Friday Night Lights V: Jaguars are overcomers in giant takedown of Top 10 Patriots (VIDEOS!)

Let it be known! The B-B-E Jaguars football team is the real deal. We got a glimpse of it last week against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, a team that has the capability to run the table going into playoffs, but tonight it was on full display. The Jaguars came to play and overcame numerous mistakes to dominate No. 9-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area in a 14-6 win. Such a game of overcoming! The adversity, which was self-inflicted at numerous junctures of the game, never really let up until the game was winding down in the final minutes. The game was called with 1:22 left on the clock as a storm approached Swanville from the south. Officials ruled it a complete game and directed the teams to exit the stadium after handshakes.

B-B-E's win sets up a key game next Friday, when U/SA hosts Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at the Upsala field with a 2 p.m. kickoff. That is a game that I plan on watching remotely!! I may be shooting pictures at B-B-E's Homecoming Pep Fest while having that game pulled up on my cell phone.

The total offensive statistics were eye-popping: B-B-E had 385 offensive yards compared to 142 for U/SA. A big factor in the win was up front in the trenches, where most football games are won. The Jaguars had 231 rushing yards compared to just 24 for the Patriots. That is crazy! Just how dominating was B-B-E's defense? Here's the big picture: U/SA scored their lone touchdown early in the second quarter on a 47-yard, two-play drive coming off of a turnover (a miffed punt return). That was the only possession of the game that U/SA scored, and it was a possession that lasted just 22 seconds. What that means is that for the grand sum of the rest of the game, outside of those 22 seconds, U/SA's offensive plays yielded zero points.

I combed over my full set of first half notes, and what I found was that the offensive statistics were eerily similar between the Jaguars and Patriots. B-B-E had 130 yards of offense on just four drives and 30 plays with a time of possession of 11 minutes, 31 seconds. U/SA had 113 total yards in the first half on five series with 26 plays and a time of possession of 11 minutes, 46 seconds.

After falling behind 6-0 early in the second quarter, the Jaguars battled the rest of the way to halftime. U/SA drove inside the 10-yard line midway through the second quarter and had first down, goal-to-go, on B-B-E's seven-yard line. It looked bleak at that point, but the Jaguars got a huge boost when Owen Paulson tackled U/SA's quarterback after he faked a handoff and ran to the right. The play resulted in a three-yard loss. The Patriots had a five-yard catch on third down, but on fourth-and-five, Brett DeRoo batted down a pass at the five-yard line to give his team possession on their own five-yard line with 5:53 left.

Here's a 12-minute long video from the middle of the second quarter:


On the first play shown in the video, Owen Paulson had one of the biggest plays of the entire game with one of his three tackles for a loss, in this case with a tackle of U/SA's quarterback during a colossal goal line stand

With a proper regrouping at halftime, the Jaguars rallied with two touchdowns in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a shut out for both defenses. B-B-E broke up U/SA's shut out on their first series of the third quarter, when they mounted a 65-yard scoring drive capped by Jack Lundberg's 36-yard touchdown with 9:13 left. Owen Paulson ran off left tackle for the two-point conversion that put the Jaguars ahead 8-6. They added to that lead with Paulson's four-yard touchdown carry with 1:48 left in the third.

B-B-E's defense was simply "lights out" in the second half as they held the Patriots to less than 40 yards of offense in the third and fourth quarters. I've got more detailed notes on the second half to add here on Saturday morning.

As one of the coaches said last week to the team, "You are learning what it feels like to be hunted. Accept the challenge and make the most of it!" This is how the last three games of the regular season will go. They will get their opponents' best shot every night.

B-B-E football faced an enormous challenge taking on the No. 9-ranked team in the state on their home turf. The final score did not tell the full story of the topsy-turvy game. It is going to be another fun weekend breaking down this game just like it was for Friday Night Lights IV.

Luke Dingmann went 15-of-23 for 154 yards passing while also earning 63 rushing yards on 8 carries. Four receivers had 29 or more yards each, and Jack Lundberg led the ground game with 122 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown.

NEXT: the Jaguars (5-0) host a tough-as-nails Browerville Tigers team next Friday, October 6 for Homecoming night. It is going to be a great game. We had an AWESOME crowd tonight in Swanville, and we need to pack our stadium with Blue and Silver next Friday for Homecoming. This is a MUST! It is a non-negotiable deal we need to follow through on. This is a special football team who deserves large, loud, vocal crowds the rest of the season and into playoffs!

Shortly after 11 o'clock and video is uploading. It was a rather non-eventful trip home with a pit stop at Casey's in Melrose. I am grateful for this night!

*Here's video featuring the game's opening kickoff and the first offensive series:
scoring

That video had a great ending! I've got a second video uploading just shy of midnight, and I also will soon be recording my Fall Winter Sports Show No. 2.

Here's a video where the Jaguars stopped U/SA in the first quarter and then were hampered by an interception on their second series of the game:


I'll be scanning for more area football scores. Our sub-district's scores from tonight are posted below.

Mid-Northwest District Gopher Gold football scores in Week V on September 29:
Browerville 20, Benson 14
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 42, West Central Area 14 (Falcons put the hurt on the Knights in Barrett)
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 37, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6 (LP-GE scores for the first time since the season opener after the Fighting Saints led 37-0 at halftime in Long Prairie)

Area football scores on September 29:
Hancock 36, Rothsay 14
Border West 26, Underwood 20
BOLD 69, Dawson-Boyd 0
Canby 15, Lac qui Parle Valley 12
Rockford Area 34, Minnewaska Area 7 (Lakers lose their Homecoming game)
Detroit Lakes 41, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 6
Pierz 33, Melrose Area 0
Kimball 40, Maple Lake 0
Hills-Beaver Creek 45, Renville County West 14
Eden Valley 42, Royalton 6
Osakis 34, Holdingford 22

It's GAME NIGHT! In Morrison County! (VIDEOS!)

We have an incredible night ahead of us! This is HUGE! A giant, colossal football game is tonight at Swanville's football stadium. Did I mention that this is HUGE!

With district championship and postseason seeding implications on the line, the B-B-E Jaguars football team is set to do battle with No. 9-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area tonight with a 7 p.m. kickoff in Swanville. If you can't make it to the game, Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood will be broadcasting on their radio station (107.1 FM) and on their website: https://www.kmgk1071.com. THANKS, BRADY! B-B-E will be facing their biggest test of the season so far this year, and U/SA may be the top team currently in our district. Another top team is Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, now a Class 2A school, who the Jaguars will host for Friday Night Lights VIII (Week 8)...and I wish it was easy to remember how to say our football team's regular season district and sub-district!

Another community note...the Belgrade Fire Department is hosting an event for the public on Saturday, October 7...read more here at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://rb.gy/7qkvb.

Here's senior Jordan Herickhoff after last Friday's win:


That video interview is also posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website plus other light coverage from Friday Night Lights IV: https://tinyurl.com/4m4t2f8b.

*Here's a third quarter video from last week when Owen Paulson ran in a two-point conversion that gave the Jaguars a 44-22 lead over A-C-GC:


U/SA is currently ranked No. 9 in the latest Class 1A state rankings, and they are 4-0 after defeating Browerville 36-14 last week. The Patriots racked up 232 rushing yards on the night with 141 yards on 16 carries coming from Carter Natvig. Their defense held the Tigers to 173 total yards, 151 on the ground and 22 in the air. U/SA's Jack Primus earned two interceptions. U/SA totaled 370 yards of offense with quarterback Frankie Meagher going 6-of-16 for 138 yards with two touchdowns. Primus was his top target with 4 catches for 127 yards.

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

At the end of the first quarter, we have a scoreless tie.

*The Patriots scored with 10:52 left in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead.

Halftime: U/SA 6, B-B-E 0. It was a truly crazy first half to take in.

After the third quarter was complete, the Jaguars are ahead 14-6. There is a threat of a storm rolling in and ending the game prematurely. We'll see how this goes. Check back in a NEW blog post to read how this game turns out!

THIS blog post is sponsored by the proud support of these locally-owned businesses:

Volleyball remains perfect in CMC play (UPDATES, VIDEOS!**)

It wasn't all pretty, but the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team came out on top in a 3-1 match at Eden Valley-Watkins tonight to stay undefeated in the Central Minnesota Conference. The Jaguars and Eagles are defending co-champions of the CMC. Last year, EV-W gave B-B-E our lone loss of the season by a 3-1 score in Brooten this same week, with both teams going 6-1 in the loop. Currently, EV-W falls to 3-15 overall and 0-4 in the CMC; they are really struggling this year and have won just 10 sets overall against 39 losses.

At EV-W tonight, the Jaguars hit at 18 and 25 percent across the first and second games. That figure dropped to just 8 percent in the third set loss. Overall, the Jaguars had a 20.6 percent hitting figure and were led by Brooklyn Fischer's career-high 28 kills.

NEXT: the Jaguars (14-4) host Hancock (5-12) in a sub-section match-up next Tuesday, October 3 as part of Homecoming week. The Homecoming royal court will be introduced prior to the varsity match.

In a rather stunning upset, Royalton lost by a 3-0 score tonight to Kimball Area to create a three-way tie for second place. The Royals (13-8, 3-1) are tied for second in the CMC with Paynesville Area (15-3) and Kimball Area (12-7). This puts our Jaguars in the driver's seat of the conference as they are now 4-0 in the loop.

And a scheduling note...the Homecoming coronation next week is at 7 p.m. at Olson Auditorium, not 7:30 p.m.

Another community note...the Belgrade Fire Department is hosting an event for the public on Saturday, October 7...read more here at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://rb.gy/7qkvb.

In their Cancer Night match and final regular season contest, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team fell 7-0 to MACCRAY tonight in Belgrade. They now gear up for the Section 6A playoffs, which opens with the quarterfinal round next Thursday, October 5 at the high seeds. I predict that the Jaguars will earn the No. 6 seed and travel to New London-Spicer for the opening round.

**Here's a video from the end of game two at K-M-S on September 18:


Central Minnesota Conference volleyball scores on September 28:
Kimball Area 3, Royalton 0 (Cubs have lost just one match since September 14, when our Jaguars won 3-1 at Kimball)
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 3, Maple Lake 1
Paynesville Area 3, Holdingford 0

About Friday's game at Swanville...bring a rain jacket! Or umbrella, or both! It may start raining right at halftime. Also, Brady with Smooth Magic 107 FM will be broadcasting the game!! Spread the word! I'll get a football post added around 5 p.m. before departing for Morrison County. The radio station also streams on their website: https://www.kmgk1071.com. THANKS, BRADY!

**Here's a post-game interview with senior Jordan Herickhoff after last Friday's football game:


That video interview is also posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://tinyurl.com/4m4t2f8b.

Area volleyball scores on September 28:
Browerville 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
BOLD 3, Minnewewaska Area 1
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 0
Melrose Area 3, Benson 0
Annandale 3, New London-Spicer 1
Yellow Medicine East 3, Ortonville 2
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 3, Ashby 0
Swanville 3, Upsala 0
Hancock 3, Rothsay 0
Underwood 3, Brandon-Evansville 2
Battle Lake 3, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 1
Minneota 3, Canby 1
Breckenridge 3, Barnesville 0
Renville County West 3, Lac qui Parle Valley 0
Sebeka 3, Verndale 1
Wadena-Deer Creek 3, Henning 0
West Central Area 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3, Central MN Christian 1

Girls' tennis cancer night (VIDEOS)

Today we have a big event on deck with the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team hosting MACCRAY on cancer night. The team lineup will be introduced at about 3:45 p.m. All of us in Jaguar Country are rallying behind B-B-E Class of 2006 graduate Tiffany Breitbach, who is undergoing breast cancer treatments. She has coached volleyball at various levels as well as junior high fastpitch softball.

And an update later in the evening...MACCRAY is the alma mater for girls' tennis head coach Katie Hanna. It was truly, truly wonderful to see the MACCRAY tennis players wearing the same Cancer Night tshirts that Jaguar fans and players were wearing. Through Coach Hanna's connections at MACCRAY, they also ordered the same shirts. That was a really, really terrific gesture by MACCRAY. Such outstanding sportsmanship of the highest level.

Let's start praying for good weather for sure next Wednesday, October 4!!! The forecast does not look good right now for the B-B-E Color Fund Run. Currently the forecast calls for a high of 63 degrees with 50 percent chance of rain and wind between 10 and 20 miles an hour.

Here's Presley Detloff battling in one of her Prairie Conference tournament matches held one week ago in Osakis:


Presley Detloff is the lone senior on this year's tennis team. She is a remarkably dedicated three-sport student athlete at B-B-E. You can read more about her in this week's newspaper, where the Bonanza Valley Voice has the first Jaguar Spotlight of the 2023-2024 school year.

Also tonight...the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team gets back into Central Minnesota Conference play with a road trip to Eden Valley-Watkins. All three varsity-level squads (A, B, C teams) attended the tennis team's cancer night in a show of solidarity along with all grades 9-12 football players. It was one of the most impressive sights I have seen in over 20 years of sports reporting. I could not be prouder.

Here's a video from last Friday night in the third quarter of Friday Night Lights IV!


B-B-E's second half defense that night is what they will need across all four quarters of tomorrow night's game in Swanville. U/SA is currently ranked No. 9 in the latest Class 1A state rankings, and they are 4-0 after defeating Browerville 36-14 last week. The Patriots racked up 232 rushing yards on the night with 141 yards on 16 carries coming from Carter Natvig. Their defense held the Tigers to 173 total yards, 151 on the ground and 22 in the air. U/SA's Jack Primus earned two interceptions. U/SA totaled 370 yards of offense with quarterback Frankie Meagher going 6-of-16 for 138 yards with two touchdowns. Primus was his top target with 4 catches for 127 yards.

I'll get more posted on this blog post and also a new blog post to follow after the volleyball match has concluded at EV-W high school. I've been getting a few more fall sports albums added to the Bonanza Valley Voice SmugMug photo gallery. You can find that by clicking here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Fall-Sports-2023.

This blog post is a wrap shortly after 9 o'clock tonight. What you see is what you get. A new post is coming that features more tennis notes plus volleyball.

Getting caught up...in the garden

As I move the newspaper operations out of triage and crisis mode back towards a more normal pace, I'm bogged down tonight in the garden. We're reaping what we sowed, and that means we have a lot of fruits and vegetables to harvest! Life is good.

Here's a glimpse of an evening getaway my wife and I had a little over a month ago. It seems so long ago...this was recorded at The Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park on August 16.

VIDEO


Progress with fall harvest! We froze about 10 pounds of tomatoes/green peppers tonight. In minivan news...our 2013 Chrysler minivan was delivered to Hofmann Transmission earlier today. It will now be in the perfectly skilled hands of Scott Voss and his staff. I look forward to getting it back on the road!!! Our fingers are crossed that it will be available once November playoffs are heating up for volleyball and football...time will tell!

Church dinner day...and football notes

Today there's a big change of pace ahead with two church dinners on deck...the first begins at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church of Norway Lake, where they'll be serving a meatball dinner. The other is a turkey dinner at Chippewa Falls Lutheran that begins at 11 a.m. in beautiful Terrace. I won't be able to get down to Norway Lake, but I am going to Terrace. My morning has been occupied by going to church worship and still combing over my Friday Night Lights IV game notes.

Take this in: B-B-E's first three drives encompassed 10 plays for a total of 210 yards that put them ahead 20-6 with just under 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter. For A-C-GC, their first scoring drive on their third overall possession covered 90 yards before they scored on Jevon Williams' 7-yard run with 2:11 left in the opening quarter. That drive used 6 plays, its biggest coming on a 44-yard run by tight end Isaiah Renne that put the Falcons at the 7-yard line.

Overall in the first half, the Jaguars totaled 268 yards of offense on 19 total plays across 6 drives to score 28 offensive points. Of the 268 yards, 127 yards came on 11 carries, and 141 yards came on 8 catches. Although they trailed 36-22 at halftime, the Falcons totaled 270 yards of offense on 31 plays to score 22 offensive points.

After a full review of my notes and Hudl game tape, my totals show the Jaguar gaining 424 yards of offense, while A-C-GC had 404 yards of offense. The Jaguars had 35 plays to 58 by the Falcons. For B-B-E's offense, the yardage was a total split with 212 yards on the ground and 212 in the air. Crazy. In the second half, A-C-GC had 140 yards of offense...but no points scored.

UPDATE on Sunday night...I will not be blogging for at least a couple days. Likely not until Wednesday night. My plate just got beyond full, and I have to micromanage my time going into this week. I'm still determining exactly what went wrong, but it appears that our family's 2013 Chrysler minivan has a completely hatched transmission. This is after its undercarriage was "roughed up" by a softball-size rock. The rock was driven over at highway speed on a county road north of Paynesville on Friday. I think it caused a slow leak of transmission fluid which was not discovered until today...when it was too late. The damage was done. Somehow the transmission lost a ton of fluid this weekend. This minivan's transmission has a capacity of about 9 quarts, and by my estimation it was at least 3 quarts low. Our family is now facing a true hardship. This has been difficult to wrap my head around. It was a freak accident to have this rock damage the transmission, and I have to simply be glad that it didn't cause an actual car accident. Tomorrow I'll be getting a tow truck on the road and also making a visit with Scott Voss at Hofmann Transmission. Looks like he's got more business lined up! I am thankful he's in our Brooten community.

Sports update...
**The volleyball team won 25-16, 25-22, 26-24 at Parkers Prairie tonight. They're now 13-4 overall. Next on the schedule for the Jaguars is a trip to Eden Valley-Watkins this Thursday for a Central Minnesota Conference match. The two teams shared the CMC title last year.

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

Here's a video from the second quarter tonight:


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's GAME DAY in Jaguar Country! Bring on the Falcons!

Tonight is another big game for our B-B-E Jaguars football team!! The Jaguars will take on the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons in their second straight home game and fourth overall this season. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., and I am not aware of any radio coverage tonight. This is the first time ever that a Jaguar football team will take a 3-0 record into game night! It is terribly exciting!!!

A-C-GC sits in fourth place in the Section 4A standings with a 1-2 overall record. They average 18 points per game and give up an average of 24.7 points per game. Jevon Williams is once again their feature ball carrier.

*Here's a video from the second quarter last week...


More to come. Time to pack up the Buick!

GAME UPDATES...to come!
With 2 minutes to go in the first quarter, the Jaguars have a 12 to 6 lead.

*Late in the second quarter, the Jaguars are ahead 28 to 22.

SECOND HALF...
At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Jaguars have a 44 to 22 lead.

Hit refresh on the blog to see a new blog post for Friday Night Lights IV!

Volleyball Jaguars maintain first in CMC, tennis shines at Osakis

Playing at a much better pace tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team came home with a 3-0 sweep from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. Game scores were 25-19, 25-10, 25-17. This win, coupled with Paynesville Area's loss at Royalton tonight, keeps the Jaguars in first place in what is now a two-way tie for first place with Royalton at 3-0 each. The Bulldogs are 2-1 in the CMC in third place and tied with Kimball Area. Paynesville Area (11-3 overall) fell behind 2-0 in sets before evening it up at two apiece. The Royals (12-7 overall) cruised to a 15-8 win in game five.

The Bulldogs have a big sub-section match next Monday at home against bordering rival New London-Spicer.

Tonight at A-C-GC, the Jaguars hit at a 32 percent clip and were led by 22 kills (39 percent) from senior Brooklyn Fischer and 12 (30 percent) by sophomore Kacey Fischer. Overall, the Jaguars hammered out 113 attacks and had just 11 hitting errors. At the service line, they missed just 3 of 73 serves while racking up 6 ace serves.

Next: the Jaguars (12-4 overall) travel to Parkers Prairie for a tough sub-section battle with the Panthers next Monday, September 26. Parkers Prairie just lost 3-0 to Underwood tonight against one of the top teams in Sub-Section 6A-North. B-B-E's trip to Parkers Prairie next Monday will likely be their toughest best-of-five match during this lengthy road swing. They will have gone from September 7 through October 3 without a home match. So far, so good! A-C-GC falls to 4-11 overall.

Breaking news! The No. 3 doubles team of Arlee Tensen and Grace Berndt took second place at the Prairie Conference tournament today in Osakis. Great job!

Prairie Conference girls' tennis results at Osakis on September 21:
No. 1 doubles: Andrea Douvier and Ellan Fischer, third place.
No. 2 doubles: Jocelyn Commerford and Skylar Knight-Deweerd, third place
No. 3 doubles: Arlee Tensen and Grace Berndt, second place
No. 1 singles: Presley Detloff, third place
No. 3 singles: Izzy Graham, third place

Central Minnesota Conference volleyball scores on September 21:
Royalton 3, Paynesville Area 2 (Bulldogs fall to third place in the CMC)
Maple Lake 3, Holdingford 0
Kimball Area 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 1

Area volleyball scores on September 21:
Minnewaska Area 3, Benson 0
BOLD 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0
Melrose Area 3, Montevideo 0
Watertown-Mayer 3, New London-Spicer 2 (Wildcats lose game five by a 15-12 score)
Minneota 3, Renville County West 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3, Yellow Medicine East 0
Dawson-Boyd 3, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 1
Canby 3, Lac qui Parle Valley 0

Here's a video from Jerry VanderBeek's funeral last Saturday in Glenwood:


Jerry VanderBeek, a farmer in Bangor Township west of Brooten, was a dear friend to me. He and his family are wonderful people. His obituary was published in the September 14 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. I will repost that video again either on this blog or on the newspaper's website.

More to come late Friday afternoon with a new blog post that gets us pointed towards the football game! I hope you can attend in person!!

Today is an interesting day! And...tennis (VIDEO)

Today is a very intriguing day in the Bonanza Valley area. We are very likely experiencing our last day above 80 degrees until next spring! It could be May of 2024 before we get as warm as we will today. The high is predicted to top out at about 83 degrees. Tomorrow they backed off the high from 79 degrees down to 76 degrees. Then it appears the heat really backs off as the fall becomes much more fall-like.

Thursday morning...I made the short trek north to Osakis high school. It is brutal to drive on $4 a gallon gas...absolutely brutal. This economy is absolutely terrible right now, but I have to keep my hopes up. I am excited to cover part of the Prairie Conference girls' tennis tournament. Stay tuned for updates!

Update from Osakis: B-B-E's No. 3 doubles team of Arlee Tensen and Grace Berndt will play for a Prairie Conference title this afternoon. They won their semifinal match 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) against a dubs team from Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area. Overall, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team performed well throughout the morning.

Here's video from No. 3 doubles today in Osakis:


The No. 3 doubles squad of Arlee Tensen and Grace Berndt trailed 3-2 in the second set before winning two straight points to go up 4-3. They fell into a 6-6 tie to force a set tiebreaker, which they won by a 7-2 score to advance to their bracket's championship match. A more complete set of results will be posted in a new blog post tonight that will also feature volleyball results from Grove City.

Later today I am quite excited for the Brooten Farmer's Market! If you haven't stopped by there yet this season, please do so! It lasts from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Brooten city park. Come one, come all!

Harvesting solar energy...and updates (VIDEOS)

Today we continue harvesting some tremendous solar energy across the Bonanza Valley area and beyond. That's basically tying up all my free time right now. In our family garden, we are very busy pruning tomatoes and tending to a few other vegetables that are still going strong. The heat units are plentiful, which is something we are grateful for.

We are expecting a high of 85 degrees today!!! At Weather-Dot-Com, it says are at 82 degrees now in the middle of the afternoon in Brooten.

So! Go outside and enjoy that sunshine!!!

Tomorrow the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team competes in the Prairie Conference tournament. If memory serves me correct, this is an event that is being brought back after it was pulled during the 2020 COVID season. This is great news!! It is a tourament that I feel the Jaguars can shine in. Action begins at 9 a.m. at Osakis high school with five teams, including the host school, B-B-E, St. John's Prep, Parkers Prairie and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area. I am hopeful that The Voice will cover it in person.

Videos added late Wednesday night...

Here's a video featuring B-B-E's fourth touchdown of the game against Benson in the home opener last Friday:


The Jaguars led 28-3 after that touchdown on Luke Illies's reception in the end zone from Luke Dingmann.

Here's a video from late in the second quarter against Benson:


Time to get to practicing my trumpet for our pep band's second performance of the fall! It's less than 48 hours away!!!