extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Elrosa Saints earn No. 3 seed from regions for state tournament
The Elrosa Saints will open the Class C amateur state tournament next weekend. The Saints had a 3-2 record in the Region 8C tournament in Regal. After going 1-1 last weekend to fall into the elimination bracket, the Saints won back-to-back games in the tournament this weekend. This put them in the final seeding game of regions, which was played this afternoon. The Atwater Chuckers took an early 6-1 lead and came away with a 9-8 win.
The statistic of the game: Elrosa had 8 earned runs, while Atwater had 4 earned runs.
Region 8C state qualifiers plus state draftees:
1. Richmond (No. 1 seed; Ty Reller of New Munich and Cam Miller of Farming)
2. Atwater (Josiah Utsch of Roscoe and Ben Welle of Spring Hill)
3. Elrosa (Jared Cortez of Norway Lake-Sunburg and Caden Sand of New Munich)
4. Starbuck (Sam Etterman of New London-Spicer and Trent Wendlandt of Lake Henry)
On Saturday night, Richmond defeated Atwater 3-2 in the region championship game.
SPREAD THE WORD! Here's the state information you're looking for: the Elrosa Saints open the state tournament on Sunday, August 23 in New Prague. They play the Pierz Brewers at 4 p.m. Pierz is a state entrant from the Victory League.
Their game follows the 1:30 p.m. game in New Prague, which features Atwater taking on the Nimrod Gnats. Nimrod was the No. 2 seed from Region 4C.
Here's a video from the Saturday morning events at August Fest:
More to come.
Here's a video from the Pope County Fair...which was awhile ago now!
The Belgrade city council held their regular August meeting tonight. The agenda was posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.
The food and music was terrific tonight at the opening night of the Belgrade August Fest. The band Southern Crossroads played music at the Belgrade city park while a petting zoo was held and a meal and drinks were served out of the park shelter. Members of the Belgrade Fire Department and the Belgrade-Brooten Police Department hosted a Touch-a-Truck event at the same time.
The next big Belgrade August Fest event is on Friday with the Fire Department chicken BBQ supper plus the Kensington Bank ice cream social. These events take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Belgrade VFW. The band Kentucky Thunder will perform starting at 7 p.m. at the same location.
More coverage of the Belgrade August Fest and other events can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.
It is crazy, but I am still uploading Bonanza Valley Days videos. I found a few on a chip that have not been uploaded over one month after that weekend.
Here's a video from Bonanza Valley Days on Saturday morning that weekend:
The Belgrade August Fest classic car, truck and tractor show is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday morning on main street.
Tractor Pull at the Pope County Fair + Sunburg event on Tuesday!
The traditional event on Saturday of the Pope County Fair in Glenwood is the tractor and truck pull.
Here's Jack Anderson, B-B-E high school student, in the tractor pull on Saturday:
Jack Anderson was driving a John Deere 4440.
The Pope County Fair enjoyed its best turnout in at least 10 years. They have much to be proud of for the lineup of activities and the large crowds they had last week. You can see more coverage of the fair in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
In town team baseball news...
In the County Line League championship game last Friday in Paynesville, New London-Spicer defeated Starbuck 8-7 to advance as a No. 1 seed to Region 8C. Their opponent was to-be-determined, while Starbuck's opponent in their region opener will be Elrosa.
In Sunburg on Tuesday this week...August 4:
Read all about an event in Sunburg on Tuesday night by clicking here: SunburgFireAppreciationNight. This event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4.
We're almost all the way through the first day of August 2026. Much to get caught up on! Two county fairs were in progress today, and they conclude on Sunday: the Pope and Stearns county fairs. Both of those county fairs have had a tremendous level of turnout this week. In fact, both may be the busiest fairs they've had since prior to the pandemic. This is great!
Here's a video featuring a view from the carnival rides at the Pope County Fair:
The video was taken on Saturday night. That's all I've got. I need a good night's rest to be up and at it for 9 a.m. church at West Lake Johanna Church in Gilchrist Township.
**In sports news, Elrosa will face Starbuck in the region opener on Saturday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Regal.
Before I get to Bonanza Valley Days, let's enjoy a stunning performance of the National Anthem last Thursday in Willmar. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to start recording right away for the song. First, watch the video...
On Thursday, July 2 in Willmar:
The West Central Singers is the group who performed the song.
The Willmar Stingers baseball organization is a fantastic asset for this region. They do a fabulous job of creating a family-friendly atmosphere.
Bonanza Valley Days coverage is in both the newspaper and at the newspaper website: Http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. The BVD 2026 Medallion Hunt began yesterday, but the official kick-off of BVD takes place Thursday night at 7 p.m. with a non-denominational Worship in the Park service (by the Pavilion).
I hope you can make it to Brooten at least once this weekend!
Staff of the Belgrade Co-op put on a thoroughly impressive American Flag display on Highway 71 in Belgrade over the Fourth of July weekend. You can see this by clicking here: https://youtube.com/shorts/d7AqdgnOdLo?si=v6rqIHuzEAwHI2kS. Thank you to Todd Trustheim for sending this video over to me on Saturday! I am finally getting it posted.
On Monday night...
At about 10:45 p.m., a torrential rainfall moved across the Bonanza Valley area. Almost an hour later, my rain gauge showed almost 1.5 inches of rain. Goodness!
For those keeping track...twice I've gotten "July 12" wrong in the Bonanza Valley Voice. In the June 18 issue, I had the date wrong for the Bonanza Valley Days Grand Parade! Yikes. It is on Sunday, July 12 at 1:30 p.m. It was corrected for the June 25 issue.
The Brooten Class of 1976 class reunion is on Sunday, July 12 starting at noon at the KaDe Shack in Brooten.
They graduated: Class of 2026 officially begins "adulting"! (VIDEO)
Welcome, B-B-E Class of 2026, to the adult world! The Class of 2026 in Jaguar Country held its commencement ceremony last night in the high school gymnasium. Altogether, graduation lasted 1 hour and 6 minutes.
Here's video from the end of graduation and after it was completed:
Remember! Grove Lake will hold a Memorial Weekend event tomorrow, Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Grove Lake Chapel. This is located about 3/4 of a mile south of the center of Grove Lake on Pope County Road 39.
During the day Sunday, when I'm not at church or at Grove Lake, I've got 56 garden vegetable plants to get in the ground. Uff Da. We have finally gotten proper spring gardening weather.
In a new blog post, I'll get some Elrosa baseball updates posted.
This is graduation day for the 37th straight year in Jaguar Country
To watch the graduation ceremony for the 37th class of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school, click on the link to move to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEschoolGraduation2026.
And! I have to acknowledge a mistake in the graduation section of this week's newspaper. The father of Kadynce Haider is not Todd Haider...it's Brad Haider. Todd is Brad's younger brother. It made for quite the text message thread between Todd, Brad and their mom, Kathy Haider! Brad is Kadynce's dad, and he is a 1998 graduate of B-B-E high school. He was a standout football player for Paul Beuning and a standout wrestler for Chuck Marks and his wrestlers. Todd Haider was a terrific wrestler and also a marvelous football and baseball player. In Todd's senior year, he was one of three seniors for the Jaguar baseball team in 2000 along with Travis Schoumaker and the late Adam Hanson.
The Brooten city council meeting agenda has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: BrootenCouncilAgendaMay26.
On the winning track: fastpitch Jaguars win thriller over Benson (VIDEOS)
A clutch RBI-single by sophomore Lillian Thompson lifted the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team to a 3-2 come-from-behind walk-off win against Benson today. The game marked the final home game of the season. B-B-E is 11-7 overall heading into tomorrow's regular season finale, which is a Central Minnesota Conference game at 4:30 p.m. (May 12) at Eden Valley-Watkins.
The Jaguars trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. They scored once in the sixth and then twice in the bottom of the seventh for the win.
Here's video from the top of the 3rd inning today:
Kamie Fischer's sacrifice bunt helped set up Thompson's late game heroics. That bunt advanced Abby Lieser, who advanced on an error by Benson's second baseman while fielding a ground ball. McKinley Haider entered to pinch run for Lieser, and she scored the tying run on Lydia Primus's two-out RBI-single to centerfield. Thompson then slapped a base hit to the outfield to drive home Primus and end the game.
Here's a video featuring the end of the game:
Brielle Worms was fantastic in the circle with 10 strikeouts against 3 walks and 4 hits. The Jaguars had no errors in the field to 3 by the Braves. For her part, Benson's freshman Tess Nygaard was also strong in the circle with 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 earned run and 6 total hits given up.
B-B-E and EV-W (13-8) are currently both tied for third place in the CMC with 7-6 records. The winner tomorrow locks up third place alone. Holdingford (10-3) has locked up second place, and Kimball Area won the title once again and remains undefeated (12-0) in the CMC.
The Jaguars currently sit in fifth place in the Section 4A standings. Within their reach is the No. 3 or No. 4 seeds, but that all hinges on beating EV-W tomorrow plus how Braham and Mayer Lutheran fare today and tomorrow.
It's time for the school board meeting.
On Tuesday this week:
The track and field teams travel to Maple Lake for the CMC championships starting at 3 p.m. The girls' golf team has a CMC meet at Paynesville, and the baseball team hosts A-C-GC in Elrosa for a 5 p.m. CMC game.
Spring has returned after taking a three-day break in the Bonanza Valley area.
On Friday, the weather turned cold, and the cold stuck around across Saturday and Sunday. Things warmed up considerably today, and highs reached into the mid-60s for part of the afternoon.
Back to sports news...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team and the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf teamopen the Central Minnesota Conference schedule with a joint meet at Atwater tomorrow. They begin at 4:15 p.m. at Island Pine Golf Club.
The B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams host an 8-team invitational at 4 p.m. Teams invited are Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball, Holdingford, Paynesville Area, St. John`s Prep and West Central Area.
I am getting caught up on the A-C-GC track and field results, and I noticed that the Jaguar boys had a strong showing with a 7th-place finish out of 10 teams. They defeated the host A-C-GC Falcons, Paynesville and Willmar Community Christian. They were led by a first-place finish by senior Kameron Hiltner, who won the 100 open with a time of 12.39 seconds. Hiltner also earned a stack of points by placing third in the long jump (18'9"). Taylor Pieper, another B-B-E senior, placed fourth in the long jump (18'1.5").
Mason Douvier, a sophomore, took fourth place in the 1600 run (5:16.19).
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team resumes CMC action with a game at Kingery Field in Atwater at 5 p.m. against the A-C-GC Falcons.
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team resumes CMC action with a home game at 5 p.m. against Eden Valley-Watkins.
Fastpitch softball enjoys scrimmage at St. John's University
At the St. John's University Gagliardi Field and Skalicky Seasonal Dome in Collegeville, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team traveled east on Saturday to face New London-Spicer in the first annual "Battle of the Bat" scrimmage. This is a new tradition started by head coach Logan Funk while working with Wildcats head coach Jacob Beranek. Max Bats of Brooten generously has donated a wood bat designated as the traveling trophy. It will have the year and score etched onto it each spring.
Coach Funk was thrilled to report that the first score etched on this Max Bats bat will reflect a winning 8-5 score for B-B-E. The Jaguars had just one error.
B-B-E's fastpitch season opener is set for Tuesday, April 9 at home in Brooten at 5 p.m. against MACCRAY.
TheB-B-E Jaguars baseball team has a scrimmage on Monday (tomorrow) against Minnewaska Area. The two teams will scrimmage at 1 p.m. in Alexandria at Knute Nelson Field.
Temperatures tomorrow will climb into the mid-60s for the second straight day. It will be a wonderful day to be outside. However, Minnesota's weather gets rough starting on Tuesday, and the forecast looks quite awful as we head into April. Snow and cold is coming on April 2 and April 4. Yuck!
An exciting business Open House is coming to Belgrade on March 28
This is one you'll want to mark your calendars for! Last spring (2025), the flower, plant, gift and rock shop called Earthy Elements opened at The Shed in Brooten. Ashley Zimmerle, owner of Earthy Elements, expanded her business last summer after she founded it in 2022. The next step in her business journey was a recent move to Main Street Belgrade. This took place while an expansion in another business is taking place at The Shed (located on Highway 55 East in Brooten)...on the weekend of Valentine's Day, Zimmerle moved her business to 303 Washburn Avenue, Belgrade, to The Boosters building on the north end of main street.
The next step Ashley's got in store is a business open house on Saturday, March 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her new location. The Earthy Elements open house features flower, plant and prize giveaways. Easter lilies and bulb garden plants. FREE coffee samples. To-go bracelet make and take packes for $15 also available. You're invited to stop by and see the new space in the Booster's building.
Ashley is excited for upcoming special events and holidays including Easter (just on the horizon) and also B-B-E's prom (Saturday, May 2). Soon after prom is Mother's Day, and that's soon followed by the Memorial Day weekend. Ashley got off to a great start with Early Elements expanding in Brooten, and her business will continue growing on main street Belgrade. Today, I learned she'll be able to work hand-in-hand with Mary Solbreken and Rustic Designs Flower Farm of Burbank Township. That's another terrific small business we can be proud of right in our backyard!
In sports news...
I lost track of the late-winter college basketball games. The last I was plugged in to that, Abby Berge's MSU-Moorhead Dragons team was in a tight ball game in the NSIC playoffs. Berge is a 2023 B-B-E graduate and was a junior for the Dragons.
In the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference playoffs, the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars lost on a buzzer-beater to Bethany Lutheran in the UMAC championship game. B-B-E's Kaden Pieper, also a 2023 graduate, was a junior on that squad. He ended up as the team's second-leading scorer for UMM, who should compete for a conference title again next year. They were regular season runners-up in the UMAC this year with an 8-4 record.
As for spring sports, I know of B-B-E's Gannon Walsh (Class of 2022) playing for the University of Minnesota-Crookston men's golf team. He's currently ranked 58th in the NCAA Division II Central Region. As a team, Walsh's Golden Eagles is ranked No. 11 in the Central Region. UM-Crookston's spring season begins next Monday and Tuesday at the NSIC Preview in Smithsville, Missouri.
Here's a video featuring tip-off and the opening minute of the playoff game at Underwood:
Sunshine is gaining strength, but it's still cold out! and CHICK DAYS in Regal is underway
The full sunshine feels incredible today, even as the temperatures hover in the upper single digits across the Bonanza Valley area.
The Belgrade city council meets tonight, and their meeting agenda can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.
It's time to advertise CHICK DAYS in Regal!
Jerry Fischbach, the kind-hearted, down-to-earth Regal Elevator owner, is promoting Chick Days for the 2026 season. Regal Elevator is now offering discounts on all chicks and chick feed. Supply your own eggs! Call for livestock feed AND pet feed at Regal Elevator; phone number 320-243-4220. Website: http://www.regalelevator.com.
Mid-Week Lenten worship in Brooten (VIDEO) + Padua news
While you're stuck at home today during the blizzard, you don't have + to miss church worship. At the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, a video was just posted from Trinity Lutheran in Brooten from Wednesday, March 11. Worship that night was the second-to-last Mid-Week Lenten worship for the Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran parish.
Snowfall totals across the past 15 hours or so, at least for the town of Brooten, appears to have been only about 6 inches. The large snow system tracked farther south than was predicted, which is good for those weary of winter.
News out of Padua regarding Saint Patrick's Day weekend activities:
The St. Patrick's Day parade in Padua for today has been cancelled due to the weather and the tough road conditions. The Padua Pub is still open for those who are able to travel, but of course, your own discretion is advised. Tread lightly out there! Here's additional information...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice website to read more: PaduaStPatricksNews.
I spoke with Dave Rooney by telephone right around the time the parade was scheduled to be held today. Dave was thrilled to report that the Padua Pub had a "packed house" on Saturday evening for their St. Patrick's Day festivities. The Rooneys want to thank everyone for their support, and they look forward to seeing you on Tuesday for the final hurrah of St. Patrick's Day in Padua.
Currently, the forecast is calling for 5 to 10 inches of snow coming our way on Saturday and Saturday night. Please share this information: the Brooten Ambulance pancake feed is being moved to Sunday, March 22 with all other information being the same. This weekend, on Sunday, we'll all likely be digging out from the snow. We'll see how it shakes out!
The pancake feed will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 at Bucky's Pickles, which is the former Brooten American Legion building on Central Avenue in Brooten. Here's the same information with a Brooten Ambulance statement posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BrootenAmbulanceFeed.
Tonight! the B-B-E Knights of Columbus will host their Fish Fry fundraiser night at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. They serve from 5 to 8 p.m. Additional details: KofCFishFryMarch13.
I'd also like to encourage you to visit the Padua Pub on Saturday this weekend. It looks like they should be able to have a nice run of things on Saturday for their Saint Patrick's Day celebration. The Sunday activities in Padua might not fare as well. It's the reality of the situation. By all means - please help the Rooney family hit their food and green beer supply by patronizing them on Saturday! The food and green beer will be served starting at 3 p.m.
**Update: early Friday night, The forecast is saying we could get 10 to 18 inches of snow across the next 48 hours. Wow.
We make the trek once again over to Foley high school for the Sub-Section 5A-East playoffs. The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team will face top-seeded Braham in the subsection championship with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!)
I'm guessing the Minnewaska boys play tonight...so 107.1 FM will have their game tonight instead. I'll see what I can find out about the radio stations that are here in Foley.
If you want to get caught up on local events, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website's community calendar: BBEareaEvents2026.
Here's a video featuring the end of the Swanville game:
That video above begins with about 1 minute, 8 seconds left in the game.
Here's a video starting with just over 5 minutes left against Swanville:
When that video started, the Jaguars led 41-36. They outscored the Bulldogs 10-3 in those final 5 minutes.
Tonight's opponent, Braham, is 22-6 overall while seeking their first state tournament trip since 2012-2013. In that season, Braham went 32-1 and lost a heartbreaker 60-59 in the Class 2A state title game. The Bombers are ranked No. 14 in the most recent QRF rankings, while the Jaguars are No. 17.
UPDATES:
With just under 3 minutes left, Braham senior guard Bridget Golly drained a deep three-pointer for a go-ahead basket by the Bombers. This shot lifted Braham to a 25-24 advantage. HALFTIME: Braham 30, B-B-E 26. At the break, Mya Worms has 8 points, Macey Roering has 6 points, and Kacey Fischer has scored 5 as the leading scorers. Braham's sensational junior guard Morgan Rysdam is leading the Bombers with 11 points.
With 1:25 left, Rysdam drained a clutch three-pointer just before the shot clock expired. This three put Braham ahead 28-26 after Mya Worms scored to lift B-B-E ahead 26-25. The second half is starting at about 7:42 p.m.
**With 7 minutes left in the game, the Bombers are ahead 52-40.
The final score will be posted in a new blog post.
In the other subsection, Cass Lake-Bena and Pine River-Backus are playing in overtime.
Jaguars take down 20-win Braves team (VIDEOS, updated Tuesday*)
This blog post has been updated twice on Tuesday...
In a game with multiple lead changes and multiple runs where each team scored in bunches, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team scored a giant upset win tonight on the home floor by defeating Benson 65-62. They played outstanding defense while holding the Braves 14 points below their scoring average.
At halftime, the Jaguars led 38-34. Benson used an 8-0 run to erase B-B-E's lead as the second half developed. Two three-pointers and a layup put Benson ahead 44-41 with 14:08 to go.
With 7 minutes to go in the game, Benson pulled in front 53-48 after their 6'7" senior post, Harold Habben, scored 3 straight shots in the paint. This all came after Hudson Reed scored in the lane with 11:40 left to put the Jaguars ahead 48-47. Trailing by 5 points, B-B-E then manufactured an incredible comeback starting with a three-pointer and then a shot under the basket for a tie score with 5:45 to go.
Benson falls to 20-4 overall, while the Jaguars are 13-11 going into tomorrow's home game against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The A-C-GC game is huge! The Jaguars (7-6 CMC) have to beat the Falcons in order to clinch part of third place in the CMC standings. Royalton is currently in a tie for third with the Jaguars; they play at Maple Lake on Tuesday to close out the CMC schedule.
BREAKING news on Tuesday afternoon: the game against A-C-GC has been cancelled. This is due to an error on A-C-GC's part with their regular season schedule. That's what I know. The game will not be made up. So please spread the word: there's no home game tonight in Brooten. It's an "off" night.
Here's video from the first half of tonight's game:
B-B-E finishes the regular season with a Section 6A game against Ashby in Brooten on Friday this week. The Arrows are 6-18 overall; they went 2-14 in the Little Eight Conference for 9th place.
And here's a video featuring action during the final minute of the game:
In the Section 6A standings, this win may not move them enough to make a difference on the QRF. The Jaguars are No. 10, while Hancock is No. 9 and West Central Area No. 8. In the No. 7 spot currently is Underwood (18-5). The Underwood Rockets appear solidly at No. 7, but it is possible they leap above Benson. This would move the Braves down to No. 7. For West Central Area, they are 9-14 overall with 2 games left: BOLD and Border West. I predict WCA wins out and remains at the No. 8 spot. Hancock could make some moves in the standings if they win at Underwood tonight in a Little Eight Conference game. In the first Hancock vs. Underwood meeting, which was back on February 12 in Hancock, the Rockets won 65-62.
Regardless of all the potential moves up and down for teams in the Section 6A standings, tonight's win is a huge confidence booster for a B-B-E team that has already been playing superb basketball as of late. B-B-E has just one loss this season to a Class 1A team (Hancock), and they've won 5 of their last 6 games. Winning out this week will set them up for a nice run during March Madness!
Section 6A boys' basketball update...Hancock clinched second place alone in the Little Eight Conference by defeating Underwood on Monday 82-71. This puts them at 13-3 in the Little Eight, while Underwood finishes the loop 11-5. The Rockets could have tied the Owls for second place with a win. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in the section rankings!
UPDATE for the Central Minnesota Conference...on Monday, Holdingford earned a 70-61 win against Paynesville to pull into a virtual tie for first place with the Bulldogs. The Huskers hosted Paynesville in a key CMC game. The Bulldogs finished the loop with a 13-1 record, so they have at least a share of the title. Holdingford (19-6) has to win at Kimball on Friday this week in order to clinch a share of the title. If the Cubs beat the Huskers, Paynesville (15-11) would win the CMC outright.
Area boys' basketball scores on February 23:
Montevideo 70, Melrose Area 41
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 65, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 42
Central MN Christian 79, Renville County West 48
Browerville 68, Parkers Prairie 67
Brandon-Evansville 78, Border West 67
Canby 58, MACCRAY 55
Hancock 82, Underwood 71
Willmar 91, Detroit Lakes 76
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team shook off a tough three-game losing streak with a very satisfying 45-41 win at Browerville today. A late steal in the closing seconds by Hudson Reed iced the win. The girls' basketball team also recorded a win over Browerville's varsity squad; the final score was 65-34.
It's time to head to the Belgrade VFW Auxiliary steak and pork chop fry and then the open gym session at the high school.
In the boys' basketball game, the Jaguars were led by Taylor Pieper's 11 points. Next were Aiden Radermacher and Owen Roering, who had 9 points each. Free throw shooting proved to loom large in the outcome: Browerville was 1-for-3 in the game, while the Jaguars made 5 out of 9 shots at the charity stripe. The win raises their record to 9-10 overall; next is a home game on Tuesday against Eden Valley-Watkins.
In the Section 2A hockey playoffs today, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss to Minnesota River at the Le Seuer Ice Arena. They finish the season 14-11-1 overall. Minnesota River (21-5-1) advances to the 2A finals to face top-seeded Mankato East. The Cougars (23-2-1) erased Hutchinson from the playoffs with a 5-1 win in the other semifinal game held today.
And now it's Sunday afternoon...the last 24 hours were a blur. I'll get a new blog post up with some notes from the Browerville games.
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled across the last 9 minutes of the first half at Sauk Centre tonight. After Kacey Fischer scored with 9:20 left to give the Jaguars a 13-11 lead, the Mainstreeters went on a tear. With 2:08 left, a three-pointer gave Sauk Centre a 26-14 lead.
Halftime: Sauk Centre 26, B-B-E 19. A buzzer-beating shot from the right baseline by Kamie Fischer closed out the first half with a 5-0 run by B-B-E.
The game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They broadcast online: https://www.kmgk1071.com. The varsity boys' basketball game will begin after this game concludes. It will likely be around an 8 p.m. tip-off.
Here's a video recorded early in the first half last night against Royalton:
Road conditions are terrible. Be smart about your travels if you are out and about tonight! Game updates will be posted here after the conclusion of the girls' varsity game.
*In the second half, with five minutes to go, the Mainstreeters are ahead 45-39.
Final girls' basketball score: Sauk Centre 54, B-B-E 50. The Jaguars fall to 11-4 overall with the loss.
The boys' varsity game will start at about 7:55 p.m.
UPDATE: after spotting the Mainstreeters 15 points to start the game, the Jaguars trail 35-18 at halftime. Sauk Centre shot the lights out from beyond the arc. With 13:40 left, Jacob Drevlow made his team's third three-pointer, and the score was 15-0.
By the 9-minute mark, Sauk Centre connected on their sixth three-pointer, and their lead was 25-3.
Here's a video featuring action in the final minute of the 1st half:
