MACA boys dominate Homecoming foe

Tommie Holland, defensive back, confronts a Thunder Hawk during the Homecoming win. (B.W. photos)

Chandler Erickson is on his way to a Tiger touchdown on this play.

Noah Grove gets steadily more reliable kicking PATs.

Congratulations to the Morris Area Chokio Alberta gridders who won so convincingly Friday (10/5) in the Homecoming game. They are achieving their goals and then some. They are doing what they have been inspired to do.

I had to have a somewhat empty feeling, however, arriving at halftime (which is my habit) and finding the opponent so completely buried on the scoreboard. It was the Sauk Centre game redux. The 10/5 foe was Montevideo.

For many years it was all we could do to compete evenly with the likes of Montevideo and Sauk Centre. And now we're pounding them.

I saw a Montevideo player being attended to on the sidelines who may have been hurt quite badly. Is this game worth it? I would say no. But it's above my pay grade - my pay grade is zero - to decide what activities are healthy for our public schools to offer. If they want to sponsor gladiators, that's their decision. There are many people in this town who suggest I possess little wisdom. Maybe I'm just showing that again.

Hancock recently lost to Wheaton 70-8. Did anyone come out of that experience having benefited? You have to ask the question. Now, on to the game review:
  

Tigers 55, Montevideo 7

As the score suggests, our Tigers had a knack for "big plays." That tendency was fully on display in the first half. The score was 35-0 at halftime and 49-0 after three quarters.

The scoring barrage began with Tom Holland carrying the football in from the eight. Noah Grove, getting ever more seasoned and comfortable kicking, was true with his toe for the PAT. So the score is 7-0.

You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

The second touchdown came on a 71-yard pass from Jacob Torgerson to Tanner Picht. This time the PAT failed. On to touchdown No. 3: Picht scored this one too, this time eluding tackles in a 27-yard run. Torgerson passed to Chandler Erickson on the conversion.

Holland broke loose on a 29-yard run for the Tigers' fourth score. Grove kicked for the point-after. The big play surfaced again for the Tigers' final first half score: It was a 70-yard pass from Torgerson to Erickson followed by another good Grove kick. The rout is on.

The big Homecoming fan turnout was enduring the cold just fine.

Touchdown No. 6 came on a 14-yard pass from Torgerson to Erickson. Grove nailed the point-after with poise. Jordan Staples, a prolific scorer, punched the ball in from the eleven as the MACA onslaught grew. Again Grove kicked the PAT.

Montevideo scored on a punt return that had the returner appearing to be pinned back deep at first. He miraculously separated himself from the would-be tacklers and before you knew it, he was sprinting northward toward the Monte end zone. The name of this Thunder Hawk: Jimmy Haff. His return went into the books as an 81-yarder. Matt Fischer kicked the point-after.

Appropriately it was the Tigers ending the night's scoring. Bryce Jergenson scored on a 24-yard run, and shortly thereafter the game (mercifully) ended.

The MACA volleyball Tigers were up and down in Homecoming week, winning by sweep on the road and losing by sweep in the week's home match. My post on these two matches is on my companion website, "Morris of Course," and I invite you to click on the permalink below to read it. Thanks for reading. - B.W.

http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/10/3-tigers-nail-at-least-ten-kills-in.html

 

Again, whither football?

If you research what is happening with football at present, with all the talk of health concerns, what you learn is that there are more and more grossly one-sided games. Programs that are below average in their resources or numbers are struggling to keep enough boys out to continue playing.

The elite schools are holding their own for now. More and more they are having to play each other and traveling longer distances to do so. The weaker programs are shriveling up as prospective players and their parents 1) feel concern about the health hazards, and 2) find there are better things to do with their time.

A current in-depth article in Forbes emphasizes the latter. It's a bit of a contrarian article because it doesn't stress the head injury issue so much (or other injury concerns, which have always been well-known). It maintains that the culture of youth is changing. Football isn't the emblem for acceptance or admiration like it historically has been.

Where are we all headed? For the time being, Morris Area Chokio Alberta football is in fine shape. The broader picture isn't quite so encouraging.
But congrats to the Tigers on their success. The next foe is Lac qui Parle "out in the middle of nowhere" at that LQPV school. Listen for coyotes.

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