Rain began falling in the game's final stages. All in all it seemed bleak for the orange and black fans on hand. The 'Waska boys and fans could leave with the satisfaction of their team having won. The game was arguably boring if you like lots of points scored. Morris scored 43 points the previous Friday in its Homecoming game. How does a team go from one extreme to another like this?
Minnewaska Area fans would say that their team's defense was a big factor. If you admire defensive football, perhaps the Friday affair in Morris was appealing. Whatever, the game goes into the books as a 6-0 'Waska triumph. The Lakers improved to 5-1. The Tigers ended the night at 4-2.
The scoring summary for this game is going to be brief. Tyson Meyer scored the 'Waska touchdown on a one-yard run in the first quarter. The PAT kick attempt was blocked. After that, a feeling of futility took over for the offenses as the end zone stripes became elusive. The game dragged on. The chilly conditions with the possibility of rain hovering, made the atmosphere not really exhilarating.
I can offer these views because I was present for the second half. My transportation was by walking. I did not get drenched. Nevertheless you could see a steady rain coming down if you looked into the lights in the fourth quarter. The game was in Mid State 2 district competition.
Meyer was a cog in the 'Waska running game that proved superior on this night. He carried the ball 17 times for 98 yards. As a team the Lakers had 190 ground yards compared to 48 by the Tigers. 'Waska gained those 190 yards on 50 carries. Two other Lakers complemented Meyer with their ground yardage: Darion Alexander (16 carries, 58 yards) and Max Reichmann (6-37).
The passing game saw Grant Jensen complete five of 14 attempts for 82 yards and no interceptions. Peyton Johnsrud had three of the catches for 60 yards. Aaron VerSteeg had the other two catches for 22 yards. Three Lakers each made an interception: Reichmann, Dylan Jergenson and VerSteeg. The Tigers were held to seven first downs.
Fans of the Hancock Owls had a more entertaining game to watch Friday: their team scored 42 points in a win over Bertha-Hewitt. The Owls stayed undefeated.
Fair to say "ostentatious?"
Big Cat Field seems overwhelmingly superior to the high school facility in Hancock, wouldn't you say? However, I would further observe that it is no less fun to watch a game in Hancock. I would say there's zero difference. Morris has all the bells and whistles but frankly it seems, well, ostentatious. Certain people would like to deck me over that comment.
I made countless trips to the Hancock field back in "the old days." I wrote sports for the Hancock Record newspaper for 15 years. I'm not sure I missed even one week. Katie Erdman is now back with the Morris newspaper.
What about the Morris newspaper? A welcome mat was sure put out for the new owners. I'm not sure the new owners have done enough to make it clear there really will be a difference. For example let's consider the website. Now, newspaper industry insiders will say there is little reward, and possibly even drawbacks, to being dynamic with the website. Such arguments have logic. However, the public in a general sense sees the newspaper, or ought to see it, as a beacon for creating community with its presence. The paper's website simply must figure into that, IMHO. Does a dynamic website really hurt the print product's performance? Good question.
The new owners of the Morris paper have appeared to neglect the website. Now, maybe this has something to do with the transition from Fargo Forum ownership. If this is true, have the owners made any public announcement about this? I could have missed it. Perhaps the paper could have established a temporary site or blog to just share some photos with us.
An antiquated custom?
Which brings me to this topic: Is it quaint or trite for the tradition of newspaper "press passes" to be honored, in other words the paper getting allowed into the game for free? It's definitely a legacy tradition, isn't it. Now, if the paper really rolls up its sleeves to share lots of material about sports, including (and perhaps especially) online, such a gesture would be apropos.
However, if the paper shows commercial motives in terms of neglecting the website in order to promote newspaper sales, then I'm rather dubious about it. You see, we live in a new age in which almost everyone carries around a camera like with their phones. There is no exclusive privilege with having a camera on your person now. This is completely the opposite of the world I entered (eons ago) in the community press with the Morris Sun Tribune. I began covering Morris High School football for the Morris paper in 1971.
There's a "black hole" in my Morris background from when I went to college. I may have come home on most weekends but was not plugged in to community. I regret that. It was a mistake. While I had a low profile back then, my car did not. It was a 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado which we got from Bill Dripps. It's the greatest car that was ever made. It would turn heads if it made its way around today. Headlights that popped up! Front-wheel drive! Breathtaking.
I have a theory that the Anfinsons are having more trouble jump-starting the Morris paper than they expected. Remember, the Forum was set to close the Morris paper according to background from well-placed sources. Our city manager observed to me something I hadn't thought about: Chokio could end up as the only town in Stevens County with a newspaper! Shocking. Well, it might be irrelevant, considering that people are putting aside the print media in general.
Whether certain people like it or not, there truly is a new information "ecosystem" evolving. It develops by the day. This parallels the rapid shift away from bricks and mortar businesses. Some of these changes seem unsettling but they are proving to be inexorable.
We're not the pros
I arrived at Big Cat Stadium Friday and noticed some colorful poster representations of Tiger players. I immediately felt some skepticism about this. The players are presented in a way making them seem like community heroes. This is consistent with how pro leagues or Division I colleges present their "star" players.
My concern is this: What kind of message are we sending to the non-athletes, kids either not talented or interested enough, by putting up these posters? Yes, some people would want to deck me for saying this. Football is in decline because of the high-profile health issues - it's just a matter of how fast the decline proceeds. Lawyers and the insurance industry will guarantee this. You all had better adjust.
I continue to write about the MACA Tigers because it remains a staple of our local culture. I miss the days when the games were at Coombe Field. Games were more of a social event then.
Tennis: Montevideo 7, Tigers 0
Unfortunately the Tigers failed to come up with winning form in the Friday match vs. the Thunder Hawks of Montevideo. The Willmar paper reported that "Montevideo found little resistance." Well. . . This was a Section 6A quarterfinal match. I will report the Monte players first in this summary.
Kori Douglas defeated Abbigail Athey 6-1 and 6-0. Emily Brace prevailed vs. Katelyn Wehking at second singles, 6-3 and 6-1. Lauren Kluver in the No. 3 spot beat our Kassidy Girard 6-2 and 6-0. Cami Myers was on the winning end vs. Katie Messner 6-4 and 6-0.
Turning to doubles, Kristin DeJong and Tyra Sandven defeated the Tiger pair of Ryanne Long and Greta Hentges 6-3 and 6-4. Kaylee Pauling and Kylie Cobb beat Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska 6-3, 4-6 and 11-9. Then at No. 3 doubles, it was Nina Fitzkappes and Mathea Jorgenson prevailing vs. Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall, 6-1 and 6-3.
Volleyball: Sauk Centre 3, Tigers 1
The news about Tiger volleyball is dismal just like the weather of the past few days: dark and wet. The Tigers were dealt defeat by Sauk Centre Thursday. Let's emphasize that Sauk Centre has a juggernaut team. Their win over the Tigers Thursday was their 17th against two losses. They won 3-1 with scores of 25-12, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-16.
We came out of the match at 7-9. Sophia Carlsen and Lexi Pew led our hitting, each with eight kills. Emma Bowman came through with six kills, while Emma Berlinger and Kenzie Hockel each had five. Pew pounded down five ace blocks. Carlsen and LaRae Kram each had one ace block. Courtney Lehman was at the fore in digs with 18. Kram, Pew and Macee Libbesmeier each had 13. Jaden Ross and Hockel each had ten.
Two Tigers each had two serving aces: Libbesmeier and Pew. Three Tigers each had one serving ace: Kram, Ross and Lehman. Kram produced 27 set assists.
The national news, 10/5/19
As this post is going up, we are hearing a crescendo of concerns about Donald Trump and his extreme behavior. Voices toward impeachment are mounting. Trump is digging in. This is not the Republican Party I was once familiar with.
My advice to the people around Trump now is simply this: Tell the truth. Be relaxed and just tell the truth in response to all questions coming your way. If you simply do this, your job will be easy. You will be able to live with yourself and sleep well at night.
I am starting to worry about the most zealous Christians in the Morris area, the ones fashioning themselves "evangelical." At this point they might outnumber the reasonable and intelligent churchgoers. Are they at the point where they might start worshiping Donald Trump in place of God and Jesus? Is it getting that bad?
Just curious. . .
As I type this on Saturday afternoon, I'm putting some pressure on myself to get this material posted/published in a timely way. So I'm just curious: Do the people associated with the Morris newspaper feel the same urgency or sense of duty? Check their website: have you even seen a report of the Kimball football game on there? I know we get updates in the weekly print paper, but that's just once a week. In the Internet-dominated world, once a week does not fully suffice for reporting the news.
So I'm feeling conscientious in order to try to deliver product. Do the paid staff members of the Morris paper feel that sense also? Or not? And if not, what's the point in having a business built around this? I suppose they don't "work on the weekend." Well. . .
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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