Friday Night Lights V: late safety tips scales to the Irish (VIDEOS* UPDATES*)

Saturday morning update: sports blogging has been PAUSED for a good portion of today. Game updates from Friday Night Lights V will resume later in the day. Currently, I have been in contact with a Wayzata football mom as well as journalist Lou Raguse, who have been filling me in on multiple need-to-know matters on Eden Prairie football. This will be part of a story I'm writing regarding the Somali gang-related gun violence that erupted at the Eden Prairie Homecoming football game. This was located just FOURTY-FOUR MILES from the Maple Lake stadium. What on earth is happening in Minnesota?
Noteworthy: the Eden Prairie football stadium is perhaps the most fortified, heavily-armed high school stadium in the state. Also, last night was Eden Prairie's Homecoming game. Yet, with all that, gang violence still broke out.

B-B-E vs. Maple Lake, Friday Night Lights V: (game recap is being crafted; see below)

For a game that had just one lead change, it was not for the faint of heart. Punch after punch after punch, the B-B-E Jaguars football team took what was dished out and didn't back down from the fight on their hands at Maple Lake's Homecoming. 

Trailing 7-6 with inside 6 minutes left in the game, Maple Lake was held to 4th and 3 on B-B-E's 45 yard line. They elected to punt, and they got what was an absolutely perfect punt that rolled to the one-yard line.

On B-B-E's first play from scrimmage, Aiden Mueller corralled a high snap and attempted valiantly to bull his way out of the end zone.  He was tackled just inside the goal line, however, giving the Irish a safety to pull ahead 8-7.

Fast forward to the final minute of the game, the Jaguars made a defensive stop just outside the red zone to keep their chances alive. Maple Lake was attempting to put the game away, but they were stopped on 4th-and-15 at B-B-E's 26-yard line with 19 seconds to go.

On the first play from scrimmage, Noah DeRoo hauled in an incredible, deep pass for a 67-yard gain. Unfortunately, a Maple Lake player was able to tackle him just outside the endzone. With 4 seconds left, Aiden Mueller spiked the ball to stop the clock once the down marker was set up.

B-B-E's field goal unit lined up, and the kick had enough height and distance but fell wide right.

Final: Maple Lake 8, B-B-E 7.

Tear your heart out! That was a tough loss. One of the toughest losses to swallow. 

I don't know much, but I know this: you can search all over the state of Minnesota, and you will not find a team with bigger hearts than our Jaguars.

With 4:38 left in the first quarter, Austin Berge caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. A successful PAT kick made it a 7-0 lead.

With 3:40 left in the second quarter, Maple Lake scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars stuffed the two-point run and led 7-6 at halftime. 

Here's a video featuring the second-to-last play of the game:


The video begins right after the Jaguars made that big defensive stop in the final 30 seconds of the game. The video ends right after unrelenting pandemonium gripped the stadium with DeRoo's catch changing the complexion of the game.

Here's a video featuring the last play of the game:


The field goal attempt took place with 4 seconds on the clock.

Here's a video featuring an extended portion of the first quarter at Maple Lake:


More to come.

Tear your heart out! On B-B-E's second drive, the Jaguars ran the ball twice for a total gain of 21 yards. On first-and-10 at the Maple Lake 38 as the very first play of the second quarter, Lance Radermacher ran a post route. Aiden Mueller's pass was spot on perfect, and Radermacher had gotten well past his defender. Radermacher reached out and had the ball in his hands, but it was moving just the smallest fraction too fast. He couldn't bring it in, but had he caught it, it would have given the Jaguars a 13-0 lead to start the second quarter.

How the first half played out tonight in Maple Lake:
The Irish started with possession to open their Homecoming game, and a huge 32-yard kickoff return got them a start at their own 48. The Irish gained 23 yards on 5 plays before their sixth play ended in disaster. Their quarterback had a bead on a deep receiver near the endzone, but his pass was snared high in the air by a leaping Austin Berge just inside the 10-yard line. Berge returned the interception 26 yards.

B-B-E's first possession began at their own 33 with 8:43 left. Utilizing 9 plays, the Jaguars drove downfield with a giant gain when Noah DeRoo caught a 39-yard pass before being tackled at Maple Lake's 13. An incomplete pass, a four-yard run by Lance Radermacher and a B-B-E holding penalty brought 3rd-and-16. Another incomplete pass followed, setting up fourth down. Austin Berge streaked to the right corner of the field, and he hauled in an Aiden Mueller pass just inside the right pylon for a touchdown. Mauricio Hernandez-Valdiviezo's PAT kick sailed straight through the uprights to make it a 7-0 score with 4:32 left in the first quarter

Maple Lake started their next series on their own 35. They faltered when Tyler Myers earned a solo tackle with a loss of 7 yards to bring 3rd-and-12. After a 5-yard catch, Maple Lake had a penalty on a punt attempt. The second punt attempt sailed high out of bounds.

With 48 seconds left in the first quarter, the Jaguars started on their 39 and ran two plays, a 10-yard run by Aiden Mueller and an 11-yard catch by Mason Douvier. After the quarter break, Douvier had two good runs for a total of 11 yards to set up 1st-and-10 at the Irish 27. The drive stalled out, however, on 4th-and-10. A high snap forced Mueller back about 10 yards to recover the loose pigskin. With 9:08 left, the Irish had the ball again on the turnover on downs.

The Irish benefited from a B-B-E personal foul on their third drive's first play. Moved to B-B-E's 37, the Irish lost 2 yards with Lance Radermacher and Tyler Myer earning assisted tackles. The second down pass attempt was tipped by Radermacher and fell incomplete. After another incomplete pass, the Irish punted and earned a touchback.

From their own 20, B-B-E quickly went three-and-out with no gain on 3 plays. This gave Maple Lake possession at their own 40 after the punt with 6:57 left. A 15-yard quarterback run was followed by a 14-yard run to get to B-B-E's 31 in just 2 plays. The Jaguar defense then held the Irish to 4th-and-4, but they got exactly a four-yard run to move the chains. An 18-yard run down the right sideline followed for first-and-goal. Maple Lake finished the 60-yard drive on the 8th play, which resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run. On the two-point try, Elliot Spanier and Noah DeRoo pushed the quarterback out of bounds 5 yards short. With 3:40 left, the Jaguars' lead was now 7-6.

Maple Lake then pulled off a successful onside kick that gave them possession at B-B-E's 48. On 3rd-and-6, they fumbled the ball but recovered it. With 1:52 left in the third, the Irish punted from midfield.

B-B-E started their fourth series of the game on their 24. They had a holding penalty on second down, but much of that was got back when Douvier ran a pitch for 14 yards. Radermacher's 10-yard reception moved the chains. Disaster followed with another holding penalty and an unsportsmanlike penalty to bring 1st-and-35. On that first down, Grayson Rooney caught a 15-yard pass. Back-to-back incomplete passes followed. Mueller's punt was good for 36 yards, which got Maple Lake back to their own 35 with just 32 seconds to go. They ran 2 plays before time expired.

FIRST HALF summaries: Maple Lake's offense had first half time of possession of 13 minutes, 22 seconds. They gained 101 yards from scrimmage, and their quarterback was 1-of-6 for 5 yards. For B-B-E, Aiden Mueller was 6-of-15 for 60 yards in the first half. B-B-E's offense gained 92 yards, and their time of possession was 10 minutes, 15 seconds.

Second half notes will be added here late on Saturday night. I'm also watching the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars play in their Homecoming (via the internet)...I'll add that the Jaguars had a turnover on downs at Maple Lake's 37-yard line to start the third quarter. B-B-E's defense then forced Maple Lake to lose 5 yards on 3 plays on their first drive of the third quarter. The chess match was underway.

B-B-E's sixth overall series of the game and second of the third quarter started at midfield. On the second play of that drive, Radermacher ran 15 yards on an option pitch. DeRoo then hauled in a 32-yard catch to get first-and-goal at the Maple Lake three-yard line. Things did not work out, however, and B-B-E turned the ball over on downs at Maple Lake's three-yard line with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

The Jaguar defense gave outstanding resistance on six straight plays, with Maple Lake getting to 3rd-and-4 at their own 21 after 5 plays. They managed to convert that third down play by the narrowest of margins. On the next play, they got a 22-yard run to get near midfield as the third quarter went inside 2 minutes. Aiden Mueller earned a quarterback sack, and that was followed by an incomplete pass. On 3rd-and-14, the Irish got a 7-yard reception as the receiver made a move to evade McCoy Detloff and slipped on the sod. Maple Lake then punted on 4th-and-7 at the 50 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars started what was just their 7th possession of the game as the fourth quarter got rolling. They began with excellent field position at their own 42. Radermacher's 9-yard catch was followed two plays later by an 8-yard catch by Grayson Rooney. On second down, however, the Irish got a sack with a 10-yard loss. The Jaguars later punted on 4th-and-25 with 8:46 left.

Maple Lake started their 9th series of the game on their own 29. Their quarterback ran for 19 yards on the first play, but the Jaguar defense went on lockdown at that point and gave up 7 yards on 3 plays. Sitting at B-B-E's 45, the Irish elected to punt. That punt was the best you will see in high school football, as it landed perfectly and rolled down the sideline before stopping at B-B-E's one.

Maple Lake's defense came up with a safety on the next play for the game's only lead change with 5:30 on the clock.

Some light game statistics:
The Jaguars were in no way outplayed by the bigger, deeper Maple Lake team. By my count, the Maple Lake roster featured 44 players and 8 seniors. B-B-E gained 275 yards of offense against 189 by the Irish.

Defensively, the Jaguars had a season-high 7 tackles for a loss. Earning one quarterback sack each were Tyler Myers and Mason Douvier.

Ultimately, penalties may have been somewhat of a factor in the loss. Just like Browerville hurt themselves last week against our Jaguars, this week, the Jaguars did themselves no favors with a few key penalties. Penalties especially hurt them in the second half. You have to give credit to Maple Lake. They were outplayed at numerous junctions of the game, but they had players make the exact necessary plays needed to come out with a win.

What's next...
With no time to lick their wounds, the Jaguars (3-2, 2-2) now have to prepare for a loaded-for-bear Benson Braves team that trounced West Central Area tonight 36-8 in Barrett. It was somewhat of a statement win by Benson, who trampled Maple Lake last week at Benson's Homecoming 44-6. With tonight's win over WCA, Benson pulls second place alone in the Mid-Northwest Gold District. The Braves are on a three-game winning streak.

Currently, B-B-E sits in a four-way tie for third place in the district along with WCA, Maple Lake and Ashby/Brandon-Evansville. Incredibly, with just a 22-man roster (22 if everyone is healthy)...the Jaguars currently have the second-best rated defense in the district. Through 5 games, they are giving up just 15.2 points per game.

In another district game tonight, Upsala/Swanville Area ran roughshot over Browerville. Late in the game, the Patriots had a 42-8 lead.

Mid-Northwest Gold District football Week 5 football scores on October 2:
Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 50, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 16 (this game was played in Brandon)
Upsala/Swanville Area 42, Browerville 8 (at Swanville)
Benson 36, West Central Area 8 (at Barrett)

Area Week 5 football scores on October 2:
Paynesville Area 35, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 6 (the Bulldogs win on Homecoming night in a border battle with the Falcons)
Albany 28, Milaca 12
Osakis 34, Sauk Centre 13
New London-Spicer 35, Montevideo 6
Kimball Area 30, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Minneota 57, MACCRAY 0
Willmar 28, Hutchinson 7
Hancock 34, Underwood 6
Parkers Prairie 33, Frazee 6
Dassel-Cokato 40, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 25
Holdingford 24, Minnewaska Area 7

Game night at HOME! It will be a Mud Bowl

An early-season Mud Bowl is soon underway on the home gridiron, as the B-B-E Jaguars football team puts their 2-0 record up against the Upsala/Swanville Area Patriots, who are also 2-0. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. It is STILL raining as of 6:30 p.m., although it is lightening up. My home rain gauge is past 1.5 inches for the day.

Game updates to follow...probably not until halftime.

The Jaguars led 7-0 in the first quarter.

At halftime, U/SA is ahead 22-7.

*Hit refresh to see the final score.

Time to head to Lucky Shots in Brooten! The local Lutheran youth group is sponsoring an event there.

Friday Night Lights VII: 8th-ranked Jaguars defeat Thunder (VIDEOS!*)

The B-B-E Jaguars football team maintained second place in the Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District standings with a 54-7 win over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle tonight. Parents Night was also held tonight in the last regular season home game.

The Jaguars built a 42-0 lead after the first quarter. At halftime, they led 48-0.

Big achievements! in tonight's second quarter, Jack Lundberg surpassed 1,000 season rushing yards. Luke Illies eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for passing this season. Both are two valuable members of the 16 seniors on this year's roster.

Some light game statistics...
B-B-E totaled 288 offensive yards tonight while their defense held the Thunder to 89 yards from scrimmage. While employing a predominantly running game, Luke Illies had 3-of-6 passing marks for 58 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Jack Lundberg finished with 154 rushing yards and now has 1,006 yards this season. Illies was also part of the rushing statistics with one long run for a 41-yard touchdown. B-B-E ran for 228 yards on 13 run plays.

This was another fun stat: 22 different Jaguars recorded at least one defensive tackle tonight, Cameron Loe, a junior, had the game's lone quarterback sack.

Here's a video from the second quarter tonight:


More to come later tonight after I review additional game statistics. There have been over 40 kids gathering tonight at Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten! This is a wonderful thing for our youth! Bravo to the B-B-E Fellowship of Christian Athletes program! Kids are participating in bowling, pool and simulated golf. I am beaming with pride in the organizers behind tonight's big party at the bowling alley.

**Here's a video from the 2nd quarter at Browerville on Friday Night Lights VI:


I am a little backed up right now on my sports videos for the tennis and football teams. This weekend is when I'll get caught up! **The video I just added features the final minutes of the second quarter at Friday Night Lights VI in Browerville. The clip begins with Brett DeRoo scoring on a 46-yard touchdown catch from Luke Illies.

Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District Week 7 scores on October 11:
West Central Area 24, Browerville 0
Upsala/Swanville Area 46, Benson 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 41, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0

Area Week 7 football scores on October 11:
New London-Spicer 55, St. Cloud Apollo 23
Canby 27, Yellow Medicine East 6
Hancock 32, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 28
Pierz 67, Montevideo 34
Moorhead 22, Alexandria 20
Rock Ridge 49, Duluth Denfeld 32
BOLD 54, Lakeview 6
Albany 21, Minnewaska Area 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 32, Perham 13
Melrose Area 28, Rockford 27
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 21, Sauk Centre 0
Osakis 44, Royalton 14
Renville County West 57, Madelia 6

Friday Night Lights II: Jaguars pitch a shut out! (VIDEOS)

Holy cow! That was fun!

In their district opener for the new season, the B-B-E Jaguars football team put forth an incredible effort on defense while shutting out West Central Area by a 32-0 score. They have now won 10 straight regular season games going back to last fall. How about that! I believe the game was rightly billed as a "tough" game prior to kickoff, but as the game developed, the Jaguars seemed to get stronger and stronger. They had a few issues with penalties, especially in the second half, but through all four quarters they played well enough to finish with the coveted shutout.

The Jaguar defensive effort held the Knights to a net negative 3 yards on WCA first three offensive series. Even more impressive: through WCA's first five series of the game, they were held to a net zero yards!

The Jaguars received a WCA punt after the Knights went nowhere on their first series. With their second series of the game starting on their 45-yard line, the Jaguars used just 4 plays to punch in their second touchdown of the game. On 1st-and-10 at the WCA 40, Josh Walstrom hauled in a touchdown catch from Luke Illies to score with 6:37 left in the opening quarter. You can see that play out in the video below.

Here's exciting video from the first quarter tonight:


B-B-E's QB1's numbers were incredible, as Luke Illies had 16-for-24 passing for 273 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. (For a QB rating of 144.6!) All four touchdowns were caught by senior wide receiver Josh Walstrom. B-B-E's other touchdown was scored on the ground by senior Jack Lundberg.

Against B-B-E's JV defense, WCA threatened in the closing minutes but ran out of time inside the 10-yard line.

Unofficially, the Knights were limited to 70 yards of offense. I haven't reviewed the official stats yet.

Game statistics...
B-B-E's running game totaled 135 yards on 26 carries and was led by Lundberg's 90 yards on 18 carries. Through the air, they added 273 yards on the 16 pass receptions thrown by Illies. In the fourth quarter with JV quarterback Aiden Mueller behind center, the Jaguars stuck almost exclusively to running the ball to keep the clock running. Mueller was 0-for-1 at quarterback.

Walstrom finished with 8 catches for 161 yards. Brett DeRoo had 3 catches for 27 yards.

Defensively, a total of 10 Jaguars recorded at least two solo tackles. Ethan Mueller had 7 solos, while Carson Gilbert had 6 solo tackles plus three quarterback sacks and four tackles for a loss.

WCA was held to 70 net yards: 10 in the air and 60 on the ground. WCA's passnig numbers were 5-of-14. It was a very tough night for the visitors, as the 70 yards were earned across 54 plays. B-B-E totaled 408 yards on 55 plays.

Next: the Jaguars (2-0) travel to Benson for their first road game of the season next Friday, September 13. They face a Braves team that played well tonight in a 28-20 loss to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in Murdock. Next week's game will be Benson's home opener. They lost their season opener at Manohmen last week to Mahnomen/Waubun.

Against K-M-S tonight, the Braves ran for 266 yards on 43 carries.

Here's a video from the pregame huddle just before the playing of the National Anthem:


Worth noting: in the Section 4A standings, Browerville, Upsala/Swanville Area and B-B-E are all 2-0.

I'll get a "Friday Night Lights II" podcast recorded tomorrow night.

Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold district scores in Week Two:
Browerville 34, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 28, Benson 20
Upsala/Swanville Area 47, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0

Area football scores in Week Two:
Minnewaska Area 34, Sauk Centre 10
Kimball Area 42, Osakis 8
BOLD 70, MACCRAY 6
Dawson-Boyd 35, Lac qui Parle Valley 13
Minneota 61, Yellow Medicine East 0
Paynesville Area 60, Maple Lake 14
Holdingford 46, Royalton 6
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 42, Montevideo 7

GAME NIGHT in Jaguar Country! (VIDEO)

We have our second installment of Friday Night Lights coming in less than an hour!

The B-B-E Jaguars football team hosts West Central Area in teams who are both looking to improve to 2-0 in the early portion of the regular season. How ironic is this: in the first five minutes of their respective season openers, both the Jaguars and Knights had put up two touchdowns on their opponents. At Climax, the WCA Knights won 38-12 against host Polk County West. 

Also noteworthy: out of five Section 4A teams, four of them were winners in their season openers.

The game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood; they stream online at: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

Here's a video I'm posting a second time...from last Friday night in the season opener.


More to come!

 **Game updates...After the first quarter of play, the Jaguars are ahead 12-0.

Halftime: BBE 18, WCA 0.  The Jaguars scored with 26 seconds left before halftime for their third touchdown of the game.

Friday Night Lights I: a terrific start for Jaguar football (VIDEOS**)

This blog post won't be fully updated until later in the day on Saturday. The past week has been quite the stretch with plenty of excitement along the way! A few game stats were added late Saturday morning. Two additional videos were added on Saturday night.

To start off the new season for the B-B-E Jaguars football team, one of the overarching goals of the night was to finish the game without major dings or injuries. It's great to say that coaches can make that checkmark on the list of accomplished goals. Beyond that, the Jaguars can soak up a satisfying 38-20 win over Bagley as they get ready to prepare for the start of Mid-State District play.

Here's a postgame interview recorded next to the high school with head coach Chris Moscho (added Saturday night):


At halftime, the Jaguars built a 30-0 lead after they led 22-0 through the first quarter. The Jaguars punched in two touchdowns in the game's first five minutes of play. Late in the half, with 26 seconds on the clock, Brett DeRoo caught a 22-yard reception from Luke Illies for a touchdown. Hunter Laage ran in the two-point conversion to make it 30-0.

Here's a video from the first quarter of tonight's game:


Here's a video featuring action in the final minute of the second quarter:


To start the third quarter, the Jaguars put together a 65-yard drive that utilized 8 plays to get into the end zone. Jack Lundberg's two-yard plunge with 9:30 left plus Laage's 2-point conversion run gave the Jaguars a 38-0 lead with 9:30 on the clock.

*Here's a video featuring that final touchdown scored by the Jaguars...


The Flyers found life as the third quarter wore on and B-B-E began to sub down to second and third-string players. One bystander told me they only had 24 players to work with. B-B-E's roster is not overly deep, but it's solid for Class 1A standards with 34 players in grades 9-12. The 15 seniors played central roles in the game, but I was impressed by seeing numerous freshman and juniors also gaining significant playing time. This is important to spread the workload and help minimize the chances of injuries.

NEXT: the Jaguars will host a very tough West Central Area Knights team next Friday, September 6 for the district opener. The Knights are also 1-0 after they beat Polk County West 38-12 last night at Climax high school.

Game statistics summary...
Through the air, the Jaguars were 10-for-22 for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Illies connected with his receivers for 9 catches on 20 pass attempts. Aiden Mueller was 1-for-2 with the reception good for 31 yards. Junior Kameron Hiltner was the leading receiver with three catches for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

Jack Lundberg led the ground game with 138 yards on 18 carries, and Brett DeRoo had 6 carries for 62 yards.

Earning fumble recoveries were Carson Glienke, Carson Savage and Noah Kampsen. Brett DeRoo had one interception, and Harley Weber had two quarterback sacks. Ethan Mueller led the defense with 10 solo tackles and four assists.

Area football scores in Week One on August 30:
Hancock 52, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 0
BOLD 56, Windom Area 14
Upsala/Swanville Area 41, Pine River-Backus 6
Rockford Area 19, Royalton 6
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 54, Red Lake 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 38, Wadena-Deer Creek 7
Paynesville Area 46, Montevideo 21

Area football scores in Week One on August 29:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46, Minnewaska Area 27 Holdingford 42, Sauk Centre 8
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 30, Maple Lake 6
Albany 14, New London-Spicer 7

Friday Night Lights IV: Jaguars overcome adversity, improve to 4-0! (VIDEOS)

This blog was lightly updated on Saturday over the noon hour...additional updates to come after 3 o'clock once some badly-needed newspaper office work is completed. Another video was added late Saturday afternoon before heading to Turkey Fest in Swift Falls (see below)...

Friday Night Lights IV! It was a doozy! Tonight was a completely different game than the first three games of the season. Getting to 3-0 was exciting and a huge achievement, but tonight showed that our team is for real, with much to work on!

Against the physical and disciplined Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons, the B-B-E Jaguars football team won 50-22 to improve to 4-0 as the first undefeated team in school history through four games. As the wins keep coming, the record will continue being broken! Even better than the 4-0 start is that we came out of the game relatively healthy...a little banged up, but that's to be expected against A-C-GC's ability to take you out of your game.

The Jaguars outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the second half. It was a display to take in! I'm quite anxious to start getting scores from around our district. Tonight had numerous hyped-up games that will tell us a great deal about where things stand halfway through the regular season.

And we have a sports show! Yes, here it is...the first one of the fall sports season:


Were it not for my severely sore legs and the need to be active and productive this weekend, I could have put more into that sports show. I have to get many, many tasks done between now and Monday afternoon. It's a start, and hopefully the first of more sports shows to come between now and the month of November! I also have to keep in mind - and you should, too! - that B-B-E's Homecoming is on the horizon. It's still over a week away, but I will need to be at 110 percent on a daily basis that entire week! I am terribly excited for it.

I forgot to mention my sports show sponsor...something I want to incorporate this fall. That is Brink's Beer Joint of Swift Falls. Their Turkey Fest is tomorrow (Saturday)! Click on the following link to read all about it: https://tinyurl.com/485e3cz3. Fun fact: Harold and Harriet Jacobson, great-grandparents of B-B-E "QB 1" Luke Dingmann, are well-known in the Swift Falls area and farmed north of Swift Falls throughout their adult life. I saw them regularly at Turkey Fest year after year once I became the owner of the Bonanza Valley Voice. Harold and Harriet are now fully retired from farm life and enjoying their golden years in Brooten. We love them dearly and wish all the best to them!!

*Here's a video from the final minute of the first quarter...


Brett DeRoo earned a touchdown on a 25-yard interception return with 44 seconds on the clock. Owen Paulson's two-point conversion carry made it a 28-6 lead.

Here's a video from the second quarter tonight:


If you get through the full clip, you'll see that I got really fired up at the point where a personal foul was called on A-C-GC for a late hit. In all fairness, yes, it was a late hit, but from what I saw in the video, the whistle hadn't blown yet either. It's a reminder that football is a super physical game. After the penalty was applied, B-B-E set up their fifth possession of the game at the A-C-GC 33-yard line with 5:52 on the clock. The Falcons defense was cranked up, and they pushed the Jaguars back 3 yards on first down. On 2nd-and-13, Luke Dingmann ran for 19 yards around the left side. Then on 1st-and-10 at the 17, the Jaguars coughed up possession with a lost fumble. This gave A-C-GC the ball at their own 25-yard line with 5:10 to go.

The Jaguars led 28-6 after the first quarter. They were riding high, but the Falcons shifted the momentum to their side with back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter.

After their 7th drive of the game, the Falcons trailed just 28-22 with 47 seconds left before halftime. That scoring drive, which started after B-B-E's lost fumble, covered 75 yards and 4 minutes, 27 seconds of game clock. B-B-E responded with a 50-yard drive where they needed just 24 seconds to score. Hayden Sobiech's 20-yard touchdown catch in the end zone came with 18 seconds to go. Owen Paulson ran in the two-point conversion to give the Jaguars some breathing room and a 36-22 halftime lead.

**Here's an exciting reel with the Jaguars scoring in the final seconds of the second quarter with 18 seconds left:


To start the third quarter, A-C-GC earned an interception on B-B-E's first play. Starting on their 17-yard line, the Falcons moved into B-B-E territory but punted on the 11th play; on the final play of the drive, A-C-GC punted, and B-B-E then scored on a 55-yard drive capped by Brett DeRoo's 31-yard touchdown grab. Paulson's two-point carry made it 44-22 with 2:11 left.

When the dust settled, the Jaguars had faced a very, very good team that had a record of 1-2, and they overcame it. It was adversity, and in spite of that they still won by a score of 50-22. It is a win to be proud of.

NEXT: the Jaguars will learn if they are contenders or not with a trip to Swanville next Friday, September 29. They will take on Upsala/Swanville Area. More to come on that. Keep in mind that U/SA went to A-G-CG last week and put the hurt on the Falcons by a 36-0 final score. The Patriots are the real deal. I still haven't heard the final score from Browerville tonight. Stay tuned.

For the first time this season, the Jaguars were outgained on offense, but if you win 50-22 that lessens the sting of that by a mile. B-B-E racked up 435 yards of offense compared to 439 for A-C-GC. I haven't combed over my drive totals, but it will be fascinating to see where things stood at halftime. I'm telling you: the second half shut out was something to be proud of.

A-C-GC's running game battered the Jaguar defense at times, but the Jaguars still outgained them on the ground by a margin of 220 yards to 197 yards. The Jaguars were outgained through the air by a 242 to 215-yard margin. Luke Dingmann was 13-for-18 for 215 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Brett DeRoo had one interception, and Owen Paulson had one fumble recovery.

A-C-GC's Jevon Williams had 28 carries for 136 yards.

To put this game into perspective with what's coming against No. 9-ranked U/SA, last week in Grove City...the Patriots held A-C-GC to just 85 total yards in a 36-0 win after leading 24-0 at halftime. They limited the Falcons to a net negative one yard of rushing for the game. On offense, their leading receiver was Jack Primus, who caught 5 passes for 124 yards. Through U/SA's first three games, they outscored their opponents 149-14.

Tonight I entered the stadium awfully fired up and basically on edge. I arrived "just in time" to join the pep band for the playing of the National Anthem. I had hours to prepare for the game, and wouldn't you know it...at the last minute, I could not find my ankle compresses. I had everything else ready to go, including all my camera equipment. My wife was out of town tonight, which created more adversity on the home front. It was a wicked disaster I had going!! My saving grace was that I had practiced the National Anthem a few times this week, including earlier today. Practice pays off!!! Remember that. This makes it four games that I just haven't been quite perfect in my preparation. I came close to being fully prepared for the trip to Barrett...just one small detail: my camera chip wasn't properly cleared for the video camera. Such a huge let down for the WCA game!! I had about 5 minutes' worth of memory on my video camera and had to rely mostly on my cell phone to get video from the WCA game. I hope Week 5 is different, because it includes a generally treacherous drive to Swanville. Overall, I'm feeling remarkably good on a 13,000-step day. Tonight's football game only had approximately 4,000 steps compared to 6,000 last week.

This week was exhausting! A drive to K-M-S on Monday, the Osakis drive yesterday for tennis...and then tonight's football game. I'm truly grateful that it was a home game. I am running out of steam and glad it was a short drive home afterwards. This may be the first night after a B-B-E Jaguar football game since the 2000s when I won't push past midnight breaking down the game and looking at area scores. Crazy. I have enough gas in the tank to make my first "Sports Show" recording of the 2023-2024 school year. This is something I hoped to do 2 weeks ago. Update: lo and behold! I got a second wind and got a show recorded about an hour past midnight. Life is good.

UPDATE: No. 9 Upsala/Swanville Area is 4-0 after defeating Browerville 36-14 in Browerville tonight. The Patriots scored on the second play of the game on Carter Natvig's 62-yard run to cap a 35-second, 64-yard touchdown drive. The Tigers stuffed the two-point conversion. The final score does not tell the full story of the game. U/SA led 20-14 with about 8 minutes left side in the fourth quarter. With 6:58 left in the game, Jack Primus caught a pass on the left and ran in a 49-yard touchdown. A successful two-point conversion pass expanded U/SA's lead to 28-14. Around the 5-minute mark, both teams subbed down to their JV, and the Patriots added another score for the final margin on freshman Carson Primus's 10-yard run with 2:57 left in the game.

Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District Week 4 scores on September 23:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 34, West Central Area 6
Benson 33, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0 (LP-GE has been shut out for three straight games)
Upsala/Swanville Area 36, Browerville 14

The top of the Gopher Gold District standings features three teams with 3-0 records: Upsala/Swanville Area, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg and B-B-E.

Area football scores on September 22:
MACCRAY 41, Lakeview 33
Eden Valley-Watkins 50, Paynesville Area 0
Osakis 36, St. Cloud Cathedral 8
Kimball Area 14, Royalton 8
Albany 26, Pierz 14
Litchfield 48, New London-Spicer 21
Rockford Area 27, Montevideo 12
No. 1-ranked Minneota 28, Canby 6
Minnewaska Area 18, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 12 (Lakers win for the first time since October 15, 2021; on that night, they beat HL-W-W during a 1-8 season; they were 3-4 during the COVID season, so this was their 5th win this decade)
Rocori 11, Hutchinson 0
Sauk Centre 44, Melrose Area 6
BOLD 66, Lac qui Parle Valley 27
Holdingford 62, Maple Lake 16
Brandon-Evansville/Ashby 6, Hancock 0

Tomorrow we have Turkey Fest coming in Swift Falls! This is an exciting event. I have always greatly enjoyed attending Turkey Fest. Their parade is at 5:30 p.m., while the chili cook-off runs from 3 to 5 p.m. All the details have been published in the last two weeks of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Click on the following short link to watch the 2021 Turkey Fest parade: https://tinyurl.com/485e3cz3. To help support The Voice operations this fall in a time of extremely high energy/fuel costs, numerous businesses such as Brink's Beer Joint of Swift Falls have stepped up with extra advertising. We are grateful for this support to keep us going.

Going back 50 years! Fifty years ago this week...the Brooten Buccaneers football team defeated Osakis on Homecoming night by a 39-0 score. This win improved the Buccaneers to 4-0. I have a full review of the 1973 Brooten football season that I hope to publish next week. There's much more to write about regarding that team.

Football season concludes (VIDEO)

A very exciting, thrilling season on the gridiron has concluded after a wild ride full of lows and highs came to a crashing end yesterday in the Section 4A semifinals. The B-B-E Jaguars football team saw the postseason journey end prematurely after they lost 22-6 to Upsala/Swanville Area. The Jaguars had high hopes of major improvement after a subpar performance in a 22-14 win against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle to open the section playoffs last Tuesday. While they certainly played better against a superior opponent, the improvement was not enough to overcome what was a stellar U/SA performance on both sides of the ball.

*Here's a video featuring B-B-E's second offensive series of the game, which took place in the second quarter yesterday; in the first few seconds of this clip, Luke Illies had a key reception on the left sideline to move the chains:


B-B-E's second offensive series started on their own 19-yard line and stalled out at the U/SA 21-yard line with 5:07 left before halftime. The saving grace before halftime was their ability to stop the Patriots from scoring on a third straight series in the closing minutes of the second quarter.

Eye-opening statistic: the Patriots had 68 run plays for the game while amassing 290 rushing yards. This equates to roughly a 4.3 yards-per-carry average on run plays. On their game-opening series, they used 15 plays and over 7 minutes of game clock to cover 62 yards to pay dirt. The first touchdown was earned by Tyson Leners from four yards out with 4:48 on the clock in the first quarter. U/SA's second series started on their 34 with 2:47 left in the opening quarter. The first play resulted in a 7-yard gain by Leners, the first of a 13-play drive that found the end zone with 7:59 left in the second quarter. B-B-E faced a 16-0 deficit at that point, a score that stood up to halftime.

B-B-E's high-octane offense ultimately saw the ball just 6 times in the game, once with only 2 seconds left in the first half and another on their 6th possession that ended with an interception. In the 48-minute game, the Jaguars had the ball for just 10 minutes and 14 seconds. The Jaguars finished 7-3 overall. During the season, they won six games in a row and finished in third place in the MidState, Sub-District III standings. Their 15 wins in 2021 and 2022 ties the school record for most wins in back-to-back campaigns. In 2012, the Jaguars went 6-5 before going 9-2 in 2013. In both of those seasons, the Jaguars finished as runners-up in Section 4A.

Other noteables: from 2010 to 2022, the Jaguars have earned 56 wins on the gridiron with three runner-up trips in Section 4A and one section title with a state trip. Also in this period, the Jaguars have won their playoff opener 8 times. From 1988 through 2009, the program had 47 wins, including 7 winless seasons. From 1988 to 2005, the football program had just 5 total playoff wins. From 2006 to 2009, they were 2-2 in playoff openers and 2-4 overall in the playoffs, which makes for 6 wins in playoff openers from 1988 to 2009. B-B-E missed the playoffs in Class B, Class C or Class 2A postseason formats in 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999.

Friday Night Lights X: the dream crashes to an end (VIDEOS*)

A second straight dream season fell short of a grand achievement for the program.

Facing an upstart, inspired, ground-and-pound Upsala/Swanville Area team, the B-B-E Jaguars football team found themselves in an 8-0 hole to start the game after the first quarter. The Jaguars fought valiantly all game but struggled to minimize penalties as the Patriots ran and ran and ran the ball all afternoon.

*Here's a video from the latter part of the first quarter:


The U/SA Patriots burned the game's first seven minutes with their first touchdown drive to take an 8-0 lead. The Jaguars tried to stop the Patriots on a 4th-and-one possession at the B-B-E 18-yard line with 6:30 on the clock. They converted and had 1st-and-10 at the 12-yard line. The next play resulted in a 5-yard gain by Nick Kedrowski, and the next play was a 3-yard gain by Tyson Leners. On 3rd-and-2, Leners scored on a four-yard touchdown carry with 4:38 left. This was the script that played out on U/SA's other two touchdown drives.

At halftime, the Patriots led 16-0. The deficit became 22-0 in the third quarter. B-B-E then scored on an 57-yard touchdown drive that started with 1:02 left in the third quarter. With 10:26 left in the game, the Jaguars broke up the shutout bid to close it to a two-score deficit. Talen Kampsen caught a 12-yard pass from Luke Dingmann up the middle for a touchdown. B-B-E's two-point conversion attempt resulted in a tipped pass, with U/SA's No. 11 providing the defense.

**Here's a glimpse of the final plays in B-B-E's touchdown drive:


Final: U/SA 22, B-B-E 6. The Patriots take a 6-4 record into the section finals. B-B-E finishes an incredible season with a 7-3 final record. 

Some game statistics:
U/SA had a punishing ground game to the tune of 290 yards on the ground on 68 carries. Max Lange, the Patriots quarterback, had just two pass attempts all day and made good on one of those throws (good for 27 yards). Their monster rushing attack converted 12 of 18 third down tries. They were also 4-for-4 on fourth down attempts.

B-B-E tallied 65 rushing yards and 92 passing yards. Luke Dingmann was 7-of-14 in passing, and Braeden Michels was the leading ball carrier with 54 yards on 12 carries. The Jaguars struggled offensively and converted just 2 of 6 third-down attempts. They were 1-of-2 on fourth down tries. The toughest part of the game from my perspective was the 10 penalties for 62 yards. That truly put them behind the 8 ball.

Side bar: when the game was over at about 4 p.m., the temperature was a balmy 68 degrees! We had near full sunshine. That was terrific.

This season was wonderful, even though we lost short of where we really wanted to be. THANK YOU for the memories, guys. You are all rock stars to me and our community!!! Since the program earned its first playoff win in 1988, the Jaguars have won playoff openers in 1993, 1997, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021 and now 2022. They won section semifinal games in 1997, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2021. 

Also, the team will bring back 43 players from this year's team. This will be one of the highest numbers of returning underclassmen players in school history. That is something very special to build on!

In the other section semifinal game, KMS defeated Browerville 27-26 in overtime.  Game video is uploading. I'm off to an event at the Brooten city park! (It was advertised on page 1 and page 14 of this week's newspaper.) Plus we have the gun blast at the Padua Pub! (Which has been advertised in the last 3 issues of the newspaper.)

If you haven't already, be sure to check out my latest sports show, which I recorded very early this morning before driving to Anoka with the Miss Brooten royalty entourage. In the sports show, I plugged volleyball, the musical and robotics in addition to previewing today's playoff football game.

Friday Night Lights IX: Jaguars live to fight another day (VIDEOS*)

On the drive home from tonight's playoff game, my eight-year old daughter said from my Buick's back seat, "I miss Mr. and Mrs. Gossen."

My quick reply to her was, "Yes, I miss them too, but when good people leave, it just means that everyone else has to get better." (We were referring to former elementary principal Rick Gossen and elementary Title I teacher Shannon Gossen, who now work in southwestern Minnesota.)

What I just described can be mirrored right onto the athletic playing field or court, as sports teams often are faced with the temporary and even the long-term absence of players due to injury or other reasons. I don't disclose personal information like a player's injury on this sports blog - I never have unless specifically directed to do so by a kid's family - but as followers of our football team know, tonight they played without senior wide receiver Jamison Reed. I have only been told that he may play on in the second round of playoffs, and that's all I have on that. The net result of one of your key players missing from the starting lineup is that every other member of the team has to be better. You have to put it in your mind that you will give that extra effort to make the team better and overcome what's missing.

Facing an inspired, focused and determined Long Prairie-Grey Eagle team tonight for the quarterfinal round of the Section 4A playoffs, the B-B-E Jaguars football team found themselves in a position where every player on the team had to improve. This self-improvement in the name of making the team better took place through all 48 minutes of the contest. They were in the fight of their lives tonight. The Jaguars and Thunder traded punches and counterpunches all game long. It wasn't until the fourth quarter when the Jaguars scored the lone touchdown of the second half to break a 14-14 halftime tie. The game winner came on a 28-yard touchdown reception by Luke Illies from Luke Dingmann with 4:22 left in the game. Wyatt Lewis ran in the two-point conversion to give the Jaguars a bona fide one-score lead.

Final score: B-B-E 22, LP-GE 14.

Your whole life in the workforce you work through situations where people move around or switch jobs or change positions or get promotions. Change is constant. How you deal with change and how you deal with adversity generally sets apart the winners and the losers. That's life.

NEXT: AND THIS IS IMPORTANT! The Jaguars move on to the Section 4A semifinals, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 29 right back on our home field again. SPREAD THE WORD! We need a huge, HUGE hometown crowd there! The opponent will be loaded-for-bear, take-no-prisoners No. 3-seeded Upsala/Swanville Area. The U/SA Patriots won 50-28 tonight on their home field against visiting Benson to improve to 5-4 on the season. MAKE NO MISTAKE. The U/SA Patriots will lay it all on the field in an attempt to repeat what took place on the same field in the same round back in 2017. I'm not going to delve into what happened that day way back then, but this section semifinal game is going to be a terrific football game. The lead may change hands more than once. It will be a knock down, drag out fight from start to finish. More on that later.

In another Section 4A game tonight, the No. 5-seeded Browerville Tigers traveled to No. 4-seeded Parkers Prairie and won 24-7. The Tigers have their sights set now on top-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, who had a first-round bye and did not play tonight. Those two teams will square off in Murdock this Saturday in the other semifinal game.

*Here's a video from the first quarter tonight after the Jaguars tied the game at 8-8:


GAME NOTES from tonight's LP-GE game:
B-B-E's defense played inspired ball throughout the game and especially in the second half when it mattered most. For the game, they recorded six tackles for a loss. Three players were in on 9 or more tackles: Maximus Hanson (6 solos, 5 assisted), Hayden Sobiech (5 solos, 4 assisted) and Carson Gilbert (5 solos, 6 assisted). Altogther, a total of 17 Jaguars earned at least one tackle or assisted tackle. After falling behind 22-14, the Thunder started their 12th drive of the game on their own 30 but committed a holding penalty. This created a 1st-and-27 possession. Quarterback Tye Urman carried for 17 yards on first down, and LP-GE got a 5-yard catch on second down. They ran a counter play that yielded zero yards on third down. On 4th-and-5 with the chips down, Urman was flushed and ran far to the left. He had great momentum and appeared as though he would convert. B-B-E's Owen Paulson had other things in mind, as he stopped Urman cold and three yards short of the first down marker. B-B-E ball! The Jaguars took over on downs with 2:17 left in the game. They later punted, however, and LP-GE had 1:52 left on the clock for their 13th possession of the game. First down had an incomplete pass, and second down had Urman losing two yards on Maximus Hanson's tackle for a loss. The Thunder lost 4 yards on third down, and fourth down resulted in another incomplete pass. The resulting turnover on downs came with 1:24 on the clock. The Jaguars were able to take a knee twice and ride out the clock for a back-to-back playoff-opening win.

The Jaguars were held to less than 100 rushing yards for the second game in a row...but just barely. They totaled 97 rushing yards to go with 100 passing yards. LP-GE rushed for 158 yards and had 62 passing yards. Quarterback Tye Urman was 8-for-19 in the game.

*Here's a video from late in the first quarter tonight, when B-B-E scored with 2:06 on the clock to gain the lead:


In Section 5A tonight, top-seeded BOLD won 48-6 against visiting and No. 8-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley. In Section 5AA, Kimball Area ended Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City's season with a 40-0 win. In Section 4AA, Maple Lake finished 0-9 after they lost tonight to St. Agnes (at Concordia-St. Paul) by a 35-0 score.

More to come **on Wednesday afternoon. I need some rest! Volleyball playoffs begin on Wednesday night!!

GAME DAY IN JAGUAR COUNTRY! (playoffs!)

It's game day in Jaguar Country! Kickoff less than an hour away as I type this. **Kickoff is at 6 p.m.!

The No. 2-seeded B-B-E Jaguars football team hosts Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, the No. 7 seed, in the Section 4A quarterfinals. The Thunder are a very solid team who have a 1-7 record and will be a formidable opponent. I am excited to see how the game goes!

Here's the final minute of the first half of last Wednesday's game against BOLD:


I'll get game updates posted as I am able to tonight. I have pep band duties to juggle as well!

GAME UPDATES...

With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, the score is tied 8-8.

**With 8:53 left in the second quarter, the game is tied 14 to 14... the Thunder just scored on a 21-yard touchdown drive that used just one play after they recovered a lost fumble.

Halftime: 14-14. The second half will get started by 7:25 p.m.

End of the third quarter: 14-14 tie, and Thunder ball. Updates and more in a NEW blog post.

THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank for sponsoring this playoff sports post! We can't do this without tremendous support by our locally-owned businesses like our bank in Brooten.

BBE Football vs. BOLD (VIDEO)

Two nights ago we witnessed one of the wildest games that I've ever been a part of on our home football field. I had no idea what to expect when state-ranked BOLD came to town, but I knew the B-B-E Jaguars football team had at least some chance of winning the game. They had a better chance of making it a close football game. Early in the third quarter, the Jaguars were doing significantly better than "keeping it a close game" and were really taking it to BOLD and putting the Warriors back on their heels.

*Below, video from early in the third quarter on Wednesday:


More to come...a new blog post will include volleyball playoff information.

Friday Night Lights VIII: all-out war on the gridiron goes to the Warriors (VIDEOS*)

That was nothing less than war on the gridiron.

Facing the No. 5-ranked team in the state, the BOLD Warriors, the B-B-E Jaguars football team battled in a 48-minute slug fest tonight that was all-out, no-holds-barred war.

The Jaguars scored on their first series and led 8-0 with just one minute and four seconds elapsed in the first quarter. YES! That happened.

BOLD's first series gained traction after they started on their own 43-yard line before stalling out on downs at the B-B-E 23-yard line with 7:16 on the clock. The Warriors later scored on their second series of the game later in the first quarter.

*Here's video featuring BOLD's first touchdown of the game:


The Warriors took a 12-8 lead in the second quarter, but the Jaguars mounted a late scoring drive and regained the lead on a nine-yard touchdown reception by Luke Illies with just 1:06 left in the half.

**Here's a lengthy video that features B-B-E's second scoring drive of the game as mentioned above:


As you can see in the video, I had a hard time trying to contain my excitement!!!!

HALFTIME: B-B-E 14, BOLD 12.

The Jaguars scored two additional touchdowns in the first half of the third quarter to go up 28-12 and put BOLD on their heels. With 5:40 on the clock in the third quarter, Owen Paulson scored on a 23-yard catch. The Warriors recovered a lost fumble on the two-point conversion play, and B-B-E led 28-12 at that point.

The dynasty that is the Warriors football program then showed why they are for real by scoring 24 straight points in methodical fashion. With 7:46 left in the game, BOLD led 36-28 after Kaden Fischer scored on a 22-yard carry and Fischer's two-point conversion catch. That 36-28 deficit was difficult to see on the scoreboard at that moment. The Jaguars did not back down, however, not one bit!

Starting on their own 31-yard line after the kickoff, the Jaguars moved down field and had a huge boost by a 31-yard catch by Toby Cebulla to convert 3rd-and-13. Two plays later, Luke Dingmann carried in a one-yard touchdown run with 2:56 left. Unfortunately, the extra-points conversion was stopped near the line of scrimmage to leave BOLD with the two-point lead.

Final score: BOLD 36, B-B-E 34. Next Tuesday, the Jaguars open the Section 4A playoffs at 6 p.m. back on the home gridiron in Belgrade.

**Here's my Friday Night Lights VIII sports show! This video recaps tonight's loss with some of my own color commentary of the game:


I have to tip my hat to not only the BOLD Warriors team in general, but also to their feature running back, sophomore Hudson Vosika. He finished the game with 165 rushing yards on 20 carries. He had one carry good for an 80-yard touchdown, which means his other 19 carries were good for an average of 4.5 yards. He is one tough, speedy, shifty running back. The Jaguars had their hands full all night with him in the backfield. He is the real deal!

More to come. Video is uploading. I had a little delay because I was taking in and enjoying video from the pep band performing. It was wonderful to play with the band! I have to admit, although we were small in numbers, we sounded very, very good!

Week Eight Midstate, Sub-District III football scores on October 19:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 35, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 8
Kimball Area 32, Upsala/Swanville Area 6
Browerville 37, Maple Lake 26
Parkers Prairie 13, Ottertail Central 7 (An upset win by the Panthers against an OTC team that was ranked No. 20 in the latest QRF state rankings)
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 68, Benson 32 (That is just a crazy number of points scored)

A new blog post on Thursday morning will include seeding and playoff information.

Friday Night Lights VII! Jaguars take it to Browerville...again (VIDEOS*)

On a very cold but calm Friday night in Browerville, the B-B-E Jaguars football team earned their oats and then some by winning their sixth straight game over the Tigers. Final score: B-B-E 36, Browerville 20. Once the game concluded, the temperature in Browerville was 35 degrees. This is B-B-E's third straight win over Browerville after they lost all meetings in 2018, 2019 and 2020. (They met twice in 2020.) Never mind that the Jaguars posted 36 points...the name of this game was once again defense just as it was last week! B-B-E's defense held Browerville to punts on their first four possessions. The Tigers gained just two first downs in the game's first 22 minutes. Browerville's fifth drive of the first half ended with an interception just as they neared the red zone. Their first five possessions yielded just 81 net yards, their offensive total at halftime. They would not score until their seventh possession of the game.

The Jaguars (6-1) now have a head of steam as they prepare for the short week, Week Eight, which will be a home game next Wednesday against No. 1-ranked BOLD. The Warriors will be stinging from their first loss of the season, as state-ranked (No. 7 in Class 2A) Kimball Area won 24-14 at the Warriors self-described "Dog Pound" in Olivia. The Cubs led 16-8 at halftime.

Browerville falls to 2-5 overall with their third straight loss, but I expect them to win at Maple Lake next week and hover in that No. 4 or No. 5 playoff seed. We'll see how the QRF rankings shake out after Week Eight!

The dog fight that I predicted this game would be played out for much of the first half. Neither team could find the endzone in the first quarter. B-B-E posted two touchdowns in the second quarter and led 14-0 at halftime. Braeden Michels scored on a one-yard run with 4:11 left, and Toby Cebulla later caught a 20-yard pass for the second touchdown with 1:24 left.

*Here's video featuring a catch by Owen Paulson on B-B-E's first scoring drive in the 2nd quarter, courtesy of the Browerville school YouTube page:


**Here's a video featuring Toby Cebulla's touchdown late in the 2nd quarter:


By the middle of the third quarter, the Jaguars held a 22-6 lead after Luke Dingmann scored a touchdown. Browerville had previously scored on a 55-yard quarterback run by sophomore Ryan Reidel on a one-play, nine-second drive to make it a 14-6 score with 7:34 left in the third quarter.

Game statistics...the Jaguars piled up a whopping 462 yards of offense compared to 278 yards for the Tigers. B-B-E ran a season-high 72 plays from scrimmage while earning 22 first downs. Michels was the leading ball carrier with 110 yards on 20 totes. Dingmann ran for 55 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns, and Cebulla had six runs for 26 yards. Dingmann's quarterback line was 14-28-271 with one touchdown (a catch by Cebulla in the second quarter).

Cebulla and Harley Weber each had three solo tackles to lead the defense.

Hurting Browerville tonight were two turnovers: one lost fumble and one interception. The Jaguars continued their string of games without a turnover. I'll have to look and see exactly how long that streak is!

Week seven MidState District, Sub-District III football scores on October 14:
Upsala/Swanville Area 23, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 8 (afternoon game at Upsala)
Kimball Area 24, BOLD 14 (Cubs win at Olivia)
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 29, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 6 (at Grove City)
Benson 44, Maple Lake 6 (at Maple Lake)

Parkers Prairie, most recently the No. 4-ranked team in Section 4A, lost 32-18 tonight at state-ranked New York Mills. The Panthers (2-5) host a very good Ottertail Central Bulldogs team next week to close out the regular season.

More to come after 10 p.m. Lots to digest!! I've got some game video, but that won't be posted here until Saturday morning.

Here's where I hope to get a few game updates posted during tonight's huge battle at Browerville. The B-B-E Jaguars football team is gunning for their sixth straight win of the season. They will face a Tigers team on their Parents Night that is reeling from back-to-back losses, including a very tough 15-14 loss last week on their home field to Upsala/Swanville Area. The Tigers were held to 150 total yards in that game in which they led 14-0 in the second quarter. The Patriots scored nine unanswered points going into halftime before earning the game-winner in the fourth quarter. You can read all about that game in the previous blog post here (below).

The Jaguars will have to win without me tonight. I'm on a getaway this weekend with my wife. It is good to be married, and it's even better to stay married! Without my wife, I don't know how I'd pull this all off.

I don't know if the game will be live streamed in Browerville tonight, but here's the link to the Tigers YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFN8fNRPn27acarQVNgWXSw.

Here's the link to view what I've got posted so far for Fall 2022 sports galleries, hosted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug gallery: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Fall-2022-sports.

*Here's my sports show previewing the game:


Here's the first final score we have from today's area games...at the Upsala field, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle lost 23-8 to Upsala/Swanville Area. The Patriots improved to 4-3 with the win.

More to come! GO JAGS!


UPDATES: after the first quarter of action, the Jaguars and Tigers are in a scoreless tie. Crazy.

**Now into the second quarter, and the Jaguars have first-and-10 at the Browerville 26-yard line. They were unable to score and turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth-and-15 play. Tigers ball.

On Browerville's possession that followed, they went three-and-out and punted. The Jaguars moved into Browerville territory and have gained goal-to-go at the one-yard line! Updates to come... 

AND THE JAGUARS have scored! They scored the game's first touchdown late in the second quarter. Current score: B-B-E 8, Browerville 0 with four minutes on the clock before halftime.

AND THE JAGUARS have scored again! With 1:24 left before halftime, Toby Cebulla scored. The extra point was missed, so the Jaguars are ahead 14-0.

THIRD quarter update: the Jaguars now hold a 22-6 lead midway into the third quarter. B-B-E's Luke Dingmann scored the touchdown, and the Jaguars converted the two-point conversion.

Later in the third quarter, Browerville scored a touchdown and converted the extra points play to narrow the lead to 22-14. Yikes! The dog fight continues.

*END OF THIRD QUARTER: B-B-E 30, Browerville 14.

INTO the fourth quarter... With just over nine minutes left in the game, the Tigers had a third-and-nine play at their own 44-yard line. The pass play was incomplete, and they lined up in shot gun on the fourth down play. The fourth down pass was incomplete, but the Jaguars committed a roughing-the-passer penalty to give Browerville first down with a 15-yard penalty. Browerville ball at the B-B-E 41-yard line with 9:04 on the clock.

Browerville converted third-and-three at the B-B-E 30-yard line with 7:34 left in the game. The Tigers then came up with a big pass play to get to the B-B-E six-yard line with just over seven minutes to go. Browerville scored with 6:34 left in the game, but Jamison Reed intercepted the extra-points pass play. B-B-E 30, Browerville 20.

With 6:28 left in the game, the Jaguars set up their next series on their own 15-yard line after a deep kickoff by Browerville was fielded at the B-B-E five. Braeden Michels had a huge gain with a seven-yard run on the first play. He was tackled with a push out of bounds, though, which stopped the clock with just seven seconds elapsed.

Luke Dingmann scrambled out of the pocket on the next play and converted to earn first down at their own 25-yard line. Then on second-and-12 with the clock passing the five-minute mark, Michels ran left for a huge 14-yard gain to the 37-yard line.

Cebulla carried for three tough yards on first down to get the clock inside four minutes. Reed then caught a short pass in heavy traffic and made a scramble with a four-yard gain. On third-and-three with the clock approaching three minutes, the Jaguars ran a draw play, with Michels running up the middle for the conversion to gain first down at the B-B-E 47-yard line with 2:50 left and the clock running.

B-B-E continued running the ball, and Michels later gained first down at the Browerville 39-yard line with under 100 seconds left. The win is within reach! Final score and more in a new blog post!


THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank for their HUGE huge help on paying for color ink in the last FOUR newspaper issues of The Voice! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Friday Night Light VI: Jaguars decimate A-C-GC on Homecoming (VIDEOS)

Note: additional videos were posted here on Saturday morning, and be sure to take in my sports show that's shown further down on this blog post. It was recorded on Saturday morning. I'll be offline for most of the rest of today. A volleyball post with Alexandria updates won't be added until after 2 p.m. today***.

One of the largest Homecoming football wins in school history was delivered tonight by our B-B-E Jaguars! And what a win it was! This was an especially cold night compared to the previous five football game nights we've had. By the time the game was over, frost had started to form on objects and on the grass in the stadium. Brr!! Fall has arrived. As the cold settled in, the Jaguars electrified the stadium and operated at full steam all night long in a 48-12 win. Without closely looking, I believe you'd have to go all the way back to when it all began, in 1988, to find this huge of a Homecoming football win. It was in the fall of 1988, when the B-B-E Jaguars fielded their first-ever team, when they defeated Brandon/Evansville 68-12 at the *Brooten high school Homecoming in Brooten.

Against a tough, fleet-footed Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City team, the Jaguars methodically took apart the Falcons piece by piece as they racked up a 36-0 halftime lead. Through the first half, the Jaguars held A-C-GC off of the scoreboard for six straight possessions. In the first quarter, the Jaguars piled on a 22-0 lead with touchdowns by Jamison Reed, Toby Cebulla and Luke Dingmann.

In the opening minute of the second quarter, A-C-GC's defense held inside the red zone with a turnover on downs. The Falcons proceeded to convert one first down before punting from their own 28-yard line with 8:25 left. The Jaguars then mounted a 63-yard scoring drive that got a huge boost by Dingmann's 26-yard run down the left sideline on the second play. Reed later had an 18-yard catch to gain goal-to-go at the A-C-GC two-yard line. Reed hauled in a running catch in the end zone for his team's fourth touchdown of the game with 2:46 to go. The two-point pass was deflected to make it a 28-0 lead.

A blocked punt by Harley Weber on A-C-GC's fifth series of the game led to a quick touchdown as halftime approached. The Falcons were trying to punt from their 16-yard line. The Jaguars had goal-to-go on their first play of the series on the A-C-GC 10-yard line. Reed caught another pass in the end zone to make it 34-0 with just 60 seconds on the clock. Braeden Michels ran in the two-point conversion to make it 36-0.

*Here's a video featuring the second touchdown of the game tonight:


The halftime statistics were jaw-dropping: the Jaguars had limited the Falcons to just 30 net yards in the first half on 19 plays. One of those 19 plays resulted in a 12-yard run, and, well, you can do the math on the other 18 plays. On offense, B-B-E racked up 255 yards on 34 plays for an average of 7.5 yards per play by halftime. Crazy.

*Here's a video from late in the first quarter:


*I've got more video, but they won't be added until late Saturday night, and that will come in a new blog post. Most of my Saturday will be spent with a Miss Brooten Royalty trip to Xcel Energy Center for Sparkle Night with the Minnesota Wild.

To start the third quarter, the Falcons came out with new life and earned 18 yards on their first three plays from scrimmage. Their drive that started on their own 36-yard line ended on a failed fourth-and-six conversion attempt, as A-C-GC turned possession over to the Jaguars at the B-B-E 43-yard line with 8:09 on the clock. What followed was a nine-play touchdown drive culmating with a three-yard touchdown carry by Braeden Michels. The two-point conversion try was stopped just short of the goal line, and with 3:54 left in the third quarter, the Jaguars held a 42-0 lead.

On A-C-GC's eighth drive of the game, they started on their own 43-yard line and converted two first downs before they stalled out in Jaguar territory. On fourth-and-six, the Falcons were stopped with a five-yard gain at the B-B-E 24-yard line with just 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

B-B-E history was made on the next play, when the Jaguars started their eighth drive of the game on their 24-yard line with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Jamison Reed caught a bullet shot from Dingmann in the right flats with tight coverage on him for a 16-yard gain. This reception pushed Reed's career total past 1,346 yards. That was the career total set by 2009 graduate Shane Weller. Reed finished the game with 168 receiving yards on 11 catches with three touchdowns. WOW! His record-setting catch was the first of a three-play touchdown drive that included a 41-yard run by Toby Cebulla and then a 19-yard touchdown catch by Cebulla. With 11:07 left in the game, the Jaguars expanded their lead to 48-0.

While the Jaguars were piling up 48 points across the first three quarters and change, the Falcons had accumulated just 86 yards on their first eight possessions with a goose egg on their side of the scoreboard.

A-C-GC started their ninth drive of the game facing B-B-E's JV defense. With a handful of first string offensive players on the field plus a new quarterback (eighth grader Brody Straumann), the Falcons started at their 46-yard line and used four plays to score on a 16-yard run with 7:14 left in the game. B-B-E's Andrew Spanier intercepted a two-point conversion pass.

A-C-GC's final score came with 1:44 left in the game when they attempted to convert a fourth-and-eight possession while earning a 31-yard touchdown run. Their JV quarter back ran around the right side and snuck just inside the right pylon ahead of B-B-E defenders for the touchdown. B-B-E's Louie Tensen provided tight coverage on an A-C-GC receiver to prevent a catch on the two-point conversion attempt.

Final score: B-B-E 48, A-C-GC 12. The Falcons fall to 2-4 overall, while the Jaguars improve to 5-1. A-C-GC's roster includes just 31 players, which is noteworthy considering that they are a Class 2A school. B-B-E totaled 450 yards of offense with 277 in the air on Luke Dingmann's 18-of-26 passing marks. The Jaguars rushed for 173 yards while accumulating 16 first downs on the night. A-C-GC totaled 185 yards of offense (99 on their final two drives in the fourth quarter) with 178 of those yards coming on the ground.

**Here it is! My sixth sports show ever...let's talk Friday Night Lights VI!


I've got a back log of quite a few football videos that I'd like to get posted before we get into playoffs. Below is a video from the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle game featuring the singing of the National Anthem and then the player introductions.

VIDEO from September 30:


Week six Mid-State, Sub-District III football scores on October 7:
Kimball Area 12, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6 (at Murdock, the Fighting Saints nearly pull off a big upset)
Upsala/Swanville Area 15, Browerville 14 (U/SA picks up a key Section 4A win at Browerville)
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 16, Maple Lake 14 (Thunder win on Homecoming night for first victory of the season)
BOLD 46, Benson 0

Also, fellow Section 4A member Parkers Prairie earned their second win of the season by defeating Underwood tonight 50-22.

Area football scores in Week VI on October 7:
Paynesville Area 24, Holdingford 21
Breckenridge 45, West Central Area/Ashby 36
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 28, Minnewaska Area 14
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 29, Sauk Centre 27

More to come. I'm writing up notes for a sports show, but I bet you'll be asleep before I get that posted tonight. That will be added to *this* blog post on Saturday morning.