My print media background was with the Stevens County sports teams. That includes Chokio-Alberta which no longer has its "Spartan" teams. We must never forget the Spartans!
Today we have MACA which stands for "Morris Area Chokio Alberta." The Willmar paper does not respect that, opting instead to apply its own judgment for "Morris/Chokio-Alberta." I have implored them on my blogs to no avail. Why would they listen to me? The Willmar paper is owned by Forum Communications which was once in Morris. Then they just took off.
You all know that "BBE" stands for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. The BBE girls basketball team just put on quite the show in state. They got to state by overpowering their Section 5A foes. The dominance continued through the quarter-final state game when BBE handled Underwood. The next game was a different story: a loss at the hands of eventual state champion Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Rangers of MIB would go on to manhandle their state championship game opponent, BOLD.
So maybe BBE finds some consolation in knowing that the Rangers were world-beaters.
BBE bounced back from its setback. They took to the court at Gangelhoff Center of Concordia-St. Paul Saturday. Their task: to take on the Vikings of Hayfield. The result: a 65-54 win for BBE: third place in state Class A!
The Jags were in good shape at halftime, up 35-27. Named to the All-Tournament Team were Abby Berge and Tiyana Schwinghammer. Berge was team-best in scoring Saturday with her 17 points. Schwinghammer put in 16. Brooklyn Fischer scored 11 and Bree Thieschafer 10.
Hayfield's top scorers were Kristin Watson with 21 points and Natalie Beaver 13. Hayfield finishes fourth for the second straight year. They were seeded No. 2 for state, BBE fifth. Hayfield has gone 61-7 over the last two seasons. BBE had the firepower and focus Saturday to turn them back!
I'm sure my old newspaper compatriot Randy Olson is among those who are drained and also satisfied on this Sunday afternoon as I write this. Randy is the Bonanza Valley newspaper person and he does a lot of dynamic things online to complement his basic work. You might say he's a pioneer. No one at our Morris newspaper could be mistaken for a pioneer.
The Morris newspaper did not have much to cover in our basketball post-season. Our girls team lost its only game. Our boys team had a "gimme" win vs. Minnewaska before being upset by New London-Spicer. What happened? In the old days I'd be in position to gain some background, when I wrote for the paper. Today I have distance from it all. But that does not mean I don't relish sinking my teeth into covering a state-qualifying prep sports team.
I have loved writing about BBE. I did this last fall too when BBE volleyball made state. It's a part of who I am: covering youth sports with a spark.
I have three posts prior to this one on the BBE girls' rise in state. These are on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. Here's the link to my post about the Jags' rise through Section 5A:
Here's the link to my post about the win over Underwood:
And here's the link to my post about the loss to "buzzsaw" Mountain Iron-Buhl:
And today I'm wrapping things up here on my "I Love Morris" site. Let's note that the final won-lost record of the BBE Jaguars is 27-5. It's the most wins in school history. Let's extend congrats to Mountain Iron-Buhl. This rugged squad dominated the BOLD Warriors in the Class A title game, score of 52-21. Wow!
The Class A consolation championship game had Underwood beating Badger-Greenbush-Middle River 47-32. The Rockets thus finished fifth.
Again, it is a pleasure for yours truly to sort of feel a part of it all. I hope a few of the BBE faithful discover my posts. If not, I'm happy to do it anyway.
(image from BBE Schools social media)
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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