We are officially in the thick of the fall sports season and we are officially less than a month away from the final regular-season tennis match of the season and a little over a month away from the playoffs starting a few sports!!!
Since we are still early in the football and volleyball season, we will give it a few weeks before we break down the area sections.
The Minnesota State High School League has thrown a major curveball to the Ada-Borup/West Cougar football team. Last week, the MSHSL moved Ada-Borup/West from Section 6A to Section 8A football just days before the first game of the season. So people at Ada-Borup can’t be too happy and teams in Section 8A aren’t excited about adding another top-notch team to the fray. The biggest complaint/question I have heard – How can the MSHSL do this right before the season? I don’t know and I sent an email off to “Corporate Headquarters” and hope to have an answer next week on the how, why and whatever else.
One thing that makes the job of covering High School sports in northwest Minnesota is you never know what you are going to see. But you will have two or three-hour drives to think about it!
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The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that parents can be sued for false claims against high school coaches this week. The case was filed by a former Woodbury girl’s basketball coach that claimed parents had defamed him and the Supreme Court reinstated the lawsuit.
The court said parents who criticize or trash talk their kids’ public high school coaches don’t have legal protection to make false claims.
Public high school coaches aren’t public officials under the law, according to the court, because their decisions about playing time and benching tardy players aren’t core government functions.
The 16-page unanimous decision, written by Justice Natalie Hudson, is the first time that Minnesota’s highest court has ruled on the issue.
“Simply, basketball is not fundamental to democracy,” the ruling said.
High courts in five other states have decided the issue, with four of them also saying that public high school coaches don’t qualify as public officials.
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I want to commend Coach Henry Ruud and the Cass Lake-Bena Panther football team. Leo Blavin and I were broadcasting the Polk County West vs Cass Lake-Bena football game on Friday night. We knew going into the game it would probably be a lopsided game. Cass Lake-Bena only had 15 players on the roster, but they wanted to play the game.
It went as expected and the game was 60-0 at halftime in favor of Polk County West. At halftime, the coaches discussed how to attack the second half and Coach Ruud told Polk County West Coach Darin Byklum that his guys didn’t want to skip to the fourth quarter, they wanted to play some of the third quarter. They decided to play a two minute third quarter before going to a running-time fourth quarter.
The final score was 68-0 in favor of Polk County West, but Cass Lake-Bena players hustled on every play. They got back to the line of scrimmage faster than Polk County West on every single play. They kept their chins up and finished the game playing as hard as they did on the first play. I have never been so impressed with a team in that situation. Coach Ruud and the Panthers only have one senior and one junior. I hope they can build the numbers and the program and I will be cheering for them every game for the next several years.
Hats off to the Cass Lake-Bena football program, you are doing things the right way and good luck the rest of the season.
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I don’t understand college athletic departments with the obsession of having a yearly hashtag.
For example, Minot State had Red Rising, UMC has own the north and Bemidji State had Grind the Axe and I could go on. For UMC, owning anything is a bit …….well………you know. There is hope because most NSIC schools have quit doing it.
I am not the intended audience, or at least I hope not. Here is my plea to SID’s and Athletic Departments in the NSIC – please stop it. When you win a conference championship you can use #NSICCHAMPS…..until then #stopthesilliness
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I asked Leo Blavin to give me a preview of the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Football teams season and home opener with Minnesota State Moorhead on Thursday. Here is what he had to say –
Heading into last season’s opener between Minnesota Crookston and MSU-Moorhead were both pegged for the bottom half of the conference. UMC occupied its annual spot in 16thplace without receiving a single vote anywhere above last place from any of the league’s coaches (coaches don’t vote for their own team). MSU-Moorhead was picked to finish 10th. By the end of the 2018 season, both teams exceeded expectations. At the same time, it appears the gap between Minnesota Crookston and MSU-Moorhead, once a tightly contested rivalry game that UMC won more often than it lost, has grown even further despite both team’s floors improving from one season ago. In terms of character, Minnesota Crookston is in the best shape it’s been in for a long time.
Head coach Mark Dufner is recruiting student-athletes that the Crookston community can be proud of, and having traveled with the team over the past two years, they represent not only the football team but the University of Minnesota Crookston extremely well across the NSIC. That’s not something that should be taken for granted and is something that Dufner and the rest of his staff should be commended for. They have an uphill battle in attracting talent to Crookston from limited scholarship funds, a rural location compared to the majority of the conference, and a desperate need for a turf playing surface. With all that being said, the program is in a good place for further investment so that the program is given the chance to compete with teams beyond Minot State. Bemidji State and MSU-Moorhead are recruiting the same kids as UMC, but with bigger war chests and while Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth are the clear top two programs in the NSIC, the gap isn’t as big between UMC and the middle of the pack. This is not an overnight transformation, but the program is trending upwards even if it may not result in more wins this season.
MSU-Moorhead is coming off of a program defining season. Head coach Steve Laqua has taken the Dragons from a team at the bottom of the conference to one that reached the Mineral Water Bowl last year after finishing the regular season 8-3 before falling to Missouri S&T 51-16 in the postseason. While MSU-Moorhead surprised quite a few followers of the NSIC, they still lost at Minnesota Duluth 60-7 and at home to Minnesota State 42-20. Fortunately for MSU-Moorhead, they don’t have to play Minnesota State or Sioux Falls this season and get Augustana, Winona State, and Bemidji State at home. If there is a year for the Dragons to make a run at an NSIC Championship it’s this one. With 14 starters returning, MSU-Moorhead will be ready for week 1 and a match-up with a Minnesota Crookston team that doesn’t have the depth or top-end talent to match the Dragons on paper.
The Dragons defense is the team’s strength and I’m most interested to see how UMC’s offense evolves in Jared Hottle’s second year as offensive coordinator. Any offense is only as good as its offensive line, but if pass protection and run-blocking is average this year, UMC has enough speed at its skill positions to stretch a defense from sideline to sideline. The Golden Eagles biggest offensive question mark is at running back where the Golden Eagles are replacing their top two backs from last season. Minnesota Crookston doesn’t have the depth to win shootouts and is best suited for low possession games meaning the running game and short passing game will have to be strengths for the Golden Eagles to keep games low-scoring and slow. UMC can best chance to beat MSU-Moorhead on Thursday is to keep possession as long as possible. Any drive that extends over five minutes is a success, whether it leads to points or not for the Golden Eagles.
MSU-Moorhead has an extremely balanced offense. They won’t rely on their passing game or running game but can beat you with both. Minnesota Crookston has to be better at fitting gap assignments this year upfront to prevent the 20-plus yards runs that plagued the team last season. The defensive line stayed in Crookston and put in the work over the summer to be a strength for this program. UMC’s front seven on defense has to be better than they were one season ago for this team to compete. The offense staying on the field for longer periods of time should benefit a defense that was on the field too much one season ago.
This is a game that MSU-Moorhead will take for granted, a right they’ve earned due to their recent dominance over Minnesota Crookston. UMC has to find a way to keep it competitive. Every high school football player in Northwest Minnesota knows the current reputations of these two programs and the Golden Eagles can only change that perception by winning games, or at the very least competing in a way that’s reflected by closer final scores. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Minnesota Crookston to keep the game within one score at halftime after that it’s anyone’s guess.
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We thank Dave Peterson for providing us with some District Football stats. They are below –
Northwest District Stats – Click here
Click here for the District 9 Stats
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The Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis team has a busy week this week with a dual loss vs #10 Thief River Falls on Tuesday, a dual with East Grand Forks on Thursday, a triangular with Detroit Lakes and Wadena-Deer Creek on Friday and three matches in Alexandria on Saturday.
On Saturday the matches will begin at 10:00 a.m.
1st round: Alexandria vs. Detroit Lakes and Osakis vs. Crookston
2nd round: Alexandria vs. Crookston and Osakis vs. Detroit Lakes
3rd round: Alexandria vs. Osakis and Crookston vs. Detroit Lakes
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The Section 8A True Team Track meet will have a new team joining the ranks starting the 2020-21 school year. The Minnesota State High School Track Coaches Association has announced Park Rapids will drop from 8AA to 8A. Park Rapids will instantly become one of the top teams in the section in both boys and girls next year. It also looks like Bigfork and Trek North will be in the section too. That will make 22 teams.
The section meet schedule for the 2019-20 school year and West Marshall will be hosting the Section 8A True Team meet on May 5, 2020.
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Former Bemidji State Football player, Gunner Olszewski had a roller-coaster type of day when the New England Patriots were deciding their 53-man roster for the season. It was first announced that Olszewski was released. That led Matthew Slater, New England Special Teams captain, to say you couldn’t find a player in the locker room to say a bad word about him.
About four hours later, the Patriots traded cornerback Keion Crossen to the Texans. That opened up a spot on the roster and Olszewski made the Patriots opening day roster!!
Olszewski, supposedly, was digging ditches when he was invited to Patriots camp and now he will have a pretty good chance at winning a Super Bowl ring.
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Former Concordia Cobber Wide Receiver Brandon Zylstra was cut by the Vikings and was claimed by the Carolina Panthers. Zylstra is a New London-Spicer grad.
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The D2Football.com preseason All-American team has been announced. The NSIC players that made the teams are listed below –
FIRST TEAM
Gabriel Watson – 6’1, 221 lb, Senior runningback from Sioux Falls
Shane Zylstra – 6’5, 220 lb, Senior WR from Minnesota State -Mankato
Even Heim – 6’4, 305 lb, Senior OL from Minnesota State – Mankato
Jake Lacina – 6’4, 300 lb, Senior OL from Augustana
Chris Garrett – 6’4, 230 lb, Junior DL from Concordia-St. Paul
SECOND TEAM
Nate Gunn – 6’2, 220 lb, Senior RB from Minnesota State-Mankato
Hunter Toppel – 6’4, 300 lb, Junior OL from Minnesota State-Mankato
Tyler Thomsen – 6’1, 225 lb, Senior LB from Wayne State
Hakeem Johnson – 6’3, 189 lb, Junior DB from Sioux Falls
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NCAA Football Heisman Watch:
1 Jalen Hurts – QB OU
2 Travis Etienne – RB Clemson
3 Tua Tagovailoa – QB Alabama
4 Jonathan Taylor – RB Wisconsin
5 Justin Fields – QB OSU
6 Trevor Lawrence – QB Clemson
7 Joe Burrow – QB LSU
8 D’Andre Swift – RB Georgia
9 Jerry Jeudy – WR Alabama
10 Trey Lance – QB NDSU (from Marshall, MN)
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The NDSU Bison football team cruised to a victory over Butler in a game played at Target Field in Minneapolis.
In the game, Crosby-Ironton’s Noah Gindorff (played basketball against the Pirates) had his first collegiate reception for the Bison and it also happened to be a touchdown.
Congratulations to Noah on a pretty memorable first reception.
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The Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association has named four men who will be inducted into the MBCA Hall of Fame on October 26. The purpose of the MBCA Hall of Fame is to give special recognition to the people of Minnesota who have made significant contributions to promote high school basketball in the state via their achievements and service.
The 2019 inductees are:
Tim Anderson –Maple River/Mankato Loyola/Mankato West
Jim MacDonald – Fridley
Dave Montbriand – Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
Dave Thorson – DeLaSalle
The induction ceremonies will be held at the MBCA Hall of Fame Luncheon on Saturday, October 26, 2:00 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis.
Tim Anderson began his coaching career at Elmore HS; returning to his alma mater as the Head Boys Basketball coach following his college graduation. After one year at Elmore, he moved to Minnesota Lake where he served as an assistant coach for 8 years (Minnesota Lake joined Maple River in 1989). During his tenure as an assistant coach, the Eagles earned a State Tournament title in 1992-93 followed by a State Tournament berth in 1993-94. Tim assumed the lead reins of the Maple River program in 1994. During the course of his 14 seasons at the helm of the program he led the Eagles to ten Valley Conference crowns, and Section titles with State Tournament Appearances in 2006, 2007- state runner-up, and 2008- state third place. Coach Anderson “retired” after the 2008 season but returned to the hardwood in 2009 as the Head Girls coach at Maple River. In 2010, he accepted the position of Head Boys coach at Mankato Loyola where he coached for six years followed by a one year stint at Mankato West. He finished his career with an overall mark of 408-168. Tim was recognized by his peers as Section Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008 and Minnesota Class AA State Coach of the Year in 2007. He served as a member of the MBCA Executive Board, including MBCA President, and coached in the MBCA All Star Series. His coaching career off the hardwood included 18 years as Head Coach of the Maple River girls’ tennis program- earning State Coach of the Year honors in 2007. Since 2017 Coach Anderson has served as an Assistant Coach for the Waseca Bluejays, led by his son Seth.
Jim MacDonald’s coaching career spans 32 years- starting as an Assistant Coach at Fridley in 1988. After a one year stint as an assistant coach, “Mac” assumed the reins of the Tigers boys basketball program in 1988 and the 2019-20 season will be his 32nd season leading the Tigers. Under his tutelage and leadership, the Fridley hoopsters have earned multiple conference titles and won Section championships with State Tournament berths in 2002 and 2016. Coach MacDonald has been recognized by his peers with multiple Conference Coach of the Year honors and being named Section Coach of the Year four times. He is a member of the 400 wins club and enters the 2019-20 season with an overall record of 410-345 as a head coach. In addition to coaching basketball, Coach MacDonald also coached track for 15 years at Fridley, including 10 years as the Head Coach. He led the Tigers to four conference titles and a Section championship with a state runner-up finish. He earned Conference Coach of the Year, three times, and Section Coach of the Year honors twice, while coaching track. Jim serves on the MBCA Academic All State Committee and participated as a coach in the MBCA All Star Series.
Dave Montbriand’s basketball coaching career at BBE spanned 29 years- starting as an Assistant Coach at Brooten in 1985. In 1990, he was offered and accepted the position as Head Basketball Coach of the merged Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa school district. Dave served two stints leading BBE Boys hoops- 1991-2005 and 2009-2014. Under his tutelage and leadership, the Jaguars earned six Central Minnesota conference titles and captured Section 6A/5A championships with State Tournament appearances in 2011, 2012, and 2014. The 2011 BBE squad finished as Minnesota Class A runner-ups and the 2012 and 2014 Jaguars garnered Minnesota Class A State Championship honors. The Jaguars State Tournament teams compiled an overall record of 121-4. From 2009-2014, BBE was virtually unbeatable at home, 71 consecutive wins including 70 consecutive CMC conference victories. Montbriand was recognized by his peers as Section Coach of the Year five times and Minnesota Class A State Coach of the Year in 2012. He finished his career as a head coach with an overall mark of 388-171. In addition to coaching boys basketball, Coach Montbriand coached football, baseball (Head and Assistant), girls basketball, and junior high boys basketball. Dave retired from teaching and coaching junior high basketball at BBE at the conclusion of the 2017-18 school year. He coached JV Basketball for Canterbury HS in Fort Myers, Florida in 2018-19.
Dave Thorson began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of South Dakota in 1989 and the Minnesota Gophers from 1990-94. After five years coaching college hoops, Dave moved from Williams Arena to Nicollet Island and began his high school coaching career as the Head Basketball Coach at DeLaSalle High School. During the course of the next 23 seasons, he led the Islanders to nine State Championships, including six consecutive-2012-2017. The nine state titles are the most by a coach in state history and the six year championship streak is unmatched in state history. Overall, his Islander squads won 13 Section titles and State Tournament berths and 20 Tri-Metro Conference crowns. His teams amassed an overall record of 527-130, a winning percentage of 81%. The 1998-2002 Islanders won 72 consecutive games. Coach Thorson is a 12 time recipient of MBCA Section Coach of the Year honors and was named Minnesota AAA Coach of the year four times- 2005, 2006, 2016, and 2017. Thorson served as a member of the MBCA Executive Board. Dave represented Minnesota basketball on the national and international scene as a coach and clinician for USA Basketball and Nike. In addition to his legendary coaching career, he also served as the DeLaSalle Vice-President of Development. Coach Thorson returned to the college coaching ranks after the 2017 campaign and is currently in his second season as the lead assistant at Colorado State University.
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JOKES-
A young virgin couple are finally wed. Each one is nervous about the impending night, but neither are willing to admit or ask each other about it. Wondering what to do first, the young man calls his father.
“Pop, what do I do first?”
“Get naked and climb into bed,” his father replies.
So, the young man does as he is advised. The girl is mortified and calls her mama.
“Get naked and join him,” is the advice from mama, so she complies.
After laying there for a few moments, the young man excuses himself and calls his dad again.
“What do I do?” he asks.
His father replies, “Look at her naked body. Then, take the hardest part of your body and put it where she pees!” is the dad’s advice.
A few moments later, the girl again calls her mama. “What do I do now?” she asks.
“Well, what is he doing?” mama asks.
“He’s in the bathroom, dunking his head in the toilet!”
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Q: Why do men want to marry virgins?
A: They can’t stand criticism.
Q: Why is it hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good looking?
A: Because those men already have boyfriends.
Q: What’s the difference between Beer Nuts and Deer Nuts?
A: Beer nuts are $1, and Deer Nuts are always under a buck.
Q: Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact with women?
A: Breasts don’t have eyes.
Q: What’s the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?
A: A northern fairytale begins “Once upon a time” a southern fairytale begins “Y’all ain’t gonna believe this crap.”
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Cade Salentine, is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota. Cade had a solo tackle in a 47-7 victory over Drake on Saturday. UND will travel to Fargo to play NDSU on Saturday.
Ben Trostad, a Sophomore playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The first event of the season will be September 6 and 7 at Lake City.
Isaac Westlake, a Senior playing golf for the Winona State Warriors. The Warriors will start the season Friday and Saturday in Lake City.
Elise Tangquist, is a Junior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul.
Mason LaPlante, a freshman, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown. Mason didn’t play in a 4-1 loss to York or a 2-1 victory over the University of Mary. Jamestown will travel to Mary on Friday and host Rocky Mountain College on Sunday.
Rachel Hefta, a freshman, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Thea Oman, a freshman, is swimming at St. Ben’s. The first event of the year is at St. Kates Pentathlon October 11.
Kate MacGregor, a Sophomore, is swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead. The first meet of the year will be at the University of Mary on October 14.
Ally Tiedemann, a Sophomore, is playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The season will start in February.
Paul Bittner, is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket.
Aleece Durbin, is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Junior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Brady Heppner, is a Senior, playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville.
Bailey Folkers, is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Superior women’s basketball team.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Brody Davidson is an Assistant Pirate Football coach.
Tyler Brekken is a Pirate C team football coach and junior high Pirate Softball coach
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Assistant Pirate Girls Tennis coach, Pirate Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Wade Hanson is the 8th grade boys basketball coach
Travis Ross is the 7th grade boys basketball coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Nate Merten is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Tori Demarais is the Pirate Girls Hockey assistant coach.
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Justin Johnson is an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is a Director of Athletics at the British International School of Houston.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming
Mike Hastings is the Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the Bison media relations
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College
Chris Myrold is a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004 from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Scott Riopelle is head of Crookston Parks and Recreation
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com
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