Detroit Lakes 53
It's that time of year when visions of basketball players dance in our heads. There was a time when we cheered for the Witts here in Morris. It covered a pretty long time span in fact.
The Witt name has found a new home in the prep sports firmament. That home is Alexandria. What an athletic gift the Witt name suggests! Awesome talent. You might say quite the genes. We all have a talent in something. Mine is definitely not sports.
I saw Jerry Witt at the funeral for Chuck Spohr on Friday. What a tribute to the late Chuck to see so many people stream in to Faith Lutheran Church. I signed the guestbook and grabbed a program to keep as a memento for Chuck's rich life. The place was getting so crowded so I decided to not stick around for the service. I left my place in the pews open for someone else.
When I got home I put finishing touches on a blog post and then I added something to the post. That addition was a remembrance of Chuck. The post is on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." You'll see that the post mainly emphasizes the Minnewaska Area girls winning the section title. I ask that you scroll down to find my thoughts about Chuck. I included his picture too.
Oh and by all means please read about the fantastic 'Waska girls team! Maybe MACA can get into that position within a few years. In the meantime, go Lakers!
Here's the link to my "Morris of Course" post about the Lakers and about Mr. Spohr. Thanks for reading. - BW
Last year at this time I wrote the "cute" blog heading of how the Alexandria Cardinals "kept their Witts about them" as they climbed into state. There are two Witt players on the team, both having impact. Shouldn't that be assumed with a Witt? And Alexandria is blessed by two. A sportswriter might assume that two players with the same last name are siblings. Never assume anything.
The two Witts are in fact both grandchildren of Jerry and Holly Witt. But they are sons of two different Witt boys. Oh, I still call them "boys." I saw them growing up in their home in Morris where I'll never forget they seemed to have the thermostat set too low! Maybe that explains the family's toughness.
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| Forrest Witt, Alex coach |
The Cardinals are seeded No. 1. They faced the No. 4 Detroit Lakes and it was no contest. The game's final score was 96-53. Don Meredith would have sung "Turn out the lights, the party's over." Maybe I'm dating myself with that reference.
The Friday game at Alex was in the Section 8-3A state tournament semi-finals. This would be the seniors' last home game. Important as the Witts are, we see the seniors Samson Hagstrom and Chase Thompson recognized as team leaders.
The Cards are now in for the Section 8-3A championship. The Alex record is now 25-3. They're a bulldozer, yes. Back on Jan. 17 the Cardinals dismantled the Lakers of DL 100-47. And then they came on even stronger in the Feb. 25 re-match: a win by 115-52. It's a machine!
On Friday the DL squad was at least able to start out better. But the last seven minutes of the first half were owned by Alex: a 24-9 advantage. So the halftime score was pretty decisive: 55-33. Mason Witt was top Alex scorer at halftime with 20 points. Alexandria is ranked No. 2 in Minnesota Class 3A. They tote a 21-game win skein!
The only obstacle left for them in Section 8-3A is Fergus Falls, the Otters. Action resumes on Thursday. The Cardinals defeated Fergus Falls 90-46 in early January, and again 92-64 on Feb. 18. Can anyone stop these Cardinals?
Mason Witt co-led the Cards in scoring Friday with 32 points. Also scoring 32 was was Chase Thompson. Talan Witt put in 16 points. Here are the other totals: Gavin Roderick 7, Connor Anderson 3, Evan Zabel 2, Myles Gray 2 and Samson Hagstrom 2. DL was led by Damarion Moss with 20 points.
Go Cards! They are definitely keeping their "Witts" about them. I can't resist that. I hope Jerry smiles when he reads that.
Jerry will tell you about how he was in a class at UMM taught by my late father Ralph in which students had to prepare an elementary music lesson!
The head coach for Alexandria is Forrest Witt. He was the "middle brother" of the three. Zach was the oldest, Taylor the youngest. I believe "middle siblings" have certain psychological traits!
Oh, I see where Jerry Witt and Zach Witt are listed as assistant coaches! The other assistants are Ty Granning, Thomas Miller and Nick Jansen. Old friend and current Alex resident Bev Kieffer reported to me last year that Mason Witt is Forrest's son and Talan is Zach's son. First cousins.
Someday another generation is going to come along. Will I still be writing? Hmmm. Well hopefully.
Bev further informed me that Myles Gray of the Cardinals is the son of Dan Gray and Tracy Kleespie Gray, both from Morris. I hope I have everything pieced together right. I don't face the pressure of writing for a newspaper.
Sometimes I feel pressure and then I tell myself "knock it off!"
And let's see the Minnewaska Area girls win on Wednesday in state!
I covered the Morris football team in Prep Bowl when Jerry was head coach of the Tigers.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Thank you for your nice blog on our family Brian. It is really fun to watch the next generation! You mentioned genes….now remember….some of those come from me! 😂
ReplyDeleteWe have so many memories of those Saturday mornings you would come over to the house and go over every play of the football game the night before while drinking pots of coffee! You sure were dedicated.
Do you remember those Chamber visits we used to do together? You’d hop in my car and we’d go take pictures of various businesses we were recognizing.
I love how you are so dedicated to Morris. I agree…. there are lots of good people there and I’m grateful we got to call it home for almost 40 years!
PS I also saw you at Chuck’s funeral but I’m not sure you recognized me.