Cold shooting dooms girls' basketball at Kimball

Fans traveled in some heavy fog tonight to watch our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team play at Kimball Area. More to follow later on (Thursday).

A cold shooting night hampered the effort for the Jaguars as they suffered their second straight loss. After trailing 32-29 at halftime, the Jaguars could not catch up to the host Cubs in a 66-59 Central Minnesota Conference loss. For the game, the Jaguars shot 31 percent from the floor and were a respectable 13-of-17 at the line.

Next: the Jaguars take on CMC front-runner and No. 14-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Holdingford (16-3) on the road on Friday.

Thursday morning update: I'm still recovering from the ongoing series of calamities our community has faced, going to three funerals/visitations in a span of just four days, plus spending a chunk of the weekend plus Monday with my wife dealing with a serious health issue. Half of my Monday was spent at a doctor's clinic instead of being in my office. All I can say: we survived it. Sometimes survival is all you cling to and all you can hope for. You live to fight another day. This gives you a very unique view on life, when it's broken down to simply surviving or not surviving. It makes the other troubles in life seem small.

In normal times, the mistake I made in this week's newspaper would loom over me in a very large way. I "double jumped" a large portion of my Roger Sagedahl Senior's View article on pages 6 and 7. Not only was the story massive, perhaps the longest story I've ever published...but it ended up using considerable more space than needed. It was all part of the bumbled mess that was my Monday and Tuesday. It will lead to confusion for many readers as they try to get through the story. The upside: nothing was cut, and the story is there...you just have to look harder for how it fits together.

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on January 30:
#14 Holdingford 62, Paynesville Area 50
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 56, Maple Lake 28
Royalton 57, Eden Valley-Watkins 40

Area girls' basketball scores on January 30
Minnewaska Area 55, Montevideo 40
#3 Albany 64, #4 New London-Spicer 57
Watertown-Mayer 69, Litchfield 32
MACCRAY 63, Canby 45
Lac qui Parle Valley 39, Renville County West 37

Catching up (VIDEOS)

We are back in some severe "catching up" work at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's news and sports departments.

While writing this week's sports stories for the Bonanza Valley Voice, I did not take time to catch up to the latest Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings. I haven't looked at that in over a week. I do not put much stock in rankings, but I also find it important to make note of it when I can where the Jaguars stand. We have had a variety of teams ranked in the Top 10 over the years: football (2013 and 2017 most recently), volleyball, wrestling, boys' basketball, girls' basketball and girls' golf. Our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team began this year ranked No. 10 in the preseason and currently sit at No. 9 in the September 18 poll. The next poll will be released by the MNVBCA on September 25.

Here's a video that's almost one week old now, recorded at the Kimball match last Thursday:


Below is a video from late in the fourth quarter at Friday Night Lights II on September 9:


The video begins while the Jaguars hold a 23-12 lead over the Cubs in the opening set.

That was quite the experience to be a part of! Friday Night Lights II was electric from start to finish. The B-B-E Jaguars football team found themselves in a must-win situation after a very disappointing performance in the season opener. Their 32-12 win against Maple Lake "righted" the ship, and they are now 2-1 overall and have tough-as-nails, supremely talented Upsala/Swanville Area in their sights this Friday night in Swanville.

Click on the following link to view the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's photo gallery from Friday Night Lights II (short link): https://bit.ly/3UwqPw2.

**On Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosts Parkers Prairie at 4 p.m. in the final home match of the season.

Coach Mueller after wrestlers beat Kimball (VIDEO)

I had the good fortune of attending the start of practice today for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team at the high school. I caught up with Coach Mueller to get some highlights and his thoughts on last night's huge win over Kimball.

Video:


In case you didn't hear, the Jaguars knocked off the No. 1-ranked and defending Class 1A state champion Kimball Area Cubs by a 32-25 score. They are 5-0 overall going into the Christmas break with two tournament titles to their credit (West Central Area and Pequot Lakes invitationals).

The night before the playoff opener!

Coach Gossen gives a final talk to the Jaguars at the end of Monday's practice - the eve of the Section 4A quarterfinals.

'Twas the night before long-awaited football playoffs began, and all throughout Jaguar Country, players, coaches and fans were all thinking "YES WE CAN!"
The oncoming night will be Friday Night Lights IX, coming on the heels of a regular season where the Jaguars did very fine!
The football pads and gear were hung in the equipment shed with great care, with hopes that a vast crowd of Jaguar fans will soon be there.
The Jaguars were geared up with intensity that Kimball's team dreads, as visions of their opponents' schemes danced in their heads.
And the coaches with their chalk talk and well-stated game plans, knowing throughout the game the Jaguars will be fired up for their great fans.
As Tuesday arrives a stunning level of Jaguar Pride will arise, as the Jaguar football team will come out for battle with FIRE IN THEIR EYES!
The long Jaguar-Cubs rivalry will play out through four quarters, providing plenty of notes to keep busy the reporters.
Many years of gridiron experience has made this Jaguar team wise, as everyone in Jaguar Country knows they have their eyes on the prize!
Then comes a loud rumble in the stands that puts fear in Kimball's faithful: whose house? OUR HOUSE! whose house? OUR HOUSE! Anything but a mouthful.
Great in numbers and passion, Jaguar fans will Kimball's spirit douse, chanting in a grand chorus, "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!"


(Video) The Jaguars break it down following Monday's practice:


When: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24.
Where: the B-B-E high school football stadium
What: the Section 4A football quarterfinals
Who: the B-B-E Jaguars host the Kimball Area Cubs
Why: come to the stadium and help the Jaguars protect their house!!!

Here's a light scouting report on Kimball, which will be updated on Monday night: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2017/10/scouting-kimball.html?m=0

**...and be sure to grab a copy of the special edition of the "Band of Brothers" football spread that printed on Monday. They are available for free at Coop's Corner in Belgrade, plus at Mike's Market / Roosters / RJ's Mini-Mart in Brooten.

Scouting Kimball, section seedings

Digging up some stats and other information on the Kimball Area Cubs football team. They are what stands in the way for our B-B-E Jaguars football team earning a section semifinal berth for the first time in two years. In case you haven't heard, the No. 1-seeded Jaguars host No. 8-seeded Kimball Area on Tuesday night, October 24 at 7 p.m. This will not be a typical 8-vs-1 match up. While I would not call it a "toss up" - I will call it the toughest game of the season to this point not including the season opener.

The Kimball Area Cubs have 52 players on the 9-12 grade roster. On that roster, 15 of them are seniors who no doubt played their part in helping the Cubs snap a 42-game losing streak when they beat Upsala/Swanville Area in Week Six. At the time, the 42-game losing streak was the second-longest in the country. Kimball's first-year head coach, John Benson, is a grandson of former St. John's University football coach John Gagliardi. Coach Gagliardi retired in 2012 as the nation's winningest college football coach - in any division.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was the 2013 Section 4A quarterfinals. That year, with then-senior Brian Goodwin as quarterback, the No. 2-seeded B-B-E Jaguars struggled to shake an 0-8 Kimball team but managed to win 21-13 in a playoff run that ended in the section finals.

Kimball is gonna bring it! We need to be ready!

This is what else I found on the Kimball vs. Browerville game (Week Seven) in which the Tigers pulled out a 35-32 win:

The Cubs just couldn’t get the luck they needed last Friday, Oct. 13, as they were edged out by Browerville, 35-32. Kimball made a valiant effort, but Browerville held on to earn its second victory of the year. The Cubs move to 1-6 following the loss.

Kimball rushed for four touchdowns and earned a fifth score through the air (Zack Garding). The lone time they converted an extra point attempt was when Weston Hine powered in a two-point conversion.

Kimball stats:

passing - Tucker Shultz 17-27 for 106 yards, one TD;
rushing - Zack Harding 16-163 with 3 TDs; Riley Miller 5-13 with one TD; Tucker Schultz 6-27; Payton Schiefelbein 2-17; Grant Garding 1-1.
receiving - Zack Garding, 8 receptions, 57 yards, TD; Thomas Pearson, 5 receptions, 59 yards; Payton Schiefelbein, 2 receptions, 2 yards; Hayden Gagnon, 1 reception, 10 yards; Weston Hine, 1 reception, 3 yards.