Friday Night Lights VIII: defense rules the night, Jaguars win border battle (VIDEOS!)

This was not a game for the faint of heart!

While it did not technically go down to the wire, the B-B-E Jaguars football team did not have the game in hand against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg until quarterback Luke Illies took a knee in the final minute of the fourth quarter. They had just scored 14 unanswered points across the final 26 minutes of the 48-minute-long border battle. A game ruled by defense and offensive miscues was won by the Jaguars by a 14-3 score at Murdock.

Here's action from late in the 1st quarter last night (Wednesday) in Murdock:


More to come. I have many pages of notes to review from the game!

The flow of the game was outlined soon after the game's opening kickoff. B-B-E started on their own 32-yard line, and Ethan Mueller caught an 8-yard pass. Good! On the next play, the Jaguars lost a fumble, which gave K-M-S the ball on B-B-E's 39-yard line with 11:16 left in the first quarter. On K-M-S's first series, they gained one net yard on three plays but got off a great punt. The chess match was underway, as the Jaguars started their second series back on their own 14-yard line. Two plays later, the Jaguars lost possession on another fumble.

Back on defense, the Jaguars got tough again, but K-M-S had advantageous field position with their second drive starting on the B-B-E 10-yard line. A solo tackle by Ethan Mueller on first down brought a 5-yard loss. Next was an incomplete pass, but quarterback Tyler Engelke got those yards back with a carry on the next play. This set up 4th-and-10, and the Fighting Saints elected to kick a field goal. The kick was just on the mark, barely, as the ball fell on the goal post and rolled over to the ground. K-M-S 3, B-B-E 0 was the resulting score.

Over 16 minutes of scoreless football went by after that field goal. The Jaguars swiped the lead away from K-M-S with 1:11 left before halftime when lineman Noah Kampsen earned an interception and ran it back for a 68-yard Pick Six touchdown. The resulting 6-3 score stood to halftime.

Here's a video featuring how that Pick Six went down...


The second half...
Two false start penalties hampered K-M-S on the first series of the third quarter. The Fighting Saints had driven just into B-B-E territory, but they later punted on 4th-and-14 on their own 48-yard line with four minutes gone. The first drive of the third quarter for the Jaguars ended after three plays by an interception near midfield. K-M-S had possession at their own 45-yard line, but their drive lasted just three plays and ended on a lost fumble which was recovered by Brett DeRoo with 5:08 left in the third quarter.

This put the Jaguars back in the driver's seat with just 44 yards to go. On second down, Jack Lundberg caught a 16-yard pass. Brett DeRoo followed that with a 9-yard catch, and the Fighting Saints then committed a dead ball penalty to convert 2nd-and-1. Now at the K-M-S 19, the Jaguars had all the momentum. DeRoo caught an 11-yard pass and had a bead on the end zone before being stacked up one yard short. With first down on the K-M-S one-yard line, a costly lost fumble stopped a great opportunity to score the game's first offensive touchdown. Instead, the Fighting Saints took over possession with 1:46 left in the third at their own 2-yard line.

Later in the game...K-M-S had possession for the 10th time of the game early in the fourth quarter. Near midfield, Brett DeRoo grabbed an interception with an 8-yard return. This gave B-B-E possession at K-M-S's 42-yard line with 7:04 left in the game. Nine plays later, DeRoo caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Luke Illies in the right corner of the endzone after he got a couple steps ahead of his defender. Harley Weber powered in the two-point conversion, and the Jaguars held a 14-3 lead with 2:47 to go.

After the kickoff that followed, the Fighting Saints reset their offense on their own 25-yard line. Their attempt for a big play on first down ended quickly when Kameron Hiltner grabbed an interception at the K-M-S 43-yard line.

Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District football scores in Week 8 on October 16:
Browerville 43, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 14
Benson 42, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Upsala/Swanville Area 37, West Central Area 14

Breaking news!
The Section 4A seedings have gone final this afternoon, and the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed for the upcoming playoffs. Both the Jaguars and top-seeded Upsala/Swanville Area both get first-round byes. B-B-E's playoff opener is on Saturday, October 26 on the home field.

Area football scores in Week 8 on October 16:
MACCRAY 42, Yellow Medicine East 0
BOLD 66, Canby 20
Parkers Prairie 57, Pine River-Backus 0
Hancock 42, Ottertail Central 6
Royalton 42, Paynesville Area 8
Rock Ridge 19, Duluth East 14
Albany 52, Montevideo 7
Annandale 35, New London-Spicer 3
Eden Valley-Watkins 24, Holdingford 6

GAME NIGHT! In Swift County! Border Battle!!! (VIDEO)

Thursday night note...I'm working on the Friday Night Lights VIII post early tonight. I posted one video below from the game to this blog post.

Kickoff at Murdock is at 7 p.m. tonight for this big border battle. Game updates to follow. I expect a tough game, but we will see!

GAME UPDATES...

Halftime: the B-B-E Jaguars football team erased a 3-0 deficit and are ahead 6 to 3 at halftime.

*Here's a video that started in the first minute of the game:


In the first quarter with 6:07 on the clock, the Fighting Saints kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

With 1:11 left in the second quarter, junior lineman Noah Kampsen rumbled into the endzone after earning an interception with a 68-yard return. It was an incredible sight, and he had plenty of help from his fellow Jaguar blockers. The two-point conversion was stopped about 2 yards short.

After the 3rd quarter: still a 6-3 score.

Final: 14-3 win! 

The Jaguars added one offensive touchdown on 4th-and-goal when Brett DeRoo caught a 4 yard pass from Luke Illies in the right corner of the endzone with 2:47 remaining in the game. Harley Weber powered in the 2 point conversion.

The Jaguars take a 7-1 record into the Section 4A playoffs, for which they have a first-round bye. The playoff opener will be on Saturday, October 26 in Belgrade with a 2:00 p.m. kickoff. Please spread the word!!

Game statistics:

Luke Illies earned 10-of-18 passing marks for 114 yards. DeRoo caught 5 of those 10 receptions for 51 yards.

Overall, B-B-E gained 219 yards with 105 of them on the ground. 

Their defense held the Fighting Saints to 115 net yards, 89 on the ground. Through the air, the Fighting Saints had 2-of-9 marks for just 26 yards.

Four Jaguars earned interceptions: Kampsen, Ethan Mueller, Brett DeRoo and Kameron Hiltner. Hiltner's interception all but sealed the win for the Jaguars with 2:35 left in the game. 

**This blog post is a wrap, as I am in Hutchinson now and have to get up at 6:00 a.m. to drive to Rochester Mayo for a check-up with my daughter. I have been blogging straight off of my cell phone tonight.

A complete Friday Night Lights XIII blog post will be added on Thursday afternoon after returning home from Rochester.

Good night!

**Update: Upsala/Swanville Area defeated West Central Area 37-14 in Barrett to finish undefeated in the regular season and claim the district title alone. It was an impressive win for the Patriots against a tough Knights squad that had a shot at earning a share of the title with a win.

It's a four-peat! How about that! (VIDEOS)

For the second time in school history, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has won four straight Central Minnesota Conference titles. Awesome!

Tonight at Paynesville in a CMC border battle, the Jaguars lost game one 25-22 before regrouping to win three straight sets and finish the loop in first place with a 6-1 record. No word yet on Maple Lake's match at Kimball Area. The Jaguars and Irish entered tonight tied for first place.

The Bulldogs take a 14-9 record into the Sub-Section 3AA-North playoffs, where they are ranked No. 2 by QRF behind New London-Spicer. They finished 4-3 in the CMC.

In game two, the Jaguars held small three-point leads early before utilizing a 6-1 run that game them a 19-11 lead. The Bulldogs cut it down to 21-19 before the Jaguars finished strong to claim a 25-20 win. In game three, the Bulldogs held an early 5-3 lead before the Jaguars went on a 7-3 run. Just as they did in game two, they finished strong in the third set while earning a 25-17 win. The Jaguars were in control for just about the entire fourth set, and Paynesville Area made multiple mistakes down the stretch while the visitors ended the match with a 25-15 win.

Here's a lengthy video recorded in the middle of game 2 tonight:


Overall, as a team, the Jaguars had a mild 17.1 hitting percentage, and for large stretches of the match, their offense was not clicking. Credit to Paynesville, however, as they picked up their level of play considerably after a very poor start to game one. The Jaguars had a balanced attack with four hitters earning 6 or more kills: Kacey Fischer (15 kills), Adley Hagen (13), Kadynce Haider (8) and Kamie Fischer (6). Libero Ava Deters led the defense with 21 digs. At the service line, the Jaguars had an excellent 94.7 percent mark tonight with 4 ace serves.

B-B-E finished the regular season 25-3 overall. This is their best record entering the playoffs since 2008. In 2018, the Jaguars were 22-4 at the end of the regular season. In both 2008 and 2018, they finished fourth at the state tournament. Right now, there are no thoughts of state whatsoever, as the Section 6A playoffs loom large with a strong array of competitors. The climb will be uphill, but if the Jaguars play their game, they are going to go far!

Here's a video recorded before game 4 started tonight:


And speaking of the CMC "Four Peat"...the Jaguars earned CMC titles in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 for a four-peat. They were also CMC champions in 2000, 2002 and 2003. While I'm at it, I'll just go and outline the full picture of volleyball conference titles. The Jaguars won West Central South Conference titles in 1994 and 1995. In addition to the CMC titles won in the early 2000s, the Jaguars went on a huge tear to claim the conference titles (all solo crowns) consecutively from 2006 through 2012. Their huge CMC winning streak was halted on October 3, 2013 in Maple Lake in a 3-1 loss. The Jaguars finished second in the CMC in 2013 and 2014 before going 7-0 to claim a solo CMC title in 2015. Next came CMC titles in 2018 and 2019. They took second in the COVID season of 2020, and now they can say they have won four straight CMC titles through 2024!

More to follow in the morning. I have a newspaper to prepare for the press.

Central MN Conference volleyball scores on October 15:
Holdingford 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Royalton 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 1 (played on Monday this week)

Area volleyball scores on October 15:
West Central Area 3, BOLD 0
Delano 3, Annandale 1 (Delano is 28-0)
Willmar 3, New London-Spicer 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, Montevideo 0

This, that and that (VIDEOS, UPDATES*)

This blog post will serve as a catch-all for the next 24 hours or so. The next 72 hours are going to be flat out crazy. It begins with having a GOOD Tuesday, and that all hinges on being able to throw most of my energy and focus into publishing the October 17 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Tonight, at the elementary cafeteria, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team held their season banquet and awards ceremony. In the last week, I fell a little behind on sports blogging for the tennis team. In fact, I think I still have video from the Section 6A playoffs in Litchfield that I haven't uploaded. Yikes! That was 11 days ago. In order to stay on track, I'll post a video that only has 2 views so far...this is from that day, October 3, in Litchfield.

Here's action at No. 1 and No. 4 singles in the Section 6A quarterfinals:


...and let's go back one day prior to that with the home playoff opener on October 2.

Here's action at No. 1 doubles with Ellan Fischer and Grace Berndt:


This year's tennis team fought with outstanding grit, determination and sportsmanship all season long. They improved week by week, which was shown by their performance at the Prairie Conference tournament on September 19 and then in the final week of September while leading into the postseason. This week's newspaper will feature additional coverage.

It's still shy of 10 p.m. tonight, and I need to get out and cover a bunch of vegetables in the garden. Based on the forecast, we'll see approximately 6 straight hours of freezing temperatures tonight as the mercury dips to as low as 29 degrees (between 3 and 8 a.m.). If I can get a few of our vegetable plots through the next couple of nights, the outlook says that we've got smooth sailing without frost until at least October 23!

And a Tuesday update...the blankets worked! We've got a great variety of vegetables that will live to another day.

Volleyball updates to follow here later on Tuesday night...
In the preliminary matches, the Jaguar JV and C-squad teams both won! The varsity match got underway at about 6:50 p.m.

Updates! the match is tied at one set apiece! We had two exciting games to start this border battle. The Bulldogs took game one 25-22 after the Jaguars held leads of 9-6, 10-4 and 12-6. In game two, the Jaguars won 25-20. ****More to come in a NEW blog post.

College athletics update (VIDEOS)

Here's the latest I've collected on current B-B-E graduates who are playing college ball...featured are two volleyball players and one football player.

Ethan Spanier is a 6'2" 290-pound defensive tackle who's played in six games this fall for North Dakota State College of Science. The Wildcats are 6-0 in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference and 7-1 overall with the playoffs set to begin on October 19. In their last regular season game, NDSCS defeated rival Rochester by a 28-25 score on Saturday in Rochester.

Emily Kern, junior 5'6" libero at St. Cloud State University, recorded 6 digs and one set assist in Saturday night's 3-2 win for the Huskies against conference rival Wayne State in Wayne, Nebraska. SCSU (14-2, 8-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) entered the match ranked No. 5 in the latest national polls, while Wayne State (14-3, 8-1 NSIC) was ranked No. 6. The incredible game five was won by a 18-16 score after the host Wildcats held match point with a 16-15 lead.

Brooklyn Fischer, a 5'9" freshman middle hitter at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, has recorded 236 kills this season at an average of 3.47 kills per set with 22.7 percent hitting efficiency. Her Cyclones are having an outstanding season and stand 15-4 overall with an 8-1 conference record. On Friday in St. Cloud, the Cyclones had a nine-match winning streak halted in a 3-2 loss to MN West Community and Technical College (15-11 score in game five). Fischer led her team with 14 kills on 17.6 percent hitting with a team-leading 26 digs and 5 block assists. In the MCAC South division standings, SCTCC has a half-match lead over MN West, who is 24-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The two teams have a big rematch on the horizon next Friday, October 18 in Worthington.

Getting back to high school sports...
The next three days are jam packed! And I do mean packed!!! Events taking place three nights in a row. It's going to be interesting to navigate through all of it. I'll explain more later. Here's what's on the docket: on Monday comes a school board meeting, Brooten city council plus the tennis team banquet. Tuesday brings grades 7-12 volleyball action at Paynesville that also concludes the varsity team's regular season. For Wednesday, the football team has a big game at Murdock against K-M-S.

Here's a video from early in the 3rd quarter at Browerville:


And then let's fast forward to the fourth quarter at Browerville...

Here's a video featuring Andrew Spanier's touchdown reception...


The Browerville Tigers traveled to Barrett to West Central Area high school's stadium on Friday. They suffered a 24-0 loss to the once-beaten WCA Knights to fall to 4-3 overall with their second straight loss. The WCA Knights have an outside shot at winning in their last game to finish the regular season 7-1 overall. They host Upsala/Swanville Area in Week 8.

Also this week...let's give a shout out to B-B-E senior Taylor Nelson, who is the lone Jaguar who competes this fall with the B-B-E/Paynesville boys' cross country team. The Jaguar-Bulldog harriers run at Holdingford on Tuesday this week in the Central Minnesota Conference championships starting at 4 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's a video from the second quarter tonight:


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

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


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

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

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

GAME NIGHT! At OUR house! *OVERTIME for kids event also tonight

This is about as terrific of a fall day as one can ask for across the Bonanza Valley and Jaguar Country! FULL sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s! Wow! It's crazy to also consider just how hot it got yesterday, Thursday, with a high of 83 degrees!

FIRST! Before I jump into football...this is important! Students in grades 7-12 are invited to Lucky Shots Bowling Alley after tonight's game. You can read all the details by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/E4FnT. We are super blessed to have B-B-E's Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization running strong. We also want to give a shout out to the Big Grove/Crow River/Grace Lutheran Parish community for their efforts at supporting the B-B-E FCA chapter.

Also! I just posted the agenda for Monday's Brooten city council meeting at my editor's blog. You can see the agenda by clicking here: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

Let's talk football!
We've got Friday Night Lights VII on deck tonight for our B-B-E Jaguars football team, as they are set to host Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in a Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District game. Kickoff for the game at our stadium in Belgrade is at 7 p.m. In leading up to the game, the coaching staff will have Parents Night to honor and recognize the men and women who play a direct role in raising their sons on the team.

As for the LP-GE Thunder, they have a 1-5 record.

Game updates... to follow here after 7:00 p.m..

After the 1st quarter, the Jaguars have a 42-0 lead.

At halftime: BBE 48, LP-GE 0.

After the third quarter, the score is 48 to 0. The entire third quarter has been played with running time. In fact, they began running time some time late in the second quarter.

Jaguars remain in first place! and Sports Show No. 8 (VIDEOS, UPDATES)

On the heels of a 3-1 win at Royalton tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has cleared a big hurdle to achieving one big season goal: earning Central Minnesota Conference hardware. The task at hand tonight was a big one, as the Royals and Jaguars entered the match in a three-way tie for first place along with Maple Lake.

After splitting the first two sets, the Jaguars won game three 25-18. In game four, they played outstanding volleyball the entire way in a 25-14 win.

Here's a few notes I jotted down in game four tonight...
With Abigail Lien on the service line, the Jaguars have rattled off a 5-0 run and now hold a 14-5 lead. The lead expanded to 17-8 with Kamie Fischer on the service line, and the Royals called their final timeout of the set. B-B-E's lead expanded even more to a 23-10 advantage, but the Royals got a side out on a kill. Royalton got another kill for a 23-12 score, but Kadynce Haider knocked down a kill to bring game and match point.

The Jaguars closed out game four with an ace stuff, although I could not verify who earned that off of the Hudl livestream. Game scores: 25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-14.

A two-week layoff from recording a sports show has ended...here's my 8th sports podcast of this fall:


Now 24-3 overall, the No. 10-ranked Jaguars improve to 5-1 in the CMC and have one more big hurdle ahead of them: beating Paynesville Area on their floor next Tuesday night. That match will conclude the regular season. The Bulldogs are currently theoretically still in the hunt for CMC hardware with a 13-7 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the CMC. Tonight, they traveled the short trip south for a border battle with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.

Circling back to football...here's a video that features the opening minutes of the 2nd quarter at Browerville:


That's all I've got for tonight. I played "hooky" from work for a couple of hours and enjoyed watching Hunter Killer on Netflix. It is a great movie! I highly recommend it. And goodness...my ears are still ringing from blowing my referee whistle tonight at the 5th/6th grade volleyball match with New London-Spicer.

A few Friday updates...today is going to be a great day! I just heard news that the B-B-E Pep Band will perform for the second time this fall at tonight's football game! Before tonight's game, I'll get a new blog post added that will feature game updates tonight for Friday Night Lights VII. It will be Parents Night as the Jaguars host Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.

Here's a video featuring Josh Walstrom's incredible touchdown catch last Friday at Browerville...


More to come. We have full sunshine again today! An absolutely perfect, wonderful fall day is upon us. Don't forget all the upcoming events this weekend...Saturday night will be super busy! Events have been promoted for Saturday in this week's newspaper for the city of Elrosa (steak fry) plus the Lutheran church communities of Crow River and Norway Lake. Read all about it in The Voice! (Also online at the newspaper's community calendar: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

And for parents of grades 7-12 students! On Friday after the football game, your children (in those grades) are invited to Lucky Shots Bowling Alley, where the B-B-E Fellowship of Christian Athletes will be hosting an Overtime party with FREE bowling and pizza!!! This is a great event for your kids to take part in...even if they didn't go to the football game. (I hope they do, of course!) This event will run from 9 to 11:30 p.m., and please make sure you can get your child at or before 11:30. Thank you!

Central MN Conference volleyball scores on October 10:
Paynesville Area 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 1
Kimball Area 3, Holdingford 0
Maple Lake 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 1

Area volleyball scores on October 10:
Sauk Rapids 3, Willmar 1
New London-Spicer 3, Rockford 0
HL-W-W 3, Litchfield 2
Sauk Centre 3, Montevideo 0 Minnewaska Area 3, BOLD 1
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, Benson 0
MACCRAY 3, Ortonville 0
Minneota 3, Renville County West 0

Jaguar volleyball battling at Royalton

In a key Central Minnesota Conference match on the road, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has a 2-1 set lead at Royalton tonight. They won the third game by a 25-18 score. Game three is set to begin shortly after 8 p.m. It is also Dig Pink night for the Royals volleyball program.

In game four, the Jaguars led 3-1 but have fallen behind 4-3 after a Royalton ace serve.

With a string of excellent serves and once ace serve by Adley Hagen, the Jaguars rattled off a 6-0 run to go up 9-4. The Royals have called a timeout. More to come in a new blog post! Hit refresh!