Friday Night Lights V: late safety tips scales to the Irish (VIDEOS)

Saturday morning update: sports blogging has been PAUSED for a good portion of today. Game updates from Friday Night Lights V will resume later in the day. Currently, I have been in contact with a Wayzata football mom as well as journalist Lou Raguse, who have been filling me in on multiple need-to-know matters on Eden Prairie football. This will be part of a story I'm writing regarding the Somali gang-related gun violence that erupted at the Eden Prairie Homecoming football game. This was located just FOURTY-FOUR MILES from the Maple Lake stadium. What on earth is happening in Minnesota?

For a game that had just one lead change, it was not for the faint of heart. Punch after punch after punch, the B-B-E Jaguars football team took what was dished out and didn't back down from the fight on their hands at Maple Lake's Homecoming. 

Trailing 7-6 with inside 6 minutes left in the game, Maple Lake was held to 4th and 3 on B-B-E's 45 yard line. They elected to punt, and they got what was an absolutely perfect punt that rolled to the one-yard line.

On B-B-E's first play from scrimmage, Aiden Mueller corralled a high snap and attempted valiantly to bull his way out of the end zone.  He was tackled just inside the goal line, however, giving the Irish a safety to pull ahead 8-7.

Fast forward to the final minute of the game, the Jaguars made a defensive stop just outside the red zone to keep their chances alive. Maple Lake was attempting to put the game away, but they were stopped on 4th-and-15 at B-B-E's 26-yard line with 19 seconds to go.

On the first play from scrimmage, Noah DeRoo hauled in an incredible, deep pass for a 67-yard gain. Unfortunately, a Maple Lake player was able to tackle him just outside the endzone. With 4 seconds left, Aiden Mueller spiked the ball to stop the clock once the down marker was set up.

B-B-E's field goal unit lined up, and the kick had enough height and distance but fell wide right.

Final: Maple Lake 8, B-B-E 7.

Tear your heart out! That was a tough loss. One of the toughest losses to swallow. 

I don't know much, but I know this: you can search all over the state of Minnesota, and you will not find a team with bigger hearts than our Jaguars.

With 4:38 left in the first quarter, Austin Berge caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. A successful PAT kick made it a 7-0 lead.

With 3:40 left in the second quarter, Maple Lake scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars stuffed the two-point run and led 7-6 at halftime. 

Here's a video featuring the second-to-last play of the game:


The video begins right after the Jaguars made that big defensive stop in the final 30 seconds of the game. The video ends right after unrelenting pandemonium gripped the stadium with DeRoo's catch changing the complexion of the game.

Here's a video featuring the last play of the game:


The field goal attempt took place with 4 seconds on the clock.

Some light game statistics:
The Jaguars were in no way outplayed by the bigger, deeper Maple Lake team. By my count, the Maple Lake roster featured 44 players and 8 seniors. B-B-E gained 275 yards of offense against 189 by the Irish.

Defensively, the Jaguars had a season-high 7 tackles for a loss. Earning one quarterback sack each were Tyler Myers and Mason Douvier.

Ultimately, penalties may have been somewhat of a factor in the loss. Just like Browerville hurt themselves last week against our Jaguars, this week, the Jaguars did themselves no favors with a few key penalties. Penalties especially hurt them in the second half. You have to give credit to Maple Lake. They were outplayed at numerous junctions of the game, but they had players make the exact necessary plays needed to come out with a win.

What's next...
With no time to lick their wounds, the Jaguars (3-2, 2-2) now have to prepare for a loaded-for-bear Benson Braves team that trounced West Central Area tonight 36-8 in Barrett. It was somewhat of a statement win by Benson, who trampled Maple Lake last week at Benson's Homecoming 44-6. With tonight's win over WCA, Benson pulls second place alone in the Mid-Northwest Gold District. The Braves are on a three-game winning streak.

Currently, B-B-E sits in a four-way tie for third place in the district along with WCA, Maple Lake and Ashby/Brandon-Evansville. Incredibly, with just a 22-man roster (22 if everyone is healthy)...the Jaguars currently have the second-best rated defense in the district. Through 5 games, they are giving up just 15.2 points per game.

In another district game tonight, Upsala/Swanville Area ran roughshot over Browerville. Late in the game, the Patriots had a 42-8 lead.

Mid-Northwest Gold District football Week 5 football scores on October 2:
Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 50, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 16 (this game was played in Brandon)
Upsala/Swanville Area 42, Browerville 8 (at Swanville)
Benson 36, West Central Area 8 (at Barrett)

Area Week 5 football scores on October 2:
Paynesville Area 35, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 6 (the Bulldogs win on Homecoming night in a border battle with the Falcons)
Albany 28, Milaca 12
Osakis 34, Sauk Centre 13
New London-Spicer 35, Montevideo 6
Kimball Area 30, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Minneota 57, MACCRAY 0
Willmar 28, Hutchinson 7
Hancock 34, Underwood 6
Parkers Prairie 33, Frazee 6
Dassel-Cokato 40, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 25
Holdingford 24, Minnewaska Area 7

GAME NIGHT! In Wright County (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars football team prepared all week for a brawny, run-happy Maple Lake Irish squad. The Irish are smarting, and they are hosting Homecoming against our Jaguars. Last week's 46-6 loss at Benson did not sit right for Maple Lake, so they have something to prove tonight. The Jaguars have a tall task ahead of them!

After an 0-2 start to their season, Maple Lake won 40-0 at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle. In their Mid-Northwest Gold District opener in Week Two, the Irish lost a wild battle 36-28 in overtime to visiting Ashby/Brandon-Evansville.

Last season! Maple Lake spoiled our Homecoming with a 14-12 win. The Jaguars are looking for payback.

Kickoff at Irish Stadium is at 7 p.m. tonight.

Here, you can take in the final minutes of the second quarter at Browerville last week:


Updates will follow on this blog post. Hopefully by halftime! Stay tuned.

**HALFTIME: B-B-E 7, Maple Lake 6. This game is a battle royale. The Jaguars scored first with 4:38 left in the first quarter. 

The second half is starting at 20:25.

*The Jaguars took that 7-6 lead into the 4th quarter. 

Refresh to see a new blog post with the final score...Friday Night Lights V.

The Jaguars played their hearts out like I have never seen. 

I will never forget this game.

This blog post has concluded.

Tennis Jaguars fall in terrific match at MACCRAY (VIDEOS); Volleyball stung in 5th set at EV-W

I'm a little late in finally posting here after making the trek south to MACCRAY high school in Clara City tonight. Finally, after 9 p.m., I'm back in the saddle at the home office. Earlier today, I made the choice to pass on the drive east to Eden Valley-Watkins for volleyball. I took the easier path by driving to Subway in Clara City for supper with the tennis team and then an easy country drive home through Sunburg. When I got the volleyball box score, my heart sank! (More on that below.)

In a non-conference match to conclude the regular season, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team faced MACCRAY/Renville County West on the road in Clara City. The Wolverines have a varsity lineup that includes 4 seniors and 4 juniors. This compares to B-B-E's varsity lineup that has just one senior and one junior. Knowing they had a battle on their hands, the Jaguars fought with a mighty hand and pushed MACCRAY/RCW at numerous points at both singles and doubles play. With No. 1 doubles and No. 4 singles both going into third-set tiebreakers, everything broke towards the home team down the stretch as MACCRAY/RCW earned a 7-0 win.

Here's a video featuring action at No. 1 doubles today:


I'm not sure why, but I started the video saying it was No. 1 singles. That's a pretty wild mistake to make when you're watching a doubles match of tennis. Yikes!

I don't have the full set of scores from all 7 points tonight. I have notes from some of the matches from each of their sets. Losing in third-set tiebreakers were Jena Borgerding at 4-singles and Olive Olson/Kwynn Quade at 1-doubles.

Here's another video featuring action at one doubles and also two doubles tonight:


It was exciting to see Layla Tensen playing at No. 3 doubles in her second varsity action of the fall. She is one of three seventh graders who joined the team and basically saved them from ruin. The team will dramatically increase recruiting efforts in the offseason with a major goal of surpassing a turnout of 15+ for the 2027 season.

Playoffs begin for the girls' tennis team next week. That schedule won't be posted until Monday morning.

Regardless of how this fall's tennis season ends up with playoffs next week, this year's team has been far and away the youngest girls' tennis team to exist since the program was founded by the late Kay Mohr in the fall of 1992. Of the varsity line up, 9 of the 10 players will return next year. In fact, the team is so young that 8 of the existing 10 varsity players will be back two seasons from now! There's a bright future ahead for the team.

And for volleyball news...a tough night...
In a key Central Minnesota Conference match at Eden Valley-Watkins tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team put their 3-0 CMC record on the line but came up just short in the end while losing to the Eagles 3-2. This loss sends the Jaguars (8-7) into a tie for first place with EV-W (11-6) and perhaps other teams depending on how their matches went tonight.

In the loss, the Jaguars blew a 2-1 set lead. After winning easily 25-14 in game three, the Jaguars suffered a 25-19 game four loss. In the fifth set, the Eagles won 15-13.

Some light match statistics at EV-W:
Macey Roering had 20 kills to lead the Jaguars. Adding 17 kills was Laken Anderson, and Jaylee Jensen had 11 kills. McKinley Haider was 22-of-22 at the service line with 3 ace serves. B-B-E had outstanding 96 percent serving with 10 service aces. As a team, they had 19.7 percent hitting. In looking at the statistics, it's hard to see where the Jaguars faltered. However, on this night, EV-W got the breaks they needed to pull into a first-place tie.

Update: the tie in first place includes 3 teams. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City was in a tie for second place with a 2-1 record, but they lost 3-2 tonight at Maple Lake to fall into fourth place.

More to come. I have to hit the archives for some volleyball research. It has been a long time since B-B-E lost a CMC volleyball match. My recollection is that this occurred in the 2022 season against EV-W in a home match, when the Eagles won 3-1. I have to check the archives to see if I'm right.

One of the biggest problems with losing tonight to EV-W is that it hurts the Jaguars in their quest to earn the No. 1 seed in Section 6A. That very well could still take place, but the Jaguars are going to have to rattle off a crazy hot winning streak in order to pull that off.

Lo and behold! I was right. On September 22, 2022, the EV-W Eagles came to our house and won by a 3-1 margin. The Jaguars ultimately won a share of the CMC title with a 6-1 record and shared the title with EV-W. Paynesville Area and Kimball Area both finished in a tie for third place with 5-2 records. This decade, the Jaguars have lost just 2 matches in CMC play. Besides the 2022 loss to EV-W, the Jaguars also lost to Maple Lake during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

In a CMC match for their Homecoming week, the Paynesville Area Bulldogs defeated Kimball Area to put themselves in the first-place tie. As I see it, the first-place tie now includes B-B-E, EV-W and Paynesville. What this sets up is a huge, huge CMC showdown next Tuesday, October 6 in Paynesville. On that night, our Jaguars will have to fight with everything they have in order to stay in that first-place tie.

This was a RARE night where three of the four CMC matches all went the full distance of five sets. That is crazy! See the scoreboard below.

On Friday, October 2: the Belgrade Lions will host their fall fish fry fundraiser starting at 4:30 p.m. at The Spot on main street. They serve all-you-can-eat fish until 7:30 p.m.

Central Minnesota Conference volleyball scores on October 1:
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, B-B-E 2
Maple Lake 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 2 (Maple Lake won game five 15-11)
Royalton 3, Holdingford 2
Paynesville Area 3, Kimball Area 0

Area volleyball scores on October 1:
Minneota 3, MACCRAY 0
Marshall Area 3, Mayer Lutheran 1
Hancock 3, Ashby 0
Osakis 3, Upsala 0
Montevideo 3, West Central Area 2
Sauk Centre 3, BOLD 0
Jackson County Central 3, New London-Spicer 1 (game scores were 19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 23-25; this was the first loss of the season for the No. 3-ranked Class 2A Wildcats)

Jaguars sweep Owls

In back-to-back nights, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has formed a three-match winning streak. Tonight, at Hancock, the Jaguars utilized 27.5 percent hitting on their way to a 3-0 sweep over the Owls. The Jaguars had 6 service aces, two each by Kamie Fischer and Lydia Primus.

Laken Anderson had 8 kills, and Jaylee Jensen and McKinley Haider each had 7 kills.

B-B-E is now 8-6 overall going into this week's tough conference match at Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday, October 1. That's all I've got tonight. I have a big newspaper issue to finish, and I hope this week a software error won't butcher the sports section like it did last week.

Noteworthy: Browerville's football roster has 40 players on it. Their grades 9-12 enrollment is near identical to B-B-E. The Tigers have 12 seniors football players...while B-B-E has 2.

Coming on Thursday: the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team concludes the regular season with a non-conference match at MACCRAY in Clara City. The match starts at 4 p.m.

Area volleyball scores on September 29:
Henning 3, Battle Lake 2
Maple Lake 3, Braham 0
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 0
Albany 3, Little Falls 0
New London-Spicer 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1
Melrose Area 3, Royalton 2
Browerville 3, Benson 1 Holdingford 3, Pillager 0

It's been raining (basically) all day + volleyball updates

Around 9 a.m. today, I dumped our rain gauge at home. It showed that we received about 1/4 inch of rain this morning up to that point. Since then, however, it has continued raining. I'm interested to see what the guage says later this afternoon.

Schedule changes due to weather:
Today's Prairie Conference girls' tennis match at home against Parkers Prairie has been canceled due to the rain. As of 2:45 p.m., it is raining.

Also, the home cross country meet in Paynesville has been postponed to Thursday, October 1.

STILL taking place...indoor activities plus the junior high football game in Belgrade.

TONIGHT on KMGK 107.1 FM of Glenwood: the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team will be hunting down their third straight win. They are in Hancock tonight for a big Section 6A contest. The radio station website is https://www.kmgk1071.com.

UPDATES in Hancock:
With the score tied 16-16 in game three, Kamie Fischer earned a kill and later an ace serve to get the Jaguars ahead 19-16. With a 20-16 deficit, Hancock called a timeout.

To this point, the Jaguars have not trailed, but there's been at least 12 ties, according to Brady Erdmann. Teagan Dingmann's kill made it a 21-16 lead. Fischer then got her third ace serve of the night for a 22-16 lead. B-B-E's 10th service error of the night brought a side out, but Hancock then had their 6th service error of the night for a 23-17 score. Dingmann and Mya Worms earned an ace block on Hancock's 6'1" hitter to bring game and match point at 24-17. On Laken Anderson's serve, the Owls could not return the ball to cap a 25-17 win.

Hit refresh for a new blog post to see the final score.

B-B-E volleyball takes K-M-S in four sets (VIDEOS)

A scrappy and athletic Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints gave the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team all they wanted tonight in a non-conference border battle. As a battle-tested unit in the Camden Conference, K-M-S faced a 2-0 deficit in sets late in game two, when they trailed 24-22. They stormed back to claim a 27-25 win.

Here's a video featuring the end of game one tonight:


After hitting just 2.8 percent in game two, the Jaguars utilized 17.2 percent hitting in game three while winning 25-15.

Here's the end of game three tonight:


In the fourth set, the Jaguars steamrolled the Fighting Saints with 43 percent hitting and just one attack error while winning 25-11.

Laken Anderson led the Jaguars with 12 kills on powerful 37 percent hitting. Macey Roering added 9 kills on 24 attacks plus 12 digs. B-B-E had 94 percent serving with 22.8 percent hitting for the night.

With no time to rest, B-B-E (7-6) hits the road tomorrow for a huge Section 6A contest at Hancock. The Owls (11-6) were idle tonight. On Saturday, they went 2-2 at the Bertha-Hewitt Invitational. Hancock will be a formidable opponent, and they are gunning for a Top 5 seed for the playoffs. As of Tuesday morning, September 29, the Jaguars sit in third place in Section 6A, while Hancock is in seventh place. At the top, according to the QRF, is Underwood. Henning is in second, and Park Christian is in fourth.

K-M-S falls to 4-8 overall, but they are vastly better than their record shows. While not having generous height in their front line, they are very quick. They put up a fierce battle on numerous points tonight. In the current Section 3AA-North standings, they sit around the No. 5 position just behind Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.

Area volleyball scores on September 28:
Kimball Area 3, Rockford 1
Renville County West 3, Wabasso 0
Paynesville Area 3, Litchfield 1
Brandon-Evansville 3, Ashby 0
Park Christian 3, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 2
Rothsay 3, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 1
BOLD 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1

BORDER BATTLE! Jaguars vs. Fighting Saints

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is hosting Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight in a non-conference border battle. The Fighting Saints hold a 4-7 overall record, and they are 2-3 in the rugged Camden North Conference.

After the conclusion of the JV match, members of the varsity team presented Suicide Prevention Awareness Night. It was a touching, heartfelt moment to be a part of. All of Jaguar Country continues to mourn the loss of Levi Adrian, who passed away on September 24 a year ago. He was a member of the current senior class, the Class of 2027.

Tonight's match will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Thanks, Brady!

Here's game one action from last Thursday night:


First serve tonight should take place at about 7 p.m.

**After the Jaguars won game one, the Fighting Saints won a thriller by a 27-25 score in game two.

See a new blog post for the rest of the evening's action.

The sun came back! (VIDEOS)

The month has gotten wet and gloomy, but today, we see near full sunshine after 4 p.m. in Jaguar Country! I was going to get videos posted here and more updates, but instead, I encourage you to get outside! Take the Vikings game with you, if you can, on a device! Final score: Minnesota Vikings 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16. The Vikings are 3-0 to start the season, which no one saw coming.

And for some local news...
Between Thursday morning and today, the city of Brooten received a little over 3 inches of rain. The sunshine today was a welcome change!

One week ago, Turkey Fest in Swift Falls took place without rainfall. Organizers were grateful for that.

Here's a short video showing some of the activities of Turkey Fest on September 19:


More to come with updates on Monday morning.

Coming this weekend at Sunburg!
I don't always have time to do extra promotion of all local events, but here's one I wanted to give a shout out to for an event that was advertised on page 3 of last week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Hope Lutheran Church of Sunburg invites everyone to their Vintage Wedding fall bazaar on Saturday, October 3 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They have much to see on this day, and a great luncheon will be served simultaneously in their spacious fellowship hall. The Hope Lutheran bazaar includes a bakery shoppe (lefse and other Scandinavian goodies), garden produce, jams, jellies, salsa, freezer meals plus crafts, cards, napkins and a book sale. The quilt raffle takes place at 1 p.m. to conclude the event (winner need not be present). The luncheon includes 2 kinds of soup, ham and turkey sandwiches, macaroni salad, Rommegrot and a wide variety of homemade pies.

Speaking of sports...
On Monday night: the No. 11-ranked B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team will host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a non-conference border battle. It is also the team's Suicide Prevention Awareness Night. The Fighting Saints (4-7) will bring a young squad to town that has just 3 seniors.

I see that the B-B-E Jaguars football team currently sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Mid-Northwest Gold District standings. Also in second are Benson (2-2 overall) and West Central Area (2-2 overall). Both of those teams have won 2 straight games after starting the season 0-2.

As for B-B-E, halfway through the regular season, the Jaguars have the third-best defense in the district. They give up 17 points a game, and WCA has a 17-ppg defensive average. No. 4-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area has allowed 5.5 points per game. WCA does not meet U/SA until Week 8, when they travel to Swanville on Tuesday, October 20.

Here's a video featuring the final touchdown scored at Browerville last Friday:


That catch at the end by Noah DeRoo was exciting!

Friday Night Lights IV: B-B-E wins shootout at Browerville (VIDEOS* added)

A week after Browerville lost 14-8, they hosted Homecoming against our B-B-E Jaguars football team tonight at Jack Dressen Field. With something to prove, the Tigers played a strong first half and trailed 18-12 at halftime in a game where both teams entered the stadium with identical 2-1 records.

Final: B-B-E 41, Browerville 26. Penalties at inopportune times hampered the Tigers, who were soundly outplayed in the fourth quarter.

**This blog post is getting revamped with new game notes on Saturday morning and late morning. The area Week 4 scoreboard is also being reviewed and updated below.

Here's a video from B-B-E's 5th offensive series tonight:


The Jaguars started that fifth series of the game at the beginning of the third quarter on their own 40-yard line. The drive finished with Aiden Mueller's 19-yard touchdown carry with 8:45 left in the third quarter. Mueller ran in the two-point conversion that made it a 27-12 lead.

The teams traded touchdowns from that point forward.

Here's a video from the first half tonight:


More to come!

How the first half played out tonight
Browerville came out strong on the game's first series starting on their 35. After 6 plays, Browerville had 1st-and-10 at the B-B-E 28-yard line. On the next play, the running back lost the ball, and the fumble was recovered by Lance Radermacher with 7:56 left. The Jaguars, starting on their 27, then moved into Browerville territory. They stalled out on 4th-and-7 at the Browerville 41.

On Browerville's second possession, they scored on a 17-yard touchdown run with 10:44 left in the second quarter. A failed 2-point conversion left the score at 6-0.

A 47-second long scoring drive then took place, and the Jaguars needed just 3 plays to score from their own 46. On the second play, Noah DeRoo caught a 44-yard pass. With 9:59 left, quarterback Aiden Mueller ran in a 3-yard touchdown. The PAT kick was wide left for a 6-6 tie.

The Jaguars held Browerville and forced a punt. With 8:15 left in the second quarter, the Jaguars started their third series of the game on their 46. On the fourth play, Kaden Kollman caught a touchdown pass with 6:57 left. The extra points conversion failed, so the Jaguars had a 12-6 lead.

On the third play of Browerville's next drive, they scored on a 42-+-yard run. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, and the Jaguars were in a 12-12 tie with 6:06 left. 

B-B-E then began their 4th series of the game on their own 42. Mueller finished off that drive with a 29-yard touchdown carry. After a blocked PAT kick, with 4:04 left, the Jaguars led 18-12.

Browerville drove into B-B-E territory, but they ran out of time after having 1st-and-goal at B-B-E's 3-yard line with 14 seconds to go.

...AND! Here's how the first half ended tonight:


To conclude the second quarter, the Jaguars earned a quarterback sack with a huge loss of yards. In fact, the loss of yardage was so severe, the play ended deep in the backfield and out of the view of my videocamera. The Jaguars annihilated Browerville's front line. In reaction to that, Browerville's quarterback yanked his helmet from his head before play had stopped and began shouting in a fit of rage. No penalties were assessed.

Out of respect for the coaching staff of Browerville and not wanting the video to be clipped and used in a negative way against the Tigers and the player himself, I am not posting that part of the video. That moment began right as the above video clip stops. The quarterback made a mistake. Hopefully that won't happen again. The fact is the Tigers played incredibly hard from start to finish. The Jaguars had to put up their best effort of the season so far in order to come out with a win. This game sets them up well for the Week 5 road trip to Maple Lake.

This blog post will be updated again on Saturday morning.

And here's more second half notes from tonight's game:
As said above, B-B-E started the third quarter with possession and had a 60-yard scoring drive that used 6 plays. The drive also included a Browerville pass interference penalty that gave B-B-E first down at the Tigers' 13-yard line. Mueller finished it off with a quarterback carry while scoring from 19 yards out. He ran in the conversion carry for a 26-12 lead.

Browerville answered right away, and they got a boost by a huge kickoff return that gave them first down at their 40. They needed just 3 plays to go 60 yards. Browerville's No. 30 ran in a 50-yard touchdown with 7:12 on the third quarter clock. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 26-18.

Each team traded punts, and B-B-E then started their 7th possession of the game on Browerville's 38 with 3 minutes left. The Jaguars needed just 3 plays to cover the distance, and with 2:23 left, Mueller ran in a one-yard touchdown. Mauricio Hernandez-Valdiviezo's PAT kick sailed through the uprights to make it a 33-18 lead.

As the third quarter finished up, Browerville mounted a 70-yard scoring drive. They started the fourth quarter with 1st-and-15 (false start penalty to end Q3) at B-B-E's 39-yard line. The Tigers scored on a 41-yard touchdown catch in the endzone with 11:07 left. A successful two-point conversion made it a 33-26 game.

As it happened in the third quarter, both teams traded punts. B-B-E then started their 9th series of the game on their 30-yard line. On the first play of that series...this happened (Watch the video)

Here's exciting action in the fourth quarter:


Six plays after that big reception, the Jaguars scored on Lance Radermacher's 3-yard touchdown carry. Noah DeRoo caught the two-point conversion pass in the right flats to give the Jaguars a 42-26 lead with 3:21 left in the game.

In a classy move that I've seen many times from him, Coach Wayne "Ribsy" Petermeier provided word to the referees that he was subbing down to JV players to play out the game.

Some light game statistics:
B-B-E tallied a whopping season-high 389 yards of offense. They outgained Browerville by the smallest margin: one yard. B-B-E's goal-line stand in the final minute of the second quarter made a huge difference in gaining the upper hand in the game.

Aiden Mueller was 9-for-16 for 209 yards in passing with no interceptions. Mueller had 5 separate targets for his passes. The Jaguars had a powerful run game totaling 180 yards by four different ball carriers. Browerville racked up 304 rushing yards, and their quarterback had 84 passing yards.

Lance Radermacher had one fumble recovery.

NEXT: the Jaguars take their 3-1 record to Maple Lake as they continue the two-game road swing. They play at Irish Stadium on Friday, October 2. Maple Lake played at Benson tonight. I do not have a final score from that game. Last week, Maple Lake blasted Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40-0 in Long Prairie.

UPDATE: the Benson Braves hammered Maple Lake in a 46-6 Homecoming win to even their record at 2-2. The Irish fall to 1-3. Benson led 32-0 at halftime, and their defense made it tough on the Irish with sophomore Bentley Ascheman earning three interceptions. Maple Lake scored in the third quarter on a 32-yard pass from Jaxson Diebold to George Riviere.

Mid-Northwest Gold District Week 4 scores on September 25:
Upsala/Swanville Area 42, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
West Central Area 12, Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 8
Benson 46, Maple Lake 6

At Minnewaska Area tonight, the Melrose Area Dutchmen spoiled the Lakers' Homecoming with a wild 43-41 win. This improves the Dutchmen's record to 3-1 overall. The Lakers are 1-3. Melrose Area is the alma mater of B-B-E head coach Chris Moscho.

I want to also give a shout out to the Willmar Cardinals, who now have a 4-0 start to their season. The Cardinals won 28-7 at Blattner Stadium in Cold Spring tonight. Their community is suffering right now after a double homicide of two young men took place near Lakeland Broadcasting and the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds last Monday night. Please continue praying for their community.

Area football Week 4 scores on September 25:
Elk River 39, Alexandria 14
Parkers Prairie 56, Menahga 18
Frazee 33, New York Mills 14 (NYM falls to 0-4)
Lac qui Parle Valley 38, MACCRAY 16
Paynesville 36, BOLD 0
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 26, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6 (Fighting Saints falls to 0-4; the Falcons are 2-2)
Marshall 27, Hutchinson 13
Kimball Area 28, St. Cloud Cathedral 3
Border West 28, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 6
Redwood Valley 47, Eden Valley-Watkins 12 (EV-W falls to 1-3 overall; last season, EV-W won at Redwood Falls by a 46-34 score)
Osakis 12, Holdingford 7
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 28, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 18
Minneota 42, Lakeview 12
Litchfield 59, Montevideo 6
Royalton 14, Sauk Centre 6
Hancock 24, Ortonville 20
North Branch 12, Rock Ridge 6
Willmar 28, Rocori 7
Pierz 27, Albany 6
New London-Spicer 16, Dassel-Cokato 14
Renville County West 20, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 6
Rothsay 20, Underwood 0

GAME DAY! In Todd County

The B-B-E Jaguars football team is doing battle with the Tigers in a big district game in Browerville. Both teams enter the game with identical 2-1 overall records. 

With 6:06 left before halftime, the game is tied 12-12.

Halftime: B-B-E 18, Browerville 12. No one can make extra point conversions...yet.

The final score will be posted in a NEW blog post called Friday Night Lights IV.

Volleyball team takes over first place alone (VIDEOS!*)

After a dominant performance in the opening set tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team dispatched a gritty Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons squad in a 3-0 sweep. During the third set, senior setter/hitter Kamie Fischer surpassed 2,000 career set assists. On a pass from Laken Anderson, Fischer set to the left side for Macey Roering. Roering completed the 2,000-career-set-assist sequence with a kill that gave the Jaguars a 15-14 lead.

Coming into the match, Fischer needed 29 set assists to get to the 2,000 mark.

And here's the video! Featuring that exciting moment...


Both teams entered the match with 2-0 records in the Central Minnesota Conference. The win puts the Jaguars in first place alone in the CMC and evens their overall record at 6-6. A-C-GC falls to 7-9 overall. Next: the Jaguars host a border battle next Monday, Sept. 28 against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg.

Here's a video featuring the end of the match:


Backing up to earlier in the match...which lasted about 1 hour and 5 minutes...

After getting handled easily in game one, the Falcons came out with a much better block in game two and put up a fight. The Jaguars had leads of 10-8 and 13-11 in the middle of game two. Two straight A-C-GC points to make it 18-16 pushed B-B-E into a timeout. Late kills by Kamie Fischer and two by Laken Anderson brought game point. Fischer ended the set with an ace serve and a 25-20 win.

Here's a video from late in game two:


Game three was a back-and-forth affair after the Jaguars had an initial 4-1 lead. The Falcons cut it to 6-5 and then took an 8-7 lead on two straight Kenlie Blom ace serves. Jaylee Jensen's ace block put the Jaguars ahead 9-8. On the left side, Kelsie Blom had two straight kills that tied the score at 11-11. Teagan Dingmann's kill off of a block put the Jaguars ahead 13-12. A Falcons hitting error tied the set at 14-14, and Roering's kill on Fischer's 2,000th set assist made it a 15-14 lead. The Jaguars repelled a tough fight down the stretch, and Anderson hit back-to-back kills to finish the match with B-B-E winning 25-21.

For the night, the Jaguars had 21.7 percent hitting, which helped overcome a tough match at the service line, where they had 10 errors against just 4 ace serves. Laken Anderson led the Jaguars team with 10 kills, and Macey Roering throttled over 8 kills. The Falcons were led by 7 kills from senior Kenlie Blom, who also added 3 ace serves and 13 digs.

After the match, Kamie Fischer was part of countless pictures with teammates, friends and family. The team and coaches gathered with her for a photo before the rest of the pictures were taken. I had the distinct honor of being able to interview her after the match. I attempted to think of different questions than I've had in the past for volleyball interviews.

Here's Kamie Fischer in her post-match interview tonight:



In a big match to the west, Minnewaska Area won 3-2 against Sauk Centre. The Mainstreeters won game four 25-22 to force the tiebreaking set, but the Lakers overpowered them in a 15-5 win to remain undefeated.

Friday afternoon...
A light football story with a video has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEfootballvsUSA-9-18.

Central MN Conference volleyball scores on September 24:
Paynesville Area 3, Royalton 1
Maple Lake 3, Kimball Area 0
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Holdingford 0 (the Eagles are having a strong season and are now 10-6 overall)

Area volleyball scores on September 24:
Bertha-Hewitt 3, New York Mills 2
Henning 3, Verndale 2
Milaca 3, Albany 0
Swanville 3, LP-GE 1
New London-Spicer 3, Rockford 0
Ortonville 3, Yellow Medicine East 2
Renville County West 3, Lac qui Parle Valley 0
Osakis 3, Browerville 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 3, Brandon-Evansville 0
West Central Area 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1
Minnewaska Area 3, Sauk Centre 2 (the Lakers take control of the West Central Conference)
Upsala 3, Benson 1
Central MN Christian 3, Canby 0
Battle Lake 3, Parkers Prairie 0
Melrose 3, BOLD 1

Jaguars vs. Falcons

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is hosting A-C-GC tonight. The match is being aired on Smooth Magic 107.1 FM.

In game one, the Jaguars have an early 6-2 lead. Final: B-B-E 25, A-C-GC 15.

Hit refresh to read more in a new blog post!