Too one-sided? NL-S and BBE thrash foes

Many high school football games these days are a little wild with points being scored in a real flurry at times. This trend accelerated with Covid although I'm not sure of the direct connection, I mean with the disruption of routine. 

I think the people who run these programs like to see offense because it is more appealing for the fans/parents. Football like anything else is a product to be marketed. Sounds a little cynical but it's true. The elaborate new facilities like what we have in Morris must be sold to the public. Considering the public's investment, it really is essential. 

All of this makes an impression on yours truly as I have followed high school sports for a very long time, remember the low-scoring and frankly boring nature of so many games of an earlier time. 

These thoughts enter my head on this Saturday morning as I check area results. Holy cow, we see a score of 62-12 with New London-Spicer winning, St. Cloud Apollo losing. I have always viewed St. Cloud Apollo as a viable school in a most viable community. 

So much for St. Cloud being able to thump its chest all the time. I was going to write "weak sister" but that's misogynistic. Wait a minute, I just wrote it. Have a sense of humor. But alas, people tend not to. 

There is more to be said about the wild NL-Spicer vs. St. Cloud Apollo game: the Wildcats of NL-Spicer led at halftime 56-6. Absolutely unbelievable. Couldn't the second half have been called off, let everyone go home, protect players from being injured? On the latter point, maybe high school football itself should be canceled. But then, where would the colleges get their players? 

St. Cloud State and Ridgewater-Willmar have shown the way forward: they have indeed canceled football. Would be hard to do this in our Morris: we have the bright shiny Big Cat Field. But wait, St. Cloud State put up a new football stadium in 2004. I scratch my head profoundly. 

A 56-6 lead at halftime? What kind of athletes did St. Cloud Apollo have out on the field, anyway? I hate to sound disparaging but this kind of mismatch was not worth the trouble. What kind of tackling attempts did they make? The game must have been cringeworthy at times. 

Can Apollo keep its program going? Do you suppose a lot of parents in the granite city have elected to pull their sons out of football for the prudent safety reasons? Well I'd compliment them. 

NL-Spicer scored 28 points each in the first and second quarters.

BBE 48, LPGE 7

I occasionally go beyond the bounds of our Morris and write about the Jaguars of BBE. My old newspaper compatriot/friend Randy Olson holds forth there. He has had some super teams to write about over the years. Right now is a good example: his BBE football Jaguars. They too poured it on vs. their opponent. They stayed perfect at 7-0 with a 48-7 thumping of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Long Prairie Friday. Congratulations Randy. 

Oh my, the final score tells but part of the story. Most significant was how the Jaguars absolutely devoured LPGE in the first quarter. Not first half but first quarter, let me stress, as the Jaguars rolled up a 42-7 lead. I repeat: that's in the first quarter alone. I really have to wonder: whither the future of the St. Cloud Apollo and LPGE football programs? Really seriously, the kids won't want to hang in there performing at this level. How can they keep getting numbers? 

Are we seeing a widening gap between the haves and have-nots? The risk here is that the have-nots may just shrivel up and no longer exist. What was it like for the St. Cloud Apollo and LPGE fans to watch on Friday? Wouldn't they have preferred just keeping their sons at home? Wouldn't it be a no-brainer for the sons to just want to be at home? Are they wired like yours truly? 

I never played football. I can offer all sorts of critiques but I never had to demonstrate any ability. On the plus side, I never risked serious head injuries like from all the sub-concussive hits. Why parents tolerate this I do not know. 

For the short term anyway, the NL-Spicer and BBE players and fans can be quite happy. I guess that's what it's all about. Those are our cultural norms. Baked into the cake. 

So congratulations Randy. Randy Olson is a real trendsetter in the newspaper business by harnessing the potential of his website for truly dynamic outreach. Like even with a video podcast. His philosophy on all this is 100 percent the opposite of what we see here in Morris with our paper. He swears his approach helps his business and I believe him. The Morris newspaper website is so dormant and lifeless, it is an embarrassment. I would like to suggest we are better than that. 

The BBE Jaguars are ranked fifth in Class A. They rolled up 277 rushing yards compared to 41 by the Thunder. 

BBE's first three touchdowns were by Jack Lundberg, Luke Dingmann and Braeden Michels. Then came LPGE's only score of the night, accomplished by Jose Botello. BBE rolled up four more TDs which were by Ryan Jensen, Owen Paulson, Luke Illies and Dingmann. So several different Jaguars were in on the scoring action. 

Lundberg had a team-best 78 rushing yards on just four carries! Dingmann was pinpoint with passing with nine completions in eleven attempts, 59 yards. The receptions were spread around. Kameron Hiltner had an interception. Ethan Mueller sacked the quarterback.

  

I would have preferred writing about the MACA Tigers today. The Tigers fell to the  Perham Yellowjackets Friday at Big Cat. Score was 21-6, so definitely not an "up" night for our team. I could not find any game details online beyond the score. We have lost a great deal with Brett Miller leaving the radio station. And the newspaper is just flaccid with its website.

  

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