The Sports Feever column is written, produced, and grammar checked (or not) by Chris Fee. A radio veteran of 29 years next month. I am just putting that out there since we are broadcasting a Mountain Iron-Buhl football game again and it looks like they have no radio covering the game so I just want my favorite MIB school board member to know….we are cheering for Fertile-Beltrami. If you don’t like it…..TOUGH!!!
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In case you missed last week’s column because I didn’t tag it correctly, CLICK HERE to read it.
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The saga/story about Blake Fee’s trip to college is finally complete. My wife and I went out to Monument, Colorado this past weekend to pick up the car and bring it home. But, like everything in my life, it was a little exciting.
We were scheduled to fly out of Fargo on Saturday morning at 10:55 a.m. We get to the airport over an hour early and get to the top level of Hector International Airport and the gate is closed and there are a lot of people standing and sitting around the security area. The gate was down and we were told the airport was shut down and no flights were leaving or arriving. We later found out there was a bomb threat of some sort, but they still let us in the airport and there were two cops standing by the entrance doing nothing, so who knows. Anyway, the gates finally opened and we go through security and left 30 minutes later than we were supposed to, which wasn’t a big deal except for the fact that we only had 45 minutes to catch our next flight from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City. Of course, we landed at Gate A and needed to get to F in 16 minutes. We took the tram to the main area and power walked half the way and then sprinted the second half when we heard the final boarding call for the flight to Salt Lake City. Tiff and I along with another family got to the gate within seconds of them closing it and we got on the flight sweating like crazy.
We get to Salt Lake City and had three hours to kill so at about 4 pm we got our first thing to eat other than cookies and pop on the plane. We walked around the airport for an hour to get our steps in and then got ready to board our plane to Colorado Springs. We walked outside and boarded a bus that brought us to our plane, which was a first for us. We took off over the mountains with Big Salt Lake and the sunset in view out of the window and relaxed for the hour-long flight. We landed about 8 p.m. and took an Uber for $100 from Colorado Springs to Monument. We got to Monument around 9 p.m. and arrived at the body shop that fixed Blakes car. They left the keys under the mat and we grabbed them and took off. We drove all the way to North Platte, Nebraska at 12:30 a.m. and used some Hilton reward points to stay at a Hampton Inn. Everything was smooth and the car drove great. I wake up about 3 a.m. and I realized the walls at the North Platte Hampton Inn are very thin and not soundproof as I hear the couple in the room next to us…..hmmmm…. let’s say….. doing some horizontal cardio workouts.
My wife and I wake up in the morning and she says something about the tv being too loud and I said well the neighbors were a little loud last night and she says…”You heard them too?”
So anyway we get up and have a good hotel breakfast….you know….waffles, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, juice, milk. The usual spread. We leave by 8:30 and drive all the way home. We stopped in Fargo for an hour and got home just before 7:00 p.m. The car drove great, my wife and I enjoyed the trip on a perfect driving weekend and we didn’t lose the hour coming back because of daylight savings time. It was really a good trip after the Fargo airport thing.
To top it off, Blake informs us this past week that he is transferring to UND next semester!!!!!!!
So from last Saturday to this Friday, these will be the cities I have been in. Fargo, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Monument, North Platte Nebraska, Brookings South Dakota, St. Paul for a meeting on Wednesday, Grand Rapids for football on Thursday, and Duluth for UMC Men’s basketball on Friday and Saturday. It has been a week folks.
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KROX Radio is looking for a News Director. The News Director could also do some play-by-play for us as well.
We are also looking for part-time play-by-play to help out when we have several games going on, and camera operators for hockey and basketball.
If you have anybody you know that might be interested in any of these let me know by emailing chrisjfee@yahoo.com, call me at 218-280-4021 or call KROX at 218-281-1140.
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The State Football tournament will begin today (Thursday) and Friday and we will break down 9-man, Class A, and Class AA.
9-man –
It looks like only two #1 seeds made it to the tournament and they are going to play each other in the first round.
Mountain Iron-Buhl is 9-1 and according to the QRF is the top team in 9-man. They will play the #2 team, according to the QRF, Fertile-Beltrami. The Falcons are 11-0 and the two teams will meet at Grand Rapids High School at 6:00 p.m. KROX will carry the game.
MIB averaged 57 points per game and gave up 15.4 points per game. They were 6-0 in section play and the only loss on the season was to Hancock by a 34-32 score. They beat Hill City/Northland 74-6, Ely 72-6, beat state 9-man participant Ogilvie 48-26, Brandon-Evansville 28-16, lost to Hancock, beat North Central 76-12, Cook County 52-8, and Bigfork 74-14.
In the playoffs, they beat Cook County 48-12 and Cherry 66-20 in the championship game.
Fertile-Beltrami averaged 43.5 points per game and only allowed 6.6 points per game. They beat Northern Freeze 42-16, Laporte 68-0, Park Christian 49-7, Nevis 36-6, Clearbrook-Gonvick 49-6, NCE-UH 34-12, Blackduck 40-0, Cass Lake-Bena 62-0.
In the playoffs, they beat Laporte 59-0, Clearbrook-Gonvick 14-6, and in the championship, they beat NCE/UH 26-20.
MIB only has four players that are 200 pounds or heavier. Fertile-Beltrami has eight that are 200 pounds or heavier on the roster.
It should be a great game and KROX is looking forward to broadcasting it.
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Kittson County Central is 9-2 on the year and will play Ogilvie in the first round. Ogilvie is 7-3 on the season and represents Section 5.
Ogilvie averaged 37.6 points per game and gave up 14.8 points per game. They lost to Cherry 16-12, beat Cromwell/Wright 58-0, lost to Mountain Iron-Buhl 48-26, beat MacGregor 60-14, beat South Ridge 20-12, beat Carlton/Wrenshall 50-14, Silver Bay 42-12, and lost to Hill City/Northland 18-16.
In the playoffs, they beat McGregor 50-14 and South Ridge 42-0.
Kittson County Central averaged 32.3 points per game while giving up 15.5 points per game. They lost to Park Christian 21-12, beat Stephen-Argyle 20-6, beat Northern Freeze 33-0, beat Lake of the Woods 35-20, beat Win-E-Mac 40-12, beat Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 29-8, lost to BGMR 26-24, beat Goodridge/Grygla 28-22.
In the playoffs, KCC beat Stephen-Argyle 42-14, Win-E-Mac 42-22, and BGMR 50-19.
This is a good matchup for KCC and they will play in Moorhead on Friday at 7:00 p.m. I would think KCC will win and move on.
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The following information is from Dave Peterson and it is impressive –
In the last 12 football seasons (since 2010), teams coached by John Clark Jr., are 10-0 in Section 8A championship games. In 2019, they lost to Polk Count West in the semi-finals. And in 2020, there was no championship game due to COVID.
With that said, here is Mahnomen-Waubun’s first-round match-up.
Mahnomen-Waubun is 9-1 on the year and will take on Section 5 champion Minneota, who is one of four undefeated teams in the Class A tourney. The teams will play on Friday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Monticello High School.
Mahnomen-Waubun is coached by John Clark Jr., in his 21st year as head coach and he has a career record of 195-42!!!!! Minneota is coached by Chad Johnston in his 20th year with a record of 184-34.
Minneota beat Adrian 35-0, beat Yellow Medicine East 43-6, beat Lac Qui Parle Valley 61-0, beat Lakeview 57-0, beat Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 31-0, beat MACCRAY 50-0, beat Canby 50-0, beat Dawson-Boyd 29-6.
In the playoffs, Minneota beat Yellow Medicine East 52-0, beat Dawson-Boyd 34-13, and BOLD 20-0 in the championship.
Mahnomen-Waubun beat Fosston 35-0, beat Lake Park-Audubon 33-8, beat Warroad 41-6, lost to Ada-Borup-West 33-12, beat Walker-H-A 46-7, beat Red Lake County 36-0, beat Wadena-Deer Creek 49-22, beat Menahga 44-14.
In the playoffs, they beat Polk County West 12-3, and Ada-Borup-West 30-7.
On a side note, New York Mills made the state tourney and their only loss was to Polk County West 28-14 in the final game of the regular season.
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The Section 8AA representative is no stranger to the State Football tournament with Barnesville getting back to state. Barnesville was 8-2 on the year and will take on Eden Valley-Watkins who are 9-1 on the year. Barnesville’s QRF is 10 and EVW is #2!
Barnesville lost to West Central Area 14-12, beat Crookston 58-0, beat Pelican Rapids 28-14, lost to Osakis 52-50 in 3OT, beat Pillager 53-6, beat Detroit Lakes 49-14, beat Staples-Motley 42-7, beat Hawley 28-12.
In the postseason they beat Warroad 48-14 and in the championship, they beat Pelican Rapids 36-16.
Eden Valley-Watkins beat Rockford 22-7, beat Sauk Centre 32-21, beat Holdingford 32-7, beat Paynesville 42-36 in 3OT, beat Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 48-32, lost to Royalton 30-8, beat Pierz 34-14, beat Minnewaska Area 34-6.
In the postseason they beat Kimball 16-6, and in the 5AA Championship, they got revenge on their only loss and beat Royalton 42-6!
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VOLLEYBALL –
The Badger-Greenbush-Middle River Gators are representing Section 8A in St. Paul at the State Volleyball tournament. They are playing the #2 seed and Section 3A champion Minneota. A tough draw to start the tourney at 7:00 p.m. tonight (Thursday).
BGMR is 29-3 overall and has a QRF ranking of 6. Minneota is 29-4 on the year and has a QRF rating of 2. Canby, who they beat in the championship had a QRF ranking of 4.
Minneota’s losses were to Mayer Lutheran in the first match of the season 3-2. They lost to Wayzata 2-0, Mayer Lutheran 2-1, and Kasson Mantorville 2-1. Minneota had some wins to note, including a 2-0 victory over BGMR on September 25 at the Volleyball showcase. They also beat Canby 2-1, Marshall 2-1, Bloomington Jefferson 2-0, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 2-1 and they won all four playoff matches by 3-0 scores!
BGMR’s losses all came at the Volleyball Showcase tournament. They lost to Fillmore Central 2-1, Legacy Christian 2-0, and Minneota 2-0. They beat Fosston and KCC 2-0 in the same tourney. Other wins of note, KCC 2-0 and Ada-Borup-West 2-1 in the Ada tournament, Fosston 3-1 in the section semi’s, and KCC 3-2 in the championship.
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The Hawley Nuggets are representing Section 8AA at state volleyball and it will be their first-ever trip to state volleyball. They also get a tough draw with #2 seed Cannon Falls, the Section 1AA champion at 11:00 a.m. today (Thursday).
I broadcast the Crookston vs Hawley match earlier this season and Hawley was the best team that I saw by a large margin. The way they passed the ball was impressive and they have so many weapons, but now everybody they play will be as good if not better so they will need to get used to that quick. Congrats to the Nuggets and enjoy the ride!
Cannon Falls is 27-5 on the year and they have the #2 QRF rating. Hawley is also 27-5 and they have the 14th QRF ranking.
Cannon Falls losses were to Stewartville 3-0, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 3-2, Maple Lake 2-1, Southwest Christian 2-1, and St. Michael-Albertville 2-0. Cannon Falls beat Zumbrota-Mazeppa 3-0 in the Section 1AA championship match.
Hawley’s losses were to Perham 3-0, Barnesville 2-1, Melrose 2-0, Sauk Centre 2-0, Barnesville 3-1. The biggest win they had was a 3-2 victory over Barnesville in what most would call the championship match.
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JOKES
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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
Ben Trostad is a senior playing Men’s Golf at UMC.
Kaleb Thingelstad is a freshman playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan University. KWU is done for the fall season.
Joslynn Leach is a freshman playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a sophomore playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, is a junior playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Sweden. He is the only American playing for Mora IK of the Allsvenskan league. (Scoring and stats are difficult to find)
Gretchen Theis is a sophomore at NDSU on the Equestrian team.
Kate MacGregor is a senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Brock Hanson is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
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 a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
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
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
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 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
Ben Andringa is serving our country with the Army in New York.
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004 from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
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.
