Mainstreeters have edge in border battle

It was the Mainstreeters in four sets.

After a lackluster performance in the first two sets, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team found themselves in a position where they had to run the table to pick up a border battle win at Sauk Centre on Monday night.

Sauk Centre, a team loaded for bear with 8 seniors, won game one 25-15 and game two 25-13. In game three, the Jaguars had a much better start than they had in the first two sets and carried that momentum to a 25-22 win. They quickly fell into an 8-2 deficit in game four, and a late rally couldn't save them in a 25-18 loss.

Cool 9 percent hitting was a factor in the loss. Sauk Centre was tough to tip against, and attacks regularly needed to cut an angle through the blocks to find open spots in the corners. Junior outside Macey Roering led the Jaguars with a robust 15-kill performance on 12.8 percent hitting and a whopping 47 total attacks. The Jaguars managed 5 solo blocks, two each by seniors Kamie Fischer and Mya Worms.

No. 10-ranked (Coaches Association) B-B-E falls to 5-6 overall as they prepare for a home conference match with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Thursday this week.

The Mainstreeters move to 12-2 overall and are currently the No. 3-ranked team in a tough Section 6AA. In the state polls, Sauk Centre stands at No. 7 in Class 2A. They don't have a particularly tall lineup for a Class 2A school, but a large array of 5'9" and 5'10" hitters were able to mount an effective block. In the back row, they were tough as nails with scrappy defense that's typical of Jim Klaphake-coached teams.

MARK your calendars! Lions Fish Fry!
The Belgrade Lions invites everyone to their upcoming fish fry night at The Spot in downtown Belgrade. They will be serving all-you-can eat fish from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meal prices: $12 for adults and for kids ages 10 and under it's $7. Serving: fish, baked beans, potato salad, bread. A Lions meat raffle also takes place starting at 5 p.m., and the Lions fall raffle drawing will take place at 9 p.m. at the same location that night. Proceeds from this event will go towards the Belgrade city park bathroom and shelter project. This event was advertised in the September 17 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, and the ad will continue through these next two weeks leading up to the event.

On Tuesday night...
I have been severely distracted from getting the newspaper completed by news of a double-homicide at Rau Park in Willmar late last night. This is a location sitting between KWLM Radio (Lakeland Broadcasting) and the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds. My mind is blown! For the 2022 county fair, I parked our minivan right at this park. This news is insane. A third victim has initially survived being shot. The news is still unfolding...

Area volleyball scores on September 21:
New London-Spicer 3, Annandale 2 (the Wildcats survive a stiff Wright County West challenge from a Cardinals team that entered the match 6-6 overall; they are 14-0 overall)
Royalton 3, Osakis 0
Kimball Area 3, Maranatha Christian 0
Holdingford 3, Swanville 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 3, Lake Park-Audubon 1
Pine River-Backus 3, Sebeka 2
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1
Hancock 3, Dawson-Boyd 0
Paynesville Area 3, Benson 2 (Bulldogs are 8-6 overall)
Underwood 3, Barnesville 1

Mainsteeters have early advantage

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters have a 2-0 set lead tonight in the volleyball border battle. Game three is going much better in the early stages. 

The Jaguars won game three 25-22. Game 4 starts at 8:32 p.m.

In game four, Sauk Centre (11-2) has an early 8-2 lead.

Later, trailing 17-9, B-B-E called their last timeout. It has been a rough fourth set. Check a new blog post for the final score.

Week 3 football was tough (VIDEOS)

I have never seen a coaching staff get as much out of a team as I've seen this fall with the B-B-E Jaguars football team. It is truly remarkable where we sit after the first three weeks of the season. Yes, it's true that multiple difficult games are in front of the Jaguars. At this point, to hold a 2-1 record is a huge achievement!

For the Week 3 contest, the Jaguars hosted No. 4-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area. B-B-E's roster features 22 players, and two of them are on the injured reserve list. The Patriots have 48 on their roster, including 19 seniors.

It took at least an hour until the game was over before I sat down at Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten and took my first look at the Associated Press football state rankings. My! Oh my! Little did I know that after the first two weeks, the Jaguars were sitting in a tie for 11th place! Goodness! Meanwhile, U/SA was a Top 5 team.

POSTED on Monday afternoon:
The 9-11 tribute provided by Coach Goodwin before kickoff on Friday can be viewed by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: 911-tribute-football.

Also! The home girls' tennis meet with Yellow Medicine East is cancelled due to the weather.

Here's a video from the second quarter against U/SA:


Here's another second quarter video:


More to come after I review more game notes. Additional video is uploading.

How the second half played out against Upsala/Swanville Area...
With a 22-7 lead, the Patriots opened the third quarter with their 7th drive of the game while starting at their 37-yard line. On the first play, U/SA gained 12 yards. On the next play, with first down at their own 49, U/SA ran for one yard with B-B-E's Aiden Mueller earning a solo tackle. The Jaguar defense did the same thing on the next play, bringing a 3rd-and-8 try. U/SA quarterback William Schafer had a 4-yard run. At B-B-E's 45, the Patriots converted a 4th-and-4 try. A 13-yard run came next, with Austin Berge making a touchdown-saving tackle at the 18. On the next play, Baron Breitbach and Noah DeRoo earned assisted tackles with a one-yard loss. B-B-E's defense held and stopped U/SA on 4th down at the 10-yard line. With 6:49 left in the third quarter, the Jaguars had the ball.

B-B-E's drive gained 4 yards on 3 plays, and they punted with 5:20 left. This gave U/SA the ball at B-B-E's 46. The Patriots had more momentum at this point than when the 3rd quarter started, and they got a 21-yard reception on the first play. Three run plays followed that gave U/SA first down at B-B-E's 13. At about the 3:40 mark, Mason Douvier came up with an interception, which he returned to B-B-E's 20. After three straight incomplete passes, however, the Jaguars punted with 3:26 left.

U/SA's ninth possession of the game started on their 47. Shafer had back-to-back quarterback runs, the first for 7 yards and the next with no gain. On 3rd-and-3, U/SA's junior running back Dalton Welinski had a 5-yard run. The 4th play of the drive was on 1st-and-10 at B-B-E's 41. Senior running back Carson Primus ran for 13 yards. With 28 yards to go, the Patriots had to battle both a penalty bug and a toughening Jaguar defense. A total of 7 plays and 2 penalties later, U/SA scored on a 4-yard run by Primus with 11:34 left in the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion was stuffed, making it a 28-7 score.

B-B-E's 9th drive of the game was set up by a nice kickoff return by Douvier to the 43-yard line. A 15-yard catch by Grayson Rooney converted 3rd-and-9 to advance the Jaguars to U/SA's 41. A 2-yard run by Noah DeRoo plus two U/SA penalties advanced the Jaguars to the 12-yard line. On 2nd down, Berge hauled in a 7-yard catch. Two plays later, the Jaguars turned the ball over on downs at the 5-yard line.

The final minutes of the 4th quarter saw U/SA attempting to march downfield. They faced a Jaguar defense determined to keep them from scoring again. At the 5-minute mark, Welinski's 11-yard run advanced the Patriots to their own 42. Later, with just over a minute to go, the Patriots took a knee in a classy move to wind out the game.

In volleyball news...
Tonight, I glanced at the latest QRF rankings in Class 1A. Our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has climbed from No. 6 in the Section 6A standings to No. 3 out of 20 teams. On the QRF scale, they are rated 29th out of 145 teams. Sitting far above them in the section rankings are Underwood (8th in the state rankings) and Henning (19th in the rankings). B-B-E's firepower will be put to a major test tomorrow, when the Jaguars travel the short trip north to face Highway 71 rival Sauk Centre. The Mainstreeters are having a terrific season and are currently 11-2 overall while on an 8-match winning streak.

Friday Night Lights III: Jaguars give Patriots all they wanted, rain doesn't help, in first loss of season

In one of the most memorable games played on the home field, the B-B-E Jaguars football team dished out everything they had - and more - in a 28-7 loss to No. 4-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area. Both teams entered the game with 2-0 records. Something had to give. This was a night where the Jaguars were badly outmanned, but that did not faze them.

B-B-E led 7-0 after their second possession of the game. That was short-lived, however, with U/SA scoring on their next series on a 42-yard touchdown carry. Their conversion was good for an 8-7 lead. They scored one more time in the first quarter to take a 16-7 lead.

To get that initial touchdown, the Jaguars were outstanding on their first defensive series. The Patriots gained 7 yards on 3 plays and had to punt with 8:35 left in the first quarter. On the punt, Tyler Myers blew through the line and blocked the ball. It brougth a resounding thud sound as the ball bounced off of his pads. Boom! With 8:28 left, the Jaguars had first down on U/SA's 30-yard line.

Two incomplete passes and one rushing play for no yards brought 4th-and-10. On that play, Noah DeRoo hauled in a touchdown in the endzone. With 7:40 left, the Jaguars lined up for the PAT kick. That kick sailed straight through the uprights! B-B-E 7, U/SA 0.

On the next series of the game, U/SA had the ball for their second possession. That drive started on their 40-yard line. They used 6 plays to get to 4th-and-1. On the next play, Cal Leners ran for a 41-yard touchdown carry. He also ran in the conversion play, and with 5:24 left, the Patriots held an 8-7 lead.

U/SA then scored on their third possession of the game on a 48-yard drive. On a 7-yard touchdown carry, the Patriots led 16-7 with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Patriots did not score on their fourth and fifth possession. On their sixth possession, U/SA scored on a 32-yard drive after recovering a B-B-E lost fumble with the drive finished off by a 10-yard carry. The conversion was stopped short, and with 49 seconds left, they led 22-7.

A breakdown of the second half of the football game will be posted in a NEW blog post.

More to come. Additional video is uploading.

A few other football notes...
In the September 16 Associated Press state rankings, U/SA was ranked No. 4 in Class 1A. Their team features 19 seniors. Meanwhile, B-B-E had just 20 total players dressed and in uniform for the game. Two players remain on the injured reserve list.

Let that sink in! A team with 19 seniors and a roster with 48 players...against a team with just 2 seniors and 20 total players. On paper, was this going to be a game? No, it was not.

Here's a video from the first quarter tonight:


The Jaguars trailed 22-7 at halftime. On the final play of the first half, Aiden Mueller was stopped one yard short of the end zone. Had he gotten in, the Jaguars may have trailed either 22-15 or 22-13 at that point. Those first two quarters were wild.

The Patriots were only able to score one more time in the second half. You really can't say enough about the effort given by B-B-E's players. They were warriors to the end.

TOO GOOD not to share: after the postgame handshakes took place, both football teams gathered at midfield to pray. An unnamed U/SA player stood in the center of the circle of kneeling players to lead the prayer. It was heartwarming.

Some game statistics: U/SA totaled 489 offensive yards. Of that total, 462 yards came on the ground. The Patriots had 25 first downs compared to 8 by the Jaguars. U/SA was 7-of-14 on third down conversions and 3-of-4 on fourth down tries.

Mid-Northwest Gold District Week III scores on September 18:
West Central Area 14, Browerville 8
Benson 30, Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 14
Maple Lake 40, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0

Area Week III football scores on September 18:
Pierz 60, Minnewaska Area 0
Sauk Centre 34, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 21
Royalton 30, St. Cloud Apollo 8
Rothsay 34, Ortonville 12
Albany 41, Melrose Area 16
Willmar 27, Marshall 14
Glencoe-Silver Lake 31, Montevideo 22
MACCRAY 27, Yellow Medicine East 0
St. Cloud Cathedral 7, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Parkers Prairie 42, New York Mills 8
Minneota 65, Canby 14

Game night at HOME! It will be a Mud Bowl

An early-season Mud Bowl is soon underway on the home gridiron, as the B-B-E Jaguars football team puts their 2-0 record up against the Upsala/Swanville Area Patriots, who are also 2-0. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. It is STILL raining as of 6:30 p.m., although it is lightening up. My home rain gauge is past 1.5 inches for the day.

Game updates to follow...probably not until halftime.

The Jaguars led 7-0 in the first quarter.

At halftime, U/SA is ahead 22-7.

*Hit refresh to see the final score.

Time to head to Lucky Shots in Brooten! The local Lutheran youth group is sponsoring an event there.

Girls' tennis does battle at conference tournament, volleyball sweeps Huskers (VIDEOS)

The B-B-E Jaguars girl's tennis team traveled to the massive 10-court complex at Osakis high school today for the Prairie Conference tournament. At No. 1 doubles, Hannah Wurm and Harper Herickhoff played the match of their life in their tournament opener. After holding leads of 3-2 and 4-3 in the first set, they suffered a tough 7-5 loss. In the second set, they came on strong after holding early leads of 2-1 and 3-2 to win convincingly by a 6-2 score and force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, a Pro 10 set, the game was a neck-and-neck all the way to the end. The St. John's Prep doubles team came away with a 11-9 win to advance to the winner's bracket semifinals.

Here's a video from early in the first set of that doubles match:


Here's action from late in the first set of that No. 1 doubles match:


Hannah Wurms, a junior, and Harper Herickhoff, an eighth grader, ultimately finished with fifth place at the tournament.

Other tennis information is forthcoming. Also, additional football and volleyball videos are being uploaded to be shared. Next: the girls' tennis team hosts Yellow Medicine East next Monday at 4:30 p.m. in a non-conference match.

In volleyball news...
At Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team evened their record at 5-5 with a 3-0 sweep of the Huskers in Central Minnesota Conference action. They're now 2-0 in the CMC, in which they are currently a five-time defending champion.

Game scores at Holdingford were 25-19, 25-17, 27-25. The Jaguars had 14.5 percent hitting with 37 kills on 131 attacks. Junior outside Macey Roering had 12 kills on 23 percent hitting, and Laken Anderson powered over 10 kills o 27 percent hitting. Kamie Fischer (20 set assists) and Reese Kampsen (11 set assists) guided the offense.

Next: the volleyball team travels to Sauk Centre next Monday for a big border battle with the state-ranked Mainstreeters.

Here's a video from the 3rd quarter of the WCA game last week:


The B-B-E Jaguars football team hosts Upsala/Swanville Area tomorrow night for Week 3 action.

Get a load of this! Tonight, Holdingford hosted Eden Valley-Watkins in their Week 3 game. The Huskers were all over the Eagles and won 24-2 to improve to 3-0 this season. EV-W, who lost last week 55-0 to Minneota, is now 1-2. Holdingford, who went 12-1 last season and lost in the Class 2A state semifinals, has now won 11 straight regular season games.

ON FRIDAY: I have to travel to Glenwood for my 9:30 a.m. radio show and then attend the annual Waterfest activities with B-B-E's Class of 2033 students. That event is hosted at the Pope County Fairgrounds. It will be wet!

As for the football game...it is currently in limbo, and a decision will be made this afternoon (Friday) on whether or not it will be played tonight or tomorrow. The game may have an 11 a.m. kickoff on Saturday. Stay tuned.

Central MN Conference volleyball scores on September 17:
Kimball Area 3, Royalton 2
Paynesville Area 3, Maple Lake 0

Area volleyball scores on September 17:
Redwood Valley 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 1
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0

Jaguars in three! (VIDEOS*)

Wednesday night: this blog post was updated with an area scoreboard...see below...

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team moved one match under .500 with a 3-0 sweep against defending Prairie Conference champion Swanville. Game scores were 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.

Early leads of 5-2 and 10-5 got the Jaguars off to a good start in game one. Macey Roering's ace serve brought an 8-4 lead, and Teagan Dingmann's kill started a 5-0 run that culminated with Kamie Fischer's ace serve for a 15-6 lead. The Bulldogs fought back to close it to 17-13, but an ace block by Kamie Fischer sparked a 4-0 run. Roering's kill made it 22-14, and the Bulldogs could not narrow the gap with B-B-E winning 25-17.

Here's a video from the middle of game one tonight:


Here's a video featuring the conclusion of game one:


In the third set, the Jaguars trailed 7-6 and 11-10 before getting a better block in place. Jaylee Jensen's kill made it a 15-14 lead, and Jaguars opened up a 19-15 lead before Swanville called a timeout. An ace block by Laken Anderson gave the Jaguars a 22-15 lead. Jensen's kill made it 23-16, and Laken Anderson's kill achieved game and match point with the 25-17 win.

The Jaguars now have one practice available before making the trek north into Morrison County to face the conference rival Holdingford Huskers. More to come. Video is uploading.

Area volleyball scores on September 15:
Benson 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
Willmar 3, Sauk Rapids-Rice 1
Melrose Area 3, Montevideo 1
Osakis 3, Upsala 0
Maple Lake 3, Sebeka 0
Central MN Christian 3, Renville County West 0
Underwood 3, West Central Area 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3, Yellow Medicine East 0
Royalton 3, Pierz 0
Kimball Area 3, Litchfield 0
Barnesville 3, Henning 1
New London-Spicer 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Border West 3, Rothsay 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 3, Battle Lake 1
MACCRAY 3, Lakeview 1
Hancock 3, Brandon-Evansville 1
Minnewaska Area 3, BOLD 0
Sauk Centre 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 0

Swanville putting up a fight

After they were dispatched 25-18 in game one, the Swanville Bulldogs gave the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team a battle in game two. After closing a 22-18 deficit down to 22-21, the Bulldogs served long for game point, as B-B-E won 25-23 for a 2-0 set lead.

More to come.

Volleyball Jaguars at Southwest Minnesota Challenge (VIDEOS)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team went 0-2 at the opening night of action at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge tournament in Marshall. In one of the matches, they split the first two sets. In the tiebreaker set, they held a 13-11 lead but lost 16-14. Other details are being sought out.

The Jaguars finished with a 1-4 record at Marshall. They lost by a 2-1 set margin to Class 4A Prior Lake in their first Friday match. In the last match last night, the Jaguars lost 2-0 to Sioux Falls Christian.

Today, the Jaguars faced Sioux Falls Roosevelt and earned a 2-1 win. They finished with 2-0 losses to No. 3-ranked Mayer Lutheran and Class 4A Eastview. Next: the Jaguars (3-5 overall) host Swanville in a non-conference match on Tuesday, September 15. The Bulldogs, 24-3 overall a year ago, are defending Prairie Conference champions and Section 5A runners-up.

How about the B-B-E football team!
And back to last night's thrilling win...the scoreboard for last night's games has been updated in the previous blog post. It includes the other 3 Mid-Northwest Gold District final scores.

Here's a video featuring the final plays of B-B-E's first scoring drive last night:


Also, a video from the second quarter of last night's football game was just posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. That can be found by clicking here: BBEvsWCAfootball2026.

The Jaguars improved to 4-0 in the past four meetings with West Central Area.

Here's a postgame interview with Coach Moscho last night:


I'll repost that at a future date.

After studying the scores of the first two games with teams that the Jaguars face, I have a declaration: if the football team can draw 3 to 5 more players, consisting of players who quit the team this summer, I have full confidence that the Jaguars can have a 7-1 or 6-2 regular season. It is possible, but they have to have more depth. How can we make it happen? Playing with 22 players leads to having too many players going both ways. It's not the way you want to grind through a regular season of football. Think about it: the Jaguars have the talent this season to have another very special season!

Update: I learned that MSHSL rules suggest that if a player joined the team now, they would not be eligible for the postseason. That's a perfectly reasonable rule. I believe a kid can always join a team, but whether or not they can enjoy the spoils of that team's success is a different matter.

More to come later tonight. Tomorrow will be a busy day with the Bluegrass Festival at Terrace and the Fall Festival at Trinity Lutheran in Grove Lake. I hope you can make it to one or both of those events!