REMEMBER – SPORTS FEEVER IS UPDATED WEDNESDAY NIGHTS NOW!!!!
Are you ready for some football??? The KROX Sports Department is and we jump right into tonight with UMC followed by Crookston vs EGF on Friday night. Ready or not, football season is here. Think of it this way….after Friday night….we will only have six and a half weeks left of the regular season!!!!! Hard to believe!
It is the first week of football this week and we have put together Section Coaches polls for five of the Northwest Minnesota sections. We had 35 of 36 coaches respond, so we are excited to have the most comprehensive polls and previews we have had. The five sections are below.
I was happy to hear that Cade Salentine has made the home roster for the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks as a true freshman. I think there is only one freshman that made the road/traveling roster. It sounds like Cade has put on 15 to 20 pounds already and having a good season so far. The nice thing about the new NCAA redshirt rule is a freshman can play in four games and not lose a red-shirt. The good D-1 coaches in smaller programs like UND and even the Gophers will take advantage of this new rule and get some good freshman in four games, so Cade might have a chance to get out in some games this year without losing the redshirt.
Enjoy this weeks column.
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We have compiled five of the area Section Football coaches polls and previews. We would like to thank all the coaches that cooperated with the poll again this year and we had our best response ever. We had 35 of 36 coaches respond!!! We APPRECIATE the coaches taking time out of their busy schedule to help us with the polls. The polls are for entertainment purposes and to give an idea of what the coaches think could happen. Enjoy!
SECTION 8AA Football Coaches Poll
Team (first place votes)
1. Hawley – 9 (5)
2. Barnesville – 11 (3)
3. Crookston – 24
4. Warroad – 29
5. Roseau – 32
6. Bagley – 38
United North Central – 38
8. Frazee – 43
Hawley – Coach Peder Naatz
The Hawley Nuggets are coming off a 9-1 season last year where they lost to Barnesville in the Section 8AA Championship by a 29-22 score. Hawley had an undefeated season and they beat up on pretty much every team they played outscoring their first nine opponents 450-110. In week three they absolutely dismantled #3 seed Crookston and picked them apart using their tremendous speed and athleticism and basically did whatever they wanted. They were the most impressive team I had seen play last year. When it got to the Section Championship, we found out that Jacob Vetter, the 6’5 stud quarterback was playing with a torn ACL. Vetter had to miss all of the basketball season and will be out for a couple games early on in the year. They are the favorite coming in…we will see what happens, but obviously, a healthy and 100 percent Vetter at the helm will be huge for the Nuggets.
Top returners – All seniors – Scott Kluck – C/DE, Gunnar Lawson – FB/LB, Chase Libak – WR,QB/DB, Noah Glad – TE/LB, Jacob Vetter – QB/DB.
Season outlook according to Coach Naatz – “Coming off our scrimmage we have identified some of our strengths and weaknesses. We have a strong secondary and linebacker corps. Offensively we will have to rely on our skill players to get most of the heavy lifting done early on in the year. We knew this coming in but we have a good number of linemen that are willing to work and improve…we just don’t have a lot of experience there. Come October, we should be pretty solid barring any major injuries.”
Barnesville – Coach Bryan Strand
The Trojans were 10-2 last year with a regular season loss to Hawley (48-30), but the got revenge in the section championship when they beat Hawley 29-22.
Barnesville lost in the first round of the state Class AA tournament to Paynseville 58-33.
Top returners – Center Jackson Poepping, Guard Connor Morse, Tackle Matt Samuelson, Ends Hunter Zenzen and Preston Snobl, Runningbacks Jack Wahl and Chase Brenner, along with two possible Fullbacks – Kellen Hinsz and Nick Detloff.
On Defense, they return most of the guys listed above and Brooks Martinson. Coach Strand said they will have some sophomores and juniors seeing playing time as well as a few freshmen and even an eighth-grader Jonny Robideau who has the potential to get on the field this year.
Season preview – (Provided by Coach Strand) – “We return a large portion of our offensive line, 5 out of 7 starters and two backs that return a lot of experience in Wahl and Brenner. Adam Tonsfeldt will get the nod at QB and has looked fantastic up to this point. I expect us to be very competitive and be in the hunt for the district as well as the section. #1 key is we need to stay healthy and keep improving. The team at this point is very close and have been working very hard. We will have a nice combination between size and speed and I believe we should be competitive with any team we will come up against. Hawley has a tremendous senior class and will be very experienced and well coached, they are my preseason favorite.”
Crookston – Coach Scott Butt
The Pirates were 7-3 last year with a 48-24 loss to Barnesville in the Section 8AA semi-finals. Crookston is coming off one of their best seasons in a decade, but the loss of running back Cade Salentine (a freshman playing football at UND) is a HUGE hole to fill. They will still have a Salentine in the backfield with Leyton at quarterback. They have several starting linemen back and feel they will be in the mix at the end of the year. Crookston, with a huge improvement last year, quickly realized they still had a way to go to get into the conversation of being one of the top two teams as Hawley and Barnesville were better. This year they are hoping to get into that conversation. The one question – Are the quick/good enough at key positions? When they played Barnesville and Hawley last year…they were not. Crookston was outscored by Hawley and Barnesville by a combined 92 to 34 in the two regular season games (14 points vs Hawley came with their third string in and Crookston had starters still going). Crookston’s first game vs East Grand Forks will be a telling story. A loss will say they are not in the conversation…a win means they could be.
Top returners – Leyton Salentine, a junior quarterback and cornerback was 17 of 27 passing for 333 yards, rushed 40 times for 358 yards and was honorable mention all section. He was fourth on team in defensive points. Brady Butt, a junior lineman, will be a four year started as an offensive lineman was all section and all district as a sophomore and fifth on the team in defensive points. Blake Fee, a senior tight and defensive end and was sixth on the team in defensive points last year. Ty Hamre, a junior linebacker, was ninth on the team in defensive points and will also be counted on as a wide receiver. Brooks Butt, a freshman lineman, will return at Nose Tackle where he finished 8th on team in Defensive points. Joey Doda, junior running back and linebacker, will return as a second year starter where he finished the year with11 catches and played a couple of defensive positions for the team.
Newcomers to watch will be Sam Sanchez in both the lines and Caden Osborn will also be a big part of the Offensive and defensive lines. The Pirates will also have one of their top defensive point guys from two years ago back and he should fill Colton Weiland’s shoes.
Season preview – The Pirates will look to build off their best year in a decade and should be in the running to be in the top half of the section and to get a home playoff game in the first round. They have a good group of returners coming back and they are going to have a pretty solid offensive and defensive line. They have most of their top defensive players back and the big question will be running back and how they try to lessen the absence of Cade Salentine.
Warroad – Coach Gabe Richards
The Warroad Warriors had a great season last year, going 8-2 with their lone regular season loss to Polk County West 21-14. The second loss of the season came at the hands of the Hawley Nuggets in the Section 8AA semi-finals by a 50-0 score.
Top returners –Spencer Musgrove, a senior, had over 1,000 yards rushing last year; Isaac Stoskopf, a senior wide receiver that had 14 receptions for 237 yards last season. They also return the following seniors – Max Gausen, a linebacker and offensive lineman; Tyler Fox at linebacker, and Kyle Spenst and Jett Schoen at defensive back. Juniors returning are Lincoln Nash at linebacker and offensive lineman, David Bukowiec on the offensive line, Jeremy Cole at running back and Jacob Davis at defensive line.
Season Preview according to Coach Richards – “We have a nice group of returners and a few fresh faces that should help out this season. We aren’t real big so we will have to play sharp football and limit our mistakes to give ourselves a chance.”
Roseau – Coach Jeremy Lindemann
The Roseau Rams were 1-8 last year, but lost two games by a touchdown or less and were competitive in most of their games. The win over Evelth-Gilbert was also their first win since the 2014 season!! They will have one of the top players in Northwest Minnesota with Jacob Lindemann on the offensive line and linebacker. Lindemann has singed to play football for the University of North Dakota next year.
Top returners – Jacob Lindemann, Brodie Wensloff at linebacker, Hunter Nelson at tight end and kicker, Luke Tangen at tight end, Danny Wensloff at quarterback and Adam Lepard at running back.
Season Preview according to Coach Lindemann – “We have 14 seniors on the team and should have some good leadership.”
Bagley – Coach Brandon Schwegel
The Bagley Flyers have had a nice run of success over the past several years and went 5-4 last year and lost in the first round of the Section 8AA playoffs with a 40-18 loss to Crookston. They lost 17 seniors from last years team, so they will need a lot of players to step up this year.
Top returners – The top senior returners and top contributors are Bryce Vivier, Chris Maschler, Elliot Logan, Jawon Williams, Holden Adams, Parker Gray, and James Hvezda. The top junior returners – Justus Brtek, Jacy Benson, Jaden Sunderland, Chase Lavine, Sam Scherzer, and Tristan McCoy, and John Ranisate.
Season Preview according to Coach Schwegel – “We will be looking to replace 17 seniors from a season ago. The Flyers will have several juniors and seniors that will step into key roles for the 2018 campaign.”
United North Central – Coach Cody Stevenson
The United North Central Warriors were 5-4 last year and they lost to Warroad 26-20 in the first round of the Section 8AA playoffs last year. Their losses were to Pillager, Staples-Motley and Otter Tail Central during the regular season. They will be looking to have another strong season this year with a good group of seniors.
Top Returners – Zach Floyd-HB/LB, Jared Seibert-OL/DL, Brock Kako-OL/DL, Brady Vry-OL/DL, Gator Bettin-OL/DL, and Mason Dailey-WR/DB. Top newcomers – Brandon Miller-QB/LB, Kolby Kiser-TE/LB, Kegun Womble-OL/DL, Gunner Hrdlicka-HB/LB, Ethan Simon-WR/DB.
Season Preview according to Coach Stevenson – “We are a very hungry football team lead by a plethora of senior leaders! We expect our offensive line and linebacker group to be our main strengths with of our only glaring weakness being our lack of depth.”
Frazee – Coach Russ Hackel
Frazee is coming off a year where they had to forfeit all their games due to a lack of upper classmen. Now that they are a year older, the Hornets will field a varsity team and I am sure that first game on Friday night will be a huge mixture of emotions when kick off takes place for the first game in over a year. Last year they were 0-7 and two years ago the Hornets were 4-6 with a six-overtime loss to Osakis! They lost in the Section 8AA semifinals with a 24-8 loss to UNC.
Top returners – I am not sure how to go about a top returner list when they didn’t have a team last year.
Coach Hackel didn’t give us a season outlook, but just getting on the field for a varsity football game again has to be the best feeling for the Hornets.
For the Section 8AA master schedule and standings, click on the link below –
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SECTION 8 A Coaches Poll
Team (first place votes)
1. Mahnomen-Waubun – 7 (7)
2. Fertile-Beltrami – 20
Red Lake County – 20
4. Polk County West – 26
5. Fosston – 227
6. Badger-Greenbush-MR – 41
7. Cass Lake-Bena – 50
8. Red Lake – 55
The section has a new wrinkle when the rich got richer with the Mahnomen and Waubun co-op. The co-op worked wonderfully in boys basketball and now it has brought two of the top football programs together and they are the unanimous favorite this year, which shocks……nobody. The second through fifth place teams were pretty interchangeable in the polls and actually, one coach picked the 2-5 teams for a tie for second, which might have been the best way to go! It wouldn’t surprise anybody if it comes down to tie-breakers at seeding time for those seeds. It is a race for the second and third seed so you don’t have to play Mahnomen-Waubun until the section championship. The one question I have been asking….How many Clarks are allowed on one sideline????? All joking aside, we will take a look at each team below –
Mahnomen-Waubun – Coach John Clark Jr. (18th season)
This is the first year for the Mahnomen-Waubun co-op so we will tell you about both teams from last year. Mahnomen was 10-2 and they won another Section 8A Championship, beating Fertile-Beltrami 30-12. They lost in the first round of the State Class A playoffs with a 34-22 loss to Minneota.
Waubun was 7-3 and lost to Nevis in the Section 6 9-Man semifinals 6-0.
Mahnomen-Waubun looked impressive in their first game of the year last week when they beat Ada-Borup/Norman County West pulling away towards the end of the game.
Top returners – Jon Starkey – 1,790 yards rushing, Izaiah Asher – 1,101 yards rushing, Parker Syverson – 713 yards rushing, Tayvis Zima – 179 yards receiving, Jayden Heisler – 694 yards passing and 899 yards rushing, Chandler Toczek, Treston Spalla – 176 yards receiving, Jeffrey Cukla, John Clark, Roy Bjorge, Logan Kettner, Will Starkey, Chris Podlak, Justin Littlewolf, Jeremy Londo, Kael Snetsinger, Nathaniel Olson.
Season outlook according to Coach Clark – “We have a bunch of seniors. Our team is very athletic across the board with some good depth. Our goal is the state title.”
Fertile-Beltrami – Coach Brian Nelson
The Fertile-Beltrami Falcons are coming off an outstanding end of the season last year where they lost 30-12 to the Mahnomen Indians in the Section 8A championship game. The Falcons were 6-5 on the year, but played their best football of the year at the end of the year after a tough schedule and that is all you could ask for. They just ran into the buzz saw that was Mahnomen.
Top returners – Harmon Liebl had 784 yards rushing and 65 tackles last year, Dylan Pearce had 854 yards rushing and 112 receiving, Micah Tollefson had 761 yards, Dakota Qualley had 53 tackles and Nolan Pinske had 43 tackles. They also return Albert Kargel, Michael Stuhaug, Drew Larson, Soren Larson, Damian Gudvangen and Dawson Fugleseth.
Season outlook according to Coach Nelson – “We return a lot of players that started three or more games because of injuries last season. We expect to pick up where we left off last year towards the end of the season. We need to develop some key positions and develop some depth, especially in the line area, stay healthy and improve weekly to be a competitive team.”
Red Lake County – Coach Brian Nelson (19th year)
The Red Lake County Rebels are coming off a 7-3 record with a heartbreaking 24-20 loss to Fertile-Beltrami in the Section 8A semi-finals last year. RLC lost twice to Fertile-Beltrami (by four points each time) and Mahnomen. They have seven offensive (all four in the backfield) and seven defensive starters back from last year’s team and will look to make a run at playoff time.
Top returners – SR-Connor Lambert had 689 rush yards, SR-Adrien Verbout had 319 rush yards, JR-Chris Longtin had 335 rush yards, JR-Derek Peterson was 34 of 71 passing for 653 pass yards, SO-Isiah Olson, SR-Hunter Schmitz, JR-Kaydon Kenfield, SR-Phillip Sorenson.
Season Outlook – “Every season is a new season. We need to find new leaders and new go-to players. We hope to develop this over the course of the season and be a team in the upper half of Section 8 when the season ends.”
Polk County West – Coach Darrin Byklum (22nd year)
The Polk County West Thunder will look to improve on last year’s 2-7 record. The Thunder lost to Fosston 22-0 in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs. PCW turned the ball over 25 times in a five game span last year and obviously it was tough to win games with that stat. Last year they had a relatively young team and will look to turn the record around this fall. The Thunder return 13 starters and some pretty good talent.
Top returners – Evan Sczepanski – 381 yards rushing and 21 tackles, Trea Byklum -307 yards passing and 17 tackles, Josh Wagner – 473 yards rushing and 30 tackles, Cole Vatnsdal – 56 tackles, Sam Gapp -52 tackles, John Fontaine, Gage Wavra – 129 yards rushing, Myles Smith – 124 yards rushing and 36 tackles, William White – 52 tackles, James Fontaine, Grant Sullivan – 67 tackles, Logan Bergquist, Eric Mykleseth – 15 tackles.
Season outlook according to Coach Byklum – “The Thunder have a good nucleus coming back from last year’s team. We turned the ball over way too many times last year, and our record showed it! Fix the turn over bug along with a great off season in the weight room, the Thunder Fans should have plenty to cheer about.”
Fosston – Coach Arek Aakre (15th year)
The Fosston Greyhounds are coming off a 5-5 record last year with a 30-0 loss to Mahnomen in the Section 8A Semi-finals. Fosston graduates the backfield, so there will be some growing pains with new players in those positions, but the Greyhounds are always a tough team by playoff time and they always have plenty of athletes.
Top returners – Isaac Dryburgh, Teigen Hextell – 302 yards rushing, Tyler Maruska, Matt Radtke, Jacob Lomen – 141 yards receiving, Zach Johnson, Axel Munter, Austin Schmidt – 174 yards rushing, Isaac Dryburgh, Matt Radtke, Dane Schoenborn.
Season outlook according to Coach Aakre – “The Greyhounds need new leaders to emerge as the team graduated much of last year’s senior leadership. Fosston must replace its entire backfield and several offensive line starters. Austin Schmidt and Isaac Dryburgh will get a bulk of the carries on offense. Dane Schoenborn steps in at the quarterback position. Matt Radtke, Axel Munter, Teigen Hextell and Zach Johnson must pave the way on the offensive line. Defensively, Fosston looks to Izik Schmidt, Axel Munter, Matt Radtke, and Jacob Lomen to anchor the defensive line. Isaac Dryburgh, Kyle Jacobson and Teigen Hextell will lead the way at linebacker. Fosston will be challenged early by tough competition, notably Mahnomen-Waubun and Ada-Borup. Fosston aims for a winning record and hopes to compete with Mahnomen-Waubun, Red Lake County and Fertile-Beltrami as they are the best teams in section 8.”
Badger-Greenbush-Middle River – Coach John Lee (6th year)
The Badger-Greenbush-Middle River Gators are coming off a 2-7 season last year where they lost to Fertile-Beltrami 36-8 in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs. Last year defense hurt the Gators, giving up to many points, although they lost to Lake Park-Audubon 6-2 last season! If the Gators can cut down on the points given up and move the ball better, you can expect a couple more wins this year. The schedule is tough, so that doesn’t help.
Top returners – Trevor Nichols OL, Kaiden Hietala DB, Dade Melby LB, Andy Dostal LB, Caiden Opdahl DB, Brandon Pries DB, Derrick Corneliusen DL, Caleb Tydlacka DL
Season outlook according to Coach Lee – “I expect blue-collar football.”
Cass Lake-Bena – Coach Bryan Sathre (4th year as head – 13th overall)
The Cass Lake-Bena Panthers are coming off a 2-7 season last year and a 36-8 loss to Red Lake County in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs. The season has already got off to a bad start when the Panthers had to forfeit the first two games of the season after they had too many ineligibilities!
Top returners – Jared Brown, Hunter Kaasa, Colter Humphrey
Season outlook according to Coach Sathre – “The 2018-2019 Cass Lake-Bena Panthers will be very young and inexperienced. The Panthers have 12 freshmen with a limited number of upperclassman. Should be a building year as the Panthers have a bright future with upcoming classes.”
Red Lake Warriors – Coach Nolan Desjarlait
The Red Lake Warriors have been struggling for years to field a full varsity football team year after year and last year they went 0-9 and lost to eventual Section Champ, Mahnomen 42-12 in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs. Red Lake only scored 40 points during the regular season, but game up over 49 points per game.
We didn’t get anything from Coach Desjarlait – so that is all we have.
For the Section 8A master schedule and standings, click on the link below –
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SECTION 8 9-MAN COACHES POLL
- Stephen-Argyle – 10 (6)
2.Clearbrook-Gonvick -16 (2)
3. Goodridge-Grygla – 29
4. Kittson County Central – 29
5. Kelliher-Northome – 33
6. Northern Freeze – 38
7. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo – 45
8. Lake of the Woods – 56
Stephen-Argyle – Coach Ethan Marquis
The Storm is the defending Section champions after going 7-1 in the regular season dropping their only regular season game 42-20 to Nevis. Stephen-Argyle won every game in their Section playoffs by multiple-possessions and topped Cromwell-Wright 39-22 in the State Tournament quarterfinals before falling to the eventual State champion Spring Grove 27-7 in the State semifinals played at US Bank Stadium.
Top returners – Quarterback Hunter Yutrzenka, running back Joston Hoeper, receiver/end Isaac Durand, Zach Gerszewski, Taylor Voytilla
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Marquis) – “We are very fortunate to have good team numbers again. That will help us with depth and future development. We have a number of proven athletes returning this year, but also several question marks of inexperienced players entering full-time varsity play for the first time. Time will quickly tell how we’ll match up with several talented teams in the section. Adding to the challenge will be a few not as talented section teams, that we know will still compete very strongly. I expect another fairly balanced and competitive season in our District and Section. It’s going to be an exciting year and difficult to predict the final outcome.”
Clearbrook-Gonvick – Coach Casey Kroulik
The Bears went 3-7 last season with section wins over Goodridge-Grygla and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.
Clearbrook-Gonvick fell to Stephen-Argyle in the Section playoff semifinals 29-20.
Top returners – Offensive linemen Erick Bergman and Reece Danielson, running backs Ethan Dorman, Daman Bakke, and Hunter Ehlers, defensively Jonny Hamnes returns
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Kroulik) – “The Bears only lost 3 seniors from last year’s team, however, those seniors left some big shoes to fill. If the team is going to be successful they will need underclassmen to step up this year and contribute at the varsity level. The Bears will be led by third-year starting quarterback Ethan Dorman, who has already accumulated over 3,700 yards of offense in his career.”
Goodridge-Grygla – Coach John Wilebski
The Chargers were 2-7 last year, with both wins coming in section games on the road against the Northern Freeze and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.
Goodridge-Grygla fell in the quarterfinals of the section 8 9-man tournament to Clearbrook-Gonvick 28-14.
Top returners – Running backs Jaden Kiesow (who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season) and Peyton Verbout, Reciever Kaleb Sjulestad, Lucian Tinnes, Anthony Loken, Hudson McMillin
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Wilebski) – “We have some size & speed this season. We are short in depth in the linebacker position which could be a problem? Hoping to make a strong playoff showing this fall if we compete & stay healthy…”
Kittson County Central – Coach Cory Waling
The Bearcats were 3-5 last season with an up and down regular season that featured a 14-0 loss to eventual State runner-up Nevis and wins over Goodridge-Grygla and Clearbrook-Gonvick.
Kittson County Central, after losing to Stephen-Argyle 41-6 in the regular season pushed the Storm to the brink before falling in the Section championship game 36-19.
Top returners – Running back Trent Peterson, Offensive linemen Gus Peterson and Cade Langen
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Waling) – “We have a ton of turnover on our team going into the season with lots of guys moving up to fill vacated spots. We are going to be very green to start the year and are looking for guys to show what they can do. We only have 3 players back on the offensive side of the ball that played substantial roles last year. Trent Peterson (RB/Receiver), Gus Peterson (Offensive Line), Cade Langen (Offensive Line). Defensively those 3 players also contributed along with Travis Rich (CB), and Judah Westerberg (LB).”
Kelliher-Northome – Coach Steve Geerdes
The Mustangs went 7-3 last season while winning their only section game during the regular season over Lake of the Woods 58-8.
Kelliher-Northome ended its season in the Section Playoff semifinals falling to Kittson County Central 30-6.
Top returners – Mason Johnson, Jake Waldo, Beau Lindley, Bradley Barrett, Adnew Stueven
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Geerdes) – “We return about half of our starters from last season with many others having plenty of game experience. With the departure of the longtime head coach, it will be a learning experience for the new coaching staff. We are comprised mainly of seniors but many of them have never played previously. Balancing out our offensive attack and increasing our big play ability is a focus this year. We should be defensively sound giving us a chance to keep the score close and win our games.”
Northern Freeze – Coach Adam Gast
The Freeze were 0-9 last season and lost in the quarterfinals of the Section Playoffs to Kelliher-Northome 30-28.
Top returners – Running backs Zach Undeberg and Mason Bring, Trent Youngstrand, Walker Blank, Weston Bring, Ty Anderson, Eli Grove
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Gast) – “We are looking forward to the season we have a large group of seniors, which we are counting on from a leadership standpoint. We have 7 returning starters this season and number of kids that contributed a lot last season. We feel that we have the personnel to be very competitive this season, we are looking forward to having a successful season.”
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo – Coach Tony Gullikson
The Ponies were 2-7 last year beating Kittson County Central and Northern Freeze in the regular season.
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo fell in their rematch against KCC in the Section Playoff quarterfinals 37-26.
Top returners – Receiver Ryan Pederson, Running back Jared Johnson, Jesse Kilen
Season preview– WAO returns just three starters from last year’s team and has a difficult schedule that will test the Ponies early.
Lake of the Woods – Coach Bob Laine
The Bears went 0-9 last season and played just one Section opponent in the regular season losing to Kelliher-Northome 58-5.
Lake of the Woods were knocked out of the Section Playoff quarterfinal by Stephen-Argyle 55-14.
Top returners – Quarterback Kodi Jonassen, Running backs Kade Chapman and Tanner Neilson, J’Karay Matthias, Jaylin Raschke, Brian Sontowski, Logan Russel, Nick Martin, Gunner Ferrier, Mason Russell
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Bob Laine) – “We lost only one starter from a year ago. We return our entire starting backfield from the end of last season and should be helped by two new transfers to our district with senior Isaiah Mason and sophomore Logan Larson. We have a starting line that will average over 200 lbs and each guy is at least a 2-year starter. Junior Kodi Jonassen is coming back as our starting QB and we will go as far as he can take us running our offense.
We have to get much better defensively and learn how to get critical stops to win some games. We will be a predominantly run offense this season but will mix in some spread and play action.”
For the Section 8 9-man master schedule and standings, click on the link below –
SECTION 8 9-MAN FOOTBALL
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SECTION 8AAA Football Coaches Poll
1.Perham – 6 (4)
2. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 11 (1)
3. Pequot Lakes – 12 (1)
4. East Grand Forks – 16
5. Thief River Falls – 22
6. Park Rapids – 23
The Pequot Lakes Patriots won the Section 8AAA championship last year with a 56-22 victory over the Perham Yellowjackets. Pequot Lakes went 9-3 and beat Mora in the first round of the state playoffs and lost to St. Croix Lutheran 45-7 in the state semi’s. Pequot Lakes lost a lot of good athletes and Perham will be returning a lot of their top athletes and it looks like it could be an interesting season and an exciting section playoff this year with four teams having a shot at winning the championship.
Perham – Coach Kyle Knutson (5th year as Perham head coach – 26 overall)
The Perham Yellowjackets are coming off an 7-3 season with a loss in the Section 8AAA championship. The goal for the Jackets is to get back to the championship game and they have the talent and athleticism to make it again this year.
Top returners – Jenson Beachy (one of the top athletes in Northwest Minnesota and he will have colleges after him to play football at the next level), Ty Mosher, Colton Kostynick, Zach Peterson, Dawson Kellog, Josh Jeziorski, Dawson Stevens and Finn Diggins.
Season preview according to Coach Knutson – “We are hoping to be competitive and hardworking.”
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – Coach Anthony Soderberg (11th year)
The Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Rebels are coming off a 6-4 season and a 34-0 loss in the Section 8AAA semi-finals to eventual champ Pequot Lakes.
Top returners – Sr. Bryce Anderson (TE/DL), Sr. Dylan Taves (LB), Sr. Jackson Friend (DB), Jr. Aiden Leach (QB), Jr. Carter Kohler (RB), Jr. Drew Coalwell (LB), Sr. Joey Kohler (FB/DL), Sr. Daniel Bell (RB), Jr. Carter Bohn (WR), Jr. Logan Tucker (RB), and Soph. Justin Wang (RB)
Season outlook according to Coach Soderberg – “The 2018 team will not be as big as 2017 team. The lack of size will be made up with more team speed. We will have a
young group right away, but at the end of the season, we should be right in the middle of the competition for a section title if we grow together as a team and stay healthy.”
Pequot Lakes – Coach Bill Magnuson (1st year at Pequot Lakes after 15 years at Sauk Rapids-Rice)
The Pequot Lakes Patriots are coming off a fantastic season and a trip to the state semi-finals with a senior-dominated team. They lost a lot to graduation, but one thing we know is the Patriots always have great athletes and they will reload. The cupboard isn’t bare with 16 letter winners returning.
Top returners – Alex Morgan (10th grade) at Linebacker, Hunter Wendt (10th grade at Defensive Line, Tyler Hidde (10th grade) at Offensive Line, Dylin Ackerman (11th grade) at LB and WR, Josh Lelwica (12th grade) at Safety.
Season outlook according to Coach Magnuson – “With the return of 16 letter winners of off the 2017 Class 3A State Semifinals team the 2018 season should be exciting. Many players gained valuable repetitions in practice and games with the extended season. The coaching staff has been impressed with the dedication of the returning players during summer workouts and practice. The players returning are excited to take the field under a new coaching staff with a new offensive/defensive scheme to continue the proud Patriot Football tradition.”
East Grand Forks – Coach Ryan Kasowski (5th year at EGF, 8th overall)
The East Grand Forks Green Wave have a great senior class and they have been looking forward to this class coming up for a couple years. The Green Wave is coming off a 3-7 season and a 43-13 loss to Perham in the Section 8AAA semi-finals. They beat Park Rapids once and Thief River Falls twice last year.
Top returners – All nine are seniors – Carter Beck, QB/DB, Ethan Trebil RB/DB, Jackson Galstad RB/DB, Ross Corbid OL/LB an All-Conference Honorable Mention, Jhett Pesch OL/DL an All-Conference player, Zach Johnson OL/DL, Chase Olderbak OL/LB an All-Conference, Aaron Riddle OL/DL, Luke Vonesh TE/LB.
Season outlook according to Coach Kasowski – “We are a senior led football team this year with great leadership. Our seniors have played a lot of football for us and we look for them to step up in 2018. Our offensive line and our front 7 on defense are the strength of our team. We have challenged our kids to come out and compete every single day and they have answered that challenge. We preach about going out and trying your best every single day.”
Thief River Falls – Coach Bryce Lingen (2nd as head coach – 9th year at TRF and 21st overall)
The Thief River Falls Prowlers are trying to rebuild the program and are coming off a 1-8 record with a win over Park Rapids. The only other close games they had was a 6-0 loss to Otter Tail Central and a 13-6 loss to East Grand Forks. Thief River Falls lost to East Grand Forks 22-19 in the first round of the Section 8AAA playoffs.
Top returners – Luke Perkovich, Hunter Tabatt, Jake Hall, Jarin Newland, and Noah Hayden bring back experience on the offensive line and Brenan Peralta, Kyle Miller, Myles Johnson, Ty Johnson and junior Storm Manning all bring back valuable experience on the defensive side of the ball. Junior Grant Hartmann will be the Prowler QB this fall.
Season outlook according to Coach Lingen – “We are very excited for the upcoming season. We have 18 seniors on the roster and over half of them were either starters last year or saw significant playing time as juniors. The kids put a ton of time in the weight room this summer, so we are hoping to see the benefits this fall. The offensive backfield, wide receivers, and defensive secondary will be our biggest question marks as we have a lot of new faces in all three areas.”
Park Rapids – Coach Jeremy Nordick (1st year at Park Rapids 13th overall)
The Park Rapids Panthers had a tough season last year going 0-9 with a 45-12 loss to Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the first round of the Section 8AAA playoffs. The Panthers are hoping that having a big class of 17 seniors will help get some wins this year.
Top returners – Seniors – Tristin Persons RB, Cody Dravis RB, Payton Hill RB, Kian Scott OL, Jacob Stewart OL, Brendan Kruchowski OL, Nate David WR, Jake Reisch WR, Spencer Fritze WR, Zach Fritze RB, and a junior at quarterback Jens Anderson.
Season outlook according to Coach Nordick – “We will have 17 Seniors leading the charge for the Panthers. Even though we were winless last year, many of them have a load of game experience. So, we will lean on them to get moving forward in a positive direction. Juniors are beginning to step up and compete for playing time. A lot of new things this fall with a whole new staff. Once we get down the new terminology and philosophy, I think the guys will play with more confidence. Overall, they are a hungry group, they had a great summer in the weight room and the first couple weeks of camp have been very competitive.”
For the Section 8AAA master schedule and standings, click on the link below –
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SECTION 6 9-MAN
Team (first place votes)
1.Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal – 7 (5)
2.Nevis – 15
3. Rothsay – 20 (1)
4. Win-E-Mac – 22
5. Park Christian – 27
6. Laporte – 35
The section will have a different look this year with perennial power Waubun leaving after it co-oped with Mahnomen and moved to Class A and the addition of Park Christian, a team that played a J.V. schedule last year.
It comes as no surprise that the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans are picked to be the heavy favorite in this years coaches poll. They missed going to state after losing in the section championship game and return a lot of important players from the team. Nevis graduated VERY heavy, but they have guys that had to practice against starters on the second-best team in the state last year! Graduation has hit some of the top teams from last year harder than the others so it could be interesting to see what happens this year.
Norman County East-Ulen Hitterdal – Coach Dustin Flaten (10th year)
The Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans were 9-2 last year and lost to Nevis 20-18 in a great Section 6 9-Man championship game at the Fargodome.
The loss left a pretty sour taste with the Titans and they have worked hard in the offseason to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The Titans are the favorite to win the section this season and they have some pretty talented guys coming back this year. The Titans graduated three players that are playing college football, so they lost some pretty talented players.
Top returners – Quarterback Tate Maesse (a 6’3 200 senior!), Noah Klemetson an all-conference and all-state honorable mention running back and line-backer, Riley Resnick a junior lineman, Tate Hoseth an all-conference senior linebacker, Kale McCollum a 6’7 230 pounds senior end, and Steffen Sather a senior defensive back.
Season outlook according to Coach Flaten – “We will be looking upon our seniors and returning starters to do most of our leading. We have a good mix of athletes that can lead from example and well as encouragement. Playing in another section championship and giving ourselves the best opportunity possible to compete with the state’s top teams are some of our goals.”
Nevis – Coach Shawn Klimek (12th year)
The Nevis Tigers went 11-2 last year and beat NCE-UH in the Section 6 9-Man championship 20-18. The Tigers advanced to the State 9-Man championship game where they lost to an outstanding Spring Grove team by a 32-0 score. Nevis only has two returning starters, but they return 14 letter winners from last years team.
Top returners – Ben Solwich a senior tight end, and Luke DeWulf a junior quarterback. Other players to watch Senior RB/LB Keanu Yabandith, Senior OL/DL Tre Ross, Junior RB/LB Chance Braten, Junior OL/DL Liam Andress, Junior WR/S Logan Funk, Junior WR/S Dan Mistic, Junior TE/DE Cooper Henry, Junior OL/DL Kolby Hamblin, Sophomore QB/WR/S Derek Lindow, Sophomore OL/DL Brody Johnson, Sophomore RB/LB Reese Kline, Sophomore OL/DL Dan Aman, Freshman RB/LB Ian Ahrendt.
Season outlook according to Coach Klimek – “Coming off the best season in school history the Tigers will have many new faces in the lineup. We only return 1 starter on each side of the ball. This has created may position battles and several guys are moving to new positions this fall. The keys to our season is going to be our ability to block up front for our backs and our defensive line being able to stop the run. We have several guys battling for starting spots on both lines. We won’t have our starters finalized until after the scrimmage. Coach DeWulf will once again lead the defense. He does a great job game planning for us each week and putting the guys in position to make plays. This is a team we believe will grow and improve each week this fall. Like every year we hope to compete for our District title and to be competitive in our section this fall.”
Rothsay – Coach Josh Nordick (3rd year)
The Rothsay Tigers are coming off a 9-2 season last year where they lost to NCE/UH 22-14 in the Section 6 9-Man semi-finals. The only other Tiger loss came at the hands of Verndale in a 52-20 loss. Rothsay also lost a lot of talent o graduation and they will need to reload quickly this season. They should have another good record and by the end of the year, the Tigers could be dangerous.
Top returners – Rothsay will return three starters on the offensive line, but only one skill position player.
Season Outlook – “I expect us to compete. We had some success last year and continue to build the program. We will rely on some of our size as we can play big. We also have some speed to compliment the size.”
Win-E-Mac – Coach Aaron Cook (2nd year)
The Win-E-Mac Patriots are coming off an outstanding season with a 4-5 record. Here is their five losses – Stephen-Argyle (state semi’s participant), Nevis (state runner-up), NCE/UH (probably third best team in state), Waubun twice! Pretty respectable losses. Now the Patriots are looking at building off the success they had last year and with a relatively young team (only two seniors) the future is bright.
Top returners – Senior Mason Spry (11 catches for 94 yards last year and 84.5 tackles), Junior Nathan Fortmann (110 carries for 542 yards and 13 receptions for 105 yards), Junior Dustin Osland (10 receptions for 75 yards).
Season outlook according to Coach Cook – “We will be a fairly young team with only 2 seniors projected in starting roles. We will have quality skill position players that have good speed. We will need better line play to be successful. Defensively we will have a good LB group that flows and reads well, but we need to be more consistent than past years at the point of attack to limit opposing teams.”
Park Christian – Coach Lawton Burgstahler (3rd year)
The Park Christian Falcons are coming off a season where they played a Junior Varsity schedule and now they are ready to play on the Varsity level. It will be a pretty exciting season for the kids.
Top returners – They only lost one player from the JV campaign last season. The majority of these juniors have had varsity experience from their Freshmen season that we ended up forfeiting. Ethan Jorgensen – Junior – RB/WR and Corner. He has put a ton of time in at the weight room this summer and has become completely dedicated to pushing the team to be better each day, Allen Daugherty – Junior – G/TE & DE – He is our Interior leader on both sides of the field. Allen is a captain and will not give up or back down from a challenge, and Isaac Janssen – Junior – RB/WR & Corner. He is a grinder. He is the heart and sole of our defense. Isaac is also a captain but leads by example. He does things the right way and pushes each player to be better, each drill and rep.
Season outlook according to Coach Burgstahler – “I have pretty high expectations for this large group of Juniors. Our ultimate goal is to have fun and be competitive in every game. We truly believe that we will make some noise this year and there is definitely some excitement around our community and school about this team. However, we do know it will take all 23 guys to make this season a success. It has been a long road to get here and we are ready.”
Laporte – Coach A.J. Dombeck (First year)
The Laporte Wildcats were 0-9 last year with a 55-8 loss to NCE/UH in the first round of the Section 6 9-Man playoffs last year. They will be young once again and continued improvement is the goal for the Wildcats.
Top returners – Sophomore Wyatt Johannsen had 68 tackles last year.
Season outlook according to Coach Dombeck – “Another great year of growth. Most of the team is made up of sophomores, but many are in their third varsity year.”
For the Section 6 9-Man master schedule and standings, click on the link below –
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The University of Minnesota Crookston football team
will start the season tonight at with a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Minnesota State Moorhead. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference switched the schedules around this year and it should favor UMC and other north teams. The north teams will play each other the first four weeks, which differs from previous years where the north teams played the south teams. The south is the stronger of the two divisions in the NSIC, so it is a break for UMC. We will have the UMC football game tonight with the RiverView Health pre-game show at 5:20 p.m. and the kickoff at 6:00 p.m. You can listen on KROX Radio, online at www.kroxam.com, the free KROX app or on Alexa. Say – “Alexa, listen to KROX Crookston.”
I asked Leo Blavin to give us a preview of the UMC football team and his preview is below.
The UMC Football season begins its 2018 season with one simple goal: win one game. As the program enters this season, following consecutive winless seasons, the goal remains the same, yet continues to prove elusive. Last year was focused on establishing a new culture focused on discipline and accountability instilled by head coach Mark Dufner. As Dufner enters his second season at the helm, and 17thseason in Crookston, the mental errors resulting in late penalties are no longer an issue that long plagued a team that couldn’t afford to give opponents free yards. Now, the question is whether Dufner and his revamped staff have assembled enough talent to compete against teams with more resources to land recruits and get them prepared each week once on campus?
Offense-
Little went right for the Golden Eagles’ offense last season. The success of this year’s team will be dictated by this unit’s ability to stay on the field for extended drives. Under a new offensive coaching staff led by first-year offensive coordinator Jared Hottle and offensive line coach Sam Gooding, its fair to say that Gooding assumed the far more important role this offseason. While Hottle will call the plays, as he did the past two seasons at Dakota State, Gooding’s ability to assemble five players who can create running lanes and keep the quarterback upright will determine how much the offense improves this season. Last year’s offense was tough to evaluate from a play calling perspective simply because the running game struggled to gain yards and quarterbacks rarely had time to go through progressions, more often than not looking at their primary target before having to elude the oncoming rush. Fortunately, UMC returns most of its starting offensive line from last season, but depth remains thin with several incoming freshmen that would benefit from a red-shirt year likely the next men up in case of an injury.
Behind center, UMC enters the season with a question mark at quarterback. Jeremy Neuman (Soph, Andover) entered last season third on the depth chart but due to one injury and one mid-season departure Neuman was thrust into six games and flashed the best passing game of any Minnesota Crookston quarterback last season. Neuman is not UMC’s most athletic option at quarterback but has the mobility necessary to keep plays alive and avoid the type of hit that would jeopardize his ability to stay in games. Neuman is the only QB with NCAA experience on the roster and is likely to take the opening snap in week one. Neuman will have no shortage of targets when given time to throw the football this year.
Rod Stewart (Sr., Fort Worth, TX) was an All-NSIC pick a year ago and returns for his senior year to take over as the team’s top target following the departure of UMC’s all-time leading receiver Adam Connette. Stewart is the Golden Eagles most athletic wide-out with an ability to adjust to balls thrown anywhere in his vicinity, with speed that makes him a threat on bubble-screens and end-arounds as well. The offense’s priority this year will be to get the ball in #1s hands when a big play is needed. Lincoln Tappe (Sr., Aiea, HI) returns for his final year as well with a chance to continue his role as a true slot receiver. Greg Arnell (Fr., Minneapolis) and Jonattan Mudd (Jr., Gardena, CA) will be the other two receivers on the field when UMC splits four-wide but both are unproven at this level entering the season.
Running back should be a much-needed area of improvement from last season. Kevin Evans (Sr., Groveland, FL) is a talented back who showed flashes last season but was unable to string together consistent carries enough to sustain the team’s rushing offense. Elijah Todd (Jr., Toledo, OH) is a physical freak that stood out in the practices I’ve taken in. He was the fourth leading rusher in junior college football last season at Dakota College at Bottineau and is listed at 6-0, 243 pounds. He’s every bit of that size but doesn’t lack the speed that usually relegates someone so big to fullback. Evans and Todd should both find plenty of opportunities to see the field and carry the ball providing a nice 1-2 punch that UMC was missing last season due to injury. Boyce Harr (Fr., Spearfish, SD) will also see opportunity in the backfield as a fullback with all the tools to keep coaches calling his number to stay on the field even when not running with the ball.
Offensively, as is the case regardless of the level of football, everything comes down to the guys up front. If the offensive line can help the running game find its stride this season enough to force opposing defenses to respect UMC’s ground game this offense should reach a level of success necessary to stay competitive. Nearly as important as scoring points, staying on the field for extended drives will dictate the ceiling of this entire football team. Three-and-outs early in games throughout last season set the tone in a lot of lopsided losses and keeping the ball away from your opponent is a good formula to ensure you’ve got a chance to win the game heading into the fourth quarter. At the very least, UMC’s offense must find a way to give their defense adequate rest between drives. A luxury that last year’s team desperately needed, but rarely had.
Defense-
Last year’s defense was good but was asked to do too much. This wasn’t an error in coaching, but simply the result of an offense that struggled to extend series enough to balance out time of possession. Most teams don’t have the depth to have a defense playing 35 minutes per game and UMC is no exception. With no shortage of talent coming back in all three position groups there is no reason this defense can’t keep opponents out of the end zone this season. Despite the departure of last year’s defensive coordinator Levi Bullerman, who accepted a position at his alma mater Southwest Minnesota State this offseason, the defensive scheme remains the same. Mark Dufner is a defensive coach and his top assistant Tom Miller’s transition to defensive coordinator shouldn’t provide much of a schematic shake-up. The Achilles heel of last year’s defense was their inability to stop the run, but with an improved defensive line, this shouldn’t be as much of an issue heading into 2018.
The Golden Eagles still lack the ideal size at defensive tackle but should have enough depth to establish a rotation that doesn’t expose inexperienced players that struggle to stuff running lanes early in games. Devante Nutall (Sr., Plymouth) is a converted tight end who enters this season with the necessary experience of playing a full season in the trenches in 2017. He has the adequate speed to get to the quarterback from the interior but still needs to show the ability to occupy a rushing lane which I expect an area of improvement that comes with the experience he lacked enter last year. Jerrod Miller (Sr., Chicago, IL) is poised for a big year and should build off of a strong season last year. The Golden Eagles also boast a deep stable of edge rushers with the ability to get to the quarterback but must improve their ability to keep contain on the edges, which was an issue last season.
Perhaps Minnesota Crookston’s strongest unit is its linebacking core. Ali Alkhatib (Sr., Rosemount) and Will Cross (R-Jr., Turtle Lake, WI) both return after impressing throughout last season. LaDerek McCray (
Jr., McComb, MS) impressed last season prior to an injury and transfer Julian Jackson (Soph., Tampa, FL) should make an immediate impact as well. These linebackers are asked to do a lot in this defense, but their ability to keep opposing running backs to a five-yard carry as opposed to a fifty-yard carry is what will prevent the blowout losses suffered last year.
In the secondary, UMC starting cornerback Anfernee Cooper (Soph., Fort Worth, TX) along with safeties Trevor Long Jr. (Jr., Brooklyn Park) and Will Cole (Sr., Compton, CA). At times coverage was an issue last year but tackling and effort was not and with the experience between these three players improvement should be the expectation. The opposite cornerback spot is UMC’s biggest defensive question mark enter week one and it’s a hole you can expect MSU Moorhead to look and challenge on Thursday night.
Last year’s defense gave up too many big plays and fell victim to opposing running games too often last season. However, enough talent returns from last year’s team that I expect this defense to be the team’s strength with depth to avoid the mental and physical lapses from the wearing down in games that occurred all of last year.
Special Teams-
Special Teams had perhaps the team’s two biggest highlights last season Rod Stewart returned a kickoff for a touchdown earning the Texan All-NSIC first team honors as a returner last season. A muffed kick return by Minnesota State Mankato was scooped and scored by the Golden Eagles to give UMC a brief lead over the NSIC’s best team on the road last season. However, blocked kicks and punts were also a major problem last season. Two consecutive blocked punts in last season’s opener vs. Upper Iowa immediately come to mind. Also, failing to make a field goal all of last season also must change this season if UMC hopes to stay competitive. Stephen Day returns as UMC’s kickoff specialist and punter, with Jake Newman returning to the field this year in a new role as the team’s place-kicker. Both, yes both long snappers return which should help ease the transition for the new holder and placekicker as well as the returning Day.
Summary-
Wins have to start coming for this program to sustain interest from both the community and prospective student-athletes. Looking at the changes made to the coaching staff this offseason and the influx of junior college and division ½ transfers welcomed to Crookston this fall I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect at least two wins this season. That’s not a win total that Minnesota Crookston should strive for but would make this season a second-straight step in the right direction towards building UMC football into a competitive program in the NSIC’s north division. The gap in starting talent has never been the issue, but the Golden Eagles enter this season with significantly more depth than a year ago and with no overnight trips in the first month of the season, the wear and tear suffered by trips to Mankato and Sioux Falls to open last season won’t plague the Golden Eagles in 2018. It’s unfair to expect that UMC will keep every game close, they will still be overmatched by some of the top teams in the NSIC but wins over Minnesota Crookston should not be taken for granted by opponents in 2018.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) men’s golf team was selected ninth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches’ Poll released last week by the conference office. The Golden Eagles received 14 points in the poll, one point above Upper Iowa University.
Connor Humble (So., Rosemount) was picked as the NSIC Golfer to Watch from UMC. Humble finished tied for 16th at the 2018 NSIC Men’s Golf Championship. He shot his best round of the season at NSIC Men’s Golf Championship after carding a 75 in the second round. Humble notched an average of 81.3 as a freshman for the Golden Eagles.
In addition to Humble, the Golden Eagles return Ben Koisti (Sr., Lake Norden, S.D.), Ethan Johnson (Sr., Roseau), Brandon Brown (Sr., Stanchfield), and Ben Lord (Jr., Brunswick, Maine). Koisti averaged 81.0 last season for Minnesota Crookston with a low round of 69. In addition to the returnees, the Golden Eagles have added four newcomers in Joey Kekke (Fr., Argyle), Ethan Magsam (Fr., Crookston), Ben Trostad (Fr., Crookston), and Dylan Wenzel (Fr., Lino Lakes).
Minnesota State University, Mankato was picked to win the men’s golf title with 75 points and five first-place votes. Winona State University received 73 points and three first-place votes, while Bemidji State University notched 64 points and two first-place votes.
Michael Schmitz of Winona State was selected as the NSIC Golfer of the Year after earning All-NSIC First Team twice.
The Golden Eagles open up the 2018-19 season September 10-11 at the Bemidji State Invite at the Bemidji Town and Country Club in Bemidji.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s golf team was picked to finish 12th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) women’s golf poll released last week by the conference office. The Golden Eagles received 13 votes in the poll.
Newcomer Camryn Larson (Fr., Fertile) was picked as the Player to Watch for the Golden Eagles. Larson was a state competitor for Fertile-Beltrami H.S. She is part of a young squad for second-year Head Coach Bryant Friskop. The Golden Eagles have just one returnee to the squad with McKenzie Harris (Sr., Nevis). Harris averaged a 96.3 last season for UMC. Harris shot a low round on the season of 88. In addition to Larson, the Golden Eagles have three more newcomers to the squad with Kimi Konishi (Fr., Cypress, Calif.), Anna Olson (So., Fertile), and Allison Bot (Jr., Minneota).
Nine-time defending NSIC Champion Augustana University was the unanimous choice to finish first in the NSIC. Augustana’s Hannah Hankinson was picked as the NSIC Women’s Golf Preseason Player of the Year. Hankinson finished last season with the third-best stroke average in the conference.
The Golden Eagles open up the season Sept. 10-11 at the Tracy Lane Memorial at Bemidji Town and Country Club in Bemidji.
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I have to give credit to the Athletic Department at Northland Community and Technical College. They added wrestling a couple years ago and they have filled the team and more. Now they have announced the addition of Clay Target (Trap Shooting) to their list of sports offered. Trap Shooting is one of the more popular sports in Minnesota and they wisely added it. Hats off to NCTC on being proactive and likely adding some students this way! The official press release is below-
Northland Community & Technical College (NCTC) announces a new varsity sport for the 2018-2019 academic year: Clay Target (also referred to as trap shooting). The Northland Pioneers, along with ten other participating Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) schools, will compete in a six-week season, culminating with a championship competition held in Grand Rapids, Minn., on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Registration is open now through Friday, August 31, for Northland students enrolled in at least six academic credits who have completed the required hunter gun safety course. Fees include a $35 registration fee paid through USAHSCTL, as well as a $300 activity fee paid through NCTC. Athletes will be required to provide their own shotgun. The Pioneer team will consist of both men and women student-athletes and coached by Rod Lahren, who is beginning his 29th year as Northland’s Architectural Technology instructor.
“Right now we have three girls already signed up,” Lahren said, “but I’m expecting to see 15-20 sign up. To field a team, we need a minimum of five shooters. This Friday, August 24, I’ll be recruiting interested athletes in the main lobby of the Thief River Falls campus from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.”
The league is sanctioned by the MCAC in partnership with the USA High School Clay Target League (USAHSCTL), who will organize the competitions. Unlike other varsity sports, competitions will take place virtually, with participating schools entering scores online at their home shooting ranges. The only face-to-face competition will be the league championship held at the end of the season.
“We go out to the Trap Club in Thief River Falls,” Lahren explained, “and each athlete will shoot twice through five stations, for a total of 50 rounds… a typical trap shoot session. I enter their scores and we see how we stack up against the competition once their scores are entered.”
The new varsity offering will provide a broader opportunity for both traditional and nontraditional student-athletes at Northland. Clay Target is fully Title IX compliant with both male and female athletes competing on the same team, and it’s also an adaptive sport, which allows students with physical disabilities to participate. With the recent rise in popularity among area high schools, Lahren expects the sport to grow quickly.
“We don’t need world champion shooters,” Lahren said. “We’re interested in students looking to learn the sport, stressing safety, fun, and marksmanship, I want new shooters to learn the sport and enjoy it and build the team as we go. I think once all the high schools get wind of it, it’s going to be huge because those young kids just love the sport. Honestly, I think we’ll be overwhelmed next year because it’s so popular… those high school students are going to really be interested in participating at the collegiate level.”
Students interested in joining the team should contact coach Lahren. Email roderick.lahren@northlandcollege.edu, call 218-686-9420 or stop by the registration booth Friday, August 24, at the Thief River Falls campus. Registration closes on Friday, August 31.
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Villa St. Vincent’s Foundation is sponsoring its sixth Annual Glow Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 8 at the Minakwa Golf Course. Registration is at 3:30 with a prompt 4:00 shot gun start. 9 holes of golf will be played in the day light; with the last 9 holes played in the dusk/dark. Registration is limited to 18 teams. All proceeds will be applied to the purchase of updated and safer furniture for resident/tenant lounges, libraries and lobbies. For more information to register a team or sponsorship, please contact Cindy Hulst, Foundation Development Director. 281-9713. Email: cindy.hulst@bhshealth.org.
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The Crookston Pirate Booster Club is gearing up for its annual membership drive. PIRATE BOOSTERS exists to support Crookston High boys’ and girls’ athletic programs.
The PIRATE BOOSTERS provide financial assistance which allows student athletes to obtain equipment, uniforms, warm-ups and facilities enhancements. Your annual investment will help the athletic needs of the Crookston High School student athletes.
With your contribution of $100.00 or more, you will have your name placed on the PIRATE BOOSTERS sustaining membership board which is located in the CHS Commons. In addition, your name will be placed in all printed programs for CHS athletic events.
The Contribution levels are broken down as follows:
$100.00-$249.00 – Blue Club Member
$250.00-$499.00 – Gold Club Member and will receive recognition as an event sponsor during the 2018-2019 academic year.
$500.00-$999.00 – Pirate Club Member and will receive recognition as a multiple event sponsor during the academic year 2018-2019.
$1,000.00 or more – Captain’s Club Member and will receive special recognition throughout the entire 2018-2019 academic year.
Although giving levels have been established, any contribution to PIRATE BOOSTERS will be greatly appreciated.
As a part of your annual membership, you are assured CHS athletic team members will not solicit you or your business with smaller fundraisers. You will have a choice to approach a specific team if you desire to provide additional support. If you are interested in joining PIRATE BOOSTERS, please make your check payable to PIRATE BOOSTERS by April 30, 2018. You may bring your donation to Greg Garmen at Crookston High School or Charles Reynolds at Fitzgerald, Reynolds, Harbott, Knutson & Larson, PLLP. If you would prefer to have your donation picked up, please contact Greg Garmen or Charles Reynolds. You can send a check to Crookston Pirate Boosters – 402 Fisher Avenue, Crookston MN 56716.
The Crookston High School Athletic Department student athletes and coaches and the entire PIRATE BOOSTER CLUB appreciate your generous support.
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There has been a lot of interest from people after we posted this so we will post it again. If you have any info on Pirate sports records or want to help tracking them down read below!
Crookston High School, namely Ed Nelson, has been working on getting all the records for the Pirate Sports teams updated and it has been a process. Ed is looking for any records, stats, state participants, etc from the following sports.
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
Football
Girls Soccer
Volleyball
Baseball
If you have Crookston Times articles with information, yearbooks with team and/or individual records, scrapbooks, or anything with any information that you might think would be of interest to Ed email him at ednelson12@yahoo.com.
With that said we have links to the Crookston Pirate records pages for the following sports. If you see something that is incomplete, or maybe an updated record let Ed know at the above email address. I have listed the team and click on the team to see their records.
Here is an update on the various sports covered by the website as of December 1, 2016
Sports that are done and will not change without additional information:
Boys’ Basketball
Girls’ Basketball
Boys’ Golf
Girls’ Golf
Boys’ Soccer (Poor or no records were kept over the years.)
Girls’ Soccer
Boys’ Track & Field
Girls’ Track & Field
Wrestling
Softball
Swimming
Volleyball
Girls’ Hockey will be complete by the end of 2016 and join the above. I am currently looking for “Team: Game” and “Player: Game” records for the first 5 years of the program.
Sports being worked on:
Baseball (Justin Johnson is doing the research and has completed the last 16 years)
Boys’ & Girls’ Tennis (Mike Geffre has the information and is scanning everything. When he is done, the records will be posted.)
Sports not yet started:
Football (I will be starting Football this winter.)
Boys’ Hockey (Frank Fee has agreed to research the records.)
Fall Sports –
Boys Soccer Girls Swimming Girls Soccer Volleyball
Incomplete records Girls Tennis Football
Winter Sports –
Boys Basketball Girls Basketball Boys Hockey Girls Hockey Wrestling
Spring Sports-
Softball Boys Track Girls Track Boys Golf Girls Golf –
Incomplete records Boys Tennis Baseball
Sports that are no longer offered-
Boys Swimming Girls Cross Country Boys Cross Country
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JOKES (Do you have any good jokes – email them to chrisjfee@yahoo.com and I will put them in the feever
Chuck Norris doesn’t go hunting. Hunting implies the possibility of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing
There is no control, backspace, or escape button on Chuck Norris’s computer… Chuck Norris is always in control, he never makes mistakes, and there is no escape from Chuck Norris!
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Two blondes are walking in the park and come up on a set of tracks
One blonde says I think these are bear tracks, the other blonde argues they are deer tracks
They were still arguing when the train hit them.
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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 *****
Ally Tiedemann, a Freshman playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Ben Trostad, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Ethan Magsam, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Cade Salentine, a Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.
Paul Bittner, is playing for the Cleveland Monsters (AHL – minor league affiliate of Columbus).
Marietta Geist, a Junior on the Carleton College Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
Luke Edlund, is a Senior linebacker on the Crown College football team.
Elise Tangquist, is a Sophomore golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Northwestern will be off until the spring.
Isaac Westlake, a Junior playing golf for the Winona State Warriors.
Haley Roed, a Junior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Kate MacGregor, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Merran Dingman, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Sophomore on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Aaron Hollcraft, is a Senior playing basketball and baseball for the UMC Golden Eagles.
Amanda Trandem, is a Sophomore on the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Softball team.
Bobby Tiedemann, is a Junior on the St. Mary’s University Men’s Tennis team in Winona.
Ryan Bittner, is a Senior playing hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Brady Heppner, is a Junior playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville.
Haley Roed, a Junior on the Minnesota State Moorhead Women’s Swim 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 Bollis the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reeseis the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Shelly Erdmann is the Assistant 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.
Justin Johnson is the Pirate Junior Varsity Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreaultis 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
Non Crookston High School Coaches-
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 Assistant Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Todd Kreibich, is the Coach and General Manager for the Minnesota Iron Rangers Junior Hockey team our of Hoyt Lakes.
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
Erika Wheelhouse is serving in the Peace Corp in the Philippines.
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.
Alan Mart, 2009 Crookston High School graduate, is currently serving his country for the US Army as a Cavalry Scout in Afghanistan.
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 Central is stationed at Hohnfels in Germany for the next 2 or 3 years.
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
