Cross country and football: autumn thrills

Making state as a seventh-grader? It's an incredible feat. When I was a seventh grader, varsity sports seemed a very distant world from me. I was a fan, not a participant. Actually, when I was a senior, varsity sports still seemed pretty distant from me - I played in the band. I wrote about it.
I'm delighted to still be writing about Tiger sports, and to be giving a tip of the hat to an MACA seventh-grader. She's Maddie Carrington. Maddie is a cross country runner who is meeting the highest standards. She'll be off to state this weekend. Maddie and teammate Savannah Aanerud have the privilege of vying in the state meet which will unfold on November 1 at St. Olaf College, Northfield. Savannah is a sophomore.
Maddie and Savannah were in top form for the Section 6A meet which was held at Little Crow Country Club, New London. Aanerud placed fifth in section with her time of 15:34.30. Carrington was No. 13 to the finish chute with her time of 16:15.75.
Midori Soderberg placed 43rd for the Tigers, time of 17:21.14. Then we had Lauren Reimers coming in at 53rd, time of 17:34.43. Continuing: Correy Hickman (17:36.90, 57th), Malory Anderson (17:50.40, 65th) and Becca Holland (18:18.96, 81st).
This was a huge spectacle with 23 teams in the running. The girls champion was Emily Donnay of Eden Valley-Watkins, time of 14:42.46. Holdingford took first in both the girls and boys team standings. The top two female runners both had the "Donnay" last name. Anna Donnay was runner-up with her time of 15:03.27.
Here's a list of the MACA male runners who vied on the New London course: Ryan Gray (18:58.51), Jonathan Jerke (19:17.84), Tyler Reimers (20:05.81), Travis Ostby (20:07.62), Brock Anderson (21:09.18), Dalton Uphoff (21:40.93) and Trent Ostby (22:25.09).
The boys champion was Ben Burgett of Community Christian School, time of 16:20.59.
 

Football: New London-Spicer 48, Tigers 30

The MACA Tigers hung in there for an extended time vs. the No. 1 seed in Section 6AAA football Saturday. It was the Tigers scoring first in this section semis showdown. Trent Marty passed seven yards to Riley Biesterfeld for a touchdown in the second quarter, following the scoreless first.
The Wildcats of New London-Spicer entered this game with a 7-1 record. They got to host the game. Trent Wulf kicked for the point-after after the opening MACA score.
The second quarter became rather wild from a scoring standpoint. The host Wildcats got going with a Trey Austvold two-yard run. They then went up by one when Ethan Bohlsen completed the conversion pass to Cody King.
The Tigers wrested the lead back when Wulf ran the ball in from the six. He also carried successfully on the conversion. Austvold asserted himself again with a touchdown run from the six, followed by a failed conversion play. We're now at halftime with the score 15-14, MACA up (and hopeful).
But NL-Spicer went on an extended run when second half play unfolded. Jared Travis scored a TD on a run from the one. The conversion play was no-go. Shane Zylstra ran the ball in from the three, after which the Wildcats again sputtered on the conversion. NL-Spicer widened its lead further when Zylstra passed to Austvold on a play covering nine yards. Blake Shuck kicked the point-after.
MACA finally scored again as Bo Olson caught a 26-yard pass from Wulf. Noah Grove put his toe to work on the point-after. But NL-Spicer scored the next two touchdowns. First it was Austvold carrying the ball in from the four. The kick try failed. Then, Jared Travis found the end zone from the one, after which Shuck kicked successfully.
The Tigers' Eric Staebler scored on a 20-yard pass reception from Wulf. Isaac Wente carried successfully on the conversion. NL-Spicer tacked on two more points with a safety.
Austvold obviously had major impact in this 48-30 win for his Wildcats. His TD total on the night was four. NL-S fans were heartened seeing him perform so well, as he had missed much of the season due to injury.
NL-Spicer is now set to play Melrose at 5 p.m. this Saturday at St. Cloud State University. Melrose has an 8-2 mark and has won six straight. Keep an eye on Melrose's Zack Pierskalla.
Our Morris Area Chokio Alberta Tigers close out the season with a 5-5 record. NL-Spicer sits at 8-1.
Looking at the stats, Wulf and Wente were the rushing cogs for MACA Saturday, Wulf with 73 yards on the ground, Wente with 66. Both had 15 carries. Marty and Wulf did the Tigers' passing. Marty passed for 45 yards, Wulf for 46.
Olson had three of the catches for 42 yards. Biesterfeld had two catches, and Wulf and Staebler one each. Grove did the Tigers' punting.
Austvold had 89 rushing yards for the Wildcats in 21 carries. Bohlsen had 75 yards on the ground in six carries, and Zylstra covered 64 yards in nine carries of the football. Bohlsen was very sharp in the passing department, completing eleven tosses in 16 attempts for 116 yards and no interceptions. Zylstra had one completion.
James Magnuson had five of the catches for 69 yards. Zylstra and Austvold each had three catches. Alex Goff had one reception. Ethan Parsons had an interception, and Derrick Laudenbach had a fumble recovery. Brandon Knisley had two quarterback sacks.

 

A quick reminder once again: A song I wrote in 1997 about Kirby Puckett is now online, on YouTube. I'm very pleased this can be shared now. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQjIVH735A
 

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