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!
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Season opening success! (VIDEO)
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team won their season opener for the fourth straight season tonight. The win was not easy by any means!
After leading 9-2 out of the gates through the first 4 minutes of play, the Jaguars suffered two lengthy scoring droughts in the first half. Entering the locker room, the Dutchmen held a 25-21 lead after they sank three of four free throws in the last 2 minutes. B-B-E held a 21-20 lead with 1:45 left on a driving layup by Anna Jaeger.
The Dutchmen extended their lead to 27-21 with a rebound shot in the paint with 17:18 left. They cashed two free throws about 30 seconds later to lead 29-22.
Sparked by a three-pointer by sophomore Kacey Fischer with 15:26 left, the Jaguars surged with a 12-2 scoring burst. Two free throws by Faith Radermacher put them ahead 34-31 with 12:17 left. A layup by Anna Jaeger and later a three-pointer by Tiffany Dingmann plus a cleanup shot by Grace Jackson gave the visitors a 41-32 lead with 10:44 to go.
Final score at Melrose:B-B-E 53, Melrose Area 42.
NEXT: the Jaguars have a huge Section 5A rivalry game at Pine River-Backus this Friday night. The Tigers opened their season with a 58-44 loss tonight at Wadena-Deer Creek.
Here's action from later in the first half tonight in what was a low-scoring game through the first 18 minutes of play:
After losing their season openers the past two seasons by blowout margins to the Jaguars, the Dutchmen played a very competitive, solid brand of basketball tonight under first-year head coach Jordan Welle. He is an 11th-year member of the Spring Hill Chargers amateur baseball team who pitches and mainly plays third base. Welle is a 2012 Melrose high school graduate.
Area girls' basketball scores on November 28:
New London-Spicer 67, West Central Area 42
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47, Central MN Christian 46
MACCRAY 71, Community Christian-Willmar 44
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 67, Wabasso 27
Minnewaska Area 64, Lac qui Parle Valley 31
Paynesville Area 79, Osakis 48
We have a grinder going in Melrose tonight for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team's season opener! It's a border battle and more as the Jaguars attempt to stay hot against non-conference opponents as they were last year. Tonight's game is being broadcast on 106.5 FM The Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg! Thanks, Bill Dean!! (Link: https://www.willmarradio.com/calendar/train_sports)
Through the first four minutes, the Jaguars held a 9-2 lead with a 9-0 scoring run. After that they went stone cold, however, and at halftime the Dutchmen hold a 25-21 lead. B-B-E has made just 6 of 17 free throws in the first half.
The second half is set to begin at 20:16 from Melrose Area high school.
The upcoming newspaper issue will feature a story with 2023 volleyball season awards. The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team had another terrific year this fall and ended up with a robust 20 percent hitting mark as a team. Anything 20 or higher as a team is really, really good. From the serving line, the Jaguars had a serving percentage of 91.2 percent, also an excellent mark.
Shifting to winter...coming up soon is the season opener for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. They travel to Melrose on Tuesday night to face the Dutchmen.
Both the dance team and wrestling team get their 2023-2024 seasons underway on Friday night. The dance team is at Minnewaska, while the wrestlers travel to Melrose.
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug photo gallery with fall sports pictures has had more updates in the past week. I'd rate it now "90 percent" caught up on the fall varsity sports teams. The latest album added was from U.S. Bank Stadium in the state football semifinals. You can see all the albums by clicking here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Fall-Sports-2023.
Monday night update...
The community calendar for the Bonanza Valley area has been updated again on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website...you can find it by clicking on this link: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/page/bonanza-valley-area-community-calendar/102.html. This is a link you need to bookmark!!! If you visit it once or twice a week, you will be caught up on what is coming throughout the area. Also, most of these events are posted on page 2 in the community calendar in the print edition each week!
So I pretty much took the day off today. It was the first time I've done that since...probably Christmas Day of a year ago. No lie! I have not taken one single day off in that time. Often I've put in 8 days of work each week. (Yeah, that's a thing)
I hope you have had plenty of family time today! I've done that. I also spent some time reading a fascinating story on the history of Thanksgiving and the relationship with the Native Americans who lived near Plymouth Rock in 1620 at the time of the settling of the first wave of Pilgrims. Fascinating history!!
No matter how old you are, you are never too old to keep learning.
We've had a tremendous fall in the Bonanza Valley area. It has been fun from start to finish! Since mid-August, the fall sports seasons and the school activities in Jaguar Country have created a laundry list of special memories. We much to be grateful for!
Let's relive some of the excitement from the football season...here's a highlight reel from the Benson game in the home opener back on September 15:
That win against Benson marked the first time in B-B-E history that the football team started 3-0. Look where it went from there! Such a fun team to follow throughout all 12 games.
Early Friday morning I updated the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. One of the updates features the state semifinal football game and includes a video of the Jaguars receiving their state tournament trophy after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Click over and check it out: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.
The 1973 football team in Brooten will hold a 50th anniversary reunion on Saturday, December 2. Click over to the newspaper website to see all the details: https://tinyurl.com/2ystrm98.
I've been quiet the past couple of days...still recovering from the past...few...months! More or less...the weekend was...nuts!!!! I have over 1,100 musical photos to comb through. It could take a week or more...B-B-E's fall musical is a REALLY BIG DEAL! In case you haven't noticed from the attention I throw that way...it's a huge, huge deal!!! It happens just one weekend per year. We are so proud of all of the students involved!
More on this next item will be published in this week's newspaper...the Belgrade Commercial Club raised over $600 at the Homecoming Tailgating party on October 6 at the high school shop. This is amazing! It's far and above more than what other recent Tailgating parties have raised at this event.
Bravo to everyone involved!
Also coming in this week's newspaper will be a season preview article for the 2023-2024 girls' basketball team. They open the season at Melrose next Tuesday.
Newspaper update...let the record show that I may never get coverage like I did for a musical like I did a year ago. I looked and counted roughly 55 pictures that were published for the musical across two weeks in 2022. This year in this week's newspaper, I have 14 musical pictures included. We will see how it goes next week.
For state football coverage...I have 13 pictures from the Minneota game in this week's Voice.
Musical draws outstanding crowd for final show (VIDEO)
The B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium had a terrific crowd for the final show of The Addams Family - School Edition today. With a large chunk of the Sauk Centre theater students in attendance, the crowd surpassed 200!
Here's Tia Nelson doing her thing!
More to come! The cast and crew are partying at the high school tonight in an exciting after party!!! If your son or daughter isn't in theater, they should be! It's tremendous to have a front row seat to how valuable the experience is for high school kids.
Glowing success for Musical's second night! Don't miss the final show!!!
It never gets old to write about when our local students do well in their school activities.
The second night of B-B-E's fall musical The Addams Family - School Edition was once again terrific! To read about the opening night, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://tinyurl.com/5x8u4bn3. Information is included in that web article about purchasing advance tickets online. You can also purchase at the door, although try to arrive by 1:30 p.m. today to select your seat(s)...the final show is today at 2 p.m. at Olson Auditorium!!
Here's senior Maddy Carroll during one of her feature moments as her character, Uncle Fester, sings a love song to the moon
Maddy was outstanding in her role as Uncle Fester during her first time on stage. She was part of the musical's cast in 2021 and 2022. Maddy also fulfilled the role of the grim reaper, and she put an enormous level of energy and personality into that role as well.
What these musical/theater students have pulled off is truly amazing to witness first hand. The musical's cast is the youngest and most inexperienced we've ever had on stage at B-B-E. You would never realize that by watching it.
The entire show, including a 15-minute intermission, lasts about 2 hours, 10 minutes. As I stated in large, bold print on page one of the November 16 Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper: you can support our Fine Arts programming to the same extent we support our sports teams!! The musical cast and crew have worked hard this entire fall, since the first week of school, and they deserve your support. As of 11 a.m. today, roughly 200 seats remained unsold for today's final musical show. I counted 78 presold tickets. Let's fill up the rest of those seats!!!
Sunday afternoon intermission update! we have over 200 here at Olson Auditorium watching the final show!!! Terrific turnout!
Friday Night Lights XII: Vikings maul the Jaguars (VIDEOS)
That one really, really hurt, and the hurt comes mostly in the form of damaged pride.
With an ocean's worth of excitement and plenty of enthusiasm, the B-B-E Jaguars football team stepped on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium feeling good with a sense that a week of preparation would serve them well in facing No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Minneota. B-B-E's crowd was enormous! It was huge! I don't know what the exact figure was, but we can be very proud of our turnout.
*Here's the Jaguars with their pregame Lord's Prayer and then player introductions and a view through part of the huge B-B-E fan section:
The mood soured quickly on the game's first play from scrimmage. Ryan Meagher, a junior 5'9" 195-pound running back, broke free for a 65-yard touchdown. With a successful PAT kick, Minneota held a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes and 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
B-B-E's first possession at one point had a five-yard gain on a run by quarterback Luke Dingmann, but overall it gained just two net yards before the Jaguars punted with 9:40 left.
Minneota started their second series on their own 37-yard line. On just his second touch of the game, Meagher gained 14 yards on first down. The series ultimately needed 9 plays for the Vikings to get into the end zone, but Meagher burst in for a 12-yard touchdown with 5:22 left. A good PAT kick made it a 14-0 deficit.
With 1:23 left in the second quarter, Hayden Sobiech scored on a 57-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Luke Illies. It was a one play drive that lasted just 9 seconds. At that point, however, the Vikings led 42-6.
At halftime, Minneota led 49-6.
In the closing minutes, Minneota made the classy move to put the brakes on their offense in an attempt to not score another touchdown. The public should take note of that. This is the type of sportsmanship you love to see in a dominant team.
Final score: #1 Minneota 63, #5 B-B-E 6. The Vikings amassed 596 yards of offense, while the Jaguars gained 93 yards. B-B-E had just 21 rushing yards, while Minneota rushed for 371 yards. Minneota quarterback Ryan Dalager was 11-for-18 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. For B-B-E, junior quarterback Luke Illies was 5-for-12 for 72 yards and one touchdown. B-B-E had 21 net rushing yards on 19 carries. Owen Paulson was the lead ball carrier with 2 runs for 14 yards.
B-B-E's season ends with an 11-1 overall record and the school's third conference or district football title. They won the section title for just the second time in school history after losing in their first four section championship game appearances (1997, 2010, 2012, 2013). This year's Jaguar football team rewrote countless school records. It could take a day and a half to review them.
Now it's time to shift gears to the fall musical! The second night is tonight! See more at this web article at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://tinyurl.com/3df7rkbk. I looked at presale tickets tonight, and I'm legitimately nervous: as of 5 p.m., just 55 tickets had been sold for an auditorium that seats 270.
*Here's Tia Nelson in an interview following the opening night of Addams Family last night on stage at Olson Auditorium:
I know the cast, crew and directors are very excited about the second night of this show!
In college football news...the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars trailed 35-0 after the first quarter against No. 4-ranked (NCAA D-III) University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in the opening round of the national tournament. That one got out of hand quickly, much as today's game with Minneota did. At halftime, UW-LaCrosse led 52-0. Once the final horn sounded, UW-LaCrosse had a 62-7 win to their credit. They gained 528 overall yards compared to 200 yards for UMM. The lone Cougars touchdown came on a 45-yard pass in the fourth quarter. This was UMM's first appearance in the national tournament since 1981.
And here's other college news! This one has a more local flair, with B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer earning a prestigious Player of the Week honor in her basketball conference...click to read all about it: https://tinyurl.com/y5vuenyp. In her first four college games, Schwinghammer has scored 70 points! Her Pioneers team is 3-1 overall.
Musical and State Football! GAME DAY in Minneapolis! (VIDEO)
This blog post will have to serve double duty to promote B-B-E's fall musical and also provide state tournament updates from Minneapolis. It will be further updated later this morning.
**Here's a web article to share online...featuring a video clip and more from last night's musical opening night...link: https://tinyurl.com/3df7rkbk. WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR musical students!!!!!! They were incredible last night.
Today's football game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood...you can listen to their pre-game broadcast that could begin at 11:15 a.m....perhaps later...by clicking here: https://www.kmgk1071.com. The first game today at U.S. Bank Stadium kicks off at 9 a.m. sharp, and our semifinal game follows at approximately 11:30 a.m. It could start later. We won't know until that second half of the first game, which features Mahnomen/Waubun vs. Springfield in the first Class 1A semifinal.
Here's a short glimpse from Act I from opening night last night...Wednesday Addams and Pugsley!
AND! Here's Jack Lundberg scoring our first touchdown at state last Friday in St. Cloud!
More to come. Wheels up in 30 minutes for Minneapolis!
And on to football!
State tournament football game updates to follow below here on this blog post. Share the link to this blog and help promote what we've got going!
**With 5:22 left in the first quarter, the Vikings have a 14-0 lead after just scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run.
**With 7:40 left before halftime, the Jaguars are trailing 35 to 0.
HALFTIME: Minneota 49, B-B-E 6. The Jaguars scored on a 67 yard touchdown catch by Hayden Sobiech with one minute and 23 seconds to go before halftime.
**With just over 9 minutes to go, the Vikings are ahead 63-6 in the 4th quarter.
Final score: Minneota 63, B-B-E 6. WE ARE PROUD OF OUR JAGUARS! This just was not their day.
It's time to switch gears to the second night of our fall musical at B-B-E's Olson Auditorium!!
Excitement fills the air across Jaguar Country as the musical students prepare for the opening night of The Addams Family - School Edition which will grace the stage of the Phil and Lucille Olson Auditorium at B-B-E high school.
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website and watch a video interview of Maddy Carroll, standing next to the honorary plaque for the late Phil Olson, Belgrade school music director from 1947 to 1983. Link: https://tinyurl.com/yyc426v3. In 2021, the remodeled auditorium at the high school was named in honor of him and his wife, Lucille.
We are immensely proud of all our theater students. The two seniors, Carroll and Jeffrey Cihlar, have been outstanding!! We are extremely grateful for their contributions and their abilities to help bring new students into the theater this fall.
**Here's one of B-B-E's great theater student! Now graduated, here is Dylan Hirman being interviewed outside Olson Auditorium late this afternoon:
Don't miss this show! They have worked hard and deserve your support. It won't hurt people to support the Fine Arts at B-B-E as much as we support our sports teams. Trust me: you can do it! It will be good for you.
**And after the show, I'm thrilled to announce that the opening night was a marvelous success!! This very young cast was absolutely amazing!! I hope you can see one of the next two shows. Ticket sales were what I will rate "STRONG!" which is outstanding. Unofficially, they had at least 170 seats filled in the auditorium that has a capacity of about 265.
*Here's a video featuring the scene outside Olson Auditorium after the musical concluded:
Altogether on the night, I took over 400 pictures. It has been an exciting night!
Time for bed! We have wheels up at 8 a.m. to drive to U.S. Bank Stadium.
A special sports show! Interviewing Coach Moscho (VIDEOS)
Note:this post was updated late Thursday night with information on Minneota, and also a few historical notes on B-B-E football from the 2010s...
Today I had the distinct pleasure and honor of interviewing head coach Chris Moscho in his classroom. He was gracious to offer five minutes of his class time with his group of fourth and fifth graders. Currently, we are experiencing the GREAT problem of having football on our minds all the time! This is a wonderful time to be a part of when practically every other person is asking about and bringing up the subject of state tournament football. We are relishing in it! Although we already have one state tournament under our belts from 2021, this is still a fairly new experience to be talking state tournament football. We have had great B-B-E football teams in the past that were state tournament caliber but unfortunately fell short. I could write all afternoon about teams that had legitimate chances at advancing past sections but did not. One should always be grateful for any advancement in the postseason for any sport! Football is a big deal! It is something we are proud of and will continue to be proud of regardless of the outcome of this Saturday's game.
Talking state semifinal football with Coach Moscho!
I was digging in my archives and was fascinated to be reminded that in 2017, the Jaguars also had 12 seniors on the team just like they do this year. That year they climbed as high as No. 10 in the Class 1A state rankings. The season ended in a devastating, heartbreaking 20-14 loss to Upsala/Swanville Area in the Section 4A semifinals. The football gods can be quite cruel at times. Things happen in the course of a game that can be unexplainable. The Jaguars had an outstanding start to that game with quarterback Ryan Illies scoring on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 7:28 to go in the first quarter for the game's first points. They ultimately took a 14-6 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Isaiah Gilbert plowed in for a three-yard touchdown on third down with 11:56 on the clock. Illies scampered in the two-point conversion. However, U/SA tied the game at 14-14 with 5:58 left in the game. The Jaguars then drove deep into U/SA territory in the final five minutes of the game. They gained first down around the U/SA 13-yard line. Hopes ran high for a go-ahead touchdown. Two plays later, however, those hopes were destroyed when U/SA's Jorgan Kiley picked off a pass in the end zone with just 108 seconds left on the clock. (Kiley was also U/SA's quarterback.) Somehow, the Jaguars were deflated at that point, as U/SA drove 80 yards and took a 20-14 lead with under 20 seconds left. I will never, ever forget standing in the far northwest corner of the football field and seeing any hopes of a section final and state tournament fade. It shows that nothing is ever promised in the playoffs. You go out and earn what you get. It's worth noting that U/SA went on to fall 28-0 in the Section 4A finals to a solid Mayer Lutheran team. That game was somewhat closer than what a 28-0 final score would suggest, but it showed that Mayer Lutheran was the cream of the crop that year in the section. They later defeated an outstanding, previously undefeated Goodhue team 31-21 at Shakopee high school in the state quarterfinals while finishing 11-2 overall with a state semifinal loss to Minneota by a 54-21 score at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minneota then beat Wabasso 28-13 in the Prep Bowl to finish 14-0. I have no idea how our Jaguars would have matched up with Mayer Lutheran in 2017. We'll never know.
It's worth noting that in 2012, the Jaguars lost 6-0 to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the section finals. A-C-GC then blasted St. Clair 38-20 at Southwest MN State in Marshall before falling in a tough loss by a 26-20 score in the state semifinals at the H.H.H. Metrodome. The Falcons finished 9-3 overall. One year later with a senior-dominated team, the Jaguars had a very promising postseason run come to an end in the section finals at Sauk Centre's field by a 29-12 score to Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity. The Bulldogs fell at the college field in Marshall by a 20-14 score to Sleepy Eye St. Mary's to finish 8-4 overall. SESM then lost 27-18 to Dawson-Boyd in the state semifinals. The Blackjacks then got crushed by Mahnomen 46-13 in the Prep Bowl.
This year, the No. 5-ranked Jaguars have a section semifinal win under their belts, plus a championship win (the section finals) and then a quarterfinal win at state! Now we gear up for the Class 1A state semifinals this Saturday! Minneota may have their sights set on a 14-0 season, but they have to get through our Jaguars first in order to have a shot at a state title.
More on the Minneota Vikings...
The running back that Coach Moscho referenced in the video is Ryan Meagher, a 5'9" 195-pound junior. He's not just a beast. I rate him an "absolute beast" who has incredible numbers this fall: 1,839 rushing yards with 31 touchdowns on 185 carries. Let that sink in: roughly 1 out of every 6 carries has been good for a touchdown. The Vikings have a second big threat in the backfield: junior running back Destin Fier who is listed at 5'8" and 155 pounds. Fier has 727 yards this fall with 11 touchdowns on 55 carries. Their quarterback, Ryan Dalager, is a senior listed at 6'1" and 175 pounds. He also plays defensive back.
Regardless of who we have lining up behind center at quarterback, the Jaguars are preparing for a solid, lights out Minneota defense. We have played state tournament-caliber teams in the recent past. Two years ago, the Jaguars more than held their own against Rushford-Peterson in an 18-6 loss in the state tournament. In 2022, the Jaguars nearly defeated then No. 5-ranked BOLD in a 36-34 loss to close out the regular season after a six-game winning streak was snapped. This year's Minneota team, of course, is pound-for-pound better than that 2021 R-P team or that 2022 BOLD team. By how much? That I can't answer, but we know that the 2023 Minneota team is the real deal. They play lights out football on every play on both sides of the ball. Our guys will be ready. Yes, as of now there is still a chance for Luke Dingmann to play. We are grateful he is part of this team no matter if he is on the field or on the sidelines. We continue to pray for him. That's where we leave that. For the public, let's do everything we can to get a big crowd down to Minneapolis!
*Here's a video I've never posted yet that features the starter introductions on September 22 when the Jaguars hosted A-C-GC:
More to come tonight. I have musical posters to get up! Have you purchased your tickets yet? You can do that by clicking over here: https://tinyurl.com/yyrjpz67.
The fall musical posters that are going up around the community today. Taking a page from the great Bud Heidgerken...we will promote, promote, promote! (Click on the photo to enlarge.)
Troubling news for the Fine Arts at B-B-E...at 8 a.m. today I did an analysis of the ticket sales for our upcoming fall musical at Olson Auditorium. Out of a total of approximately 800 seats available across three nights, 85 percent of the tickets are unsold. This would be equivalent to the boys' basketball team having just 90 fans for a home game (in a gym that comfortably seats 600).
B-B-E's fall musical is a delightful and hightly entertaining show called The Addams Family - School Edition that will show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend. The Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m., and the Sunday show is at 2 p.m. This creates three convenient opportunities to take in the musical. You could even easily, without a doubt, go to the state football game on Saturday and make it back for the Saturday show if you wanted to. (I will do that, you can too!) If the night shows don't work, you can't tell me that you can't make it on Sunday. What on earth could possibly be that important on Sunday afternoon that would prevent you from going to the final show? You can't use the Minnesota Vikings as an excuse, either, because they kick off with Chicago at 7:20 p.m. CST. So, that excuse is out.
If we can't give our musical kids a proper crowd, then what's the whole point? Can you imagine putting a fall's worth of work into a show, and then you end up just showing it to mom and dad and maybe a couple siblings and a grandparent or aunt and uncle. That's it. Really? Hardly anyone from the general community is coming? Because when I look at ticket sales right now, that's what I am being told.
I know families with young children would have to consider how to make the musical work. It's a show that younger elementary kids could see, but with the lack of activities at night this weekend - getting a babysitter is not out of the realm of possibilities! We need to fill out our theater for these musical shows. What type of turnout would make me happy? Well, that's not that hard to figure out. Looking out in the crowd and seeing more empty seats than filled seats is really, really disappointing. In fact, it really hurts a theater student if they see that. It's very depressing. That is something that would be unacceptable. Think about this: right now, 85 percent of the seats are empty!!! Come on!!! We can do better!
You can pre-order your tickets and pay in advance! Pick a night and get it done. Click over here to take care of that: https://tinyurl.com/2kztc3fa. And Yes, you can purchase your tickets when you get to the auditorium. It is recommended that you arrive at 6:30 p.m. or earlier if you haven't prepaid your tickets. Ticket prices: adults $7, children/students $5 and senior citizens also $5.
I spent the better part of my Wednesday night at musical rehearsal, and the kids looked great while going through scenes mostly in street clothes. They are working on timing and some of the mechanics of stage movement, but it has really come together nicely in the past week. Overall, the cast is young, and many of the upperclassmen have three or fewer years of stage experience. They have overcome that in big, big ways. I am supremely proud of what they've accomplished this fall. The 2022 fall musical Anastasia featured the kids I will always refer to as the "Big Three" with Paige Klaphake, Dylan Hirman and Tiyana Schwinghammer. Those three had many, many years of stage experience. They were instrumental in fueling a resurgence in theater interest after the pandemic halted the possibily of a 2020 fall musical. This year we have two students who I am calling the "Big Two" because of all they've done for the theater program. They are the only seniors on the musical roster: Jeffrey Cihlar and Maddy Carroll. They're both simply the nicest kids you could know, and they have brought a friendly and energetic presence to the stage. Any student organization needs that from upperclassmen. This is Jeffrey's second musical, and this is Maddy's first musical, although Maddy was on the stage crew in 2021 and 2022.
Here's a video from rehearsal last night:
I actually have more exciting college athlete notes to go through and write about, but that is going aside for now. I need to figure out how we can sell more musical show tickets.
Huge shout out to Palmer Creations of Glenwood for their super quick turnaround on printing musical posters!!! They are going up around the community today and tomorrow.
A mild week as we prepare for State Semis! (VIDEOS)
The temperatures surpassed 60 degrees yesterday across the Bonanza Valley area. Farmers have been able to continue field work and other outdoor work in preparation for the upcoming winter. I'm happy we will be able to get this next weekend behind us without any winter weather to speak of! The week continues to be a week that is telling everyone to spend as much time as possible outdoors!
If you haven't heard, the state semifinal football game is at 11:30 a.m. in Minneapolis. Before that, however, we have the opening night of the B-B-E fall musical the night prior! Friday night, just two days from now, the musical opener begins at 7 p.m. Order your ticket in advance!
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website and find the ticket link in this web article: https://tinyurl.com/49zurh62.
*Here's a fourth quarter video from the state quarterfinal game on Friday:
**Here's a video from the opening two minutes of the second quarter in the state quarterfinals:
On the final defensive play of that video, the Jaguars forced an incomplete pass when Noah Kampsen and Mason Commerford collapsed on quarterback Levi Hahn on a 3rd-and-8 play. The Crusaders then punted with 10:46 left in the second quarter from their 44-yard line.
On to Saturday!
The Minneota Vikings are defending Class 1A state champions. I haven't done a great deal of studying on them yet. I hope to get to that tonight. Now it's time to head west to the printing press!
This will be the heaviest lift of the year since May.
For the first time since the May 26 issue was published, the Bonanza Valley Voice will expand to 16 pages this week. It's sort of a nightmare right now. We'll see how the night goes.
The nerves and anxiety of that combined with other anxiousness about the upcoming fall musical and the state semifinal football game have created a difficult week. I continue to plead with and encourage everyone to purchase your musical tickets! Get them now! Learn how by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2kztc3fa.
The list of college athletes from B-B-E who are excelling at the next level is too numerous to really properly cover. However, currently, two members of the Class of 2023 are making an impact on their college teams early in their respective freshmen seasons. Tiyana Schwinghammer, who I wrote about on Saturday, had another strong game tonight in the Northland Community and Technical College's women's basketball home opener, which they won 83-56 against a North Dakota team from Bottineau. At MSU-Moorhead, Abby Berge has averaged 17 minutes per game while scoring 15 points overall in two contests for the Dragons. MSU-M just lost a heartbreaker 63-57 in overtime to No. 10-ranked University of Central Missouri in Claremore, Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.
Here's a pick-me-up: Superintendent Walsh recently spoke with one of his former student-athletes he coached earlier in his career. This person is now a high school game official, and he told Walsh specifically that the B-B-E football team displayed exceptional sportsmanship during the game he officiated. This was either in Swanville in the regular season or at Fargo, because it involved Upsala/Swanville Area. I may clarify that with Walsh if I remember to. Regardless of which game it was, it was terrific to hear this at tonight's school board meeting. This type of good news is what helps power me through tough days and nights like tonight.
Here's a dramatic change of pace and a big change of topic from state tournament football. It is exciting to share this! It is just completely wonderful.
Mrs. Carin Hagemeyer has taught Family and Consumer Science (FACS) locally at Belgrade-Elrosa high school and then B-B-E high school since she was hired in the summer of 1982 by the District No. 736 school board at Belgrade and Superintendent Duane Swenson. She joined the staff of B-E high school in place of former Home Economics teacher Suzanne Schneider and also assumed the advisor position with the high school's Future Homemakers of America (FHA) group. Today what was the FHA is known as Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), which is a student organization that teaches youth to make a difference in their families, careers and communities by addressing important personal, work and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education. The work of FCCLA generally complements the co-curricular education of FACS classes, and Hagemeyer has devoted untold levels of hours, time and energy into not only her FACS classes but also the school's award-winning FCCLA group.
Hagemeyer has taught selflessly with a distinct level of dedication and knowledge of her Family and Consumer Science industry for 41 years and counting (now in her 42nd year here). We are beyond lucky and blessed to have had her teaching in Belgrade during that time.
Mrs. Hagemeyer was recently honored as a 2023 Educator of Excellence for her innovation, dedication, and commitment to get results for her students. This award is given to educators each year by the Minnesota Rural Education Association (https://www.mreavoice.org).
This video, produced by the MREA, features an interview with Hagemeyer and others at B-B-E:
Interviewed in the video were High School Principal Laura Spanier (B-B-E Class of 1998 who was a former student of Hagemeyer's) plus Class of 2023 graduate Allison Dingmann and Class of 2024 member Reegan Jones. The video was recorded roughly one year ago during the fall of 2022.
Congratulations to Mrs. Hagemeyer for this well-deserved award! With winter coming, we are excited to see another round of your Christmas Gingerbread house projects!
An incredible state tournament football game! (VIDEOS!! and Sports Show)
Three videos were added here early Sunday morning...ALSO! Don't forget the Brooten American Legion pancake breakfast, which is served until 1 p.m. at Legion Hall on Central Avenue in Brooten. If you don't know where it is, they are located near the Bonanza Valley State Bank and Brooten Auto. Come show your support!!
**Sunday night...a few updates have been added throughout this blog post. Also, my 10th sports show of the season was just added, and it can be viewed below.
While ultimately it ended up as a tale of two halves, the big storyline is that the B-B-E Jaguars football team duked it out with a team that won the state title just two years ago and put on a defensive clinic all game on their way to a 28-6 win to open the Class 1A state tournament.
The Jaguars scored on their third, sixth and seventh drives of the first half while taking a 22-0 lead after the third touchdown, which came with 3:25 on the clock in the second quarter. This was the score at halftime.
You can click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website for a short game recap from Friday's game and also see a video clip recorded when members of the B-B-E Class of 2024 gathered for a group photo at St. Cloud Apollo: https://tinyurl.com/5z5sp9sa. It is always special and heartwarming to see the love and comeraderie shown by B-B-E seniors year to year. They are family.
I've finally gotten close to being "caught up" on adding sports photos to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug online photo gallery for the Fall 2023 albums...pictures from Fergus Falls and Fargo were just added today. You can find all fall sports folders at the following link: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Fall-Sports-2023.
I had one error in the sports show...Minneota is playing in their 17th state football tournament. They won the Section 5A title in 2020, but the state tournament was not held due to state decree by the Minnesota government. I mis-counted when I read the full list, which is conveniently and proudly displayed on the Minneota public schools website. Bravo to Minneota for the work they put into promoting their teams! We are doing our best to do the same at B-B-E. It is always a work in progress.
**Added Sunday night...here's my 10th installment of the Fall Sports Show:
In the sports show video, I talked mostly about the state football game, but I also added comments about the upcoming fall musical. It is very important that you heed my call to come out and support our theater students!! I am going harp on this for the next 6 days almost nonstop. So be ready.
You can buy your musical tickets after clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website here: https://tinyurl.com/2kztc3fa. Then find the ticket purchase link to find which night and which seats you want to sign up for.
*Below, this video features a first-quarter defensive stop by the Jaguars...
Mayer Lutheran had 8 possessions in the first half while being held out of the end zone. They punted on six of them while also having one lost fumble. Their eighth series of the first half was what brought the action to a close before halftime after they ran three plays in the last 23 seconds while gaining eight yards on that possession. The most successful drive in the first half for the Crusaders was their first one, which started on their own 4-yard line. They gained 39 yards on 8 plays before punting from their own 43-yard line with 6:41 left in the opening quarter.
Altogether in the first half, Mayer Lutheran ran 36 plays that yielded a total of 74 yards of offense. They gained 11 yards on their 4th possession, but across the 5th and 6th possessions, they lost a net 11 yards. B-B-E's defense was unflappable in those first 24 minutes of the game. It was a sight!
The second half was a different story, but the Jaguars were able to answer Mayer Lutheran's lone touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. Altogether, Mayer Lutheran had 17 possessions and came up with points on just one of them.
Below is the video featuring Mayer Lutheran's extra-points try in the fourth quarter...
The entire game was a battle of field position...here's a clip from later in the fourth quarter...
Up next is the top-ranked team in Minnesota, and a team that is also the defending Class 1A state champions: Minneota. The Minneota Vikings will be playing in their 17th state football tournament. Their first was in 1985, when they lost in the Class C state semifinals. They proceeded to win three straight Class C state titles from 1986 through 1988, which is the stuff of legend. They were also a state semifinalist in 1989, which means they played in five straight state tournaments in that era. More recently, Minneota has been dominant again at the state tournament level and is in the big show for the third straight season. They were also state champions in 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017...and most recently in 2022. B-B-E and Minneota last met in the playoffs in the 2008 Section 5A semifinals, when the Jaguars lost 55-6 in Minneota on a sunny, mild Saturday afternoon. I vividly remember that game!
The Vikings have out-rushed their opponents by a massive 72.2 points per game compared to 314.4 points per game average. Overall in 12 games, Minneota has outscored their opponents 602 to 93. Throughout the 12 games, Minneota's defense has given up just 7 points in the first quarter...all year long. Let that sink in! Yikes, they are good. Their roster features 11 seniors, including senior 6'1" 175-pound quarterback Ryan Dalager.
More to come. I've got lots more game tape to review tonight! It was a long day with many hours of office work completed, and tonight I was proud to support the Arts via an event at Central Square and Civic Center in Glenwood! They hosted the Great Dubois variety show. More on that in next week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
A quick volleyball state update...Russel-Tyler-Ruthton defeated Mayer Lutheran 3-1 in the state championship! I rate this as outstanding news. Mayer Lutheran was favored in this match based on how they were ranked, but the R-T-R Knights came to play and had a 19 percent hitting efficiency compared to Mayer Lutheran's 12 percent. Game scores were 25-13, 32-30, 17-25, 25-22. Their high school principal is Rick Gossen, who was at B-B-E from 2006 through 2022.
I'm excited to report that the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars football team is heading to the NCAA Division III 32-team national playoffs! The Cougars defeated the University of Northwestern_St. Paul 42-39 yesterday at Big Cat Stadium in Morris. The win gave the Cougars the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season title and automatic bid to the NCAAs. Both teams combined to roll up over 900 yards of offense: 513 for UNW and 453 for UMM. The Cougars (7-3) are having their best season since 2006, when they went 7-0 in the UMAC before the conference had automatic bid rights to the national playoffs. This marks the first time since 1981 that the UMM Cougars will play in the NCAA playoffs.
Luke Dingmann sits back for a pass attempt during B-B-E's first scoring drive of the Section 4A semifinals on October 28 against A-C-GC.
Sunday afternoon update: I've got a few notes to go over and add to this blog post. I also will have a 9th installment of my fall sports show videos to record and post. In that I will talk about our team's "QB1" and basically share the fact that I have no news to report. There's no news to report because QB1's status is something you can refer to as a "state secret"! Google that phrase...a state secret is classified information. This means everyone is on a need-to-know basis. Currently, no one in the public needs to know. However, I can say, and I will say often, that we can continue praying for QB1. Think "Texas football"!!! What would they do in Texas? They would pray.
College notes update...
The Alexandria Technical and Community College volleyball team finished in third place on Saturday in the NJCAA Division III national tournament. The Legends (21-7) defeated Owens Community College 3-1 in the third-place match. B-B-E Class of 2022 graduate Kailey Fischer had a terrific match with 24 set assists, 6 kills on 23 attacks with just two errors, one ace serve on 100 percent serving, 16 digs and one block assist. She was also named the region MVP on October 28! Congratulations! What a terrific season for a program that was just in their second season since it was founded in 2021.
Friday Night Lights XI!!! Jaguars are going to the BANK! (VIDEOS!)
This blog post has received a second update at 8 a.m. on Saturday...another coming in the afternoon! Lots to digest!! And on Saturday night, a new blog post has finally been added.
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars football team is FINAL FOUR bound!! They are heading to U.S. Bank Stadium for the Class 1A state semifinals! Facing Mayer Lutheran in the state quarterfinals tonight, the Jaguars led 22-0 at halftime on their way to a history-making 28-6 win. They are now 11-0 overall with a No. 5 ranking in the A.P. poll and No. 2 by QRF. Mayer Lutheran finishes 8-3; they were No. 3 in the latest QRF rankings and No. 11 in the A.P. poll after climbing as high as No. 7 in the October 9 poll.
This historic wins sends the Jaguars to the school's 10th Final Four overall across all sports. The previous nine seasons when a B-B-E team won a state quarterfinal game were in 2008 (volleyball), 2011 (boys' basketball), 2012 (boys' basketball), 2013 (boys' basketball), 2018 (volleyball), 2021 (girls' basketball), 2022 (boys' basketball) and 2023 (wrestling and girls' basketball).
NEXT: the Jaguars face Minneota (12-0) on Saturday, November 18 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis with an 11:30 a.m. kickoff. The Vikings are averaging 50 points a game, while their defense is giving up 7.8 points per game. In the postseason, the Vikings are averaging 44.5 points per game. Minneota is currently 12-0 overall and the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A. Last season they went 12-2 and won the Class 1A state title with a 38-21 win over Springfield in the Prep Bowl.
A video featuring Luke Dingmann's postgame interview outside Michie Field in St. Cloud is being uploaded. This was far and away one of the most incredible football games I have witnessed that featured just about everything. B-B-E had the ball 16 times, and Mayer Lutheran had the ball 17 times. B-B-E's 16th series featured the victory formation as they closed out the final minute of the game.
And here's QB1 talking at the St. Cloud Apollo football stadium tonight:
The Jaguars started clicking on their second drive of the game as Luke Dingmann converted a third down play with a 12-yard gain in the middle of the first quarter. That drive stalled out on the B-B-E 46, though, and the Jaguars punted with 4:27 left.
Mayer Lutheran was then held on their second drive of the game to a three-and-out and punted with 2:35 left. The Jaguars started their third series on the Mayer Lutheran 45-yard line. A holding penalty on the Crusaders moved the chains to the 35, and Jack Lundberg then ran for 7 yards. On the drive's third play, Lundberg scampered into the end zone on a 27-yard carry. Owen Paulson's two-point carry gave the Jaguars an 8-0 lead with 2:02 left in the first quarter.
*Here's a video featuring that first touchdown carry and more...
Ryan Jensen then came up with a interception three plays later, but the Jaguars had a lost fumble on the next play that gave the Crusaders posession at the 50-yard line with just over 8 minutes left.
B-B-E's defense held Mayer Lutheran again to a punt on a series that had a net loss of two yards. B-B-E was pinned back to their own 10-yard line on the next series with 6:29 left. Dingmann took it to the house on a 91-yard touchdown run and scored with 6:14 left. The two-point run by Braeden Michels gave the Jaguars a 16-0 lead.
Mayer Lutheran's sixth series of the game had a difficult start when Harley Weber got a quarterback sack with a 13-yard loss on the first play. The Crusaders punted on 4th-and-19 with 5 minutes to go. The Jaguars got the ball on their 46. Hayden Sobiech's 31-yard reception was the first of just plays needed to find the end zone. The second play featured an offsides penalty, and Dingmann ran for 3 yards on the third play. Luke Illies leaped above a Crusaders defender with 3:25 left in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown catch from Dingmann. The two-point was stopped just short to leave the score at 22-0.
Mayer Lutheran got something going on their seventh series that started on their 33, but by midfield they ran into trouble. Owen Paulson and Carson Gilbert's assisted tackle brought a 10-yard loss, and the second-and-20 play had an incomplete pass. Gilbert blocked a pass on third down, and the Crusaders punted from their 37 after the series gained 4 net yards.
Brett DeRoo's 10-yard punt return got the Jaguars to their 45 on their 8th series of the first half with 1:25 left. Two run plays and an incomplete pass brought a punt, and the Crusaders had just 23 seconds left before halftime to work with. An 8-yard pass was followed by two incomplete passes to close out the second quarter.
Second half...
The second half featured outstanding defense on both sides of the ball. Mayer Lutheran went through their 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th series without scoring in the third quarter. In the opening stage of the fourth quarter, the Crusaders started their 13th overall series on their 33-yard line after recovering a lost fumble with 11:45 left. Mayer Lutheran's quarterback had two big runs to spark his offense. Isaiah Ingram then caught an 18-yard pass with 10:29 left to break up the shutout. The 67-yard touchdown drive needed just 1 minute, 16 seconds. Carson Glienke's quarterback sack stopped the two-point conversion.
The Jaguars answered in a huge way with a monster 76-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jack Lundberg that essentially nullified the previous touchdown.
Altogether, the Crusaders had 17 possessions in the game. They punted on just about every one of them. I have them for two turnovers-on-downs in the second half. They lost possession on a fumble on their third possession of the third quarter. Their fourth possession of the third quarter ended with a blocked punt.
*Here's the video from the end of the game...
B-B-E's student section and fans were terrific! They were outstanding!!! They were the 12th man on the field and had a big impact on the game.
While the 28-6 final score may give the appearance of a big win, the game felt much closer than that throughout the night. Mayer Lutheran challenged the Jaguars from start to finish. Once the stats were tallied, B-B-E had 232 yards of offense. This compares to 229 yards of offense by Mayer Lutheran. On the ground, the Jaguars had 168 yards of rushing compared to 74 for the Crusaders. The final stat sheet also showed B-B-E ran 54 plays, while the Crusaders ran 77 plays.
Class 1A state football quarterfinal results across the state...
Minneota destroyed Braham 55-0 in their state quarterfinal game tonight. The Vikings are ranked No. 4 by QRF.
At Jordan, the Springfield Tigers won their seventh straight game by defeating Fillmore Central 22-12 to advance to the state semifinals. Fillmore Central was the No. 1-ranked team by QRF, while Springfield was ranked No. 6.
At Brainerd, Mahnomen/Waubun won their 11th straight game to remain undefeated with an 18-0 win against Parkers Prairie.
In other news...
Congratulations to the Northland Community and Technical College women's basketball team, which defeated St. Cloud Technical and Community College 55-33 in their 2023-2024 season opener tonight at the Anoka-Ramsey tournament. On the Pioneers roster of nine, Tiyana Schwinghammer is one of three freshmen on the team. The Pioneers face host and No. 5-ranked Anoka-Ramsey at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the second game. The host Rams placed fifth in the NJCAA National Tournament last season and finished 23-10 overall.
A few Saturday afternoon notes...
I've spent most of the day watching Northland Pioneers women's basketball and now the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars football. The Pioneers were led by Tiyana Schwinghammer's 22 points!!! Schwinghammer was playing in just her second ever college game and scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Pioneers were stone cold in the second quarter and scored just 7 points before going into halftime trailing by a wide margin of 37-18. A late comeback fell short. Schwinghammer's off-balance shot on the left block brought her team within four points, trailing 57-53, with just 46 seconds to go. Anoka-Ramsey, ranked No. 5 in the latest NJCAA polls, won 61-56 to improve to 3-0. Northland's team's home opener is Tuesday night in Thief River Falls. Ice-cold three-point shooting led to Northland's demise, as they made just 1 of 24 three-point attempts. Schwinghammer had her team's lone three-pointer.
The UMM Cougars trailed 21-7 in the first quarter to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul after the visiting Eagles piled up 10 first downs with three touchdowns. The Cougars fought back by earning a safety and a touchdown with a PAT kick to trail 21-16 at halftime. UMM's defense came alive and limited U-NW to just one first down in the second quarter. I really wished I could have made the drive west to Morris, as it's only about 45 minutes one way to UMM's Big Cat Stadium. In the end, I couldn't devote those resources to that drive, and I have to spend part of my afternoon in the office. Such is the life of a small business owner, which creates work 8 days every week. At halftime, UMM has 251 yards of offense, while U-NW has 236 yards of offense. What has hampered the UMM Cougars were two costly lost fumbles.
Also!! B-B-E Class of 2022 graduate Kailey Fischer is part of a dynamite small college volleyball team...the Alexandria Legends women's volleyball team has blazed their way to the third-place match of the NJCAA National Tournament at Cedar Rapids, IA. They lost a tough match in the national semifinals to the No. 1-ranked team in the country, the Dallas College-Eastfield Harvester Bees, who is 34-0 going into the national title match. Fischer had 26 set assists and two ace serves in the 3-1 loss. The Legends, the tournament's No. 12 seed, began the national tournament on Thursday with a 3-0 win over No. 5-seeded Fulton-Montgomery. In the national quarterfinals, the Legends beat No. 4-seeded Monroe College-Bronx by a 3-1 margin. Alexandria (20-7 overall) now faces Owens Community College today at 4 p.m. in the NJCAA D-III third-place match. Fischer, a sophomore hitter and setter, was named Region 13B MVP on Saturday, October 28. Her squad is in just their second season ever after the program was established in 2021 to field its first team during Fischer's freshmen season (2022).
I haven't gotten around to doing any editing on the video from the elementary school's football pep fest. Below is the full clip of the high school pep fest, which took place before lunch was served...this blog post will serve as a spot to see game updates tonight. So please share the link as you are able to! I have much to prepare for, including joining the B-B-E Pep Band once we arrive!
EXCITING times at B-B-E high school!
Tonight! STATE football!
Tonight's football game will be carried on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood! You can click on this link and listen online: https://www.kmgk1071.com. TheB-B-E Jaguars football team will face Mayer Lutheran out of Section 2A in the Class 1A state quarterfinals. Kickoff from St. Cloud Apollo high school is at 7 p.m.
**Here's an exciting video where the Jaguars essentially sealed the Section 4A championship win in Fargo one week ago...Good stuff!
It was terrific to see junior lineman Carson Glienke get in the game in the third quarter during that goal-line stand. Glienke missed a few games due to injury this season.
ICYMI...here's my 8th sports show recorded this fall...
**UPDATE from the state tournament...West Central Area won their consolation bracket match today by a 3-2 margin against Pine River-Backus. The Knights, playing in their first-ever state volleyball tournament, defeated the Tigers of Section 5A by a 20-18 margin in game five. That is pretty amazing! I haven't personally witnessed a fifth set go that far above 15 points to be settled. WCA star hitter Mya Foslien had 26 kills with a 24 percent hitting mark plus three ace serves and 14 digs. Madison Fagre added 15 kills. WCA plays for fifth place tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Xcel Energy Center.
STATE FOOTBALL GAME UPDATES...
Here game updates will be posted after 7 p.m. as I am able to from the sidelines.
*With just over 3 minutes to go before halftime, the Jaguars are ahead 22 to 0.
HALFTIME: B-B-E 22, Mayer Lutheran 0.
I have a Luke Dingmann interview to upload shortly!! QB1 was phenomenal in the first half tonight. The game's final score and more will be posted in a NEW blog post for Friday Night Lights XII!
THANK YOU TO OUR FINE locally-owned business sponsors of Jaguar Sports extended coverage with the Bonanza Valley Voice!!
Today was pep fest day! And more (VIDEOS! Sports Show #8)
What an exciting time to be a part of the Jaguar Country community!! This is hard to beat! Our B-B-E Jaguars football team is gearing up for the state tournament for the second time in school history! Today they were part of two awesome, exciting pep fests held at both buildings. The schools also held wonderful Veterans Day programs.
Here's a short video clip from this afternoon's elementary school pep fest:
**Here's a "touchdown" dance (or dances) by Maximus Hanson, which officially concluded the excitement of the day!
Other video will be added later tonight, including another installation of my Fall Sports Shows!. It's still the work day! And there's musical coverage to continue working on.
*Here's the 8th sports show of this fall season...and I sure hope it continues!!!!
I'm at musical rehearsal tonight. The show is coming along nicely!!!! This is going to be exciting to watch.
UPDATE from the state volleyball tournament...West Central Area lost a 3-2 match in the state quarterfinals to fall into the consolation bracket. New Life Academy advances to face No. 1-seeded Russel-Tyler-Ruthton in the state semis. WCA faces Section 5A champion Pine River-Backus in the consolation semifinals at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Xcel Energy Center. NLA won game five by a 15-12 margin. Mya Foslien led the Knights with a 28-kill performance. The match was incredibly close. One example: both teams had 21 attacks in game five and just two attack errors each. The difference was who finished better: NLA had 11 kills on their 21 attacks (43%), while WCA had 7 kills on their 21 attacks (24%). It's very, very tough to lose a set when you have a solid 24 percent hitting ratio in volleyball.
The other upper seeds in Class 1A all won via sweep: R-T-R, Mayer Lutheran and Mabel-Canton. In their quarterfinal match, R-T-R overwhelmed PR-B with 40 kills compared to just 17 by Tigers hitters.
I've got more Nickelback videos to share. It's been 34 days since the Nickelback concert was held at the FargoDome. My wife and I had a nice Thursday night getaway right in the midst of Homecoming week. While I missed a terrific volleyball match against Maple Lake (the Jaguars won 3-2), the Thursday night getaway allowed me to be able to take in all eight regular season football games. Traditionally, since 2011, we have made an October getaway over one weekend, and that has almost always included a Friday departure which causes me to miss that week's football game. I honestly don't remember the last time I was able to watch all 8 regular season games. I think it was 2013!! I'm fairly confident that I watched all 11 football games in the fall of 2013.
VIDEO:
More to come. It's time to get back on track with musical and state football coverage! I have some Mayer Lutheran notes to publish.
A new article (with similar information to what was posted a week ago) for B-B-E's fall musical has been posted at the newspaper's website: https://tinyurl.com/2kztc3fa.
Some football notes...
The Mayer Lutheran Crusaders average 28.2 points per game, and their strength is their defense, which is giving up just 12.2 points per game. B-B-E's excellent defense has given up 11.1 points a game through 10 games this fall. The Crusaders are led by senior quarterback Levi Hahn, whose backfield talents are complemented by senior running back Jack Grimsley. They also feature a big man up front, 300-pound senior lineman Gavin Lofgren. The Crusaders may have an 8-2 record compared to B-B-E's 10-0 mark, but they are no slouch. Make no mistake: Mayer Lutheran is the real deal. They will be the toughest opponent the Jaguars have faced this year. They play in an outstanding small school conference.
Side bar on the Crusaders...in 2021, when they won the Class 1A state title with a hard-fought 20-14 win against Minneota, the Crusaders featured a roster with 16 seniors. Wow! Then in 2022, they had another great season with 9 seniors on the roster. The season ended with a close loss in the Section 2A championship against Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity. The 2021 fall was a banner season for Mayer Lutheran, as their volleyball team also earned the Class 1A state title, their fourth in school history. They did so by defeating...Minneota. Quite the state tournament rivalry between those two schools!
**Here's a video featuring members of the football team being greeted by fans at the FargoDome after they beat Upsala/Swanville Area:
Thursday this week is jam packed with day time activities: two Veterans Day programs and two state pep fests. We'll see if I can make it to all four events. Fingers crossed.
