Cross country, football usher in new fall

Tigers on trail surrounded by lush green, at PDT.
Aiming for the lead: some of the top runners jockey for position.
The running student athletes set a competitive pace on the PDT course.

Morris Area Chokio Alberta student athletes are off and running for the new school year.

"Running" truly got the accent for the Morris Invitational cross country meet on Monday (8/29). The orange and black colors showed up well on the course, not only because of our MACA Tigers but also because the Marshall Tigers were here.

Yours truly (B.W.) was delighted to be on hand and take the photos seen above. It would have been a thrill with or without camera.

I was hindered somewhat not knowing the layout of the course and being confused at first between the MACA and Marshall uniforms. The sun was getting too low to photograph the boys (at least for my equipment).

I can't include meet details here because on Tuesday through Friday, I couldn't find coverage anywhere in the media. And today (Saturday) I can't use the Morris newspaper because they cut me off on my comp subscription a couple of years ago.

I'll just report that it was an exciting spectacle and coach Dale Henrich deserves kudos. The 18-hole Pomme de Terre Golf Course is truly panoramic now.

Football: 13-7 opener win

One of the most exciting Tiger gridiron plays last year was when Tom Holland sprinted for six on a kickoff return vs. Paynesville. He did it again Friday.

Holland gave MACA the 7-0 lead by turning on the jets on the game's opening kickoff. He covered 80 yards to quiet the crowd at Minnewaska Area, not that there weren't a fair number of MACA fans on hand to cheer.

It was season opener night. That kickoff return ended up most essential for how the Tigers fared on the night. Coach Jerry Witt's crew debuted with a 13-7 win.
Mac Beyer kicked the conversion after Holland's sprint.

The Lakers also scored a first quarter touchdown. This came when Andrew Ostrander plunged in from the one. Landon Thiel's toe was true for the conversion.

So the score is stalemated seven-all and this is where it stayed until very late.

Finally, with the clock showing three minutes left, MACA executed a screen pass which broke the Lakers' back. Quarterback Jake Torgerson drifted back and then released the ball to Chandler Erickson.

Everything fell into place. Chandler found the lanes he needed and was off to the races. The play covered 53 yards and ended with the referees signaling "touchdown."

The PAT try failed but it wouldn't matter.

Minnewaska Area was a stubborn opponent and didn't commit a turnover. The Tigers lost two fumbles.

Coach Witt is going to want to erase that deficiency; and for sure the six penalties called on his team, for 40 yards, didn't put a smile on his face either. 'Waska had just one penalty.

What surely makes the coach smile is the big "W" (win).

Quarterback Torgerson handed off the football plenty of times to Tim Ostby, who accumulated 93 yards.

Passing the football, Jake had six completions in nine attempts for 115 yards and zero interceptions. Logan Manska paced the receivers with four catches for 44 yards.

Tanner Picht handled punting chores.

Minnewaska's top ballcarriers were Lucas Anderson and Blake Johnsrud. Ostrander did the passing and his favorite targets were Sam Long, Jeff Pooler and Anderson.

'Waska had nine first downs compared to seven by the Tigers.

Now the orange and black crew is gearing up for its first home game. They'll take the field at Big Cat for the upcoming Friday affair which will begin at 7 p.m. and have New London-Spicer as the foe.
The atmosphere is bound to be festive.

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwily73@yahoo.com