Tigers win 6AA debut as Decker goes 5 of 5

No scoring for the first three quarters! It doesn't seem to spell excitement, granted, but there sure were reasons for the MACA fans to cheer at the end. We're off and running in the Section 6AA playoffs of prep football. It was no easy task for our orange and black on Tuesday night. The eleven points we scored in the fourth quarter made the difference as we advanced.
Durgin Decker was perfect passing the football - five of five - in our 11-8 win over the Knights of West Central Area.
I'm happy to see this playoff game that required so little travel by the visitor. It's so logical for the teams in the early-round games to be from communities reasonably close together. It is not always like that. I remember the year the Tigers had to travel to Fairmont MN down by the Iowa border for the opening round! That seemed very illogical.
Not only that, we apparently don't have "fan buses" anymore. There was a time when student fans would pile into an orange school bus driven by an affable fellow like Don Grossman, and head out of town like to Benson. Fun times even if the noise level on the bus could get loud! As a press person I shared many of those rides. Noise was not a problem. No, the spirit of enthusiasm was infectious! Today it's a different world, I guess.
Some time after the Fairmont game, I reflected on that in some idle comments at the newspaper shop. We had new management by then. Jim Morrison would never have expected a staffer to drive that far, certainly not for a first-round game in any sport. I commented that "I wouldn't drive that far even if you told me to." The remark wasn't meant to be taken at face value, but I probably shouldn't have made it.
Reflecting at present, my comment seemed on the money because it's ridiculous to travel that far for a first-round game. There are certainly zealous parents who'd cry bloody murder if the paper didn't send someone. The paper today would probably send someone. Keep in mind that the appeal of sports coverage in the local paper is always very limited, less than you'd estimate. We did a survey when Morrison was still there, in which the survey company gave us feedback that included the following: "Be careful about this (sports). The interest is limited."
How wonderful for early-round opponents to include the likes of West Central Area, Lac qui Parle, Benson or Minnewaska. It would be wonderful to keep the distances reasonable for the first three rounds of the tournament.
Today's (Wednesday) coverage in the Willmar paper did not state where the game was played. I think it was here at Big Cat. Until recently I'd check the Pheasant Country Sports website to confirm where a game was played. However, that website has seemed to go out of existence. So I'll post today's game review with no mention of location.
 
Tigers 11, West Central Area 8
The orange and black got its sixth win of the season. Decker is making strides, getting seasoning as our new signal-caller. His five-for-five on Tuesday night was complemented by zero interceptions. His passing yardage was 42. Jack Riley was the quarterback's favorite target. Durgin hooked up with Jack for three completions, netting 31 yards. The other two catches were by Jaret Johnson and Mace Yellow.
The rushing department had no surprise in terms of the leader - it was Camden Arndt who clutched the football on 22 carries, good for 100 yards. Matt McNeill charged forward to get 52 yards on 14 carries. Decker scampered forward from his QB spot to get 29 yards on five. Then it was Kenny Soderberg with ten yards and Colten Scheldorf with four. So our team rushing yardage was just under 200. Our first downs totaled 16. Soderberg made an interception for the orange and black.
The Knights of West Central Area netted eleven first downs and had Isaiah Sykora throwing the football: five completions in eight attempts but with two picked off. (The Willmar paper only credits Soderberg with an interception.) Sykora passed for 76 yards. The catches were made by Christian Norby (two, for 47 yards), Tanner Bennett (2-24) and Tate Christenson (1-5).
Here's the rushing story for the Knights: Norby (12 carries, 63 yards), Scot Johnson (8-40), Braden Overson (3-28) and Bennett (6-9).
OK, let's get into the game's drama. It ended up considerable, considering the dearth of points scored. We'll hone right in on the fourth quarter. Eli Grove kicked what turned out to be a most essential field goal. He found the middle of the uprights from 26 yards out. But WCA got the upper hand temporarily when Scot Johnson found the end zone on a run from the three. Sykora passed to Norby for two on the conversion. The game-winner came when Durgin Decker connected with Jaret Johnson on an eight-yard touchdown pass with under a minute left. Decker ran successfully for two on the conversion. In the past I could check with Pheasant Country Sports to see when our next game is. Can't do that now. We'll have to find new sources of information.
 
Terry Thraen, RIP
Boomers like yours truly are having to deal with human mortality more and more. Us boomer-vintage Morris natives have been ushering our parents to heaven on a too-frequent basis, a recent example being the mother of Paul Watzke.
Now we learn of the death of our peer Terry Thraen. Terry was three years older than me which meant I couldn't get to know him real well. But certainly my generation remembers him well from Boy Scouts at First Lutheran Church. His younger brother Randy, a wrestling sensation under coach Al Hendrickson, was in my '73 class. BTW Paul Watzke's younger brother Tom was in my class too.
Terry rather stood out with his personality. He was not bashful. He could even be, shall we say, a little strident sometimes, but we all loved him (to varying degrees I guess). Us boomers were not inhibited. We could be bullied and not complain much about it. It's a jungle out there, or it was for us anyway, in the pre-Jacob Wetterling days when we roamed and were self-starters in the community. We weren't raised like caged chickens.

Terry Thraen, "his highness"

The ebullient air of the Morris boomers is reflected in the image you see with this part of today's blog post. The photo of Terry Thraen was taken by Del Sarlette. Del notes that the back of this photo is labeled "his highness." The photo shows Terry in his "throne" that was lashed together as part of a Boy Scout experience. He sat in the throne bossing his peers around.
"If I remember correctly," Del says, "he also had a couple long poles inserted in the sides so a few of us could lift the chair up with him in it, and cart him around."
The Scouts of First Lutheran in those days opened their weekly meeting with "boomerang" or "scatterball" at the fellowship hall. Del recalls that Terry with his "small stature and disproportionately large hands, was very difficult to beat at boomerang. He would crouch down, making himself 'smaller,' and hold his hands out in front so as to catch any balls thrown at him." Del continued: "However, one game I remember distinctly had he and I as the 'final two.' I had the ball and bounced it off his leg and won! He was extremely angry, grabbed the ball and kicked it."
Your blog host truly understands how such a memory can be ingrained. Dan Amborn was a legend playing boomerang, but one night I got real focused and was able to make a catch of a smashing throw by Dan at point-blank range. Incredible. The boomerang gods were with me that night.
Terry will make all the catches in heaven. Terry Thraen, RIP. His parents James and Marian continue attending First Lutheran Church in Morris. I saw Randy at the funeral for the beloved wrestling coach Al Hendrickson. Randy went to great lengths losing weight in his wrestling years. I'm so thankful I never got tempted to do that sort of thing. Or to play football.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com