Tigers, Warriors engage in 5-game battle

BOLD 3, Tigers 2

The Tigers entered Thursday's (9/27) match on a roll. They had been on a roll not only winning, but winning by sweep.

On Thursday they faced a team with a little more punch than some of their recent foes. This was BOLD, the Warriors, who had several more matches under their belt. BOLD won Thursday and ascended to the ten-win plateau. They have lost four times. The MACA record coming out of Thursday was 6-4.

Fans at the MAHS gym saw a full five-game match. It was a seesaw affair. First BOLD won 25-23. The Tigers carved out the edge in game #2, 25-21. Then it was BOLD on top again, 25-21, before MACA took charge in game #4, 25-13.

The home fans were hoping to see a continuation of that game #4 momentum. But the Warriors came on strong to win game #5 and the match, 15-9.

Haley Erdahl and Chelsey Ehleringer each put up 17 set assists.

Beth Holland was precise at the serving line, nailing two serve aces while going 23-for-23 in good/attempts. Kourtney Giese, Erdahl and Sydney Engebretson each nailed one serving ace. Giese's G/A numbers were 11 of 12, Erdahl was 13 of 13 in G/A, and Engebretson finished 13 of 14.

Hunter Mundal had eight good serves in ten attempts, and Terianne Itzen was a perfect 17 of 17.

Erdahl and Paige Schieler each went up to execute two ace blocks. Engebretson added one ace block.

Itzen was tops on the digs list with 33. Holland executed 24 digs. Ehleringer and Erdahl each had 19. Lacee Maanum and Engebretson each performed 15 digs, Paige Schieler had ten, Nicole Strobel eight, Giese seven and Mundal six.

The hitting attack saw Engebretson at the fore with 17 kills achieved on 56 of 61 in good/attempts. Schieler was a force with 13 kills on 45 of 48 in G/A. Itzen pounded down 12 kills on 58 of 66 in G/A.

Maanum had three kills while going 25 of 30. Strobel and Erdahl each had one kill with Strobel having 13 of 14 G/A numbers, and Erdahl 14 of 14.

Bailey Kubesh had much to do with BOLD's success. Kubesh chalked up 22 kills to keep Morris Area Chokio Alberta at bay much of the time. Her good/attempts stats were 58 of 65. No other Warrior was in double figures in kills.

Kubesh also had two serving aces, nine set assists, eight ace blocks and 24 digs. Yes, she was all over the place.

Carly Sigurdson had three serving aces while going a perfect 19-for-19. Sigurdson was tops in digs for BOLD with 35. This Warrior had three ace blocks, seven kills and three serving aces.

 

In the days before Peyton Manning

"The Book of Manning" is a much-promoted special on ESPN these days. I remember Archie Manning not as the revered patriarch but as a young quarterback coming out of Ole Miss, much heralded.

It seems we'll never know how good ol' Archie could have been. His pro career was quite full, lasting 14 years. You'd think at some point he'd be part of a team that could assemble winning pieces. Instead, he seemed destined to play in situations where his talent was held back. Clearly this is how football history portrays him.

Many of us might not remember he had a stint with our Minnesota Vikings. He came here in a celebrated trade, joined by Dave Casper who was another huge name. I remember the Star Tribune headline word for word: "Vikings get Manning, Casper in trade." It made our jaws drop.

Trades involving big names often aren't what they seem. Players get nicked up through the years. Far from leading Bud Grant's Vikings to the summit, the pair limped along in a mostly forgettable phase.

What fun it would have been had Manning been in top form at quarterback and led the Vikings to some glory. Maybe he was just disoriented being north of the Mason-Dixon Line. This was a man of the very Deep South having played for Ole Miss and then the New Orleans Saints.

As a Viking I recall him getting sacked often and violently, so much so, I remember Del Sarlette saying that the sight of Manning at the end of a sack was like Beetle Bailey having just been beat up by Sarge.

I also remember a "highlight scene" where Manning, on the run, made an awkward and inappropriate, for him, underhand pass attempt. It was a blooper candidate.

Manning's time with the Vikings isn't recalled in ESPN's "The Book of Manning." Today his reputation is probably inflated. Minus the wins, we just can't assume how good he really was. His sons carry the football banner to be sure.

Peyton threw seven touchdown passes in the season opener. The previous pro QB to do that? It was Joe Kapp of our Minnesota Vikings. Yes, I remember Kapp as something other than an old man getting into a fight with another old man in a YouTube video.

Kapp threw seven touchdown passes on September 28, 1969, in a 52-14 win over Baltimore (the Colts, not the Ravens). His feat was on a warm Sunday afternoon at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington. Kapp threw passes to 12 different teammates that day.

Jim Souhan sketches a history of Vikings quarterbacks in his column today (9/27). He might have written more about the season when the position was up for grabs among three players. I remember that season well because it was the first when I really followed pro football and the Vikings. It's not so much that I reached a certain age, it was more of a case that we had just gotten the "able cable" (cable TV).

Coach Grant had acquired Norm Snead in the off-season. Many of us assumed that the well-established Snead would take over. Grant wasn't completely sold. Knowledgable friends told me Snead threw over the middle too much to suit Grant, who was very risk-averse. Remember, the rules didn't favor passing in those days so much as today.

Grant set up a three-way competition for the starting quarterback job. Gary Cuozzo was in this along with Bob Lee, who also punted. Lee had an advantage of height and stature. He ended up winning out.

Those were the days of the heralded "purple people," when our defense could really apply a vise. Alan Page was a long ways from showing his sober wisdom as a Minnesota Supreme Court justice. He was a supreme lineman, not always quite on the same page with the stoic Grant.

Us boomers have fond memories. We have seen many quarterbacks come and go since. For the record, Archie Manning is in there, unfortunately as a footnote, perhaps worthy of a Beetle Bailey cartoon.

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