to Friday night's turnout.

Act II is about to begin at 6:20 p.m.!!! Time to get back to my seat.

After looking through the camera cards, it looks like I took about 300 pictures tonight. They were terrific!!!

(iMovies) Don't miss tonight's final show

Here's the latest iMovie to help promote B-B-E's fall musical:


As I've said before: the musical will pin your ears back! It's that good. So many outstanding performances from top to bottom! Tickets are just $7 for adults and $5 for students. The doors open by 3 p.m., and the show starts at 5 p.m. at the high school's Olson Auditorium. Park in the northeast parking lot.

**I tweaked the iMovie (last slide)...here it is:


Time to get to the high school! The final show starts in 40 minutes.

Starting soon! Church turkey dinner

The Free Spirits youth group and Men's group of Crow River Lutheran Church invite everyone to their Turkey Dinner on Sunday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They will be serving turkey, real mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, corn, bread, beverages and pie. (Take-out will be available.) Proceeds will be used to purchase Christmas presents for foster children and for youth mission trips. Crow River Lutheran is located four miles south of Belgrade on Highway 71. Sponsored by Thrivent.

And remember! The third and FINAL showing of Little House of Horrors is today! I hope you already know what time it starts. If you don't...it starts at 5 p.m. at Olson Auditorium! Let's fill it up (capacity 280) for their final performance.

I'll get a new iMovie video posted in a new blog post after dinner.

Second show is tonight! Starting in 30 minutes (VIDEO)

Make tracks to Olson Auditorium tonight! The second show of Little Shop of Horrors starts at 7 p.m. at the high school.

**Here's a clip from late in Act I tonight!


There are plenty of empty seats tonight, which means many of you out there did not come! We have an excellent crowd that looks similar in number to last night. But I sure wish more would have taken the effort to come to this show. More to come on that another time.

Just two more shows! (VIDEO)

We have just two more shows for you to take in, one or the other or both! The last two nights of Little Shop of Horrors at B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium are tonight and tomorrow. Their show tonight starts at 7 p.m., while the Sunday show is at 5 p.m.

Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to see a review of the show with a short video clip from Act I (short link): https://bit.ly/30IE85a.

**Here's another posting of the iMovie created on Thursday night to promote the musical:


Have you decided which show you'll take in this weekend? You've got just two nights left! In the mean time, get outside and enjoy this beautiful, sunny fall day!

It's been a busy day, with the grand opening celebration of Pete's Repeats in downtown Belgrade, and then the Sunburg Fire Department ham and turkey bingo is coming tonight at 7 p.m. at their fire hall. I'll take that in for a brief period starting at 7 and then get over to the musical as soon as I can.

105 ! (OPENING NIGHT IS A HUGE SUCCESS!!) (VIDEOS)

By the end of the business day today, the ticket sales for tonight's musical opening night stood at 105. I think that's tremendous! Bravo!

Remember: you can see more coverage of the musical heading into their big weekend in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper and at the newspaper's website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

**Friday night intermission update: this show is amazing! If you're not here, you're really missing out! Just make sure you get to one of the last two shows this weekend! It will pin your ears back! And I've just seen Act I of the musical. Act II is about to start.

**Here's a short clip from the opening scene tonight!


And here's a re-post...here's the iMovie I assembled last night. It's one more way to help promote the musical. If you haven't watched it, by all means, check it out!


Time to see if there's any action left in Padua for the Bonanza Valley Trailblazers snowmobile club. Additional coverage from tonight's musical opening night will be posted on Saturday morning at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

The musical is coming! The musical is coming...tomorrow!! (VIDEO)

Here's an image of posters that are being distributed for the musical this weekend.

It's almost time! It's almost here! Tomorrow night! We'll have opening night of 'Little Shop of Horrors' at Olson Auditorium, B-B-E high school.

Here's a video interview recorded tonight of Tia Nelson, who plays Audrey in the show; she and her fellow cast members had just concluded the full dress rehearsal.


Which night or nights are you coming? Additional musical coverage has been published in the Bonanza Valley Voice every week dating back to the October 21 issue. A near-full page poster with the schedule was published in the November 11 issue, and it was also published in this week's issue at a smaller size. All the information you need is in the newspaper!

**Here's another iMovie production by the Bonanza Valley Voice featuring scenes and footage from rehearsals over the past week or so:


You can click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to see additional coverage, plus take in an interview with one of the musical directors that was recorded tonight after their dress rehearsal. (Short link) https://bit.ly/3CvRD5A.

Cory's Celebration of Life

A Celebration of Life gathering for Cory Sturges of Belgrade will be held tomorrow, Friday, November 19 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Eden Valley.

Cory, age 22, was a Class of 2018 graduate of B-B-E high school.

The musical is coming! Just 2 nights away (VIDEO)

Here's a brief teaser clip from the final scene of Little Shop of Horrors recorded at musical rehearsal tonight at B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium:


Here's another clip from Act II rehearsal tonight:


And yet another clip from tonight's rehearsal, this one from one of the final scenes of the show...


Which night or nights are you taking your family to the show? You've got Friday, Saturday and Sunday...come once or come twice or see all three nights!

More to come. There's much more coverage to be posted in the next two days! And much, much more coverage appears in print in this week's edition of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. 

(VIDEO) Fall musical cast member interview

Just two more rehearsals! Yes, just two more rehearsals until the cast and crew of the B-B-E fall musical will perform the Little Shop of Horrors on their opening night (Friday).

*Here's senior Billy Tensen giving his thoughts after tonight's rehearsal at Olson Auditorium:


More to come. We are putting out a 12-page Bonanza Valley Voice this week, although we have content that could easily get us past 14 pages. Just not enough hours in the day to put it all together.

Community announcement: the Belgrade V.F.W. Saboe-Leverson Post No. 1825 in Belgrade invites everyone to their upcoming meat raffle. It will be held on Friday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. Bring your dollar bills and be ready to have a good time!

State Football: running the numbers (VIDEO)

I'm running the numbers for the first and second halves of the state football game last Friday night. I'll be updating this blog post as I get more figures figured.

For the record: in the first half of the game, the B-B-E Jaguars football team limited No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson to 105 net yards of offense and the lone touchdown to trail 6-0 at halftime. The Trojans had possession for 12 minutes and 58 seconds in the first half. The B-B-E Jaguars earned a total of 58 net yards in the first half with a time of possession of 10 minutes, 32 seconds. I did not account for the few seconds the Trojans had the ball in the closing minute after they earned an interception deep in their territory. They took a knee to close out the final seconds and go into halftime with the one-score lead.

In the second half, the Jaguars gained a total of 147 yards of offense and scored their lone touchdown of the game in the third quarter. At that point, the Jaguars had tied up the game at 6-6. It was an exciting stretch until the Trojans responded with two touchdowns before the third quarter ended. For the second half, B-B-E had a time of possession of approximately 12 minutes, 33 seconds.

For Rushford-Peterson in the second half, I have them for just 101 net yards of offense. They had one scoring drive covering 74 yards, but in another drive, they lost a net 14 yards from scrimmage. If you add up my totals, that gets Rushford-Peterson to 206 net yards of offense compared to 205 yards for the B-B-E Jaguars. For rushing, the Jaguars gained 90 yards on the ground according to my stats.

For quarterback Luke Dingmann, my initial run through my numbers show him at 14-for-30 passing marks with 124 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He finished his sophomore year at B-B-E with over 1,400 yards of passing.

Here's a video from pre-game action last Friday night at Crown College:


I'm now getting past 10 hours of time put into writing the football story from the state quarterfinals. And I've got a ways to go.

(iMovie VIDEO) Fall Musical coverage

Below is an iMovie production by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper featuring photos and video from rehearsal last Thursday at Olson Auditorium. Click over to the newspaper's website to read more about the musical. (short link) https://bit.ly/3FkL47O.

Please spread the word!


Time to get over to today's rehearsal and see how it's coming along.

The musical is coming! The musical is coming! (VIDEO)

The fall musical is coming to Olson Auditorium at B-B-E high school! You've been able to read ample coverage of the upcoming musical 'Little Shop of Horrors' in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in recent weeks. Click over to the newspaper's website to watch a video interview of Paige Klaphake at rehearsal last Thursday: https://bit.ly/30pHGZV.

More to come in a new blog post (Monday).

Pancakes!

Come to Brooten this morning for pancakes! Served at the Brooten American Legion hall until 1 p.m. Show your support for the Legion!

The event was advertised on page 7 of the latest Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper issue. Unless you've been really busy in a deer stand this weekend, I hope you had a chance to look through the 16-page newspaper.

A second video was added to the Friday Night Lights XII blog post. It features additional footage from the first quarter on Friday night. Check it out! 

Friday Night Lights XII: Jaguars go down swinging at State (VIDEOS)

On Saturday night, another video was added here with footage from the first half of the game...

An unforgettable football season has now ended in an unforgettable State Tournament game. This was an outstanding football game from start to finish.

Coming out of halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars football team played probably the best stretch of football they have this entire season as they went to work to tie the game in the third quarter. With 5:12 on the clock, Easton Hagen caught a 61-yard touchdown on a third-down and 7 to go play. The touchdown drive started on the B-B-E 36-yard line after the Trojans went three-and-out on their first second-half offensive series. The Jaguars went 64 yards in just three plays while consuming just 58 seconds of game clock.

The Trojans answered with a 63-yard touchdown catch with 3:04 left in the third quarter with a 12-6 lead. On a two-point conversion attempt with a pitch-and-run, B-B-E's Maximus Hanson, Ethan Spanier and Gavin Kampsen stuffed the play short of the end zone.

After B-B-E's next series ended with an interception, Rushford-Peterson set up their offense at the B-B-E 20-yard line with 1:53 left. Three plays later, they scored on a 13-yard touchdown catch with 30 seconds on the clock. Carson Gilbert tipped the two-point conversion pass to make it an 18-6 deficit.

The B-B-E defense came up with multiple stops in the second half to keep the Jaguars in the game and within striking distance. Keep in mind they were doing this against one of the state's best offenses in Class 1A. On offense, the Jaguars played their hearts out but were repeatedly hampered by a very quick Trojans defense.

Final score at Crown College: No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson 18, B-B-E 6. The Jaguars finish the record-setting, history-making season with an 8-4 overall record. They were 5-3 (fourth place) in MidState Sub-District III. 

Rushford-Peterson takes a 12-0 record into the Class 1A state Final Four round. Their next game is at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 20 at the Bank in Minneapolis.

**Here's a video featuring Harley Weber's game-opening kickoff tonight; plus the first portion of the first quarter:


**Here's a second video from the first half of the game:


The Jaguars came OH SO CLOSE to gaining a lost fumble by Rushford-Peterson on Weber's kickoff. That would have been incredible, as they would've had possession on the Trojans' 32-yard line to start the game. How crazy that would have been! But it was not meant to be.

B-B-E was outgained on offense by a very small margin: 175 yards to 168 yards. They out-rushed the run-happy Trojans team with 74 rushing yards to 24 by Rushford-Peterson. Each team finished with just 6 first downs. It was that kind of game. I am proud beyond belief of this team. I can't put it into words right now. I don't know where to even begin.

Some quick state volleyball news...
At the state volleyball tournament, Sauk Centre won 3-0 over Hawley to advance to the Class 2A state championship match. In the Class 1A consolation bracket, Breckenridge (30-3) swept South Ridge to advance to the fifth-place match. Also in Class 1A, Minnesota won 3-0 over Section 5A champion Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in the semifinals to land a spot in tomorrow's state title match, where they'll face Mayer Lutheran.

Some late football scores over the past 24+ hours across Minnesota:
On Thursday night this week at Brainerd high school, Section 6AA champion West Central Area/Ashby defeated Moose Lake-Willow River 14-6 to advance to the Class 2A state semifinals. WCA/A is 10-1 overall now heading into the semifinals, where they'll take on Maple River at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. At Alexandria high school on Thursday, Barnesville won 34-20 over Eden Valley-Watkins in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. EV-W finishes an outstanding season with a 9-2 record and a co-championship in the MidState, Sub-District II.

In Class 1A, upstart New York Mills is heading to the Bank and the state semifinals after they beat Deer River tonight by a 20-6 score at Brainerd high school.

GAME DAY at STATE! (Updates and more - VIDEO!)

WHO ELSE IS excited for the big game! Our school's first state football game! WooHoo!!! Let's GO Jaguars!!!

**Here's a second iMovie created today with footage from the FargoDome:



For those who can't make the trip to Crown College...here's a link to watch our B-B-E Jaguars football team where you can purchase access to a live stream of the state football game. It's just $6.99, which is very reasonable! Click on this link and then go over to "streaming schedule" on the right and click on Friday, November 12. The link to get to the B-B-E vs. R-P game will be available then. 

https://prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL/sport/Football. The total cost with fees is $8.62 to watch this game.

**You can also catch the game on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (107.1 FM) and at their website streaming live after 6:45 p.m. = https://www.kmgk1071.com. (THANKS, Brady!)

More to come. **Multiple videos were added in the blog post added this afternoon...scroll down on this blog to see them.

GAME UPDATES will follow here after 7 p.m. tonight...

Kick-off will be at approximately 7:02 p.m.

NO scoring took place in the 2nd quarter. 

******At halftime the Trojans lead with a score of 6-0. The only meaningful difference in the game was a blocked punt by the Trojans that gave them a short field on which they got their lone touchdown. R-P scored with 49 seconds left in the first quarter on a 12 yard reception. The drive started on the BBE 10-yard line at the 1:33 mark.

Halftime started at 7:51 p.m.

*****
With under five minutes to go the Trojans are ahead 18 to 6. The Jaguars have had a lot work against them in this half but are still within Striking Distance.

Final score and more will be added in a new blog post. So hit refresh to the blog.

Time to head to Hutchinson for a pit stop.

THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank of Brooten, Bucky's Bar of Elrosa and Coop's Corner of Belgrade for sponsoring this Jaguars Sports state tournament blog post!

(VIDEO) Here's an iMovie and more VIDEOS!

Here's an iMovie with footage from the football game last Friday in Fargo.

Action includes the first half of the game:


Time to shovel some snow off the driveway!

**Another video was added at a web article at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can find it by clicking here: https://bit.ly/2YKiI7k.

*Here's a video from the middle to latter part of the game against Upsala/Swanville Area in Fargo one week ago:


*ANd here's a re-post of a video from the FargoDome after the big win! That was exciting! Such a proud time for our Jaguar Country community!


Time to get ready for the trip to St. Bonifacious!!!! It's a 100-mile drive from my office.

State football tickets and more (VIDEO)

Here's the link to purchase tickets for tomorrow's state football game at Crown College...the cost is $11 for adults and $7 for students. Link: https://www.mshsl.org/tickets. Your only option to get tickets is to use this link! You cannot purchase tickets at the gate. If you arrive at the game without your ticket already printed out at home, you will not be able to go inside the football stadium. Got it? 

Just before midnight tonight, I drove a couple miles out of town to see what the weather was like. The snow was coming down very hard. I see a high probability that I'll be "hotel-ing" it tomorrow after the game. Upon a second look, we'll be staying in Hutchinson with family after the game. That's just 32 miles from Crown College...versus the 100-mile drive back home. It's just not worth driving home late at night on those horse-sh** highways from St. Bonifacius! And the main roads to get to Crown College include Highways 7 and 12...not Highway 212....if you get to Highway 212, you did something wrong and you drove too far south.

I hope to get some Rushford-Peterson information posted on this blog post tonight. Also, I hope to add more video from the Section 4A football championship game.

Rushford-Peterson is ranked No. 3 in the final Class 1A state coaches poll. They are 11-0 overall after winning the Section 1A championship last Friday; that night they defeated No. 2-seeded Fillmore Central by a 7-0 score on a very windy night at Winona High School.

*Here's a video clip from the 4th quarter of the Section 4A title game in Fargo:


In the video, the Jaguars scored their final touchdown of the game.

And this! For the first time in my career, I was able to go to a football practice for a state tournament-qualified team. This was recorded on Monday this week:


More to come.

For those who can't make the trip to Crown College...here's a link where you can purchase access to a live stream of the state football game. It's just $6.99, which is very reasonable! Click on this link and then go over to "streaming schedule" on the right and click on Friday, November 12. The link to get to the B-B-E vs. R-P game will be available then. 

https://prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL/sport/Football

A very busy time, and a family is struck by tragedy

Today has been an extremely super busy day. I had the great fortune of being able to spend about an hour at musical practice tonight at B-B-E's Olson Auditorium. The theater students are doing a fantastic job on the show's scenes!!! We also had two pep fests and a Veterans Day program, plus...the football team is having their final practice before they compete at the state tournament. This is an extremely exciting time with much to look ahead to.

Cory Sturges receives his diploma at B-B-E high school on June 1, 2018.

And we have very difficult news to share:
Cory Sturges, age 22 of Belgrade, was killed in a one-vehicle accident this morning. I haven't gotten a copy of the accident report, but I have good details of what happened. His truck crashed on County Road 32 near St. Martin. Everything suggests he fell asleep at the wheel. Cory was a member of the B-B-E Class of 2018 and a member of B-B-E's FFA chapter. He was a friend to anyone who knew him. This is a great tragedy.

Cory was a straight up, hard-working, honest as the day is long blue collar guy who the world will miss. The type of man who the United States, to be sure, is running out of. Men who are willing to put in 60, 70, 80 hours a week or whatever is required of him. When he died, Cory was on his way to work at Rotochopper in St. Martin. Cory also worked part-time for Paul Gruber Baling. His loss will ripple through the community. If you knew him, you liked him. Some guys are nice, but Cory was especially nice. He went above and beyond to be good to others. He put "extra" on it and could befriend anyone with a sincere belief that those around him are good people. That's becoming a rare quality in this world.

News of his death hit me hard this morning and has had me in a foul mood the whole day (as you can tell by the tone of my blog post earlier today). I knew him well. Cory and his dad, Bob, lost Cory's mom (Heidi Sturges) when Cory was just a baby. Bob and Cory have both helped me out countless times when I needed it. They did that at the drop of a hat. They're on a list of people who had my back every time, all day, no matter what. People often ask me how I get the things done each week that I get done. How do I manage to make it all happen with my small media empire here in Jaguar Country? Well, a huge, huge reason why I can get things done is because I have people like Bob and Cory available to chip in when I need help. That's how small town America works. When we lose one of us, especially a young man like Cory, it is devastating.

This sucks, and it's just not right.

And for the record: in 2021, Jaguar Country has lost three incredible young men, all blue collar guys, all between the ages of 19 and 25. They were members of the Class of 2015, 2018 and 2020. Enough!!!!!

Many seats available on the band bus

B-B-E parents! This is a good time to be a parent and not a "friend" to your teenage son or daughter!

As of an hour ago, there is just 1 extra student signed up for the band bus. There's room for at least 15 more kids on the bus. So I hope more parents get their teenage kids on it !  Rushford has multiple fan buses, and a waiting list for another. They are doing it right.

The school has offered these extra seats for just $5 for the past 2 days now...it's pretty sad that just 1 kid has signed up for it.

I think we can count on Highway 212 or Highway 12 being a nightmare to drive home on tomorrow night. This is a completely different scenario than a drive to and from Fergus Falls (or even Fargo) last week when the road conditions were not an factor.

Parents - you have a better option here for your son/daughter than letting them drive to and from this game.

I am thrilled that we are playing on a college campus. Crown College has a pretty amazing football stadium. It's just a bad luck of the draw that we are getting this poor weather coming in on November 12th. This is a punch we have to roll with.

Time to head to the Veterans Day program.

A new local COVID-19 case count report has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can read it by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3wCRBre.

Overdoing it a little (and have you thought about the roads?) (VIDEO added)

The media-approved list for the Class 1A state quarterfinal football game at Crown College this Friday night is an eye opener. It's wild.

Media organizations approved for the B-B-E Jaguars are two: the Bonanza Valley Voice and Smooth Magic 107 FM.

How many media organizations/journalists are approved for Rushford-Peterson? That figure is 18. EIGHTEEN! That's gonna be a sea of media workers roaming around the football stadium working for coverage of the Trojans if most or all of them attend. Wow.

The state football game with the Renville County West Jaguars has a list totaling 8 media-approved journalists.

For parents of teenage drivers: I hope they've put some thought into the idea of their son or daughter driving to or riding with a fellow teenage driver to this football game. The trip to St. Bonifacious may not be that bad, but the drive home will be a completely different story and completely in the dark and possibly be taking place in very, very poor driving conditions. I think we can count on terrible driving conditions for this game. The forecast says that there's a good chance of snow in St. Bonifacious in the hours of Friday morning. Winds could gust over 40 miles an hour! The snow is supposed to fade by 11 a.m., but then the wind continues to blow according to Weather-Dot-Com in the 20 mile an hour range.

The game will be played regardless, but does anyone out there think it's a responsible decision for parents to allow their teenage son or daughter to drive to and from this game? Or ride with another inexperienced teenage driver? We've known about this game since last Friday night. There's been many days to prepare or push for or ask for fan buses. Maybe it's too late to get fan buses organized. I don't know. That's above my pay grade. But parents have to make responsible decisions for their children and be aware of what's going on. What happens now is out of my hands. I just hope and pray that no one gets hurt or worse on the drive home from Crown College.

The B-B-E Band bus can take an extra 15 to 20 students along without hampering room for the band students and staff. Sign-ups for that ($5 cost) are taking place at the high school office with Nancy. **YOU must have your tickets purchased separately via the MSHSL website: https://www.mshsl.org/tickets.

I have learned that Rushford-Peterson offered fan buses, and they have filled both adult AND student buses for Friday's games. So they'll have busloads of fans getting dropped off and picked up at Crown College for the game. As of today, they have a waiting list for possible extra fan buses.

• For those who can't make the trip to Crown College...here's a link where you can purchase access to a live stream of the state football game. It's just $6.99, which is very reasonable! Click on this link and then go over to "streaming schedule" on the right and click on Friday, November 12. The link to get to the B-B-E vs. R-P game will be available then. 

https://prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL/sport/Football

*Here's a neat video that doesn't stabilize until 90 seconds in when I got the tripod set up...recorded after the Upsala/Swanville Area win last Friday at the FargoDome. It was a very special time for Jaguar Country fans!


On a different topic...in mid-October, this sports blog that you're reading right now turned 15 years old. Crazy. It's been one hell of a ride since the fall of 2006. That was so long ago. As of today it has over 620,000 views.

That moment of winning (VIDEOS)

I hope to get a few "winning" clips posted on this blog post. Here's one...from last Saturday in Fergus Falls.

The B-B-E Jaguars evened the Section 6A title match at 2 sets apiece with this win:


The Jaguars won 25-19 to cruise into a game five with a load of momentum.

Here's video from early in the game 5 that night:

The Jaguars trailed 2-0 right out of the gates from back-to-back Breckenridge ace blocks, but they stormed back to even it up at 2-2 in the video above.

*Here's action from game 5, starting with the two teams in a 6-6 tie:


The above video clip ends with the Jaguars holding an 8-6 lead.

Fall musical information!
Click on the following link to read about the upcoming musical at B-B-E's Olson Auditorium: https://bit.ly/3H7vlKN. I've had to move up to 16 pages for this week's Bonanza Valley Voice, so it's time to sign off for the night from blogging. 

See you on the other side of publishing.

Points scored (VIDEO added)

For the record...the most points scored by a B-B-E Jaguars football team was way, way back in October 1988. You can read more on that below. Some have asked me about this after the Jaguars won 52-44 in the Section 4A championship last Friday in Fargo to earn the program's first-ever state tournament berth. We have to go back to almost the very beginning of the program to find the game in which the Jaguars lit up a scoreboard past 60 points. I believe only one other time have the Jaguars met the 60-point threshold, and that was a few years ago. I don't have time to look that up, but I did find out the following for the record.

In October of 1988, the Belgrade-Elrosa and Brooten school systems were still operating independently for academics with separate K-12 systems. For that school year, though, the schools joined their athletic programs. In Week 6 of the football season, the Brooten school was celebrating their Homecoming week. On Friday that week at the stadium that sat north of the modern-day B-B-E elementary school, the B-B-E Jaguars hosted winless Brandon/Evansville in a Prairie Lakes Conference game. The Jaguars totally dominated the Chargers in a 68-12 win. I don't have more details at my fingertips on that game. Once the regular season was over, the Jaguars had a 7-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the Prairie Lakes Conference to claim the title by themselves. It would be 29 more years before the Jaguars would claim a regular season football title. In 2017, the Jaguars won the MidState District, Sub-District III crown with a 7-0 record. They were runners-up in the Central Minnesota Conference in 2013 with a 6-1 record.

The Brooten school district celebrated their Homecoming the week before in Week 5 of the football season. The Jaguars romped over Upsala by a 34-8 score in the Prairie Lakes Conference opener.

In last Friday's Section 4A title game in Fargo, a total of 50 points were scored in a wild second half. Crazy.

Shifting to other topics...Musical!
Finally, FINALLY, I've got this posted on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website...musical coverage is ramping up day by day and week by week. The show is less than two weeks away! Click on the following link to read more about the Little Shop of Horrors coming to B-B-E's Olson Auditorium: https://bit.ly/3EYG88e.

**Here's a lengthy video from the 2nd quarter of the Section 4A football championship in Fargo; this clip starts during the opening minutes of the 2nd quarter with the Jaguars trailing 16-6:


The school record for most cumulative points scored in a B-B-E football game was 101 points, which was set in the 2019 season opener against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in Belgrade. The Jaguars lost 67-34. The second-highest scoring game for cumulative points is now the last game we took in: the 2021 Section 4A championship game, which the Jaguars won 52-44. The 96 points is the second-most scored in a B-B-E football game.

Another stat I caught today: the Breckenridge Cowgirls volleyball team is going to the state tournament for the first time in 40 years. According to the Wahpeton Daily News, Breckenridge competed in the 1981 two-class state tournament. The last time Breckenridge played in a section final was in 1995 (the old Region 6).

Step IV: the dream ends (VIDEOS added)

A spectacular, exciting and marvelous dream season has ended. The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team closes out the 2021 slate with a 23-8 final record. The Jaguars lost game five 18-16 in a true nailbiter during which neither team had more than a two-point advantage. It was crazy. The Fergus Falls high school gymnasium was rocking with near deafening crowd noise throughout game five.

Game five was one for the ages. Breckenridge started out with back-to-back ace blocks for a 2-0 lead. The Jaguars rallied back with a kill from Ava Mueller, and the Cowgirls were called for a double hit. Mueller had an ace block, and the Cowgirls then hit into the net with B-B-E on a 4-0 run with a 4-2 lead. Breckenridge then scored three straight, but Mueller's kill made it 5-5 with the side out. Kailey Fischer's ace serve brought the B-B-E crowd to its feet. The 6-5 lead was short-lived, however, with Breckenridge tying it with a block. Breckenridge served long, and Abby Berge's ace tip put the Jaguars up 8-6. You could really feel the momentum on B-B-E's side. Breckenridge had other ideas, though, and they rattled off a 4-0 run to gain the upper hand. Brooklyn Fischer's block brought a badly-needed side out and a 10-9 deficit. Berge's kill tied it at 10-10, but Cameron Kaehler then had a kill. Emily Kern had an ace attack on a tip to tie it at 11-11. The final stretch was crazy, and the step forward to the state tournament was not meant to be.

The loss stings very hard. Earning B-B-E's 7th trip to the state volleyball tournament would have been a thrilling way to close out the 2021 season. The Jaguars are one of Class 1A's elite programs and have been in the mix of Top 10 teams in all but just 2 seasons since 2005. That will continue. It's very difficult to have a target on your back year in and year out, but the Jaguars have done it unfazed. Our community is extremely blessed to have a group of student athletes who work as hard as our Jaguar volleyball players do.

Time to head home.

**Here's video featuring the majority of game one tonight...many things went well for the Jaguars in the opening set:


*Here's a video clip from game one in which the Cowgirls scored three straight points after trailing 19-15:


**Added Sunday night...here's a video featuring the final points scored in game one; it starts with the Jaguars holding a 19-18 lead coming out of Coach Breitbach's timeout:


Game two was the big one. The Jaguars really needed to win that set. But it was not meant to be.

The Section 6A volleyball championship match lasted 2 hours and 12 minutes. Crazy.

In Section 6AA, Sauk Centre defeated Pequot Lakes in a 3-2 match to advance to the Class 2A state tournament. In Section 3AA, Paynesville Area's dream season ended in a 3-2 loss to Jackson County Central. Jackson County Central, runners-up in the Big South-West Conference, takes a 27-6 record into the state tournament. Paynesville Area, who was a third-place team in the Central Minnesota Conference, finishes their best season in school history with a 23-4 record. It was a remarkable year for the Bulldogs after they went 6-5 last year and 6-17 in 2019. 

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley swept Pine River-Backus 3-0 in the Section 5A finals at Crosby-Ironton high school. The W-H-A Wolves take a 28-5 record into state. It was their team who the Jaguars defeated in the 2019 Section 5A championship at Little Falls. B-B-E trailed 14-9 in game five before roaring back with a historic late comeback to earn the program's sixth trip to the state tournament. W-H-A was 10-1 last year and went 24-7 in 2019 with the Section 5A runner-up finish.

In Section 3A, juggernaut Minneota swept Tracy-Milroy-Balaton to advance to state. The T-M-B Panthers finish 23-9. The Vikings take a 29-4 record into state. They were state champions in 2019.

Football scores from section finals on Friday, November 5:
Section 5A finals: Minneota 20, BOLD 0
Section 6AAA finals: New London-Spicer 28, Pierz 24
Section 4, 9-man finals: Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 14, Verndale 12
Section 6AA finals: West Central Area/Ashby 19, Osakis 14
Section 6A finals: New York Mills 32, Breckenridge 0
Section 5AA finals: #2 seed Eden Valley-Watkins 42, #1 seed Royalton 6 (EV-W lost at Royalton by a 30-8 score in Week 6 of the regular season; they were co-champions of the Mid State Sub-District 2)

Section Finals: video link for tonight and match updates (and radio!)

Here's the link to view tonight's match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4y13HXlj_A. The match will also be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood and at their website, which can be found here: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

**In the blog post added this morning (the 2nd-newest post), you can watch a post-match interview with Ava Mueller; the video was added this afternoon. She spoke after the Jaguars beat Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in the South sub-section finals on Thursday.

**Here's a video featuring the B-B-E Pep Band performing on Thursday night at the volleyball match:


Game updates to follow after 7 p.m.
**And the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper sports department is courtside at Fergus Falls high school! At 18:35, the 20-minute pre-match clock started for player drills and warm-ups. It is soon GO TIME in the Section 6A championship match! EXCITING TIMES!!!!

GAME ONE: the first game is tied 22-22. The Jaguars had a 21-18 lead on a kill by Brooklyn Fischer, but the Cowgirls tied it up. Then a "double" call on Breckenridge handed the Jaguars a 25-23 win. Wow. This is one exciting match!

GAME TWO: the Jaguars trail 6-4 early in the second set. Later, they trail 10-6, and Coach Breitbach called a timeout. **Later, the Jaguars trailed 16-12 but clawed and scrapped and fought back to tie it at 18-18 on Emily Kern's ace serve. However, the Cowgirls got a late kill for game point and won 25-23 to tie the match at one set apiece. The second set ended at 19:55.

GAME THREE: More to come. This one is a barn burner!

*The Jaguars trail 17-12 in game three and have a big hill to climb out of. Coach Breitbach called her first timeout. **Paige Rupp had a kill to make the score 17-13, but the Cowgirls have scored four in a row to go up 21-13. Coach Breitbach called her second timeout. 

*Breckenridge pulled ahead 23-14 and then 24-16. Ava Mueller then had back-to-back kills to fire up the Jaguar Country faithful and her team. She earned a third straight kill off of a block for the start of a frenzied late rally with Emily Kern serving. Brooklyn Fischer had an ace tip, and Kern had an ace serve to make the score 24-20. The Cowgirls had an error for a 24-21 score, and they called a timeout. Kailey Fischer had an incredible ace stuff on Cameron Kaehler, and suddenly it was 24-22. The final point was scored in favor of Breckenridge to make the final score Breckenridge 25, B-B-E 22. We are going to a fourth set and THEN A FIFTH SET!

GAME FOUR: starts at 20:27. THE JAGUARS WON 25-19! Allie Dingmann put an attack down, and the Cowgirls bumped it around twice and then hit it out of bounds!!! THIS MATCH GOES TO GAME FIVE!

Game five will start at approximately 20:54. WOW.

Game five updates and a final score will be posted in a new blog post.

THANK YOU to our local business sponsors! (coming soon)

Today is another day for WINNING; bring on Breckenridge! (VIDEOS added)

It's game day once again! This NEVER GETS OLD!!! NEVER.

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team will battle an experienced Breckenridge Cowgirls squad that's rated No. 6 in the state, 28-2 overall and loaded with talent tonight for the right to play in next week's Class 1A state tournament. The match starts at 7 p.m. at Fergus Falls high school. Unless you want to be in a deer stand tomorrow morning at 5 a.m., please make the trip to Fergus Falls to take in this match! Let's pack our side of the gym to cheer on the Jaguars!

First, I am working on other work-related items. Here's a link to view coverage from the Big Grove Lutheran church fall supper and auction (short link), including a video of Mark Ziemer in action: https://bit.ly/3qbvgzO. This event has been a highlight of my fall for many years. We are thrilled, thankful and blessed to have its return after they could not hold it in the fall of 2020.

*Here's a video clip featuring the last points scored in game 2 on Thursday night during the Wheaton/Herman-Norcross match in the sub-section finals at Fergus Falls high school:


More to come. Today's a big day with the warmer weather that's coming just for this weekend. It's a day to get plenty of outdoor activity! High of 63 degrees. Wow! So - get outside! Go!

The Breckenridge volleyball team is having their best season in school history. They are not perennial playoff contenders. When they beat Henning 3-2 in Thursday's North finals, the Cowgirls won the school's first volleyball playoff title since 1996. Yeah, that's right...25 years ago! A 25-year drought ended with their first sub-section championship since the middle part of Bill Clinton's presidency...years before any current players were born. Breckenridge lost in the 1997 sub-section finals and had not returned until last week. Crazy stat: Breckenridge senior 5'4" libero Riley Finkral recorded 43 digs in that five-set win over Henning.

Key individual Cowgirls statistics from the Breckenridge vs. Henning match:
No. 9 senior 5'10" outside hitter Cameron Kaehler - 20 kills, 30 digs
No. 1 junior 5'7" outside hitter Abby Johnson - 23 kills, 19 digs
No. 2 senior 5'7" setter Carcie Materi - 29 set assists
No. 13 senior 5'4" setter Sophie Larson - 27 set assists
No. 16 senior 5'4" libero Riley Finkral - 43 digs

*Here's junior hitter Ava Mueller featured in an interview following the W/H-N match on Thursday at Fergus Falls high school:


A new blog post will be added for updates on tonight's match.

Section 1A football championship game

Tonight's game is a big game! The game I'm talking about is at Winona high school, where Rushford-Peterson and Fillmore Central are squaring off for the Section 1A championship. Why is this game important? It's HUGE because the winner of this game will face our beloved B-B-E Jaguars football team in the state tournament opener.

HALFTIME: No. 1-seeded and No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson 7, No. 2-seeded Fillmore Central 0. It's a dog fight. The combined records of these two teams is 19-1, and the lone loss was Fillmore Central losing 26-15 to Rushford-Peterson in the regular season Week Two.

Rushford-Peterson has 11 seniors on their team, while Fillmore Central has four seniors on their roster.

With 2:05 left in the third quarter, Rushford-Peterson is still ahead by just a 7-0 score. This is one hell of a football game. Wow! If you're unable to listen to it, you're missing an incredible knock-down, drawn-out battle between teams very familiar with one another.

FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE: with 1:57 left, Rushford-Peterson's junior 5'8" 160-pound linebacker Grady Hengel earned an interception to raise the odds that the Trojans will advance. Fillmore Central was charging down field and threatening to score. Hengel also scored Rushford-Peterson's lone touchdown of the game in the second quarter.

FINAL SCORE: Rushford-Peterson Trojans 7, Fillmore Central Falcons 0. Each team punted 7 times. The Trojans tallied 158 yards of offense, and the Falcons had 138 yards of offense. The Trojans had just 21 yards in the second half on 14 plays. They had 85 yards of rushing on 30 carries. Quarterback Malachi Bunke was 6-of-14 in passing for 73 yards and the one touchdown to Grady Hengel.

R-P rushing statistics: Hadyn Kahoun 13-34, Grady Hengel 4-28, Alex Ronnenberg 1-14, Malachi Bunke 11-6, Brady Gile 1-3.
R-P receiving statistics: Alex Ronnenberg 2-37, Justin Ruberg 2-9, Grady Hengel 1-26, Tommy Ekern 1-1.

The Jaguars will face an 11-0, No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson Trojans team in the Class 1A state quarterfinals next Friday, November 12 at Crown College with a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Trojans, who are the third-ranked team in the Class 1A state Top 10, averaged 41 points per game on offense coming into tonight's dog fight at Winona high school. Their offensive average going into state is now 37.6 points a game.

Spread the word on state!!!!

Now to return to the last blog post, Friday Night Lights XI, to add more content there.

Friday Night Lights XI: HISTORIC WIN! (VIDEOS)

The Jaguars gather at the FargoDome turf on Friday, November 5, following their historic win in the Section 4A championship game over Upsala/Swanville Area.

The B-B-E Jaguars football team won a game for the ages in the Section 4A finals today. The final score was B-B-E 52, U/SA 44. Crazy. The Jaguars totaled an unofficial 433 yards of offense. They gained 226 in the first half. Also noteworthy: the Jaguars scored on their first four drives of the second half to take a 44-30 lead. Crazy. Luke Dingmann passed for 232 yards with three touchdowns. On the defensive side, the Jaguar defense forced three U/SA lost fumbles while earning one quarterback sack (by Carson Gilbert) and four tackles for a loss.

Coming up: Friday Night Lights XII! Yes, the 12th installment of Friday Night Lights this fall for our football team. This is the first time in my career that I'll have a Friday Night Lights XII! This could not get any more exciting! Who else is jacked sky high out there right now in Jaguar Country??? We will get a tough-as-an-anvil No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson team in the Class 1A state quarterfinals. That game is on Friday, November 12 at 7 p.m. in St. Bonifacious at Crown College's Old National Bank Stadium. Spread the word! (This is repeated below.) The No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson Trojans are having a memorable season and take an 11-0 record into state. Their 8-0 regular season was the first undefeated regular season since 2002. They defeated long-time rival Fillmore Central by a 7-0 score tonight in the Section 1A title game. It was Rushford-Peterson's first appearance in a section football final since 2016, when they defeated Fillmore Central 22-21 in the 1A finals to advance to state. At state in 2016, Rushford-Peterson blazed their way to the Prep Bowl with a 44-21 win over Murray County Central in the quarterfinals and a 49-0 win over Browerville in the semifinals. In the 2016 Prep Bowl, Rushford-Peterson fell 30-14 to a loaded Minneapolis North team. That Minneapolis North team defeated our Jaguars 48-10 the year before (2015) in the section semifinals in Minneapolis.

The Trojans lost to Blooming Prairie in the Section 1A championship in 2014. They won the section title in 2008 under long-time head coach Jim Reinhardt, who retired after that 2008 season. R-P lost to Royalton by a 20-14 score in the 2008 state tournament. Coach Reinhardt had a 198-68 record in 24 seasons at Rushford-Peterson, leading the team to state nine times overall. His teams won state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2006. Their 1988 team was runner-up at the Prep Bowl.

Rushford-Peterson entered tonight's game with Fillmore Central with an 8.5 points per game defensive average. They have 9 senior starters on offense and 9 senior starters on defense.

**Here's video from the opening minutes of the game. What played out was not in B-B-E's favor...


**The tide began turning in favor of the B-B-E Jaguars in this video clip, which features the Jaguars earning their first touchdown of the game:


Section 4A championship first half recap:
B-B-E trailed 16-0 in the first quarter before scoring on the second play of the second quarter to trail 16-6. That first scoring drive started on their 35-yard line with 2:08 left in the first quarter. The Jaguars had a great start with a 20-yard gain on the first play and then a 7-yard gain on the next play. To start the second quarter, the Jaguars converted 4th-and-2 with a 36-yard gain to the U/SA one-yard line. At that point, with 11:40 on the clock, Wyatt Lewis scored to bust up the shut out.

The Jaguars mounted their second scoring drive starting on their 21-yard line with 8:27 left. Almost four minutes later, the Jaguars scored on a 28-yard pass play with 4:34 left. The 2-point conversion was good, bringing the Jaguars to a 16-14 deficit.

The Jaguars took advantage on the ensuing kickoff, when U/SA's return guy coughed up the ball. The Jaguars were back in business with 4:28 left to erase the two-point deficit starting on the U/SA 34-yard line. Using just three plays, the Jaguars scored with 3:15 on the clock on a 14-yard run play. The 2-point conversion was good, which put the B-B-E Jaguars ahead 22-16. The U/SA Patriots responded with a 69-yard touchdown drive that ended with 26 seconds remaining before halftime. Their 2-point conversion was good, which gave U/SA a 24-22 halftime lead.

A second-half game recap will be posted on Saturday afternoon.

This is the first state football tournament berth for our local community since the fall of 1983. In that year, the Belgrade-Elrosa Redmen won the Section 5C title and advanced to the state tournament, where they lost in the first round. For the B-B-E Jaguars, the football team had an 0-4 record in section championship games coming into today. They lost in the Section 5AA championship by a 14-12 score on Halloween Night in 1997 to Eden Valley-Watkins. The Jaguars lost 15-6 in the 2010 Section 4A championship at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. In 2012, the Jaguars lost in the Section 4A finals 6-0 to A-C-GC at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. And finally, in 2013, the Jaguars lost in the Section 4A finals by a 29-12 score to Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity.

***The Jaguars play in the state tournament on Friday November 12th at Crown College in St. Bonifacious with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Spread the word! St. Bonifacious is approximately 100 miles from Brooten. You can get a glimpse about Crown College's Old National Bank Stadium by clicking here: https://athletics.crown.edu/sports/2013/8/2/KBS.aspx. PARENTS: talk to your student children about signing up for a fan bus. That is by far the safest and best way for them to get to the game. This includes students who can drive! Yeah, the Joe Biden-forced masking is a pain in the ass, but a game 100 miles away at night is not a good situation for teenage children to drive in. There are 100 ways to get to St. Bonifacious, so there's also the risk of an inexperienced driver getting lost before or after the game.

**Here's a very important link to share, which is ticket information for the state tournament: https://www.mshsl.org/tickets.

B-B-E will face either Rushford-Peterson (10-0) or Fillmore Central (9-1) at state. Those two teams square off tonight in Winona for the Section 1A title. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Pit stop over, time to get back on I-94 and get Command Central set up back home.

****After 7 p.m. and I am listening to the Rushford-Peterson vs. Fillmore Central game and taking notes. So I won't get much blogging done here until halftime! These are such extremely exciting times. I can't even describe. I'm adding a new blog post with updates on the Trojans vs. Falcons Section 1A football championship game. I will get back to updating and adding content to this blog post after that Section 1A game is in the book.

THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank for sponsoring this Jaguars sports playoff update! A historic one!! One for the ages.