Decker begins scoring rout with 27-yard TD run

The Tigers rolled all over their initial opponent in the playoffs. The site was Big Cat Stadium and if I remember right, the weather was rather lousy. But the fans were sure rewarded with a premier Tiger gridiron performance. The blow-out was to the tune of a 37-0 final score. 

The night belonged to Durgin Decker in some respects. He began the night's scoring with a 27-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Jackson Loge then went to work with a lengthy fumble recovery return: 49 yards. Wow! Decker hauled in a pass from 21 yards for six. Frosting on the cake came with two short TD runs by him. 

In all, Decker was handed the football 21 times and rumbled 185 yards. His three catches netted 31 yards. Our defense was up to the task too as we forced two turnovers. The out-manned Thunder Hawks managed just 113 offensive yards. The success upped our W/L to 6-3, with the possibility for win No. 7 to be presented Saturday. Game-time is 7 p.m. at Pierz. The radio station site says 2 p.m. but two other sources, including the school site, say 7.

Monte had a down season and finishes 1-8.

What's with Kristi Fehr being "interim" coach for Tiger volleyball? I just got word of that. The team plays tonight (Friday) in sub-section.

 

Tennis: setback in state

Well, what a season it has been for Tiger tennis, which has hands joined with West Central Area. Quite the comfortable and winning partnership. Coach Britney House led her tennis athletes to a coveted state tournament berth. 

I spent years covering Tiger tennis for the newspaper and summarized too many matches that ended 0-7 or 1-6. I well remember. So this past fall was quite the exhilarating experience. 

Things may not have gone well in state. That's the way it goes. We were upended by Fairmont 0-7 and then by Rochester Lourdes 1-6 in the consolation semi-finals. Lourdes? I guess it's tough to beat those Catholics. Anyway, the 2021 fall season is one to be filed away with special memories for followers of the Tiger team. It's a team that is no longer just going through the motions, that's for sure. 

Kudos to coach House, a neighbor of mine on Northridge Drive. I have to be careful not to refer to her as "Greenwaldt." Remember, I'm getting up in years.

 

Local sports journalism

Yours truly has been close to Tiger sports through nearly my whole adult life. In the recent past I have been able to get timely information from other media sources, so that I may continue writing about the Tigers. It has not been a perfect system. No system ever is. Despite the parents seeming to want to establish a standard of perfection! 

I have been willing to accept some criticism but then I plunged forward. This I did for 27 years with the Morris newspaper and more recently as an unattached online writer. "Unattached" means I am not attached to any corporate interests. Stop and think: those corporate interests once had a monopoly for this sort of thing. Those "analog" times are long past. My generation when young could not have dreamt of YouTube with the opportunity to watch games like they were on "TV." Yes, it's the same as TV. 

I must share with you: there is now a problem for yours truly with continued efforts to share about Tiger sports via journalism. A primary information source for me has been the West Central Tribune. It was reliable a good share of the time, with exceptions as when a coach would call in info that had errors for the opposing team. Sometimes you could spot obvious errors as with the complicated reviews of football games, where info just didn't add up. Sometimes I would even chide the West Central Tribune in my blog writing when I noticed this. 

An absolutely pregnant example of this came with the thrilling comeback by Tiger football at Paynesville during the coaching regime of Jerry Witt. Paynesville interests had the obligation to call it in, and, to borrow a favorite description used by an old mass communications teacher of mine (J. Brent Norlem, St. Cloud State), it was an "abortion." Sorry if that's offensive. We had more loose standards of taste back then. 

The game review in the Willmar paper was such an abortion, Lyle Rambow took it upon himself to contact me via email a few hours after I had posted, to alert me about it all. I corrected 2-3 of the worst errors and decided to leave it at that. Ideally I should have contacted coach Witt directly but I felt I was no longer in a position to do that. I was past my newspaper career. However, we had all gotten so far into the digital age, we all should have embraced a new perspective. 

The newspaper need not be treated as anything special anymore. Sorry if that offends the newspaper interests, but that's the way it is. Adapt or die. 

I would have loved writing a colorful and dramatic review of the comeback win over Paynesville. I no longer had the opportunity unless I wanted to attend the game and take notes myself. 

The Willmar paper is owned by the same company that owned the Morris paper for a time. So Morris recycled sports stuff from Willmar a lot. And by golly, they re-ran the original West Central Tribune reporting complete with all the errors, on their website all the way through the next week. It defies understanding. I finally emailed Witt myself and asked: "Is it possible that not one person has contacted the (Morris) paper to point out the issues? I have a hard time believing no one did." 

So I suspect the Morris paper under Sue Dieter had a policy, with any Willmar-generated material, of simply not correcting it. The coverage had the wrong name of the Tiger who caught the winning pass. I mean, can you imagine if I had been responsible for doing that? To this day, my blog post about the game with its limited corrections is the best review you can find of what was a really history-making game. 

To the present: The West Central Tribune has cut Morris out of its sports coverage territory. So, that leaves me with what? I can get some basic information from the kmrs-kkok site. The radio station is to be complimented, even though its summaries can be brief. Also, I wish they would have more Morris-specific headlines - make it clear that MACA is the priority. Just my opinion. 

Naturally, my blog posts are all in my own words. But I'm a little reluctant to rely on the kmrs-kkok website alone. I'd prefer getting a little deeper into game details. I may get a reprieve this winter because Mark Torgerson, assuming he hasn't retired yet, likes to put game stats on the Maxpreps site. It's possible I'm the one who alerted him to this option. I'll probably be able to write sufficiently well about MACA boys basketball. I'm concerned about the rest. We'll just have to see what happens. 

I couldn't find details of the MACA vs. Sauk Centre football game anywhere. I assume a review eventually showed up in the Morris print newspaper, but you had to wait a week to see that - unacceptable. "Minnesota Scores" says we won 32-7. 

We need to overcome old habits and old ways of thinking. We should no longer assume the newspaper holds such a special, privileged place. 

Why does the coach supply information to the Morris newspaper? Well, isn't that obvious? I would say it is no longer so obvious. Maybe the school should insist that if the game info is supplied to the paper, the paper must agree to present a decent game review on its website within a day, maybe two, after the game. It should all be free access for the public, as my blogs are obviously. With my writing, you just click and read, no obstacles or distractions at all. I'm not trying to sell you anything or to help someone else sell you anything. Taxpayers are already paying to support the school. 

I don't think my suggestions are radical at all.

Covid still hovers

A close relative of Julie Storck informs me that she died from covid. Julie was such a fixture at the Willie's bakery department. I will be visualizing her for years into the future there. She was a 1975 graduate of Morris High School, meaning she was a sophomore when I was a senior. The senior high building was for grades 10-12 then. I did not know her and that was unfortunate. 

Can we be satisfied that our political leaders have led us through the best possible strategies vs. covid? There continues to be resistance from the extreme political right wing. I cannot fathom this, why such people are so determined to put up roadblocks to the best-intentioned public policies. Jeff Backer has said on our local radio that he hasn't gotten the vaccine. He said he thought he had maybe already had the virus, just based on having been "tired" for a short time, as I recall. Hardly a firm basis. 

Rep. Jeff Backer

Most likely he is a Republican man who reflects a portion of our population which has gone astray in many ways. I don't understand it. Now some of these people like Jim Jordan are talking about how maybe parents should have the right to refuse any vaccinations for schoolchildren. 

In the past, anti-vaxxers were written off as a small minority of Alex Jones types. They have gone beyond the fringe now and present a real danger. 

Has Rep. Backer gotten the vaccine yet? I wouldn't bet on it. As for me, I got my booster shot on Wednesday at Thrifty White Pharmacy in Morris. Also, my flu shot. Imagine if certain local victims of covid could have had their lives saved if we had all followed the best prudent advice of national leaders who are not blinded by right wing political allegiance. Allegiance to the Tucker Carlsons of the world et al.

The guy who was the big "Backer backer" reportedly died of pneumonia. Makes me wonder. 

There appears no chance of Backer ever being voted out of office. That's just the way it is.

Didn't Gerald Ford, a Republican president, promote the swine flu vaccine, which actually had a very small but real risk? There was no Fox News then.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA volleyball ends regular season on a roll

We can put aside the volleyball Tigers' sub-.500 record for the regular season. For one thing, the playoff phase is a whole new season. And if it gets going in the manner in which the Tigers finished the regular season, lots of optimism is called for. 

Yes, the Tigers have a 6-17 record. But forget about that, as the orange and black wrapped up the regular season with a four-match win streak. 

Not only that, three of the wins came by decisive sweep! At the very end, we dominated the visiting Silverstreaks of Osakis. The action was Tuesday night at Tiger Center here in Motown. 

The 3-0 sweep was a nice crisp performance for Senior Night. It included Brianna Marty delivering ten kills. She also performed 19 digs and three aces. Maddy Grove came on strong with nine kills and 12 digs. Our kmrs-kkok site further reports that Brienna Dybdahl had 25 assists. Cam Ostby added to the mix with seven kills and five digs. Liv Lebrija was reliable with her 14 digs. 

All in all, many ingredients to the winning formula in front of the home fans. Osakis has a 9-13 record.

 

Cross country: conference meet

Gavin Stallman placed 11th for the MACA boys cross country team in the conference meet held Tuesday at Minnewaska Golf Club. Matthew Giese was No. 20 to the finish chute, and Hunter Peterson was close behind in 21st. Charlie Hanson got there 28th. 

The champion in the boys race was Landon Kampsen of Sauk Centre. He was joined in the top three by Landon Thompson of Benson and Maeson Tank of Minnewaska. Sauk Centre took top honors among boys. MACA placed fourth. 

The girls race saw host Minnewaska as the champion team. Four Lakers were among the top five runners, led by Olivia Danielson. Other 'Waska standouts were Laura Ankeny, Sierra Willmes and Sydney Chevalier. Our Tiger girls placed fourth with our lineup including Meredith Carrington in 8th, Isabel Fynboh in 9th, Caryn Marty in 14th and Hannah Schultz in 16th.

 

MACA football

We're in that week where high school football is showcased on Wednesday night. It's the annual tail-ender for the regular season. After that it's playoffs, something that did not exist when I was in high school. Stan Kent was cool on the idea of playoffs - he thought it was good enough to play for your conference title. He felt the conference title really meant something and didn't need to be overshadowed by playoffs where every team in the state loses at the end with the exception of the various class champions. 

But today we take for granted those playoffs, which often happen when harsh early-winter temperatures are at least hovering. 

Tonight's (Wednesday) assignment for the Tigers will be to host Sauk Centre at Big Cat. The Tigers aim to eradicate the turnover problem that hurt them on Friday. Turnovers have been an occasional problem area. You know what the consequences can be. On Friday they contributed to our loss at Paynesville in a high-scoring affair. The Bulldogs prevailed 34-30. 

It was a back-and-forth battle, surely entertaining for the fans. The green-themed Bulldogs delighted their home fans by exploiting our six turnovers. The Bulldogs played a sharper game with a mere one turnover. Total offense saw the green crew roll up 443 yards to our 391. 

The orange and black was in a hole at halftime, down 28-14. Undaunted, we fought to wrest the lead with two touchdowns in the third quarter. A very exciting pass from Brandon Jergenson to Cole Wente, 49 yards, put us up 30-28. The deciding touchdown was by the Bulldogs as Grayson Fuchs passed to Gus Johnson, 16 yards. No further scoring. 

Fuchs had four touchdown passes on the night. A favorite target was Tafadzwa Juma: three receptions, 98 yards, two touchdowns. 

Our Jergenson completed ten of 20 pass attempts for 213 yards. He threw for a score but had two passes picked off. Durgin Decker had 154 rushing yards on 35 carries. Two of his carries netted six. He was a force on defense too with his six tackles and two forced fumbles. 

Cole Wente picked off a pass. Wente had two pass catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Berlinger had a big 70-yard pass reception. 

The Tigers enter the MEA week game with a 4-3 record. Paynesville sits at 5-2. Do people still use the "MEA week" term, or has that gone the way of "Christmas concert?" The MEA is, or was, the term for the state teachers union. Do they really need a big annual in-person convention any more, in our age of connectedness? The MEA represents the teachers, it does not represent the students and their families. The convention allows them to plot strategy against the rest of us, I suppose.

 

Your blog host with Chancellor Ericksen

Music, music, music

You saw a photo that includes yours truly if you received the "UMN Legacy" email the other day. I'm with the chancellor or acting chancellor, Janet Ericksen. Remember that it's "en" on the end of her last name, just like you have to be aware that Bryan Herrmann has two n's at the end. Oh, and that it's "Bryan" (the wrong spelling) and not like me, Brian - just kidding. 

Janet was awarded her Ph.D. from the U of Illinois.

I strive to keep my family's memory alive at our U of M-Morris. Has "UMM" given way to "UMN?" So many changes out and around in our world of today. I don't even know how to get television anymore. I have no TV but I have a laptop with YouTube. Life is going OK. 

It is wonderful that UMM's music department chose to present my father's "UMM Hymn" for its Homecoming concert. To the extent the song is considered for performance in the future, I hope it's based on the song's merits rather than on the Williams Fund. But it's a delight to hear regardless. 

Dad in 1962

Dad wrote the song on instructions from UMM's first head person, Rodney Briggs, called "Dean Briggs." Then we got "Provost Imholte" and finally the term "chancellor" which is in use now. So Janet Ericksen holds the reins. She's a specialist in Old English. I asked her if this involved Charles Dickens and she said "older," like "Beowulf." 

Let us acknowledge too, our high school music program where Wanda Dagen is a cog. She directs the wind ensemble which in my younger days was just called "band." When I hear the "wind" term, I can't help but think of Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind" tour! Turn it up to eleven! Well, the music was at a most pleasing level for the Monday, Oct. 18, concert at the concert hall. In addition to the wind ensemble, we heard the seventh and eighth grade bands and the concert band. I enjoyed listening to Kaia Anderson on the "euphonium." 

Ms. Dagen went through a health challenge last spring, at which time she was still weakened for the spring concert. She was game for handling those duties though - some time spent sitting on a stool - but I recall no stool for the Monday concert which was a total joy. I especially enjoyed "Disney at the Movies." I wish Wanda could find a suitable arrangement of an ABBA medley. I believe ABBA's third new single is coming out this Friday. It's called "Just a Notion" and you can find a pre-existing recording by the ABBA tribute band "Arrival." It's catchy. 

Wanda was on top of her game directing her musicians on Monday. She hasn't lost a step from pre-covid. She is also just as attractive as ever, IMHO. Maybe more attractive. I'm entitled to an occasional opinion, aren't I?

 

Addendum: I wonder if the "mask required" rule might cause confusion so close to Halloween!

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Down 0-2, MACA girls surge to defeat Thunder Hawks

Tigers 3, Montevideo 2

MACA volleyball is making some progress from the pattern of setbacks over most of the season to date. Fans at Tiger Center cheered the progress on Tuesday. The Tigers gained their fourth win. Unfortunately their loss total stands at 17. But a win is always heartening, and the manner in which MACA won was particularly savory. 

Actually, things looked bleak for the orange and black midway through. They had allowed the Thunder Hawks to achieve a 2-0 lead in games, so just one win away from taking the match. Filled with resolve, the Tigers were undaunted and summoned winning form the rest of the way. Certainly there was a crescendo of cheers from the MACA faithful. 

Here's a complete review of the night's scores with MACA numbers first: 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21 and 15-10. Monte came out of the night at 10-13. 

Kills were important in the Tigers' winning mix. In this department we see Brianna Marty with 15 and Sydney Dietz and Maddy Grove each with ten. Grove also came through with three blocks and three aces. Brienna Dybdahl performed four aces and Dietz had three. 

I have access to more detailed stats for the T-Hawks. Taya Weber and Callie Augeson each had two serving aces while Avery Koenen had one. Tenley Epema was the workhorse in setting and she had 27 assists. Avery Koenen was clearly the go-to T-Hawk at the net - she pounded 20 kills. She was complemented by Maren Nelson (3), Avery Williams (1), Augeson (1) and Emmie Koenen (1). 

Avery Koenen was quite the force with blocking too where her ace total was seven. Emmie Koenen had one ace. Digs was another department where Avery Koenen led - her total here was 14. Other Thunder Hawks with digs were Teagan Epema (9), Weber (7), Tenley Epema (5) and Augeson (5). 

The West Central Tribune reported "stats not available" for MACA. Which brings to mind: the word is that Morris is now "out" when it comes to the WC Trib's All-Area teams, as well as the end-of-year nominations for the award named for Ranweiler and one other dude whose name I have a hard time remembering how to spell. These awards are bestowed by the West Central Tribune staff. I have always questioned somewhat the legitimacy of such awards, as they don't seem to have the proper imprimatur. But people probably have fun with these things. 

Along with this change of status for MACA relative to the Willmar paper, comes another consequence, apparently: erasure of our game details from the regular coverage. That's really kind of a downer, never mind that I have reservations about Forum Communications, the big company out of Fargo that owns the Willmar paper. Forum had a shot at owning our paper in Morris. It was a failure here and ended up leaving town. 

Forum boasts how it is so up to date with all the trendy ways of the modern business/corporate world. Talk is cheap, guys. The Morris paper has been taken over by the Anfinsons who obviously have more on the ball. They don't just talk big, they know how to do it. 

With MACA now being tossed out of bounds by the Forum-owned West Central Tribune, is this related to the Forum having retreated from Morris? Is there sour grapes or bitterness or whatever? A bitter taste? 

All things being equal, it would be nice to still see MACA on the West Central Tribune's map, wouldn't it? But they didn't even call us "MACA," remember? They took the liberty to call us "Morris/Chokio-Alberta" all the time, even though we clearly go by "Morris Area Chokio Alberta." I pointed out this discrepancy in my online writing through the years, to no avail. How many people read my blogs? I really cannot be certain. I hope more than a few. 

Lyle Rambow shared this interpretation with me: "Likely, they just weren't selling enough subscriptions in our area to warrant coverage here." To those few who still subscribe: why not just discontinue as soon as possible? I appreciate Lyle's input but then I wonder: don't the advertisers in the West Central Tribune want to penetrate the Morris area a little? I might suggest this should be an even more important consideration for them. Advertising is really the straw that stirs the drink. 

How about for Schweiter's Chevrolet? I use to love their TV commercials. (At present I do not have TV.) 

Lyle and Londa live at a place called "Baycrest" now. They used to live on my Northridge Drive. The MACA tennis coach now lives at their old house: a house of winners!

 

Cross country at Murdock

MACA cross country runners made the trip to Mary Holmberg's hometown of Murdock Tuesday for the Benson-KMS Invite. Our top standouts were Hailey Werk for the girls and Gavin Stallman for the boys. Werk was No. 5 to the finish chute in the girls race. Stallman was No. 11 among the boys. 

Our girls team finished fourth and also included Meredith Carrington (7th) and Isabel Fynboh (15th). Our boys placed sixth. Matthew Giese arrived at the finish chute 23rd. 

Here's a listing of the top five girls: Olivia Danielson of 'Waska (20:32), Lauren Ankeny of 'Waska (21:22), Amber Collins of Wadena-Deer Creek (21:23), Peyton Dahl of New London-Spicer (21:38) and Hailey Werk of MACA (21:45). This is annoying: the West Central Tribune has "MCA" after Hailey's name. You dumbasses, it's "MACA." 'Waska was the champion girls team. 

Here's a listing of the top five boys: Brandon Kampsen of Sauk Centre (17:02), Payton Sterud of Lac qui Parle Valley (17:47), Landon Thompson of Benson-KMS (18:13), Maeson Tank of 'Waska (18:21) and Kaiden Allpress of Lac qui Parle Valley (18:23). Lac qui Parle Valley was the champion boys team.

Cashless in Willmar

Don't bring cash if you want to get admission to a football game in Willmar. Cash is no-go there now. It's an adjustment for a lot of people, I'm sure, especially older people. But such things are inevitable in the world of today, n'est-ce pas? 

I got to thinking about our choir and band concerts here at MAHS. I have heard stories about how some people come in with big bills to break, maybe even a $100? Word is, some of these people just get waved in, forget giving the change. People associated with school activities can get in free, I hear, and I hear also that the school can be real "loose" making this judgment. It does not take much of a connection. 

The first band concert is coming up on Monday, Oct. 18.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers take 3A tennis crown, are in for state

MACA/WCA tennis made a climb through Section 3A play to take No. 1! It's a ticket to state. The team is called "Tigers" based on what I see reported in other media. "WCA" is for West Central Area of course. It's a comfortable and winning partnership. 

The Tigers not only won the section championship match, they nearly did so in a sweep. Our foe was Benson/KMS. We did sweep the singles categories. Abbigail Athey showed a precise racket vs. Elise Duncan, 6-3 and 6-3. Kassidy Girard picked up steam throughout her match vs. Hannah Helms where the outcomes were 2-6, 7-5 and 6-0. Wow! Then we see Catherine "Cate" Kehoe with a sweep over Elle Klescher, 6-2 and 6-0. 

Claire Stark was dominant in beating Addy DeToy 6-0 and 6-0. Wow again! Another superlative could be trotted out for our first and second doubles teams. Kjersten Nibbe and Hope Sperr showed effective rackets against Eleanor Habben and Milgo Abdi, winning 6-2 and 6-4. The No. 2 team of Lakia Manska and Breanna Schmigall turned back Bella Quisberg and Lily Miller 7-6 (5), 4-6 and 10-6. 

Our third doubles unit didn't fare so well, as Lydia Fynboh and Elizabeth Pollard were downed by Anna McNeill and Alana Hettver, 5-7 and 4-6.

The state tournament is not until October 26-29. The locations will be Baseline Tennis Center at the U of M, and the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis. Info is from the MSHSL.

 

Tigers 4, Montevideo 3

The tennis Tigers climbed through the Section 3A semi-finals with success vs. Montevideo. The competition site was Gustavus Adolphus, St. Peter. We survived this tough challenge with the 4-3 win. Our No. 2 though No. 4 singles players prevailed. Kassidy Girard defeated Cameron Myers 6-3 and 6-3. Catherine "Cate" Kehoe prevailed vs. Brooke Lindeman 6-4 and 7-5. Claire Stark was on the winning end vs. Lauren Dehne, 6-1 and 6-1. Our No. 1 singles player Abbigail Athey was defeated by Emily Bruce 1-6 and 1-6. Our No. 2 doubles team must have made some adjustments after the first set. Lakia Manska and Breanna Schmidgall were stopped at the start 4-6, then they came on strong to defeat Annie Marquardt and Brooke Hilden 6-1 and 6-2. Our first doubles team of Kjersten Nibbe and Hope Sperr fell to Tyra Sandven and Mathea Jorgenson 2-6 and 5-7; and at third doubles, Lydia Fynboh and Elizabeth Pollard bowed to Ashley Klaassen and Gwyn Smiens, 5-7 and 5-7.

We have certainly had beautiful weather for enjoying tennis lately. Making state as a team is very significant.

 

Volleyball: Tigers 3, Benson 0

MACA volleyball made some progress in an otherwise disappointing season on Thursday. The progress came in a sweep win. Success was versus the Braves of Benson at Benson. So we notched our third win of the season while also having the baggage of 17 losses. Benson is having its share of struggles also, a 4-19 mark. 

I'm not sure why the MACA coaches aren't helping out the media more. They ought to be up to that task after a sweep win. This was a West Central Conference match. Our success came with scores of 25-9, 25-18 and 25-17. Adysen Himley batted two serving aces at the Tigers. She was also at the fore in setting for the Braves: eleven assists. Libby McGeary and Isabella Wolter each contributed one set assist. 

Lilly Slaughter and Kyra Gronseth pounded five and three kills respectively, while these four Braves each had one: Torie Andrews, Ellie Krusemark, Wolter and Kaylin Grube. In digs we saw these Braves lead: McGeary (16), Krusemark (12) and Slaughter (11). 

I do not have stats for MACA.

 

Melrose 3, Tigers 1

The Tuesday chapter of the Tiger volleyball week was a loss, 1-3 vs. Melrose at Tiger Center. Melrose eked out the Game 1 win 25-23, then it was a 25-19 score in Game 2 for the Dutchmen. The Tigers got the Game 3 win 25-23, then succumbed in Game 4 when Melrose enjoyed a 7-0 run. The Game 4 score was 25-21 for the Dutchmen. 

Our kmrs-kkok site reported some MACA stat highlights, like Maddy Grove with eleven kills, eleven digs, three aces and a block. Brianna Marty came through with ten kills, ten digs, three aces and a block. Sydney Dietz had impact with eight kills and four aces, and Brienna Dybdahl accumulated 28 set assists. 

Kimberly Klassen helped lead the visitor to victory with 12 kills and six blocks. Then we see Brooke Meyer with 20 assists and Kari Rademacher with 14 digs. Melrose is having a .500 season.

 

Werk, Stallman lead runners

The Tigers of the cross country world visited Sauk Centre Tuesday. Hailey Werk was the top Tiger place-winner for the girls: 14th. Meredith Carrington arrived at the finish chute 19th, just ahead of Isabel Fynboh in 20th. Continuing: Hannah Schultz (34th), Kendal Fischer (36th), Caryn Marty (37th) and Alayna Perkins (52nd). The individual girls champion was Laina Viere of the champion Rocori team. 

Our boys effort was topped by Gavin Stallman in 27th. Charlie Hanson, Matt Giese and Hunter Pederson arrived at the finish chute in the 40s. Other running Tigers were Jacob Buhl (47th), Pierce Richards (57th) and Sam Jordan (67th). The top boys team was St. Cloud Cathedral. The boys individual champion was Landon Kampsen of Sauk Centre.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

61-yard pass closes gap, but Tigers fall to Pierz 25-22

Fans gathered at Big Cat Stadium for a second consecutive home game on Friday, this time with weather not quite as pleasant as for Homecoming. We were unusually blessed for the Homecoming game. As the fall weeks pass, the odds for these conditions lessen. We felt the more fall-like conditions on a misty Friday when the Pierz Pioneers came to town. 

The moist nature of the day meant no pep band. Fans enjoyed a hard-fought game out on the Big Cat artificial turf. The outcome was in doubt much of the time. When the four quarters were done, the Pioneers could savor the 25-22 win. The Tigers remain over .500 at 3-2. Pierz came out at 4-1. 

Surely we had strong suits on the night. Such as, the 208 rushing yards ground out by Durgin Decker. Decker was handed the football 24 times. The passing game saw Brandon Jergenson put up 22 attempts. His completion percentage wasn't great but his yards-per-completion definitely was great: He was eight of 22 for 140 yards but unfortunately, three of his aerials were picked off. Turnovers hurt - we had five in all. 

Pierz played a more conservative game with Andrew Winscher completing five of seven aerials for 121 yards, a great average-per. The Pioneers' Reece Young carried the ball for 85 yards. Teammate Zach Jones rushed for 74. 

The Pioneers jumped ahead 13-0 before MACA could get on the scoreboard. When finally the refs signaled "touchdown" for MACA, it was when Jergenson passed 12 yards to Toby Gonnerman. Then in the third quarter, Jergenson passed to Jackson Loge on a short TD hookup. At this point we had crept out in front 14-13. A tenuous lead, yes, and we lost it when Young of the Pioneers scampered 20 yards for six. A Jones scoring run of 34 yards got the Pioneers up 25-14. Then came Jergenson's third scoring toss of the evening, when he found Dylan Rose open for a big 61-yarder. MACA was now within three points but we'd get no closer. 

The orange and black is now striving to stay above .500. Next up: at Minnewaska Area. 

A look over area scores from Friday prompts some concern. We see a brutal 81-0 final score. Was this really necessary? It was Wheaton-Herman-Norcross outdoing Bertha-Hewitt. Are fans really served watching such a thing? Couldn't fans find more constructive endeavors, than to watch such a thing? Perhaps some fans were angry by game's end. Look, it isn't worth the trouble - everyone forget about it. Put aside the emotions connected with high school sports. There are few winners when it comes to this. I'd be embarrassed as a fan of WHN to even watch this game. Maybe boys should play volleyball instead.

 

Volleyball: BOLD 3, Tigers 0

This season has been rather an uphill proposition for our MACA volleyball Tigers. I know there are some good athletes on the team. I see familiar names from softball. But the team has had a hard time getting it together to seek victory. And on Thursday there was no reprieve as the Tigers got swept by BOLD at Olivia. The 0-3 outcome had these scores: 13-25, 21-25 and 16-25. 

BOLD is having the opposite type of fall campaign from the Tigers. The Warriors upped their record to 14-3, 6-1 in the WCC. I have only BOLD stats available, sorry. Nellie Borer had three serving aces and Delaney Tersteeg had two. In set assists we saw Tersteeg and Layla Pfarr with 15 and 14 respectively. Three BOLD Warriors each pounded down seven kills: Abby Meyers, Leslie Snow and Ady Knake. Caylee Weber had five kills and Kenzie Visser four. Three Warriors each had two ace blocks: Meyers, Visser and Mari Ryberg. In digs it was Ryberg with eight and Snow with seven.

Tennis: success at Benson

The tennis girls of MACA/WCA showed a winning flair at the Benson courts. We edged the Benson/KMS girls 4-3. Let's take a look at singles where we see Abbigail Athey prevailing at No. 1 over Elise Duncan, 6-1 and 6-3. We came out on the short end at No. 2 singles, Kassidy Girard getting bested by Hannah Helms 5-7 and 4-6. 

Our Catherine "Cate" Kehoe prevailed at No. 3, 6-3 and 6-0 over Elle Klescher. At No. 4 singles, Claire Stark downed Abby DeToy 6-0 and 6-3. 

We didn't fare so well in doubles, but good enough to assure a team win for MACA/WCA. At first doubles, the Benson pair of Eleanor Habben and Milgo Abdi won 6-1 and 6-4 over Kjersten Nibbe and Hope Sperr. At No. 2, Benson's Bella Quisberg and Anna McNeill downed Lakia Manska and Breanna Schmidgall 6-4 and 7-5. We got our win at No. 3 where the tandem of Lydia Fynboh and Elizabeth Pollard prevailed 6-2 and 6-3 over Alana Hettver and Kya Oakes.

Swimming/diving

The RFC was the site for swimming/diving action that had Sauk Centre as the opponent. Our swim team has MACA combined with Minnewaska Area. Sauk Centre was the victor 112-74. Shannon Dougherty was a standout for the home team as she won the 50 freestyle. She was also second in the 100 free. Audrey Dorweiler placed third in the 50 free.

Accent on diving: here we had Taryn Picht in second, Clare Barnstuble in third and Grace Mortenson taking fourth.

Media notes:

A friend forwarded me the apparently new E-newsletter from the Morris newspaper. The friend and I were not certain that the new feature was going to be welcomed. My friend wondered if people would see it as "stuff the paper didn't have room for in its regular product," which would be an admission that the regular product isn't cutting it, which in terms of size it probably is not. 

Did I miss the photos from the MAHS Homecoming coronation? Were they someplace I just didn't notice? 

My reaction to the E-newsletter? I think many people will see it as just more "email junk." It may not be bereft of value but sometimes we just get inundated. Many of us already get "Friday Facts" from the Chamber, an item that has had negligible value during our closed-down year with the pandemic. Activities got revived some, but what now does the future hold? This coming winter might be worse than last year. Masks are now required indoors on the UMM campus. 

My "Friday Facts" often lands in spam. That happen to you too? There are times when I automatically delete it, as I would probably do with the newspapers's E-newsletter. 

I really do wish the paper well. However, for all the bluster from Reed about how we need to preserve rural newspapers as a "watchdog" on government, I do not sense, at all, any such orientation from the paper in terms of asking tough questions of people in public positions, making them squirm sometimes. 

I admit I don't see the Morris paper every week. I could stand corrected on anything. But the paper could be probing more on two matters: the water treatment plant and the softball complex. Has the paper reported that the initial announcement of new city water at five grains of hardness has been pushed all the way down to 15 grains, and what this might mean for local residents who might be confused as hell? That's a big change. Why did it happen? Has the newspaper asked? 

As for the softball complex, didn't the school board release a new sum of $220,000 in the recent past, like maybe three months ago? I have seen no new work done at the place, outside of some piles of dirt the purpose of which is not readily apparent. And what about the lights around the new Holmberg Field which we were apparently promised by the funeral home? The funeral home got a nice bunch of attention in the local media with its gesture. 

The softball complex haunts us, as a not very fan-friendly place. The newspaper might stimulate discussion on this, ask planners about their rationale for how it's all laid out. I'm sure there are other subjects where the Morris newspaper could act as a watchdog. Reed continually writes about how this is such a worthy purpose. What I have seen of the paper, it seems to be a "positive" lapdog for local public/government officials. A simple blog might do better. Anyone up for it?

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com