Great to be enthused, but maybe this ought to be tempered by the thought that we shouldn't literally define success by winning. Or do we? Think of the kids on teams that experienced defeat in the opening round. Can they tuck that disappointment away, or does it linger more than they might let on?
Our MACA girls did not fare as well as the boys. I personally think the girls could have done better. A fan's prerogative, to share such thoughts! Well, the boys are surely on the climb. They disposed of Redwood Valley on Thursday night, yes, St. Patrick's Day, in a late game played at Southwest State of Marshall.
I felt for all the fans having to drive home so late at night. It would be an ordeal for yours truly to do that. So I checked the radio for score updates.
I was concerned yesterday that if the Tigers make the state championship game - more than a decent possibility - it might conflict with the departure date for the MAHS band and choir for their Texas trip. Could all those musicians really miss the "big dance" of title day? Not only would all those young fans be missed, the pep band would be missed! I couldn't conceive of this happening.
I was originally told the departure date was in fact the 26th. This morning I got an update from a non-official source. Reportedly the departure date is now the 27th, having been changed because of a change of destination. The change was from New Orleans to San Antonio. I heard that a factor in the change was vaccination requirements in one place relative to the other - that's hearsay.
The state championship game and third place game will be played on the 26th.
The music trip will be a wonderful experience. In San Antonio the kids will no doubt observe the Alamo. We have learned in recent years that so much of the original Alamo story is myth, fed by Walt Disney and John Wayne among others! The anti-CRT people probably would not want the truth to be told. Fascinating issue. The Mexicans were fighting against slavery, while the Alamo defenders had a checkered background and were rather clueless. They had been warned of the approaching army.
This is funny: there is a suggestion that the famous "line in the sand" was actually for the people who wanted to leave - step over to indicate as much. Isn't that something?
Anyway, band and choir are a high priority at our school - the trip will surely be enriching. The MACA boys made state with their 56-54 win over the Redwood Valley Cardinals.
Durgin Decker made freethrows at the end to give assurance of victory. Jackson Loge made a field goal with a minute/30 seconds remaining, and this broke a 51-all stalemate. Decker stole the ball, was fouled and in this visit to the freethrow line, made one of two. So we're up 54-51. Charles LaChapelle of Redwood misfired on a '3' attempt. Decker got the rebound and was fouled. That's when he made the two critical freethrows to wrap things up.
It did not matter that Zack Reck of Redwood made a long shot at the buzzer. So there was a big celebration on court for the Tigers. It's what March Madness is all about.
(The kmrs-kkok website article spells Zack's name "Zack Wreck." It's hard being totally precise all the time.)
The first half was rather seesaw as initially we led by nine - heartening yes, but we were up against a high-caliber team. At halftime we trailed by three, 27-24.
The second half was a nail-biter. A sense of rivalry is building with our neighbor to the south. You can always count on a hard-fought battle.
MACA has an overall record of 27-2 now. We'll be making our sixth state tournament appearance.
The Hancock girls won in a total blow-out in the state quarter-finals. My goodness, the score was 73-38 over Nevis. Carlee Hanson scored 29 points and stole the ball seven times.
Spring has sprung
St. Patrick's Day 2022 is now history. Let's not overlook St. Urho's Day which was the day before! These are occasions when there still tends to be plenty of snow outside, and the snow is getting dirty. In some ways, not so pleasant. But after our particularly unpleasant winter, the uptick in temperatures is nothing but welcome.
I always try to be one of the first people out to the biking/walking trail this time of year. I can see someone has beaten me. There is no more exhilarating sign of spring than to see "Goldy" checking out the biking/walking trail. Goldy's master is Sharon Martin, MAHS faculty member.
Someone sent me a current photo of Goldy from Sharon's Facebook page, and I'm happy to share this photo here. It's such a joy to realize that Sharon and Goldy are out on the trail, I'm really a little misty!
St. Patrick's Day of the past
Mid-March spells opportunities to get outside, get fresh air, perhaps engage in vigorous exercise. Sharon is very smart about this: nice brisk walks. St. Patrick's Day evokes memories from when my body was more game for the intense stuff. I shared with a friend in an email the other day:
This past winter wore on me like no other in my whole life. Weather is improving but not fast enough. In the "old days" I ran the St. Patrick's Day 5-mile run in St. Paul, a point-to-point course starting at U of St. Thomas and ending at the State Capitol. They had fruit waiting for us at the end, then we boarded school buses to be taken back to St. Thomas. A lot of runners wore costumes.
The MACA stats
Thanks to coach Mark Torgerson for making sure the stats are posted on "Maxpreps." I hope this continues if/when "Torgy" retires. I have been wondering if he'll hang in there for a third generation of players!
The Thursday stats: we see the minimal five players scoring. Loge is atop the list with 27 points on 12 of 22 shooting. Thomas Tiernan was No. 2 with his eleven points on four of eight. Decker scored nine, Tyler Berlinger five and Brandon Jergenson four. Our team field goal numbers were 21 of 56, 51 percent.
Tiernan made all three of our 3-pointers in his six attempts. Our freethrow numbers were 11 of 17, 65 percent. Three Tigers each made three freethrows: Decker, Berlinger and Loge.
Loge grabbed 13 rebounds to lead, five offensive. Our rebound total was 26, six of which were offensive. We had ten assists of which Jergenson had four. We had nine steals of which Decker had three. Our turnover total was 14. Loge had all three of our shot blocks.
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| (image from twitter) |
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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