B-B-E Jaguars volleyball nabs #1 seed (VIDEOS**)

It became official this morning: the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has earned the No. 1 seed in Section 6A.

To open the playoffs, the Jaguars wait for the result of the first-round match between No.-16 seeded Pelican Rapids and the No. 17-seeded Rothsay Tigers. The Vikings compete in the Heart O' Lakes Conference, while Rothsay plays in the Little Eight. Those two teams face eachother in Pelican Rapids at 7 p.m. next Monday, October 20.

The winner between Pelican Rapids and Rothsay will travel to our house for the second round of the Section 6A tournament on Wednesday, October 22. First serve that night is at 7 p.m.

Here's a video with the National Anthem before the Eden Valley-Watkins match:


More to come. The full list of section seeds will be added later.

If the Jaguars win their playoff opener...
If B-B-E wins on October 22, they host a third-round match in the Section 6A tournament on Friday, October 24. The match that night also begins at 7 p.m.

And on Sunday, more content is being added to this blog post.

Here's the end of game 1 against EV-W last Saturday in the makeup match with the Eagles:


The Jaguars won game one by a 25-15 score.

Here's action from early in game two, beginning as the Eagles held an 8-7 lead:


Section 6A volleyball seedings for the fall of 2025; with overall records:
1. B-B-E (20-6)

2. Parkers Prairie (23-4)
3. Breckenridge (18-9)
4. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (21-6)
5. Henning (17-9)
6. West Central Area (13-14)
7. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (17-5)
8. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (14-9)
9. Park Christian (15-8)
10. Battle Lake (15-9)
11. Benson (10-8)
12. Lake Park-Audubon (12-12)
13. Underwood (9-17)
14. Hancock (10-14)
15. Ortonville (7-13)
16. Pelican Rapids (7-17)
17. Rothsay (5-16)
18. New York Mills (4-23)
19. Brandon-Evansville (5-18)
20. Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal (3-21)
21. Ashby (0-22)

Here's an advertisement for The Spot in Belgrade...
The public is invited to join others at The Spot in downtown Belgrade for the Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, October 19. Read the details here: https://shorturl.at/j4bLl.

A few additional web articles have been added to the newspaper's website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. The most recent one added on Sunday night included information on the recent Color Run fundraiser.

Two days "off" (VIDEOS*)

I didn't quite do that, but I took essentially 1 1/2 days off from most newspaper work. In the midst of that, my family enjoyed the joys that come with a successful deer harvest! Now late Friday night, I'll get back in the saddle with sports blogging. The Big Grove Lutheran Church fall supper and auction was highly successful! It was an honor for me to be able to take in the entire auction, start to finish.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we get our first look at the volleyball playoff map. We know the Jaguars will have back-to-back home matches to begin the Section 6A tournament. Based on what I see with the QRF rankings, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team (20-6) will host either Ortonville or Rothsay in their playoff opener, which is on Wednesday, October 22 in Brooten.

Here's one of my videos recorded at Big Grove Lutheran church tonight:


The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper bid on lefse and earned one bag of the Norwegian delicacy for $45 for one bag.

Over a day later than I usually do this, I finally updated the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

Here's part of the postgame huddle in Brandon on Wednesday night:


The Jaguars held practice on Thursday morning and reviewed game tape and received their marching orders from the coaching staff for the next week. They have a full week of practice before their playoff opener. It will be fun!

Don't forget: the Glacial Ridge A.B.A.T.E. hotdish contest is from 3 to 6 p.m. at Marcia's Bar and Grill in Brooten on Saturday. The full set of details was on page 1 of this week's newspaper.

Now it's Saturday...the volleyball team earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. No surprise there. The full seeding has been posted. I'll get to that later in the morning in a NEW blog post.

Friday Night Lights VIII: Jaguars bring home ugly win, and SEEDS are IN!!! (VIDEOS)

BREAKING news the next morning: the Jaguars have earned the No. 2 seed for the second straight year in the playoffs! Read more on that below.

They just about blew it, but in the end, the B-B-E Jaguars football team made the necessary plays to squeeze out a huge road win tonight at Brandon-Evansville high school in Brandon. They displayed a tremendous level of heart on the game's final play to thwart a potential game-tying conversion attempt and preserve the lead.

After posting a 18-0 halftime lead, the Jaguars held on for a 30-28 win against Ashby/Brandon-Evansville to close out the regular season. They take a 5-3 record into the Section 5A playoffs, which starts next Tuesday with the quarterfinals that will include action between the No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6-seeded teams. The top two seeds earn quarterfinal-round byes. It goes without saying that Upsala/Swanville Area (7-1) is the No. 1 seed. They completed the Mid-Northwest Gold District schedule with a 7-0 record for sole possession of the title.

This is rather remarkable. The Jaguars have finished in a five-way tie for second place with a 4-3 district record. I'll write more about the standings tomorrow.

Quick strikes by A/B-E in the final minute, sparked by 2 successful onside kicks in the last 100 seconds, helped the Bolts score 12 points to narrow a 30-16 deficit to 30-28. They scored last on a 66-yard pass play with 3 seconds to go. On the two-point conversion play, Noah Kampsen earned a hurry on quarterback Evan Dingwall, whose pass fell just in front of a receiver in the endzone. The ball hit the sod, and all the Jaguars had left to accomplish was recovering the final onside kick (which they did).

The Jaguars piled up 224 rushing yards and held a commanding lead in time of possession tonight. Quarterback Aiden Mueller was 10-of-16 for 94 yards with one touchdown. He also had 6 carries for 27 rushing yards.

A/B-E's Evan Dingwall was 10-of-22 for 153 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was 9-of-21 for 87 yards until the final touchdown pass with 3 seconds to go. The Bolts take a 4-4 record into the playoffs. They are looking at a likely No. 3 or No. 4 seed. Honestly, I don't know who would be a tougher opponent for the section semifinals: Benson or A/B-E. Yes, Benson throttled the Bolts in Week 3 at Benson. That was a long time ago. The way things have been going lately, I'd ignore most of the scores from the first half of the season.

Video is uploading. I currently can't tally up the final district standings, because the Minnesota-Scores.net website has incorrect scores posted. As of 11:14 p.m., they show that Benson lost 6-0 at Long Prairie tonight, which can't be right. Benson, A/B-E and B-B-E should all finish in a tie for third place in the district standings with 4-3 records.

Here's the last video I recorded during the game, with A/B-E's final conversion play shown:


Here's a video from early in the first quarter tonight:


How the first half of the game played out...
The Bolts had a tough time out of the gate and had a net gain of no yards on their first 2 plays. A questionable facemask penalty gave them a first down, but their next 3 plays earned a net loss of 3 yards. With 7:57 left, they punted on 4th-and-13 from B-B-E's 49-yard line.

The Jaguars started their first drive on their own 33. Lance Radermacher's 10-yard catch was followed by a 48-yard run by Jesse Niklaus. That long burst gave the Jaguars first down on the A/B-E 11. Three plays later, Niklaus scored on an 8-yard touchdown run. With 4:38 left, the Jaguars had a 6-0 lead.

A/B-E's Dingwall converted one first down for the Bolts on their second series, but the drive quickly fell apart and ended with a punt with 37 seconds left in the 1st quarter. Ultimately, A/B-E ran 6 plays, had one 5-yard penalty all for a net gain of just 2 yards from scrimmage. B-B-E's second series started on their own 48-yard line. They ran 3 plays to close out the first quarter. Kaden Kollman caught a 27-yard pass on the first play of the second quarter. Radermacher ran a 2-yard touchdown with 11:49 left for a 12-0 lead.

Here's a video featuring Lance Radermacher's touchdown:


You have GOT to respect what can play out in a 48-minute football game. In that juncture, when Radermacher scored on that two-yard plunge, A/B-E seemed flat-footed and out of sync. All that changed after halftime.

The Jaguars scored their third touchdown on their third drive of the game and the first half. Austin Berge's 8-yard touchdown catch with 2:55 to go gave the Jaguars an 18-0 lead.

You can watch Berge's touchdown reception take place in this video:


In the second half...
On their second possession of the second half and sixth of the game, A/B-E scored on a 5-yard touchdown with 3:09 left in the third quarter. A conversion pass made it an 18-8 score. Defensively, A/B-E was stuffing the box, using as many as 9 players on the front line, to halt B-B-E's running game.

Quarterback Aiden Mueller went to the air to mix it up, and the Jaguars answered on their next possession. This drive covered 59 yards and started with a 15-yard catch by Kameron Hiltner. Four plays later, the Jaguars scored on Mueller's 5-yard quarterback run with 1:22 left; the lead was 24-8. Early in the 4th quarter, the Bolts scored with 8:22 left in the game. On the conversion, Dingwall ran it in himself to cut B-B-E's lead down to 24-16.

The Jaguars scored with 1:41 left in the game on Noah Kampsen's 3-yard run. Now the Jaguars held a 30-16 lead before the Bolts scored on two short possessions in the game's final minute.

With 1:40 left in the game, A/B-E recovered an onside kick to get possession at the B-B-E 40-yard line. It was a low kick, and the ball rolled on the ground for about 15 yards before a Bolts player landed on it. A/B-E scored on a 29-yard pass to narrow the score to 30-22, and the final touchdown was on a 66-yard pass with just 3.3 seconds left on the clock.

After cutting the score to 30-28, the Bolts attempted a final onside kick, but Lance Radermacher curled around the ball to give B-B-E possession and the win.

Defensively speaking...
Tyler Myers and Noah Kampsen anchored the defense with 5 solo tackles each; Kampsen also had 6 assists, and Myers had a quarterback sack. Numerous Jaguars had 4 solos each: Nate Geer, Austin Berge, Taylor Pieper, Jesse Niklaus and Eli Wold.

This is all I can post for now. I have to help prepare family members for youth deer hunting tomorrow!

A win is a win! This was huge. The Jaguars will end up anywhere from the No. 2 to the No. 4 seed. We won't know until mid-morning tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Breaking, breaking, breaking news!
The B-B-E Jaguars have earned the No. 2 playoff seed for the second straight year. This is absolutely incredible! They graduated 16 seniors from their 8-2 section finalist team of 2024, but they regrouped and forged a 5-3 record and grabbed the No. 2 seed once again. They've now been the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs for five straight seasons. I got a lot to say about that! I think right now, the biggest message is: don't let it get to your head. They have a LOT of work to do between now and the playoff opener. The No. 2 seed does not matter if you are not prepared for the invasion that's coming in a section semifinal match up.

When is the playoff opener? That's a good question right now, as I'm seeing massively conflicting information about Long Prairie-Grey Eagle. The playoffs begin either on Tuesday, October 21 or on Saturday, October 25. Stay tuned. (I found their school's website posting that says they are forfeiting the rest of their season. This means that B-B-E gets a first-round bye in the playoffs.)

2025 Section 5A playoff seedings:
1. Upsala/Swanville Area
2. B-B-E
3. Ashby/Brandon-Evansville
4. Browerville
5. Benson
6. West Central Area
7. LP-GE


While nothing is official until it's on the MSHSL website, based on all my information, B-B-E will open the playoffs on Saturday, October 25 at 2 p.m. in Belgrade. They will play either Ashby/Brandon-Evansville or West Central Area. As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, this has gone official! B-B-E has a first-round quarterfinal bye in the Section 5A playoffs. Woo Hoo! While I love football games, this bye is important.

The game to scout is in Brandon on Tuesday, October 21, for the Section 5A quarterfinals between host Ashby/Brandon-Evansville and their neighbors to the west, the West Central Area Knights. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. The other quarterfinal game also starts at 6 p.m. that night, and that game is in Browerville with Benson as the opponent.

Mid-Northwest Gopher District scores in Week 8 on October 15:
Browerville 12, Maple Lake 6 (a rather interesting upset win by the Tigers! They scored with 20 seconds left to earn the incredible win)
Benson 56, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6 (this was a game with JV players)
Upsala/Swanville Area 52, West Central Area 6

Area football scores in Week 8 on October 15:
Minnewaska Area 61, Royalton 0
Breckenridge 46, Menagha 8
Little Falls 9, St. Cloud Apollo 8
Dassel-Cokato 38, Litchfield 8
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 42, Montevideo 6
Osakis 30, Melrose Area 12
Eden Valley-Watkins 30, Paynesville Area 0
Pierz 62, Milaca 6
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 62, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Holdingford 57, Sauk Centre 0

Willmar 49, Big Lake 16
Kimball Area 44, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Lakeview 26, MACCRAY 6
Minneota 34, Dawson-Boyd 3

GAME NIGHT! In Douglas County

The biggest game of the regular season is tonight. The stakes are HUGE for both teams, as the B-B-E Jaguars football team travels to northwestern Douglas County to face Ashby/Brandon-Evansville in a Mid-Northwest Gold District game.

The Bolts are 4-3 overall and currently hold the No. 2 ranking in Section 5A. They built a head of mid-season steam with a 3-game winning streak before being cooled off at Upsala/Swanville Area (in Upsala) last week in a 44-0 loss.

The third-year pairing of Ashby and Brandon-Evansville has featured a team built around sophomore quarterback Evan Dingwall. He is their leading rusher with 487 yards on the ground with 45-of-85 for 584 yards passing.

GAME UPDATES to follow here after 7:30 p.m...

HALFTIME: BBE 18, A/BE 0.

After the third quarter: BBE 24, ABE 8.

Final: BBE 30, ABE 28.

Fall theater group is rocking it...and volleyball sweeps! CMC champs! (VIDEOS!*)

The 40 students who are part of the fall play at B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium are rocking it. The show is just a little over 4 weeks away. We are fast and furiously trying to promote it. That effort will increase week by week. The fall play is "The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon" with show dates of November 14, 15, 16. The first two shows are 7 p.m. affairs, and the Sunday show is a 2 p.m. matinee.

Here's a short video from rehearsal last Friday:


As you can see, that isn't an actual rehearsal video. Rather, it's a video clip during a break in rehearsal. Director LaMont likes to keep things light-hearted, and she does an excellent job of it!

And another video from last Friday at Olson Auditorium:


I'll seek out the online link for ticket purchases.

In volleyball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team, which was ranked No. 7 in the latest Class 1A state QRF rankings, has finished the Central Minnesota Conference schedule with a perfect 7-0 record! They wrapped up sole possession of the CMC title with a 25-14, 25-19, 25-13 sweep tonight at Maple Lake.

B-B-E's offense featured a total of 99 attacks, 36 for kills with a 22.2 percent hitting efficiency. They also piled on 8 ace serves with 40 digs and 6 block assists.

The Jaguars take a 20-6 record into the Sub-Section 6A-South playoffs, which will begin next Wednesday, October 22 at home in Brooten with a 7 p.m. first serve.

Maple Lake finished the CMC schedule with a 2-5 record. They are 11-16 overall heading into the Section 5AA playoffs.

Here's Coach Borgerding in a postmatch interview after the Jaguars beat EV-W on Saturday:


Coach Borgerding's teams have both won CMC titles. Last season, in her first year as head coach, the Jaguars shared the CMC title with Maple Lake with 6-1 records each.

Central MN Conference scores on October 14:
Paynesville Area 3, Holdingford 2
Royalton 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 2

Volleyball team sweeps Eden Valley-Watkins (VIDEOS)

In a makeup Central Minnesota Conference match today on the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team made quick work of a tough, scrappy Eden Valley-Watkins squad in a 3-0 sweep. They improve to 19-6 overall going into the last match of the regular season, which is next Tuesday at Maple Lake.

Stellar hitting efficiecy fueled the win, as the Jaguars hit at 26.7 percent on 90 attacks. They also had 7 ace serves and a combined 10 block assists.

Here's video from the end of today's match:


Game one started out with the Jaguars bashing the Eagles and taking an early 6-1 lead. The Eagles improved their passing out of a timeout and came back to force a 7-7 tie. With Macey Roering serving, the Jaguars rattled off a 8-0 run to build a 21-10 lead featuring back-to-back kills by Teagan Dingmann plus two ace serves by Roering.

An ace block by Kadynce Haider gave the Jaguars a 25-15 win.

The remaining game scores were 25-22, 25-14. In game two, the Eagles took leads of 14-10 and 17-13 before the Jaguars fought back. Back-to-back kills by Roering tied the set at 18-18. An ace block by Kamie Fischer gave the Jaguars a 20-19 lead, and Kamie's kill made it 25-22 to complete the 12-5 run and give the Jaguars a 2-0 set lead.

Here's a video from the latter part of game two today against EV-W:


The Eagles (9-14 overall) had been playing terrific as of late, and they were winners of 3 out of the last 4 matches. In the three wins were two sweeps over Redwood Valley and Kimball Area.

I need to get to Crow River church now! They are likely running low on some of their soup supply. The auction starts at 7 p.m.! Updates to come after 9 p.m. here. I also have some research to do on the Ashby/Brandon-Evansville football team.

Here's a video from game 2 at Royalton:


Here's video featuring the last stretch of game 2 at Royalton:


I'm still working through a huge backlog of video from the Royalton volleyball match and the Benson football game. It is going to take a little more digging to get out from under this.

Central MN Conference standings on October 11:
1. B-B-E (6-0)
2. Royalton (5-1)
3. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (4-2)
4. (tied) Eden Valley-Watkins, Maple Lake, Paynesville Area (2-4 each)
7. (tie) Holdingford, Kimball Area (1-4)

Friday Night Lights VII: a Lutheran bowling party, a funeral viewing and a forfeit win

At Parents Night football in October 2019, senior Justin Savage stands with his mom, Heather, and his little brother, Carson. His little sister, Elaina, is also partially seen.

In a nutshell.

The B-B-E Jaguars football team earned a 7-0 forfeit win against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle for their Week Seven match up. The forfeit was announced earlier in the week by Long Prairie-Grey Eagle due to not having enough non-injured and/or eligible players. This moves the Jaguars to 4-3 on the season.

NEXT: the Jaguars travel to Brandon next Wednesday, October 15 to face Ashby/Brandon-Evansville. It can be rated as no less than a playoff game. The stakes are HUGE. Kickoff at Brandon-Evansville high school's stadium is at 7 p.m.

The Big Grove-Crow River-Grace Lutheran church Free Spirit youth group hosted a free pizza and bowling party at Lucky Shots in Brooten for all 7th-12th grade students. The four lanes were packed the whole night, and about half of the football team was there enjoying time together.

Here's the scene at Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten right about the time when the stadium lights would have been shut off had a football game been played in Belgrade:


The visitation for Justin Savage was held at the funeral home in Belgrade last night. It drew a large number of past and current students. I attended towards the end and was fortunate to get quality time visiting with the family and with Justin's mom, Heather. It's all part of the healing process, but it's still difficult.

REMEMBER! Today...the volleyball team hosts Eden Valley-Watkins with the preliminary matches starting at 3 p.m.

While bowling at Lucky Shots, word broke among the football players - who spread the word to me - that Browerville earned a giant upset win over Benson in their Week Seven game. The Tiger led 8-6 at halftime, and the final score was 8-6. This puts the No. 2 seed in Section 5A back on the table for the Jaguars. I'll get to that later.

Mid-Northwest Gold District scores in Week 7 on October 10:
B-B-E 7, LP-GE 0 (a forfeit win)
Browerville 8, Benson 6
Maple Lake 46, West Central Area 16
Upsala/Swanville Area 44, Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 0

Area football scores in Week 7 on October 10:
Breckenridge 65, New York Mills 6
Cedar Mountain 57, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 7
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 66, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6
Osakis 34, St. Cloud Cathedral 21
Hancock 32, Rothsay 12
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 28, Watertown-Mayer 21
Alexandria 49, Brainerd 18
Willmar 55, Detroit Lakes 7
Parkers Prairie 54, Wadena-Deer Creek 6
Dawson-Boyd 42, Lakeview 15
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 54, Underwood 6
Redwood Valley 47, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Annandale 56, Milaca 0
Minnewaska Area 34, Montevideo 6
Litchfield 62, Sauk Centre 7
Border West 56, Ortonville 6
Albany 22, New London-Spicer 14 (at Albany; what a game that had to have been! Albany is the No. 10-ranked team in Class 3A by QRF)
Holdingford 61, St. Cloud Apollo 8
Melrose Area 40, Little Falls 7

Jaguars take down Royals in four sets (VIDEOS*, updates)

To no one's surprise, I fell asleep while blogging on the match last night. I'm lucky my laptop didn't take a spill! The blog post is being updated on Friday, including a video with one of our players earning her 1,000th career kill.

Utilizing 21.5 percent hitting and a strong block, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won three straight sets after losing the opener in a huge road win tonight at conference-leading Royalton. Strong 94.6 percent serving also was a huge factor in the win. The Jaguars unleashed a total of 195 attacks in the match. Game scores: 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-13. Both teams were in a virtual tie for first place in the Central Minnesota Conference. With the win, the Jaguars take control of the league with two matches remaining (see below).

Late in the fourth set, senior outside hitter Kacey Fischer earned her 1,000th career kill. She stepped up in a major way with a career-high 32 kills with incredible 39.7 percent hitting. Teagan Dingmann had 12 kills on 25 percent hitting, and Macey Roering had 9 kills with 7 digs. Kenna Lieser had 18 digs and 2 ace serves on 16-for-16 serving.

In game one, both teams traded blows after the Jaguars struggled with initial hitting errors. Royalton led 6-2, but a kill by Teagan Dingmann and then two straight from Kacey Fischer plus Kacey's ace block tied it at 6-6. The Royals regained their footing and then took leads of 11-9 and 15-13. Kacey Fischer had back-to-back kills to tie it, but the Royals steamrolled the Jaguars after that with a 10-4 run that gave the home team a 25-19 win. In those last combined 14 points scored, the Royals earned 7 kills.

The coaches implemented a few tweaks before game two, and they were immediately effective. The Jaguars hit Royalton with a relentless attack while building an early lead of 8-1. The Royals fought and fought all through that set and cut it down to 3 points twice, trailing 12-9 after two B-B-E hitting errors. Kills by McKinley Haider and Teagan Dingmann helped push the lead to 16-10. Kacey Fischer later had consecutive kills for a 19-13 lead. The Royals later cut it to 21-19 before the Jaguars ended the set on a booming kill from Macey Roering in a 25-21 win.

Game three was highly competitive for the first half before the Jaguars pulled away. They held leads of 17-12, 20-13 and 22-14 on their way to the 25-16 win.

In game four, the Royals fought to an early 6-5 lead before fading quickly. The Jaguars reeled off an 11-2 run to take control and throttle the home team down the stretch.

Here's a 5 minute long video from game four that begins with the Jaguars ahead 17-7:


If you go 3 minutes into that video (above), you'll see Kacey Fischer swinging a left side attack that glanced off a Royalton block attempt and landed out of bounds. This marked Kacey's 1,000th career kill.

Here's another lengthy video featuring action in game four tonight:


Next: the Jaguars (18-6, 5-0) host Eden Valley-Watkins on Saturday this week in a makeup match. The JV and C-squad matches start at 3 p.m. in Brooten. The varsity match should begin at 4:30 p.m. The regular season concludes next Tuesday, October 14 at Maple Lake. With this win, the Jaguars also move up to No. 7 in the Class 1A QRF rankings.

Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game four:


Royalton was a worthy opponent. They challenged the Jaguars for 3 1/2 sets before fading down the stretch against B-B-E's blistering attack.

Around the community this weekend...
The Elrosa Fire Department steak fry will be held on Saturday, October 11 from 4 to 8 p.m. You can read more by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/MRUEW. Also on Saturday, the Crow River Lutheran church WELCA will host their soup supper and auction in their church basement starting at 4 p.m. The live auction, led by Ziemer Auction Services, starts at 7 p.m.

On Friday, the visitation for Justin Savage is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home in Belgrade. Savage was a 2020 graduate of B-B-E high school who played multiple sports throughout his career. He also was a dedicated member of the high school's yearbook group. You can read more about Justin and his wonderful family by clicking here: https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2025/10/we-suffer-another-loss.html. Please pray for them!

Central MN Conference volleyball scores on October 9:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 3, Paynesville Area 0 (the Falcons take control of third place in the CMC)
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Maple Lake 1

Area volleyball scores on October 9:
Sauk Centre 3, Montevideo 0
Albany 3, Pequot Lakes 0
Underwood 3, Hancock 2
Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 3, MACCRAY 2
Canby 3, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 1
Henning 3, Sebeka 0
Melrose Area 3, West Central Area 0
LP-GE 3, Browerville 2 (what a fun border battle that must have been)
New London-Spicer 3, Watertown-Mayer 2
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 3, Breckenridge 2

One week ago

Now that the dust has settled on publishing the October 9 Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, I shift gears to the next issue along with catching up on blogging, sports reporting and theater reporting. I don't think I'm the only one who is going about our work this week with a heavy heart. Grappling with grief from loved ones passing away is difficult. It obliterates your concentration and focus. It can lead you to becoming ill. In some cases, it can make you more prone to accidents. Adults are grapping with the anxiety that comes with extra worry about our children.

One week ago at this time, I was in New London standing in the lobby of Peace Lutheran Church outside the sanctuary. I was randomly checking my phone, which was turned to silent mode. Anxiety ramped up just a bit while I was waiting for my wife to arrive at the church. She wasn't responding to my texts, but I knew she could have been driving, in which case she would not see the messages. Just a few minutes before 2:00, I saw her and one of my daughters walking up from the parking lot. They parked the Suburban at NL-S high school's lot. My anxiety fell. A sigh of relief.

Let's go back just a little over 2 weeks ago. Life was much different during the period of time leading up to and including the Color Run.

Here's a video from the finish line; during this time, the Jaguar Kids Connection students were coming in:


The color burst video was just uploaded. You can watch that by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/NW7fh. Warning! You may get "The Chicken Dance" song stuck in your head.

Today, we gear up for a road trip to Royalton. In terms of work, that's at the top of the list. The Royals are ranked No. 34 in Class 2A by QRF. Their overall record is 16-4, and they are 5-0 and in first place in the Central Minnesota Conference.

UPDATES:

Royalton won game one 25-19.

BBE won game two 25-21. It has been a hell of a match so far.

*The Jaguars are now in first place alone after defeating the Royals 3-1!

It's time to drive home.

Jaguars fire on all cylinders at K-M-S (VIDEOS)

This is the right time to gain momentum for a high school sports team!

At non-conference Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg on Monday night, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep against the Fighting Saints to improve to 17-6 overall. Game scores were 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. They have just 3 regular season matches left on the schedule, and they are all Central Minnesota Conference contests. Next: the Jaguars travel to first-place Royalton on Thursday this week. The Jaguars are in a virtual tie for first place in the CMC, but the Royals are technically ahead by a "half match." (Sports writer lingo.) The winner will be in the driver's seat for earning a solo CMC title.

Against K-M-S, the Jaguars had a 21.7 percent hitting mark, and they were led by Kacey Fischer's 18 kills on 31.7 percent hitting. Macey Roering had 2 ace serves, and Kenna Lieser earned a team-high 14 digs.

The Fighting Saints fall to 6-13 overall.

Here's a video from the Paynesville match last Thursday; this is from the 1st set that went far into extra points!


That video began with the Jaguars trailing 23-22 in game one. The Bulldogs are 6-14 overall and 2-3 in the Central Minnesota Conference.

In girls' tennis news...
The top 6 players for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team compete in the Section 6A individual tournament in Rogers starting on Wednesday this week. More on that is in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Brief updates on the outcomes of the Wednesday matches will be posted in a new blog post later in the afternoon.

Here's a video from last Thursday's playoff match at Minnewaska:


At No. 3 singles, Ellan Fischer is shown playing for the Jaguars. She is the only member of the Class of 2027 (juniors) who plays tennis.

Here's No. 1 doubles action at Minnewaska:


The Lakers have one of their best-ever girls' tennis team in the school's 36-year existence. They are ranked No. 2 in this week's Class 1A state poll.

Area volleyball scores on October 6:
Kimball Area 3, Rockford 1
Albany 3, Sauk Centre 1
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, BOLD 0
Rocori 3, St. Cloud Cathedral 0
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Ashby 0
Henning 3, Brandon-Evansville 0
Swanville 3, Bertha-Hewitt 1
Lakeview 3, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 0
Parkers Prairie 3, New York Mills 0

Area volleyball scores on October 7:
Parkers Prairie 3, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 1 (a big Section 6A match won by Panthers in Fergus Falls)
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 1
Hutchinson 3, Holy Family Catholic 1
Maple Lake 3, Breck 0
Dassel-Cokato 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Upsala 3, Browerville 1
Minnewaska Area 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 2