Jaguars earn the 4 seed at state!!! (VIDEO, UPDATES)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team grabbed the No. 4 seed for the state tournament that begins next Thursday evening for Jaguar Country!

It's official: the Jaguars (24-6) open state at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 6 at Xcel Energy Center. Spread the word! Their opponent will be the No. 5-seeded Cleveland Clippers, the Section 2A champions from southern Minnesota. In the other 5 p.m. match, Mayer Lutheran faces North Woods.

Cleveland's roster is heavy on sophomores and juniors with no seniors. Additional information on the Clippers will be posted after church.

Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game one last night:


NOTE: I have learned that where we are going is not called "Xcel Energy Center" but rather "Grand Casino Arena."

In B-B-E school history, this is the program's 8th state volleyball tournament trip. Before the pairing, the Belgrade Redmen volleyball team played in one state tournament back in 1984. That season, the Redmen placed 3rd in Class 1A in the former two-class format.

Cleveland's volleyball team is riding an incredible wave of recent success. They enter their first-ever state tournament on a 15-match winning streak. This state tournament berth marks an end to recent misery in section championships, where the Clippers have fallen short of state 3 out of the last 5 seasons.

Cleveland's roster is built around a tall, talented 5'10" sophomore setter, Jocelyn Kortuem. They've got two 5'9" hitters, a 5'10" sophomore middle blocker/right side plus a 5'11" junior outside hitter. I've been spending a fair amount of time today gathering more information on their volleyball team.

In the Section 2A championship, the Clippers played poorly and fell behind 2-0 in sets to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. The match turned in game three after falling behind 10-3 to start that set, and Cleveland earned a thrilling reverse sweep with a nailbiter 15-13 win in game five.

B-B-E and Cleveland have one common opponent this fall: the MACCRAY Wolverines, who beat the Jaguars 3-0 in August and also won in straight sets (2-0) over the Clippers at the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse in Burnsville on September 19 in the first pool play match that day.

In the latest QRF rankings for Class 1A, Cleveland was No. 7, while our Jaguars were No. 5. On paper, this is going to be a close battle! The Clippers are 26-6 overall, and they went 6-0 to claim the Tomahawk/Valley Conference - Valley division title. They swept BOLD in the Sub-Section 2A-North championship, and next was a 3-2 thriller over state-ranked Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.

More to come by mid-afternoon. It's time to catch lunch at the ham and breakfast dinner at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church. They serve until 1 p.m.!

The Rambow, Inc. state volleyball shirt store is open until MIDNIGHT tonight! (Sunday) Http://www.rambow.com. The store code is BBEVB. Pick up for the shirts will be at the high school office at some point this week.

Class 1A state volleyball tournament seeding:
1. #1 Mayer Lutheran of Section 4A; ranked No. 1 by QRF.
2. #3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton of Section 3A; ranked No. 4 by QRF.
3. #4 Fillmore Central of Section 1A; ranked No. 2 by QRF.
4. #10 B-B-E of Section 6A; ranked No. 5 by QRF.
5. Cleveland of Section 2A; ranked No. 7 by QRF.
6. #12 Ada-Borup West of Section 8A; ranked No. 13 by QRF.
7. Nevis of Section 5A; ranked No. 20 by QRF.
8. North Woods of Section 7A; ranked No. 15 by QRF.

A few other notes about the Class 1A state tournament field:
Mayer Lutheran (24-7) is the defending Class 1A state champion. This is Mayer Lutheran's 8th state volleyball trip in the past 10 seasons.

R-T-R is 28-5 overall. They are back at state for the first time since 2023, when they finished 30-6 overall and won the Class 1A title with a 3-1 win against Mayer Lutheran in the championship. To get to state, the Knights won 3-2 against Minneota in the Section 3A finals. This season, against their biggest playoff rival, the Minneota Vikings, the Knights lost 3-0 at Minneota on August 26 (light years ago)...at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge in Marshall in their second match of the day on Saturday, September 6, the Knights won 2-0. In the Section 3A championship last night, the Knights beat Minneota 3-1.

Fillmore Central is returning to state after they placed fourth last year with a 3-0 loss in the third-place match to West Central Area. The Falcons are 25-6 overall and were runners-up in the tough Three Rivers Conference (9-1) behind champion Caledonia. In 2023, Fillmore Central lost 3-1 to Mabel-Canton in the Section 1A championship match.

The No. 12-ranked (coaches poll) and No. 14-ranked (QRF) Ada-Borup West Cougars are 23-8 overall. They went 10-0 in the Pine to Prairie Conference. Back in 2008, the Cougars faced our Jaguars in the third-place match at state. Ada-Borup won that match to finish 32-2 overall. B-B-E went 31-3 that season to set the school record for overall wins.

In the Class 2A state tournament, New London-Spicer earned the No. 8 seed. The Wildcats open state on Thursday, November 6 at 1 p.m. against No. 1-seeded Hawley. Albany is the No. 2 seed.

More will be added here later this evening.

And very, very sad news...
One of B-B-E's staunchest and most loyal supporters passed away on Saturday. Rick Gerhardson, age 69, died peacefully at home after suffering for months from a stroke he endured last summer. Rick was one of a kind! This is a devastating loss for his family. His obituary and funeral information can be found here at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://shorturl.at/EJxRi. He currently has two grandchildren who attend B-B-E schools (Decker and McCoy); his other grandchildren, all girls, are B-B-E graduates between 2019 and 2025 (McKenzie, Olivia, Presley and Bree).

Please include the Detloff/Thieschafer/Gerhardson/Lindahl families in your prayers.

My last item for this blog post...added Monday night.

Here's action from the 1st quarter at the FargoDome last week:


Early in that video, Lance Radermacher converted a 3rd-and-1 play.

I've got a mountain of video and notes from Fargo and Fergus Falls to continue going through.

Fastpitch Jaguars earn No. 3 seed (VIDEO)

For the second year in a row, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team earned a high seed in the playoffs. This year, the Jaguars take a 10-9 record into the Sub-Section 3A-North tournament as the No. 3 seed out of 8 teams. The playoff opener is in Granite Falls at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20. Their opponent will be the No. 6-seeded Benson Braves.

Lac qui Parle Valley (16-4) is the No. 1 seed, and Yellow Medicine East is 11-6. The YME Sting will host one of the two sub-section pods next Tuesday. The other teams playing in Granite Falls will be No. 2-seeded YME and No. 7-seeded Ortonville, who face off in their playoff opener at 3 p.m. in Granite Falls. If the Jaguars defeat Benson, they will likely face YME in a 6 p.m. game in Granite Falls in what will be the opening round of the Section 3A tournament. At that point, the 16 teams who entered the playoffs will be cut back to 8 teams. Those 8 teams will play in the double elimination format of the section tournament, which continues in Marshall on Saturday, May 24.

The subsection rankings are posted below along with each team's overall record as of this morning.

Sub-Section 3A-North fastpitch softball playoff seedings:
1. Lac qui Parle Valley (16-4)
2. Yellow Medicine East (11-6)
3. B-B-E (10-9)
4. Renville County West (6-10)
5. MACCRAY (5-15)
6. Benson (3-17)
7. Ortonville (3-15)
8. Dawson-Boyd (1-14)

Here's a video featuring action in the bottom of the 1st in game 2 yesterday:


The video begins with the bases loaded and Maple Lake batting with one out. Mya Worms caught a pop fly near the home dugout for the second out.

Wabasso (13-5) is the No. 1 seed in Sub-Section 3A-South.

In other news...
A very special evening is coming tonight at the Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township. They are hosting Toby Keith Tribute Ranch Rodeo Night 3 starting at 6 p.m. You can read more about the event and order tickets by clicking here: https://smilindarena.com/events/?event=229536.

Update on Friday night: click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to see a video recorded tonight at Smilin' D Arena: https://shorturl.at/tBHGk.

The day of Saturday this weekend will be dedicated to multiple graduation parties. Then we have Syttende Mai coming all day on Sunday. The weather is supposed to warm up by Sunday, which bodes well for the big Norwegian celebration in Sunburg. Their pancake breakfast at Hope Lutheran church begins at 7:30 a.m., and an Ecumenical worship is at 9:30 a.m. in their church sanctuary. The grand parade is at 3:30 p.m., and parade staging takes place at the Hope Lutheran parking lot. The full schedule of events for Sunburg's Sunday activities was published on page 7 of the May 8 and May 15 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Playoff opener loss by the smallest margin (VIDEOS)

For the first time in 9 years, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will not compete in the Section 5A Final Four.

The Jaguars were facing an uphill climb by the upper weights and trailed 34-18 after the 172-pound match. At 189, Ethan Mueller won by a decision, and the Jaguars pinned out from there at 215 and 285 pounds - Hunter Laage and Carson Gilbert.

Final: K-M-S 34, B-B-E 33.

And a quick shift of your attention to Valentine's Day...
Numerous businesses have advertised Valentine's Day in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I've got a summary of food and entertainment options for Friday night posted at the newspaper website (click): https://shorturl.at/MEqVb.

The Jaguars had a 6-0 lead after 107, but a penalty point at 114 ultimately cost them the win. Next is the individual section wrestling tournament in Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine East high school) on Saturday, February 22. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. that morning.

Here's a video featuring part of the singing of the National Anthem plus player introductions:


The Jaguars finish 7-13 overall.

In 2015, the Jaguars advanced to the Section 5A championship but lost to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. That was the team's first appearance in the section finals since 1999. In 2016, the Jaguars lost 36-27 to Royalton/Upsala in the opening round of the section playoffs. For the next eight seasons, the Jaguars earned Final Four appearances in Section 5A. That streak ended tonight.

Here's a video from the 152-pound match tonight:


After the Jaguars had an open weight at 172 pounds, Ethan Mueller won a 4-2 decision over Aaron Jones that cut the K-M-S lead to 34-21.

In other Section 5A wrestling quarterfinal matches tonight...
Minneota defeated BOLD 65-9. BOLD advanced to the section quarterfinals with a 42-31 win against Quad County earlier tonight.

At Paynesville, the Bulldogs defeated Benson 43-21. In Canby, the Lancers defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40-26.

Some other sports programming notes...
For tomorrow's action at B-B-E high school, the C-squad girls' basketball Class of 2029 Jaguars will play Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City starting at 4:30 p.m. at the main gymnasium. Once their game is complete, the JV Jaguars will face A-C-GC, and the varsity game will follow that. It is also Parents and Seniors Night. And! The varsity game will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Their website is: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

State tournaments coming up

While it is painful that we will not be part of either of them, here's a brief overview of the state quarterfinals coming this week for football and volleyball. It pains me that this will be the first fall since 2017 (not including 2020, when there was no state tournament for any sports) that B-B-E will not have a fall state tournament team. That is a stretch of 7 years!

State volleyball...
In the Class 1A state volleyball pairings, West Central Area (27-4) earned the No. 4 seed and will open at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 7 in the quarterfinals. Last night in the Section 6A championship, WCA swept Hillcrest Lutheran Academy to earn back-to-back state trips. The MSHSL website has not posted set scores from the match yet. At state in the opener, WCA will face No. 5-seeded Kittson County Central, who won the Section 8A championship in a four-set win over Ada-Borup West.

Incredibly, New Life Academy of Section 4A earned the No. 3 seed at state. They were ranked No. 19 in the QRF rankings and have an 18-12 record. In the Skyline Conference, NLA tied for fourth place with Maranatha Christian. From my view, WCA was robbed in the state seedings and should have been seeded No. 3.

New London-Spicer is back at the state volleyball tournament for the first time since 2009, when Mimi Knutson coached the Wildcats into the state tournament with a 29-1 record. At state this year, the Wildcats are the No. 8 seed and open up with No. 1-seeded Albany in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 7.

State volleyball seedings:
1. Mayer Lutheran
2. Minneota
3. New Life Academy
4. West Central Area
5. Kittson County Central
6. Fillmore Central
7. Ely
8. Sebeka

State football...
In the Class 1A state football pairings, Upsala/Swanville Area earned the No. 1 seed in the North half of the state field. The state tournament was split into "south" and "north" divisions for the first time ever. (A good move.) For U/SA, they open with No. 4-seeded (North) Parkers Prairie on Thursday, November 7 with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Rock Ridge high school's football stadium, which is located between Eveleth and Virginia. The Rock Ridge high school opened up in 2021, and their football stadium is impressive. My stepson Jack (Class of 2025) played two years of varsity football there with the Class 4A Rock Ridge Warriors.

In Class 2A, Kimball Area will play in the state tournament as the No. 1 North seed. They open state on Friday, November 8 with kickoff at Brainerd high school at 7 p.m. against No. 4-seeded Moose Lake/Willow River. This is Kimball's first football state tournament of this century, and I am unaware of when they may have played at state in the 20th century.

Section volleyball championship match scores on November 2:
Section 5AA championship: Annandale 3, Maple Lake 1 (a tough loss marking the end of the season for 6 seniors on Coach Kiebel's Irish squad)
Section 7A championship: Ely 3, Bigfork 0
Section 1A championship: Fillmore Central 3, Mabel-Canton 1
Section 1AAA championship: Stewartville 3, Byron 2 (after missing state since 2019, Stewartville is back at state for the first time in Class 3A; they were the 2019 Class 2A state champions)
Section 3AA championship: New London-Spicer 3, Redwood Valley 0 (NL-S Wildcats are back at state for the first time since 2009; this was NL-S's first section championship berth since 2014)
Section 6A championship: West Central Area 3, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 0
Section 3A championship: Minneota 3, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 1

Section volleyball championship match scores on November 1:
Section 4A championship: New Life Academy 3, West Lutheran 1
Section 8A championship: Kittson County Central 3, Ada-Borup West 1

Section semifinal (sub-section finals) match scores on October 31:
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 3, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 1
Mayer Lutheran 3, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 0
Annandale 3, Watertown-Mayer 2
Mabel-Canton 3, Kenyon-Wanamingo 2
Sebeka 3, Pine River-Backus 1
New London-Spicer 3, Paynesville Area 1
Alexandria 3, Rocori 1
Minneota 3, Canby 1
Albany 3, Sauk Centre 2
Maple Lake 3, Providence Academy 1

Terrific season ends in Section 6A finals in excruciating loss (VIDEOS)

It is cliche, but it holds true tonight: this game was not for the faint of heart. This game was "all over the place" the whole way...right to the end.

In the Section 6A championship series tonight in Clarissa, a late 9-5 lead could not hold up for the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team, with Parkers Prairie coming back from late deficits twice, including a 10-9 deficit in the eighth inning.

Here's a video featuring the end of the top of the 8th inning after the Jaguars scored one run:


Final score: Parkers Prairie 11, B-B-E 10 in eight innings. More than once, just when it seemed like the game was ours, the Panthers battled back to keep their chances alive. It really felt like we were within reach of earning a second game to the series. Unfortunately, and it is always unfortunate and heartbreaking to say this - a longer season was not meant to be. Parkers Prairie is state-bound for the first time since 2018.

B-B-E trailed 4-1 after the fourth inning. In the top of the fifth, Jack Lundberg led off with a single, and Brett DeRoo then hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but the throw to first was off the mark for an error. Kaden DeRoo hit a single that glanced off of the third baseman's glove. Owen Paulson then earned a walk with an RBI to cut it to a 4-2 deficit. Paulson put up a hell of a battle and swung in the batter's box for two-and-a-half minutes! Ethan Mueller then hit a two-RBI single to left field to tie the game. Aiden Mueller later hit a two-out two-RBI single that gave the Jaguars a 6-4 lead.

**And here's action from the top of the 5th inning...in this 8+ minute video:


The Panthers scored once in the bottom of the fifth and left two stranded on a deep foul ball that was caught by centerfielder Kaden DeRoo with B-B-E's halved lead intact...in the top of the 6th, the Jaguars got a huge boost when Luke Dingmann launched a three-run home run over the left field fence. The Jaguars took that 9-5 lead into the seventh inning.

Parkers Prairie then scored the needed four runs to send it into extra innings; the four runs included a three-run home run that just cleared the right field fence near the right pylon.

In the top of the eighth with a 9-9 tie game, Ethan Mueller's RBI-double gave the Jaguars a 10-9 lead.

In the pivotal bottom of the eighth, the Panthers tied the game on an RBI via a walk. The game ended on a bases loaded base hit that landed in the center of left field. For the game, Parkers Prairie out-hit the Jaguars 13 to 12. Kaden DeRoo led the Jaguars by going 4-for-5 at the plate.

Pitching for the Jaguars against Parkers Prairie were Luke Dingmann, Aiden Mueller and Kaden DeRoo.

B-B-E finishes the season 16-9 overall, which is good for a tie for the second-most wins in school history. The 16 wins equals the win total of the 1995 season, when the Jaguars went 16-4 after winning the West Central South Conference title. Steve Mueller, father of current players Ethan and Aiden Mueller, was a senior on that 1995 team.

The 2016 Jaguars continue to hold the record for most wins in a season. They went 9-5 that season in the Central Minnesota Conference before finishing in third place in Section 6A and 19-7 overall. That team was the first B-B-E baseball team to go six games deep in a postseason run. I'll never forget the 7-6 loss to West Central Area that ended the season. That was tough!!! Hard to believe it was 8 years ago...WCA then lost 5-4 to Parkers Prairie in the section championship. The Panthers then won 3-2 and 6-3 in two state tournament games before falling in the state finals 4-2 in 11 innings to Springfield at Target Field.

Here's action from early in today's Parkers Prairie game in the bottom of the first:


The Panthers got a solo home run that tied the game at 1-1 in the first inning. They ultimately left three stranded.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website includes a short summary of this week's baseball playoff action. The attached video on that web article features action from the top of the sixth inning tonight against Parkers Prairie. You can find this by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/1bkDq.

For B-B-E, there's one event left on the horizon, the Minnesota high school All-Star Series. Senior Luke Dingmann was nominated to play in this game, so in a way, the season will continue for that. This 49th annual event, sponsored by the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association and Minnesota Twins Community Fund, takes place June 20-22 at the Chaska Athletic Park. Games will be played on Friday and Saturday that weekend.

Parkers Prairie takes a 23-1 record into the Class 1A state tournament next week. They are an outstanding baseball team and should earn a top three seed.

In the Section 5A finals, New York Mills thrashed Ogilvie 11-1 tonight to earn a state berth. They are 18-6 overall.

In the Section 3AA championship (game one), Minnewaska Area lost 3-2 to Montevideo to see their season end. They went 20-4 overall.

It's time to head home.

In fastpitch state tournament news from Caswell Park in Mankato...
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton, champions of Section 3A, fell 4-2 to New Ulm Cathedral in today's Class 1A state semifinals. The Knights (23-5) advanced to the state semis with a 10-0 five-inning win on Wednesday against Moose Lake-Willow River. They will play for the third-place trophy tomorrow against West Lutheran at 3 p.m.

West Lutheran (18-5) fell 8-2 in the other state semifinal today to Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley. The unseeded C-G-B Wolverines (20-4) continue their Cinderella season when they face top-ranked and top-seeded New Ulm Cathedral (25-2) in the Class 1A state championship tomorrow at 4 p.m. In the state quarterfinals on Wednesday, C-G-B defeated Red Lake Falls 9-7 to advance to the Final Four. The NUC Greyhounds were ranked No. 3 in the final QRF state power rankings on June 1, while Red Lake Falls was ranked No. 1.

Jaguar baseball is deep into the Section 6A tournament (UPDATES)

We are deep into the Section 6A tournament with a huge game taking place this afternoon...which will be followed by another huge game depending on this game's outcome! Our B-B-E Jaguars baseball team is taking on Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at 2:30 p.m. in Clarissa. This is an elimination bracket final. The loser is done, while the winner advances to the Section 6A championship series.

I am struggling to come up with any radio coverage. The Long Prairie station of 99.7 FM is playing music as of 2:30 p.m. Grrr!! Almost as bad: their main radio station's Facebook page was last updated on June 17, 2023. Good Lord. Their AM station, which can be heard on 103.1 FM, is also playing music as of 2:30 p.m.

UPDATE: I got someone on the phone from the KEYL radio station, and they confirmed that the 2:30 game is not on the radio. It's rather unbelievable that their town's station is not carrying the game. Clarissa is a pretty short drive north from Long Prairie. LP-GE is in the top three of the section tournament. I didn't ask the gentleman why. Perhaps it's staffing or just plain economics, but it's remarkably disappointing that they can't carry a postseason game of a local team that's deep into a section tournament.

GAME UPDATES! in the top of the third inning against LP-GE, our Jaguars hold a 5-1 lead. Fingers crossed! As expected, the wind is a mighty challenge here in Clarissa. Their diamond is on the western edge of town.

**After 4 innings, the Jaguars hold an 8-1 lead.

The Thunder score two runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut it to 8-3. **Catch the final score and more in a NEW blog post after 4:30 p.m.

Day three of the state wrestling tournament (UPDATES***)

This is the third straight day of state wrestling action at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. This morning we've got both consolation and championship bracket action taking place that includes five members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team. In the consolation semifinals are Tanner Viessman and Brett DeRoo, who could each still finish as high as third place. In the championship bracket and in the running for state titles are Ryan Jensen, Maximus Hanson and Carson Gilbert.

It's a huge, incredible achievement for the wrestling team to still have five student athletes competing on the final day of the tournament, with three of them still in the championship bracket. WORTH NOTING!

I hope to get this blog post updated by 11 a.m. If everything goes to plan, I should have state video posted here in the afternoon before the state finals round begins at 4 p.m.! Fingers crossed.

State wrestling updates...
In his consolation quarterfinal match this morning, Tanner Viessman won a 5-1 decision to advance and also guarantee himself a state medal. His opponent in the consolation semifinals is to-be-determined. UPDATE: Viessman faces a wrestler from Frazee in the consolation semifinals.

In his consolation quarterfinal match this morning, Brett DeRoo lost an 8-3 decision to senior Sawyer Simmons of Royalton/Upsala. He finishes his junior season 39-8 and sees his state tournament run conclude.

State semi update: Ryan Jensen lost an excruciating heartbreaker by a 4-3 decision to Hudson Burnett; Jensen earned his points with two escapes plus a penalty applied to Burnett due to stalling in the third period. This was Jensen's first loss of the season, and he takes a 45-1 record into the consolation bracket to battle his way back to the third-place match.

At 172 pounds, Maximus Hanson won by fall (3:41) to advance to the state championship! Awesome!!! This is his second appearance in the state championship match. Hanson faces Crookston senior and No. 6-ranked Carter Coauette (45-2) for the gold medal tonight.

At 215 pounds, Carson Gilbert lost a tough one in 3-1 decision. He remains alive and can get as high as third place. To get to the third-place match, Gilbert needs to defeat T-M-B/WWG senior Eathan Martinez (48-6), who is ranked No. 9 at heavyweight.

Afternoon updates: Ryan Jensen (46-1) won his wrestleback match in a 5-0 decision over Aitkin senior Nathan Trotter (31-14); this gets Jensen an appearance in the third-place match tonight, when he faces Osakis senior Jacob Taplin (46-5).

For Viessman at 145, he lost a very tough match by a 1-0 decision to Frazee junior Bailey Beichel (29-6). This puts him in tonight's fifth-place match. In the fifth-place match, Viessman faces Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove senior Alexander Schuh (46-7).

College basketball updates...
At Anoka Ramsey Community College's Performance Gymnasium this afternoon, the Northland Community and Technical College Pioneers women's basketball team has a slim 30-27 halftime lead in the NJCAA Region 13B semifinals. Tiyana Schwinghammer scored 4 points in the first quarter but did not score in the second. She launched a long baseline shot at the halftime buzzer, but it rimmed out. FINAL SCORE: Northland 62, Fergus Falls CC 58 in OVERTIME. Schwinghammer scored 18 points to lead her team! They play at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Region 13B championship!

In the NCAA Division III national tournament opener last night in Platteville, Wisconsin, Gustavus Adolphus College lost 89-64 to the No. 20-ranked Loras College Warhawks. B-B-E's Ashton Dingmann played 7 minutes of reserve time and earned one rebound. B-B-E head tennis coach Katie Hanna's younger brother, Brady Kienitz, started and played 29 minutes for the Gusties while scoring 15 points, including four three-pointers.

And high school basketball...in the town of Hinckley, MN, near the Wisconsin border, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team will tip off at about 3 p.m. against No. 2-seeded and No. 15-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Braham. HALFTIME at Hinckley: B-B-E 28, Braham 28. Crazy!!

***Saturday evening updates....
Final: Braham 65, B-B-E 62. It was a devastating loss in which the Jaguars went 20-of-33 at the free throw line. They had a marvelous season considering what graduation losses they had to overcome. Brooklyn Fischer led the team with 30 points in what was an incredible but tough ending to her basketball career at B-B-E. She shot 50 percent on field goals and made 11 of 12 free throws. For the game, 24 turnovers hurt the Jaguars, who finished 17-12 overall.

As for wrestling...Ryan Jensen took third place...Tanner Viessman took fifth place via a pin in the second period...and Carson Gilbert took third place with a pin in the first period.

As of 6 p.m....they are getting Xcel setup for the finals with three mats in play. Maximus Hanson will go for gold at 172 pounds!

7:41 p.m., and we are in the 145-pound matches.

It's 8:10 p.m., and we are at 160 pounds...about 5 minutes after the 172 pound matches are complete, I will get a new blog post added. So you will have to refresh this blog to see the outcome of Class 1A's 172 pound match.

It's GAME DAY in Jaguar Country! (VIDEOS)

Today is a big day in Jaguar Country! We've had home cooking in tennis and volleyball this fall, but now it's time for the B-B-E Jaguars football team to put themselves at center stage on their own territory as they host Benson tonight in a sub-district game.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the B-B-E high school in Belgrade. The game will also be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood if you live too far away to make cheering in person a practical matter. I'll get their website link added shortly. Here's the link to their website, which will stream the game: https://www.kmgk1071.com. Pregame coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. Thanks, Brady!

Here's a video recorded late in the third quarter last Friday in Barrett:


*Here's a post-game video interview with senior Ryan Jensen last week standing outside West Central Area high school:


Ryan Jensen is one of 12 seniors on this year's football team. They are a huge reason why the team has a 2-0 start so far this fall. The excitement is sky high for the potential of this team!

More to come. Game updates will be added to this blog post tonight.

GAME UPDATES...
**After the first quarter, the Jaguars are ahead 14 to 0.
Halftime: BBE 42, Benson 10.
More to come in a new blog post.

Make sure to support our local business sponsors! This blog post is sponsored by Bucky's Bar of Elrosa and Coop's Corner of Belgrade.

Repeat trip to state golf! (VIDEO)

This was one playoff finish for the ages!

Settled in a rare and total deadlock after 27 holes of playoff competition, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team won the final 9 holes of the Section 5A finals at Eagle Creek in Willmar against Dawson-Boyd to grab a second straight trip to the state golf meet. The final tally showed the Jaguars defeating the Blackjacks by just four strokes after all 36 holes were recorded: 703 for the B-B-E to 707 by Dawson-Boyd.

Just as exciting: Brady Schwinghammer earned the Section 5A individual title by a significant margin: 149 strokes to 156 (Carson Besonen of Lac qui Parle Valley). It was a tremendous win for the senior and third-year varsity member after he entered today down four strokes from Besonen. In today's 18 rounds, Schwinghammer carded an incredible 71, which was 11 strokes better than Besonen. His nearest competition for the last 18 holes was Dawson-Boyd's Carson Stratmoen, who shot a 76 today.

Eli Gregory tied for 14th place, and Matt Walz placed 19th overall. Schwinghammer, Gregory and Walz are the three returning golfers from last year's Section 5A championship squad.

Here's the moment that Brady Schwinghammer was welcomed by his teammates after he sealed the section title today at Hole No. 9:


Section 5A boys' golf final team standings (today's scores in parentheses):
1. B-B-E 703 (356)
2. Dawson-Boyd 707 (356)
3. Willmar Community Christian 708 (354)
4. Yellow Medicine East 736 (381)

The Class 1A state golf meet is at Pebble Creek golf course in Becker on June 13-14.

More to come. I haven't gotten results yet from the Section 5A track and field meet.

State Volleyball FINAL FOUR round! (VIDEO, UPDATES!!)

This is the day! State Final Four! Below is a video recorded after yesterday's win. ALSO! Today you can listen to the match on Glenwood's 107.1 FM both on the radio and on their website. It's high time for our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team to shine on the big stage!!!! THEY caN DO THIS! I can feel it.

POST-match with Coach Hunter and players at Xcel Energy Center:


Match updates against top-seeded Minneota to follow. The Vikings are 32-3 overall after winning 3-1 in their quarterfinal match. Pre-match player introductions are starting at 12:56 p.m. for the Court 1 teams (consolation bracket) before our side will be introduced. **Our match will start at about 1:03 p.m.

MATCH UDPATES:
GAME ONE and we are tied 15-15!!!! *Later in the match, Minneota has a 24-21 lead. The Jaguars were ahead 19-17 but have fallen flat since. FINAL score: Minneota 25, B-B-E 21. The Vikings ended the game on an ace block. That first set ended at 1:28 p.m., which made it a 25-minute long set. For not going into extra points, 25 minutes is a long time in volleyball for one set! That suggests the points were long, drawn-out battles. This is state-level competition! This is what the Jaguars signed up for!!

GAME TWO updates:
The Jaguars are ahead 13-12 in game two. Later, their lead expanded to 19-15 on three straight kills by Ava Mueller! *UPDATE: the Jaguars have committed three straight hitting errors to fall behind 21-20. Coach Hunter has called a timeout. We need to pull out this set!!! FINAL: Minneota 25, B-B-E 21. The Jaguars went quietly down the stretch. The Vikings scored the last 4 points of the set on ace attacks. This game ended at 1:58 p.m., so this has been going for a full 55 minutes with just two games played.

GAME THREE updates:
Minneota has a 13-6 lead in game three.

More will be posted in a NEW blog post with the final outcome.


THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank for sponsoring this Jaguars Sports state tourney update!

Step V! ! ! ! Jaguars FINAL-FOUR BOUND! (VIDEOS!)

That's right! BELIEVE IT!

For just the third time in school history, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is Final Four bound at the state tournament! This is a very special place for ANY team to be in ANY high school sport!

JUST FOR FUN! How about a throwback to FOUR years ago! Let's go back to the 2018 Class 1A state tournament, when the No. 3-seeded Jaguars defeated New Life Academy of Woodbury in the quarterfinal round: https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2018/11/step-v-win.html. Fun fact: one of the senior hitters on that team, Emily Knight, is now shining on a Top-25 Division II Colorado School of Mines Orediggers team in Boulder.

**Here's the video that features the first serve of the night plus the opening stage of game one:


**Here's a video from late in game three tonight! This was exciting!


After the tape began rolling, the Gators scored two straight points to close B-B-E's lead to 20-18. The Jaguars proceeded to score 5 of the next 7 points to claim a 25-20 win and go up 2 sets to 1.

LET'S TALK STATS:
As a team, the Jaguars had an excellent night with 95.8 percent serving. They had 8 ace serves compared to 3 by the Gators. B-B-E's serve receive was 96.1 percent compared to B/G-MR's 91.3 percent. This was a huge factor in the win. B-B-E's attack was relentless across four games, and they finished with 62 kills compared to 44 by the Gators. Ava Mueller had 22 kills, Brooklyn Fischer had 18 kills and Abby Berge had 12 kills for three Jaguars hitting in double figures. B-B-E hit at a 20 percent clip compared to B/G-MR's 15.9 percent hitting. Setter Kylie Weller piled up 57 set assists on 131 total sets, and she served 14-of-15 with two aces while adding 11 digs.

Up next: the Jaguars (26-5) play in the Class 1A state semifinals at 1 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center on Friday (tomorrow) against top-seeded Minneota. The Vikings (32-3) sent New Life Academy of Woodbury (21-12) to the consolation bracket with a 3-1 win in their quarterfinal match tonight. Game scores were 25-13, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14. Minneota had 19 percent hitting on 174 total attacks and was led by Emma Bottelberghe's 15 kills on crazy high 36.1 percent hitting (just 2 hitting errors on 36 attacks). Also in double figures for kills was Ireland Stassen, the daughter of B-B-E Class of 1996 graduate Sarah (Illies) Stassen. Ireland also had a monster hitting night with just two errors on 32 attacks for a 31.2 percent hitting mark. She was their leading setter with 22 set assists, and she had 27 digs plus two solo blocks and one block assist. Minneota's libero, Lyzha Sussner, also had 27 digs plus two ace serves.

In other side of the Class 1A bracket, No. 2-seeded Mayer Lutheran won 3-1 against Ely, while No. 3-seeded Mabel-Canton swept Pine River-Backus 25-22, 25-20, 25-15. Mayer Lutheran and M-B will meet tomorrow in the 3 p.m. state semifinal match at Xcel. I just dug up more from this bracket, and game scores between Mayer Lutheran and Ely were 25-15, 24-26, 25-12, 25-11. This was Ely's first loss of the season after coming into the tournament 29-0 overall.

I've added a couple more videos to the last blog post. You may have seen them, but feel free to go back and check them out! I am signing off now at 11:30 so I can get a proper night's sleep. Tomorrow will bring its own set of challenges with a much earlier departure time from Jaguar Country. It's another BIG BIG DAY for my sports department! Thank you to Tiyana Schwinghammer for joining my photography crew!!!! This was a TERRIBLY EXCITING DAY!!! Let's do it again tomorrow!!

The Henning Hornets (VIDEOS)

The Henning Hornets stands in the way between an expired 2022 season on the volleyball court and a trip to the Class 1A state tournament for our B-B-E Jaguars. If you didn't hear already, tonight's huge, huge volleyball showdown starts at 7 p.m. at Fergus Falls high school. We need 1,500+ fans there tonight! I hope you've been working diligently in the past two days to fill car pools! I heard that one volleyball mom has three vehicles full of fans ready to make the trip up I-94! I am almost complete getting a Chevy Impala and a Chevy Suburban filled with fans.

If you don't have the good fortune of attending the match and cheering your heart out in person, you can click over to (or tune in on the radio) to Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Brady will have the call with pre-match coverage starting at 6:45 p.m.; here's the link to find them on your computer or device: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

The Hornets are an outstanding volleyball team. On paper, they are slight favorites, but our Jaguars are aware of that and fully up to this! They welcome the challenge and will put everything they've got out on the court to come out on top. This one could go five sets. I'm just sensing that right now. Henning has a lights-out defense, a dynamic setter and a set of incredible hitters. They are the real deal. The November 2 issue of the Citizens Dispatch newspaper of Henning said about their playoff-opening win over Rothsay, "The Hornets controlled the tempo from start to finish. Rothsay did a nice job getting some blocks up and also getting some good digs, but the Hornets passed well and were able to move the ball along the net, which was too much for the Tigers in the end."

Against Rothsay in the Sub-Section 6A-South quarterfinals, Henning served at a red hot clip of 98 percent with 7 aces. Wow. They tallied 39 kills with 20 percent hitting with serve-receive at 93 percent. Henning played every player on the bench that night.

The Citizens Dispatch article on the subsection semifinals against a 20-win New York Mills team said, "The game against NYM was intense. The Eagles are a scrappy team that can keep the ball alive. They have a couple strong attackers and can give out-of-system balls anytime."
"The Hornets started on fire, but the Eagles settled down and managed to come back and tie the score at 20-20. The lead changed hands, but a kill down the line by Henning's Natalie Eckhoff ended the first set."
"In the second set, the Hornets controlled the tempo. Henning was able to get kills and had some big blocks."
"The third set was a back-and-forth game, but the Hornets stayed focused and kept attacking from all along the net, which enabled the Eagles to get blocks they needed. Alivia Gunderson did an amazing job, as she had to sub in for Myiesha Anotoni, who had an ankle sprain."
Head coach Kristy Finck said, "The energy in our gym was huge, which made for a fun night."
As a team in the Sub-Section 6A-South semifinals, Henning served 95 percent with 6 aces. Ally Hart, Aaliyah Olson and Gretchen Eckhoff all served 100 percent. Eckhoff led the team with 2 aces.
The Hornets tallied 45 kills with 15 percent hitting. Hart was the kill leader with 15 ace attacks, while Becca Frederick had 12 kills. Lyvia Misegades had 9 kills, Natalie Eckhoff 4 kills, Gretchen Eckhoff 3 kills and Gunderson 2 kills.
(The article reads that three players each had 21 or more digs, which just does not sound plausible in a 3-set match.)
Henning's serve-receive was 90 percent to target, which helped Misegades spread the ball to their hitters. She led the team with 33 set assists, and Gretchen Eckhoff had 7 set assists. The Hornets run primarily a 5-1 offense, but they have two rotations where they employ the 6-2 (dual setter) offensive format.


*Here's the moment that Henning took down defending Section 6A champion Breckenridge on Thursday night at Fergus Falls:


They will be a truly formidable opponent. As I said in the video, Henning avenged last year's 3-2 loss in the Sub-Section 6A-North finals with a 3-0 sweep two nights ago over the Breckenridge Cowgirls (23-6). Game scores were 25-19, 25-22, 25-21. (I was incorrect in the scores I stated in the video.) Earlier this season, Henning also won by a 3-0 score on September 1 at Breckenridge high school. Game scores in that September 1 match were 25-17, 25-20, 25-20.

**Here's a lengthy video from game three of B-B-E's match on Thursday:


During the regular season, Henning won the Browerville tournament on September 10. At the stacked Burnsville tournament on September 24, the Hornets finished 2-3 with extra-set (two-to-one) wins over Canby and Legacy Christian. They lost in straight sets that day to Bethlehem Academy, Mabel-Canton and Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda. I noticed that HL-O/F lost 3-2 in their playoff opener to Adrian/Ellsworth to finish 19-10 overall. Adrian/Ellsworth was then swept by Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the next round, and T-M-B was then swept by Russel-Tyler-Ruthton in the Sub-Section 3A-South championship on Thursday night at the SMSU R/A Center. R-T-R (29-3) takes on Minneota tonight for the right to go to the state tournament while trying to avenge a 3-2 loss they took at R-T-R high school in Tyler on October 11. Earlier this season at the Southwest Challenge in Marshall, our Jaguars lost 2-1 to R-T-R in the final match of the day on September 10. Game scores were 25-19, 21-25, 5-15 as the Jaguars ran out of steam in that grueling third set. B-B-E opened that day in Marshall with a 2-1 win over Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

*This blog post is a wrap. Updates in a new blog post!!!!

GAME DAY! Heading to the 'Ship! (VIDEO, UPDATES*)

Match updates will be posted here after 8 p.m. at the bottom of this blog post. Share the link to this blog so others can see!

It is game day again, and this time it's not game day in Jaguar Country. Instead, we are making plans for a trip north on I-94 to the city of Fergus Falls (population 14,029) for the Sub-Section 6A-South championship. Our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is geared up for the No. 2-seeded Brandon-Evansville Chargers. The match will start no earlier than 7:30 p.m., and it likely will not get going until 8 p.m. at Fergus Falls high school.

Sports Show No. 8 or 9 from the Bonanza Valley Voice recording studio:

Click on the video to learn more about today's agenda! I am recovering from an embarrassing mistake right on page one of my sports section this week in The Voice where I failed to change a sub-headline box when I got the volleyball story started. Such is life in the fast lane. I have to shake it off and move on.

Tonight's match will not be aired on the Glenwood radio station. Brady will be tied up at New London-Spicer high school for the Sub-Section 3AA-North championship between No. 6-seeded Minnewaska Area and No. 1-seeded Paynesville Area. I hope to get match updates posted on *this* blog post after 8 p.m. Stay tuned!

You can read more in this week's newspaper and also at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website by clicking on the following link: https://bit.ly/3UmVb3j.

UPDATE from Fergus Falls: **Henning swept in the first subsection final of the night, has the Hornets defeated Breckenridge to advance to the section finals. Game scores were 25-19, 25-21, 25-21. The Hornets led 20-17 in game two before the Cowgirls tied it at 21-21. Henning took the last four points of the set to take a 2-0 lead in games. In game three, Breckenridge came out on fire and jumped in front 7-1 thanks to four early kills by Abby Johnson. The Hornets fought back to tie it up at 14-14, and a neck-and-neck battle followed. Henning had too much firepower down the stretch as they avenged last year's subsection finals loss to move on to the Section 6A championship. One year ago in the same match in the same gym, Breckenridge won a barn burner 3-2 thriller before they beat our Jaguars out of the tournament two nights later (also a 3-2 barn burner).

The B-B-E vs. Brandon-Evansville match should begin at approximately 7:58 p.m. depending on how long player introductions take.

**Update: the Jaguars have a 9-3 lead early in game one.

The Jaguars won 25 to 18 in the opening set.

Game 2 update: the Jaguars have a 15 to 7 lead. *And now the Jaguars have a 20 to 15 lead in game two. **Game 2 final: BBE 25, Brandon-Evansville 20.

Game three: the Jaguars are ahead 11-7. *Updates in a new blog post.

THANK YOU to Coop's Corner and former B-B-E Jaguar student-athlete and 2008 graduate Dani Davis, owner of Coop's, for sponsoring this Jaguars sports playoff update!

State wrestling finals...HUGE news!

Two B-B-E Jaguars went 1-1 in the third-place matches today in St. Paul...Blaine Fischer lost a 2-1 decision at 132 pounds. He battled to the very end and definitely left it all on the mat.

Canon Swanson won an 8 to 4 decision in the 145-pound third-place match. He finished the winningest season by any B-B-E Jaguar wrestler with state medals in five state appearances. That is amazing! He took sixth place in eighth grade, then fifth, second, second and now third place.

Jaguar Country is proud of them!!!

After 6 p.m., the mats at Xcel Energy Center will be re-arranged. Then the first-place matches will go in all three classes at the same time.

Walker Bents will be up first at 106 pounds.

*Update: the championship matches should be underway by 6:15 p.m. or soon thereafter. (Looks like 6:25)  In spite of the best efforts of the local mafia in Little Chicago (also known as Brooten), the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department has been able to cover the state finals this evening in person. This was not easy. Every year it's difficult to have a one-person newspaper news and sports department cover a high school sports state tournament (any sport)...this year was as challenging as it gets to make it down to St. Paul. We take what life throws at us, we chew on it, but we won't allow it to take us down.

STATE FINALS UPDATE!

Jaguar Country has its third state wrestling champion!!

It happened so fast. It was incredible.

Walker Bents won by fall in just 30 seconds to claim the 106-lb. state title!! He defeated the No. 2 seed in the bracket, junior Anthony Romero (44-4) of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander.

Bents joins Brendan Bogart (1989) and Adam Jaeger (2018) as state wrestling champion donning the Jaguar uniform.


Meanwhile, at Wadena...the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a 34-26 lead over Pine River-Backus with 2:42 left in the first half. The Jaguars built the lead up to 12 points, and PR-B then cut it down to eight points going into the final 30 seconds. At halftime: B-B-E 38, PR-B 30.

In the earlier game in Wadena tonight, top-seeded Walker-Hackensack-Akeley defeated Sebeka in the other sub-section semifinal game. I didn't catch the score. W-H-A is now 27-2 overall. We're passing on state wrestling news to Bill Dean and the Lakeland Broadcasting sports department. Thanks, Bill, for covering the girls' basketball playoffs!

An early three-pointer by Jacqueline Gossen extended B-B-E's lead to 41-30 in the second half. That's the last I heard...time to get back to Xcel Energy Center's arena floor for the state medals ceremony!

**Update: the girls basketball team won 77 to 52. Their next game is on Wednesday, March 4. Additional updates will follow in a new blog post.

And THANK YOU to Paul Gruber Farms, Bonanza Valley State Bank and Integrity Home Investments for extended sports playoff sponsoring of the Bonanza Valley Voice sports department. They should all be given a huge THANK YOU to their loyal and reliable support.

More from state wrestling

You can hear coverage from the state wrestling tournament online at youaretheresports.com, with coverage mainly of the five Foley, 1 Royalton and 1 Holdingford wrestlers in tonight's finals. 

Patrick Rooney was named Academic All-State in wrestling.

Photo by Zach Stottler, All Rights Reserved.

It's go time!

 

State wrestling

Not sure when I'll get results posted today. Hopefully by 3:00pm regarding the first round.

So where did Wadena-Deer Creek's top two scorers go?

Follow me here...

On December 14, Wadena-Deer Creek's boys' basketball team edged Staples-Motley 62-61 with two VanErp brothers leading the way with 25 and 15 points apiece.

http://www.sportscow.com/newsarticle.php?yid=1213&tid=98&sid=1230434&nid=58983

Mysteriously, they disappeared from scorecards of W-DC's games over the Christmas break.

Lo and behold! They magically appear on Battle Lake's boys' basketball roster (senior Evan VanErp and his freshmen brother Andrew VanErp).

http://mshsl.org/mshsl/schoolactpage.asp?school=35&actnum=402

To make the mystery even more intriguing, W-DC has a new head coach...their former head coach, Tom VanErp, is no longer listed as a basketball coach at W-DC on their official MSHSL website.

Check out this web article and see VanErp's quotes on their loss to Pequot Lakes:
http://www.sportscow.com/newsarticle.php?yid=1213&tid=98&sid=1230434&nid=58783

Here's another web article that shows W-DC's new head coach listed and quoted:
http://www.sportscow.com/newsarticle.php?yid=1213&tid=98&sid=1230434&nid=59259


Things that make you go Hmmm...!

**Update: from someone who knows more firsthand information, the VanErp boys who are new to the Battle Lake team did move to the Battle Lake area. I was never really thinking that was not legitimate, but I still want to learn more about why their father (Tom VanErp) left W-DC. The phrase "witch hunt" was thrown around in the conversation I had; apparently there was bad blood in town and he didn't want to put up with it any longer.