SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
It is hard to believe we are halfway through January and only three weeks away from Girls Hockey playoffs!!! We take a look at Section 8A and 8AA Boys Basketball, Section 8A boys and Girls Hockey and have some more milestones, and a lot more in this weeks column.
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We have updated the latest Minnesota WINTER SPORTS Polls. To check them out, CLICK HERE.
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Section 8AA Standings
East Grand Forks is leading the way in 8AA with Pelican Rapids and undefeated and #10 ranked Warroard coming in third and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton rounding out the top four. Barnesville is starting to play some great basketball as they get healthy. Perham and Thief River Falls round out the top seven teams, and all are more than capable of making a run at tourney time.
EGF is 8-2 on the year and 6-0 in section play. They have beaten Thief River Falls, Kittson County Central, Pelican Rapids, Fertile-Beltrami, and Perham. The two losses were to Red Lake County and Grand Forks Central. They have big games coming up with Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Thief River Falls, Sacred Heart, Warroad (twice), Grand Forks Red River, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Thompson, Ada-Borup-West, and Barnesville.
Pelican Rapids is 11-2 overall and 6-2 in section play. They have beaten Perham, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Park Christian, West Central Area, Ada-Borup-West, and Thief River Falls. They have lost to East Grand Forks and Barnesville. They have big games coming up with DGF, Hawley, Perham, Montevideo, Barnesville.
Warroad comes into the game with an undefeated record of 13-0 and 5-0 in section play. They beat Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Thief River Falls, and had a great tournament in Pequot Lakes where they beat Moose Lake-Willow River and Mora to win the tourney, and beat Frazee. They have big games coming up with Stephen-Argyle (twice), Kittson County Central (twice), East Grand Forks (twice), and Thief River Falls.
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton is 8-3 overall and 4-1 in section play. They beat Frazee, Barnesville, Albert Lea, Perham and Sacred Heart. They lost to Pelican Rapids, Ada-Borup-West, and Glencoe-Silver Lake. They have big games coming up against Pelican Rapids, Frazee, Hawley, Barnesville, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, and Perham.
Barnesville is 8-4 overall and 4-1 in section play. They have big wins over Lake Park-Audubon, St. Agnes, Howard Lake-Waverley-Winsted, and Perham. They lost to Frazee, Minnewaska Area, DGF, and Breckenridge. They are getting healthy and have won six games in a row and seem to be putting it together now. They have big games coming up with Hawley, Frazee, Thief River Falls, DGF, West Central Area, Perham, and East Grand Forks.
Perham is 7-4 overall, but 1-4 in section play. They have a big win over Sauk Center, and Frazee. They have losses to Pelican Rapids, Barnesville, DGF, and East Grand Forks. They have big games coming up against Pequot Lakes, Hawley, Detroit Lakes, Pelican Rapids, Frazee, DGF, and Thief River Falls.
Thief River Falls is 6-3 overall and 3-3 in section play. The Prowlers beat Hawley by 20. They have lost to EGF, Warroad, Pelican Rapids. They have big games coming up with Red Lake County, East Grand Forks, Barnesville, Sacred Heart, DGF, Warroad, and Perham.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Grand Forks | 6-0 | 8-2 | 79.2 | 13 |
| Pelican Rapids | 6-2 | 11-2 | 75.5 | 19 |
| Warroad | 5-0 | 13-0 | 72.2 | 26 |
| Dilworth-Glyndon-F | 4-1 | 8-3 | 68.9 | 29 |
| Barnesville | 4-1 | 8-4 | 63.9 | 37 |
| Perham | 1-4 | 7-4 | 62.5 | 40 |
| Thief River Falls | 3-3 | 6-3 | 53.9 | 54 |
| Park Rapids Area | 1-5 | 4-5 | 43.2 | 78 |
| Wadena-Deer Creek | 0-2 | 4-5 | 35.5 | 94 |
| Crookston | 1-4 | 2-6 | 28.7 | 106 |
| Roseau | 1-4 | 4-8 | 28.4 | 107 |
| Hawley | 1-4 | 3-9 | 27.2 | 111 |
| Menahga | 0-3 | 1-11 | 18.6 | 117 |
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Section 8A – West Standings
The West sub-section is interesting as you have seven teams (in my eyes) that (if they play well) can beat anybody in the subsection on any given night.
Red Lake County is the top team, and they are 8-1. Their only loss was to Ada-Borup-West by two points. They also have a nice win over EGF, which looks like a bigger win each week as the Green Wave are tough. In their last three games, RLC has beaten Sacred Heart, Stephen-Argyle, and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo (by two points!). They have many big games coming up for the rest of the season, too. They have Thief River Falls, Kittson County Central, Sacred Heart, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Northern Freeze, #1 ranked Cherry, Fertile-Beltrami and Cass Lake-Bena all left!!
Fertile-Beltrami is 9-2 on the year and 7-0 in section play. They are the defending section champions and have some height, length, and great guard play. They are a solid all-around team again this year. The Falcons lost to NCE/UH on December 5 and a game they would love to play again, and also lost to East Grand Forks on January 7. They have beaten Stephen-Argyle and Sacred Heart so far and have a lot of big games coming up. They have Ada-Borup-West, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Park Christian, Thompson, Warren-A-O, Northern Freeze, Kittson County Central, Cass Lake-Bena, and Red Lake County on the schedule still!
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo is at full strength now after the Christmas break, and they are 8-5 overall and 7-2 in section play. They are a team with height, athleticism, and great guard play. They are a dangerous team, and they have shown that. They had a two point loss to Red Lake County last week, The lost to #10 ranked in AA Warroad, to Sacred Heart before beating them a few weeks later. They have also lost to Glencoe-Silver Lake (Class AA), and Albert Lea (Class AA) by four points. They have some big games coming up with Clearbrook-Gonvick (twice), East Grand Forks, Red Lake County, Northern Freeze (twice), Stephen-Argyle, Kittson County Central, Fertile-Beltrami.
Sacred Heart is 8-6 on the year and 8-3 in Section 8A play. They are still waiting for their leading scorer, Parker Erickson to come back from injury. Even with the injury, they have been playing well against a tough schedule. They have lost to Park Christian, Cherry, Fertile-Beltrami, Red Lake County, Warren-A-O, and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. They have big games coming up with Cass Lake-Bena, East Grand Forks, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Red Lake County, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Kittson County Central, Northern Freeze, Thief River Falls, and Ada-Borup-West.
Kittson County Central is 7-4 on the year and 6-3 in section play. KCC has lost to East Grand Forks by two points, Warren-A-O, Sacred Heart by one point, and Northern Freeze by one point. They have big games coming up with Red Lake County, Stephen-Argyle, Warroad (twice), Sacred Heart, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Clearbrook-Gonvick, and Fertile-Beltrami.
The Northern Freeze (5-6 overall and 3-3 in section play), and Stephen-Argyle (4-8 overall and 3-7 in section play) are the other two teams I say don’t count out. The Northern Freeze have played most of their opponents tough and had a nice win over KCC on Tuesday night. They are always a tough team to beat and are well coached every year. Stephen-Argyle might be the best 4-8 team in the state!!! They have a ton of athletes and great players, but so far haven’t put it all together yet. As soon as they put it all together, they are a team that will cause problems.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake County | 7-0 | 8-1 | 7 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 7-0 | 9-2 | 28 |
| Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | 7-2 | 8-5 | 42 |
| Sacred Heart | 8-3 | 8-6 | 46 |
| Kittson County Central | 6-3 | 7-4 | 59 |
| Northern Freeze | 3-3 | 5-6 | 71 |
| Stephen-Argyle | 3-7 | 4-8 | 106 |
| Climax/Fisher | 2-5 | 3-8 | 125 |
| Goodridge/Grygla | 3-7 | 3-8 | 128 |
| Badger/Greenbush-MR | 1-8 | 1-11 | 147 |
Section 8A – East Standings
The East sub-section looks to be a three-team race in my eyes for the top team. Clearbrook-Gonvick is having a great season and they have started 8-1 on the year (6-1 in section play). The Bears only loss is to #9 ranked Red Lake County. They have a big win over Cass Lake-Bena as their only big win so far. They have big games coming up with Warren-A-O (twice), Fertile-Beltrami, Northern Freeze, Sacred Heart (twice), Stephen-Argyle, Red Lake County, Kittson County Central.
Cass Lake-Bena is 7-4 on the year and 5-1 in section play. CLB’s losses are to Ada-Borup-West, Deer River (ranked), Clearbrook-Gonvick, and Mountain Iron-Buhl. They beat Fosston by four points, and have big games coming up against Park Christian, Sacred Heart, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Nevis (twice), Fertile-Beltrami, and Red Lake County.
Fosston is currently in third place and have been solid while going 6-4 overall and 6-3 in section play. The Greyhounds have lost to Clearbrook-Gonvick by four, Fertile-Beltrami by 12, Cass Lake-Bena by four, and NCE/UH. They have big games with East Grand Forks, Fertile-Beltrami, Park Christian, Ada-Borup-West, Red Lake County, Stephen-Argyle, Warren-A-O, Thief River Falls, and Clearbrook-Gonvick.
The other seven teams are all fighting for the fourth seed and right now, Northome/Kelliher and Red Lake are leading the way.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearbrook-Gonvick | 6-1 | 8-1 | 51.1 | 28 |
| Cass Lake-Bena | 5-1 | 7-4 | 40.3 | 61 |
| Fosston | 6-3 | 6-4 | 39.0 | 63 |
| Northome/Kelliher | 2-1 | 4-4 | 36.5 | 73 |
| Red Lake | 0-3 | 3-6 | 35.7 | 76 |
| Bagley | 3-3 | 5-7 | 26.0 | 112 |
| Win-E-Mac | 3-7 | 4-8 | 24.7 | 116 |
| Mahnomen/Waubun | 2-4 | 2-6 | 23.2 | 122 |
| Blackduck | 1-10 | 1-11 | 13.6 | 148 |
| Lake of the Woods | 0-4 | 0-9 | 11.0 | 157 |
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SECTION 8A BOYS HOCKEY
Section 8A Boys Hockey is starting to shape up a bit, but Red Lake Falls shook things up a bit on Tuesday night.
Warroad is the top team as of today, with a 10-4-1 record overall and 3-0 in section play. They beat TRF 2-1, Detroit Lakes 4-1, and Crookston 9-1. Their biggest game so far this year is on Thursday, when they travel to East Grand Forks. That will be a big game and the two teams play again in Warroad on February 4 and those two games will tell us more about who the top seed will be. The only other Section game Warroad has the rest of the year is against Thief River Falls.
East Grand Forks had a terrible start to the season, going 2-5, with the only two wins against Grand Forks Central and Red River. Then they tied Orono 2-2, and that seemed to give them a spark. They beat Mahtomedi, Bemidji, Fargo Davies, Thief River Falls, Detroit Lakes, and Roseau!! The only Green Wave loss in that span was 4-2 to St. Thomas Academy. EGF has the big game with Warroad on Thursday, and whoever wins that game will be the top seed. The two teams will meet again in February. EGF will only have one other section game and that is hosting Thief River Falls. They also have games against Wayzata, Red River and Central, Moorhead, St. Cloud Cathedral, Bemidji and Roseau. A pretty healthy schedule. I could easily see EGF gettting the top seed if they keep playing like they have been.
I am going Thief River Falls as the third team right now. The Prowlers have shown there isn’t anything different this year. The top three teams are the same again. They are 6-8 on the year and 3-3 in section play. The three section wins were Crookston 8-3 and 6-3, and Kittson County Central. They lost to Warroad 2-1, East Grand Forks 3-2 and Detroit Lakes 4-3. TRF has some big section games left with Warroad, Red Lake Falls and East Grand Forks.
Red Lake Falls beating Detroit Lakes on Tuesday really muddied the water for the next three seeds! It is between Detroit Lakes, Crookston, and Red Lake Falls. Crookston tied Detroit Lakes and Red Lake Falls beat Detroit Lakes. Crookston beat Red Lake Falls, and they will meet in the last game of the season for an important section and seeding game.
DL beat East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls. In there last three section games they have lost to Warroad 4-1, lost to EGF 1-0, and lost to Red Lake Falls 3-2. They don’t play another section game so I really have no idea where they will end up.
Crookston and Red Lake Falls’ second meeting is going to have huge seeding implications. Red Lake Falls is 8-1 in the section, but the only loss is to Crookston. They do have the win over DL. Crookston is 4-3-1 in the section with wins over RLF, Bagley/Fosston, Kittson County Central, and Park Rapids. They have lost to TRF twice and Warroad once and tied with DL. They don’t play EGF this year and have games against Bagley/Fosston, Kittson County Central, Park Rapids, Lake of the Woods, and Red Lake Falls. Every section game is big for Crookston.
My Section 8A rankings as of 1-15-25
1. Warroad
2. East Grand Forks
3. Thief River Falls
4. Detroit Lakes (4, 5, and 6 seeds could all be interchangeable, but DL beat TRF and EGF so they still have the 4)
5. Crookston
6. Red Lake Falls
7. Bagley/Fosston
8. Kittson County Central
9. Park Rapids
10. Lake of the Woods
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SECTION 8A GIRLS HOCKEY
The Section 8A Girls Hockey standings have become more clear in the past two weeks.
No surprise, #1 ranked Warroad is the top team. Crookston will be the second seed after losing to Warroad big then losing 3-1 (with an open net goal). Crookston split with Thief River Falls with a 2-1 loss in the first game of the year and a 7-1 win last week. Crookston also beat East Grand Forks three times this year. So they should be the second seed.
Right now Thief River Falls is hanging on to the third seed, but holding on by a string. TRF beat EGF 5-4 in OT on December 10. They have two meetings left with the first one on January 21 and the last meeting on January 28. Those two games will be the deciding factor on the third and fourth seeds.
Detroit Lakes will be the five seed and International Falls will be the sixth seed.
1. Warroad
2. Crookston
3. Thief River Falls
4. East Grand Forks
5. Detroit Lakes
6. International Falls
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We have more milestones and –
Ty Vig of Kittson County Central scored the 1000th point of his career last week against BGMR.
Everett Nelson of Thief River Falls scored the 1000th point of his career last week.
Josie Peterson of Thief River Falls scored the 1000th point of her career last week.
Chase Hauck of Barnesville (114 pounds) picked up his 50th career win.
Jackson Peasley of Pelican Rapids (139 pounds) picked up his 100th career win.
Ian Phrakonkham of Fosston/Bagley (133 pounds) got his 100th career win.
Zach Thompson of Fosston/Bagley (145 pounds) recently picked up his 150th career win.
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The University of St. Thomas received great news on Wednesday. The NCAA Division 1 Council reduced the provisional period for reclassifying institutions from five years to four years and that means St. Thomas will be eligible for the NCAA Division 1 postseason play in 2026. That will definately have an impact on hockey.
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The Knights of Columbus annual Free Throw Contest will be held in Red Lake Falls at the High School gymnasium on Sunday, January 19th, starting at 1:00. This is for any girls and boys from the ages of 9-14 as of January 1. The gym will be open at 12:30 for practice. Ages 9-11 all shoot from 3 feet in front of the regular free throw line with a girls’ size basketball. Ages 12-14 will shoot from the regular free throw line, girls with the girls’ ball and boys with the boys’ ball. This competition on January 19th is the Local competition and participants are only allowed to take part in 1 local competition each year. Winners will advance to the District competition, followed by Regional, State, and International levels. Contact any of the schools in Plummer, Oklee, and Red Lake Falls for a scoresheet. Any questions, contact Steve Philion at 218-686-3608.
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The Crookston Knights of Columbus Council 1216 annual Free Throw contest will on Sunday, January 19 at the Cathedral School gymnasium. Registration will be from Noon to 1:00 p.m. with the contest starting at 1:00 p.m. The contest is for boys and girls ages 9-14. If you have any questions, call John Bjorgo 218-289-2540.
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JOKES
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Two rural church deacons who were having a sociable beer in the local tavern when they saw their minister drive by and take a good long look at their pickup trucks parked outside.
One deacon ducked down and said, “I hope the reverend didn’t see us or recognize my pickup.”
The other replied indifferently, “What difference does it make. God knows we’re in here… and he’s the only one who counts.”
The first deacon countered, “But God won’t tell my wife.”
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If you love something, set it free.
If it comes back, it will always be yours.
If it doesn’t come back, it was never yours to begin with.
But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn’t appear to realize you set it free…
You either married it or gave birth to it.
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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
Reese Swanson is a freshman playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a freshman playing football at Minot State.
Isabelle Smith is a freshman playing Tennis at Concordia College.
Isaac Thomforde is a freshman playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Emilee Tate is a Sophomore playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.
Halle Bruggeman is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Red-shirt Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Junior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Joslynn Leach is a Senior playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brooks Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is redshirt Junior playing football at Bemidji State University.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball
Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.
Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.
Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.
Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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 Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.
Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
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 a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
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.
