MACA girls blunt Lakers' momentum

Tigers 60, 'Waska 55

The GBB Tigers' February 9 win vs. Minnewaska gave an encouraging note. The Lakers entered this contest with a five-game winning streak. This WCC hoops showdown ended with a 60-55 score with the orange and black on top. The 'Waska streak was ended and MACA moves forward with renewed confidence. We upped our won-lost record to 11-9. 'Waska was left at 15-7. Action was at our home court in front of appreciative fans.

Riley Decker was key with her dead eye from three-point range. She went on the attack to make all four of her three-point attempts! Her point output was 13. Ashley Solvie was the top point producer for MACA, collecting 23. Correy Hickman put in 14 points and then we have Decker with her 13. Jenna Howden scored five points, Maddie Carrington three and Nicole Solvie two. Decker's four 3-pointers were complemented by Carrington and Hickman each making one from three-point land. 

Ashley Solvie was the top rebounder with eleven. Decker's shooting eye was complemented by a flair with assists - she had five. Hickman stole the ball twice. We led at halftime 29-27. 

We hope this success vs. 'Waska will be parlayed into the post-season if a re-match happens. The Lakers can be kind of a nemesis.

 

Boys: BOLD 59, Tigers 58

Ouch! A loss by one point. The orange and black suffered this fate at the hands of the BOLD Warriors on February 10. We outscored BOLD 34-30 in the second half after trailing by five at halftime. Yes it seemed like anyone's ballgame. In the end it was BOLD's ballgame, and it was win No. 11 for them while MACA was left with a 10-9 record. Game site was Bird Island.

Mason Mages was the Warrior most responsible for keeping the Tigers shy of victory. Mages gunned away to accomplish five 3-point makes. Ryan Snow had BOLD's other three-pointer. 

Mages with his 22 points topped the Warriors in scoring. Snow and Gavin Vosika each put in nine points for BOLD. Thomas Meyers scored six points, Jon Schulte five and Logan Dahlk four. Jordan Sagedahl and Devin Gluesing each contributed two points. Sagedahl and Dahlk each snared five rebounds. Vosika and Snow each dished out two assists. Vosika stole the ball four times.

 

Boys hockey: Prairie Centre 6, Storm 2

"Stars" is the nickname for Prairie Centre hockey. It brings back memories of our old Minnesota North Stars of course. Those Stars are getting more distant in our memory. Today we cheer for the "Wild." I remember the old Met Sports Center located next to the old Met Stadium. What a haven for sports nuts in the old days. I probably hung around there a little too much. I never really liked the multi-colored seats at the Met Sports Center. We had a couple of ABA basketball franchises play there too. Oh, and I heard a Maynard Ferguson jazz concert there!

Let's focus back on the present and the Prairie Centre vs. MBA Storm hockey game on February 9. The puck was dropped in Long Prairie. MBA scored one goal each in the first and third periods. That wasn't enough vs. a pretty smoothly executing Prairie Centre crew. We ended up on the short end of the 6-2 score. 

The Stars scored pretty steadily with two goals in the first period, three in the second and one in the third. The Stars scored the night's first two goals. The Fletchers struck: Noah with a goal assisted by Hunter. Isaac Cebulla put the puck in the net with assists from Daniel Thompson and Will Koetters. 

Dylan DeToy got the Storm on the board with a goal at 16:26, assisted by Logan Smith. 

Unfortunately the Stars owned the second period. Brady Miller scored, assisted by Logan Schmitz and Hunter Fletcher. Then it was Seth Deters scoring with an assist from Peter Erhard. Noah Fletcher scored, assisted by Erhart at 14:21. 

Each team scored a goal in the third period. Daniel Thompson scored with assists from Noah Fletcher and Erhart. The evening's final goal featured the stickwork of our Kolby Goff with assists from DeToy and Smith. 

Tony Bruns worked in goal for our Morris Benson Area Storm. He turned away 49 shots. Isaiah DeFoe racked up 18 saves for the victorious Stars.
 

Yes I'm getting spotty

My blogging activity has slowed of late because of family health issues. I know, I know, nobody cares how often I do this or really if I do it at all. But journalism is in my DNA and I always enjoy writing about our Morris area athletes.

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

Tigers succumb to powerhouse Melrose

Melrose 67, Tigers 53

Melrose is enjoying a replay of their glory days in boys hoops. I'm sure fans of the Dutchmen wouldn't care to focus on the past. That's a trait of high school sports fans: let's just focus on the present. I understand that. But I'm a journalist and I enjoy weighing historical perspective.
That past heyday of the Melrose boys was when I was in high school. They had a superstar name of Mark Olberding. He played post, as did our top Morris player, Gary Lembcke. Those Dutchmen turned back our Tigers in the post-season. We climbed high but couldn't get past the Dutchmen and their superstar.
Olberding went on to play hoops at the highest level. He did not seem real articulate as a high schooler. I remember an area band director with whom I was associated, mocking him after a clumsy TV interview. Lembcke has had a fabulous career coaching prep basketball. Me? I perform journalism online. Does that make me respectable? I don't know. I do what I do.
The Tigers of the present day had a home matchup with those high-flying Dutchmen recently. How high-flying? They came here undefeated and with 19 wins. They left with their 20th win in hand, score of 67-53.
The first half was a nice showcase for MACA talent. We trailed by just one at the halftime buzzer, 32-31. But Melrose came on strong for the remainder of play, outscoring the orange and black 35-22.
Dillon Haider was an offensive standout for the victor. Haider made two 3-pointers and scored 20 points. Reegan Nelson scored 17. Melrose had a third double figures scorer: Brady Birch with eleven points. Here's the rest of the list: Hunter Rieland (9), Zac Van Beck (5), Damon Van Beck (3) and Jordan Klaphake (2). The Van Beck boys - Zac and Damon - each made one 3-pointer to complement the two made by Haider. Haider led in assists with five and in steals with four. Rieland's nine rebounds made him team-best in that department.
On to the Tigers: Camden Arndt put in 17 points and Jacob Zosel had 15. Then we have Jaret Johnson with nine points followed by Tate Nelson (7), Lukus Manska (3) and Connor Koebernick (2). The Tigers made noise with successful long-range shooting. Arndt and Johnson brought bursts of cheers by each making three 3-pointers. Zosel connected twice from 3-point range. Nelson and Manska each made one 3-pointer.
Arndt was team-best in rebounds with seven. Zosel's six assists made him tops there, and Arndt and Zosel each had two steals.
 

Girls: Tigers 50, Montevideo 44

The Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls were smooth with their execution on the court vs. Montevideo. The score was 50-44 as the orange and black achieved their win No. 10, against nine losses. Monte has a similar record. We built an eight-point advantage by halftime, 30-22.
Three Tigers each made one 3-pointer: Riley Decker, Liz Dietz and Correy Hickman. But it was Ashley Solvie leading the team in scoring with 19 points. The other big scorer was Hickman with 17 points. Other point-scorers were Nicole Solvie (5), Dietz (4), Decker (3) and Maddie Carrington (2). Ashley Solvie gathered in ten rebounds and Hickman collected five. Jenna Howden led in assists with four followed by Carrington and Decker each with three. Hickman stole the ball three times.
 

Boys hockey: WDC 6, Storm 2

MBA showed a goal-scoring flair in the first period but went quiet in the next two. Our opponent was Wadena-Deer Creek. Both teams were at their best offensively in the first period. We scored two goals, but by then the WDC skaters had scored three times. Those three WDC goals were by Josh Daigneault, Jake Dykhoff and Wyatt Hamann.
The MBA boys answered with goals by Shaun Aarhus (16:52) and Dylan DeToy (16:58). Blake Engebretson assisted on the Aarhus goal, and Hunter Gades supplied the assist for the DeToy goal.
Dykhoff and Andrew Sundby scored WDC's second period goals. Preston Warren scored the final WDC goal at 9:49 of the third. So we're on the short end of the 6-2 final. Our goalkeeper was Tony Bruns who achieved 13 saves. WDC's Noah Stevens turned the puck away 64 times.

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

Boys beat Streeters, girls on short end

Tigers 62, Sauk Centre 51

The MACA boys gave their fans a night of winning satisfaction when playing Sauk Centre, those Streeters, on Friday, Feb. 3. The MACA fans made the trip to Sauk Centre. Word is, Sauk Centre no longer takes as much pride in its historic ties to author Sinclair Lewis. It's a bit sad. I grew up associating Sauk Centre with the famous author. Time marches on.

Maybe the Lewis works are seen as having not as much relevance anymore. Also, wasn't Lewis not such a big fan of life out here on the prairie?

Our MACA student athletes came on strong in the second half, escaping a halftime deficit of two (26-24). We turned on the jets for second half play. We outscored the Sauk Boys 38-25 in the second half. The final horn sounded with the orange and black victorious 62-51.

Jaret Johnson was an offensive standout with his 16 points. Tim Travis made noise with his offensive prowess as he scored 13 points. Camden Arndt and Jacob Zosel each put in nine. Tate Nelson and Lukus Manska each added five points to the mix. Connor Koebernick scored three points and Kyle Staebler two.

Travis with his seven rebounds led in that department. Nelson and Zosel each contributed three assists. Nelson stole the ball twice.

Cade Neubert of the Streeters topped his team in scoring with 14 points. Cole Deters scored eleven points and Josh Fischer had nine. The list continues with Simon Weller (8), Tanner Rieland (5), Trevor Weir (3) and Alex Kowski (1). Three Streeters each connected for a '3': Weir, Fischer and Deters.

Fischer snared eight rebounds and Neubert had seven. Weller with his three assists led there, and he also was team-best in steals with two.

You'll recall that Sinclair Lewis wrote "Main Street." Main Street itself has been a fading feature of the American landscape. I recall being assigned to read some of Lewis' work when I was in high school. I don't recall it being real inspiring. Today with the meritocracy created by the digital world, I think his work is fading rapidly. But he made his mark in his time. Maybe he appealed too much to academics. Ahem.

 

Girls: Sauk Centre 67, Tigers 50

The MACA girls had an opportunity to play the Streeters of Sauk Centre too. Same day, same place. Our Tigers did not fare as well in the GBB game. Fans could not feel shocked seeing the Streeters have the upper hand, because that squad has a powerhouse reputation. Sauk defeated our Tigers 67-50 to build its record to 17-1. The Tigers were left at .500 with 9-9 numbers.

We trailed by just four at halftime, 28-24. Sauk Came to the fore with its attributes in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 39-26.

Riley Decker made three 3-pointers for the Tigers. Maddie Carrington sank two long-range shots and Karly Fehr made one. None of the Tigers scored in double figures. Here's the list: Decker (9), Correy Hickman (9), Malory Anderson (8), Ashley Solvie (7), Nicole Solvie (6), Carrington (6), Fehr (3) and Jenna Howden (2).

Ashley Solvie attacked the boards to get nine rebounds. Decker dished out six assists. Carrington stole the ball four times.

Sauk Centre's scoring list was topped by Kelsey Peschel with 17 points. We should note that the list as reported in the Willmar paper leaves Sauk ten points shy of their total. Nuts. But let's continue as it was reported. Jill Klaphake was sharp in scoring 16. Then it was Tori Peschel putting in nine points. Kenzie Schmiesing and Julia Damann each scored six. Alyssa Kohorts added two points to the mix, and Maesyn Thiesen put in one. Some sort of blank needs to be filled in somewhere.

Actually, the boxscore in the Willmar paper has the score 69-50, while in the headline it's 67-50. Let's just forget about it - I'm getting a headache. What would Sinclair Lewis think?

Three-pointers were a big part of the Sauk Centre attack. Peschel made four such shots. Schmiesing made two shots from three-point land, and these three Streeters each made one: Klaphake, Tori Peschel and Thiesen. Tori Peschel attacked the boards to get six rebounds. Morgan Kranz led in assists with four. The Peschel girls, Kelsey and Tori, had four steals each.

Sauk Centre was a big rival of the Tigers when I was in high school. I never liked Sauk Centre. Today I don't even believe in sports rivalries. It's Neanderthal. We can all be brethren.

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

Tale of abduction under shroud of doubt

Remember that news item about five years ago about the woman abducted from a truck stop and left in a ravine? The reported incident happened out west. The woman was part of a husband-wife long haul trucking team. Interesting profession, to constantly traverse the U.S. One would hope it's a reasonably safe profession.

Tales of abduction make anyone a little fearful about long-distance travel. It was a sensational story. Katie Erdman of the Hancock Record wrote an article. The article relates the power of prayer for getting yourself extricated from such a situation. "She got up and successfully made her way out of the deep gully where she had spent the night and made her way back to safety." Ah, the power of prayer, of Christian conviction.
The site of this reported incident was a truck stop in Hot Springs SD. Lanny and Connie Beyer made the usual stop to refuel and rest. The story continues as Connie departed to use the restroom. Lanny awoke a few hours later and Connie had not returned. The story turns sensational. It also appears to have questionable credibility. I am not going to state in this post that it was a fabrication. Rather I will share about how law enforcement made statements questioning the veracity of the story. I'm inclined to go along with law enforcement's skepticism.
Erdman, bless her heart, was a trusting person and writer and went with the sensational stuff. Trusting people can be a nice attribute. My long career in the media taught me that people can tell tales based on a personal agenda. Many of our crime articles are filled with the word "alleged." I remember when a local hardware store family had a son nearly killed in a criminal incident. Initially the Sun Tribune article, before going to press, related the whole tale with little or no use of the word "alleged." I tapped Jim Morrison on the shoulder and advised him that the writer needed to insert that magic little word in numerous places. It was done.
The recent sensational resolution of the Jacob Wetterling case included a little story told by the perpetrator, of how Jacob spent his last moments. We are asked to believe the perp who reached a plea deal, never having to confess to the murder at all. Maybe Jacob's death wasn't as sudden as he related. Maybe there was prolonged suffering. There was only one witness. The media and at least one book author shrugged, in effect, and went with Danny Heinrich's account. Frankly we should never be so trusting.

Why should Connie Beyer not be believed? Well, Fall River County Sheriff Rich Mraz noted that Lanny admitted getting into a verbal argument in their truck prior to their arrival at Coffee Cup. An argument could cloud normal good reason. So we have the story about how two individuals sped up in a car and came to a stop, whereupon one of the men threw her into the back seat and held her down. She reported her money being taken. The men joked about it being "an easy $20," Connie said.
So prayer took over, an appeal to the Almighty, which Erdman made into sort of a theme. The virtue of Christianity!
The story has Connie falling into a deep gully or ravine after being let out of the car by the alleged abductors. A case for "Websleuths," right? Yes, we did see speculation of that nature. The story concludes with Connie walking back to the truck stop 28 hours after disappearing.
After more than a week of investigation, Sheriff Mraz said there was no evidence to support Connie's story. "Based on the information we have received, physical evidence found in the area of the truck stop and security video footage, we haven't found anything that supports Mrs. Beyer's story she was abducted."
From the Rapid City Journal:
 

Mraz said that Constance Beyer said she was abducted on the north side of the truck stop, between the first row of diesel pumps and the store structure itself, by two men in a dark car. "You can see that there is no dark car at any time where Mrs. Beyer said she was taken," Mraz said as video from the security cameras played, showing a brightly lit fueling station.

When two deputies responded to the first call from Lanny Beyer at 4:21 a.m., they took his statement and began a search of the area. Mraz said he was called in around 8 a.m. and he immediately called two Division of Criminal investigation officers and brought in two teams of search dogs. "The dogs picked up her scent at the back of the truck," Mraz said, "but instead of following it toward the truck stop, the dogs followed the scent to the south and east, toward some buildings in the area."

Mraz said that shoeprints found in the dust of a small road approximately 100 yards away were consistent with shoes that Constance Beyer was wearing at the time. Mraz said that the dogs lost the trail about a quarter-mile further down the road. The back of the Beyers' truck is outside the frame of the video camera. At no time does Constance Beyer or a dark car appear on the truck stop security video.

The search continued the rest of the day on Sunday, and grew to include 30 volunteer fire fighters and an airplane, but nothing further was found. The next day Beyer came walking back toward Coffee Cup, around 8:30 in the morning, cold, dehydrated and telling a story of being abducted.

During the course of the investigation, Mraz noted that some things didn't add up, for instance, Beyer couldn't give a better description of her alleged abductors or their vehicle. "She couldn't say they were white, black, anything," Mraz said. "She did say she remembered crossing two cattle guards before being dumped out, but had no time frame for the time she said she was in their car." He said that when she was first seen the next morning, she was walking down a road from the general area to where the dogs had tracked her the previous day.

Mraz added that as the Beyers were coast-to-coast truck drivers, they had been to the Coffee Cup stop before on occasion. He said that Constance Beyer knew from previous trips that there was a pen with horses east of the truck stop, the direction from which she was walking when she was found.

"Lanny Beyer's story is consistent with the security video and such," Mraz said. "Based on what information and evidence that we have received and recovered thus far, Constance Beyer's story is not supported."
 

A questionable impression of Constance Beyer is certainly made. We'd all like to think a cross country motor vehicle trip is a reasonably safe proposition. A sensational account of being abducted is chilling. If it's false, it's most unfortunate, and it casts an unfortunate light on "the power of prayer."
The way I'm going, with Donald Trump acting like he's a spokesman for Christianity, I'll be an agnostic.

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

Song "Time Passages" apt for one's birthday

My fourth birthday in 1959, St. Paul

A while back I emailed a birthday greeting to someone whose birthday coincided with something bad from history. Her birthday was on December 7. That of course is Pearl Harbor Day.
My own birthday is today, Saturday, Jan. 28. While today's date may not "live in infamy," as FDR put it, there is a sobering distinction. It was on this date when the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up. People with this kind of birthday are reminded of the sad aspect by the media. We reflect with a note of sympathy. Then we reflect on ourselves and our own lives.
At age 62 I no longer have aversion or mixed thoughts about being a "senior citizen." Today I'm eligible to collect Social Security. Maybe I should start getting those checks before the Republican majority dismantles this and other entitlement programs. Republicans are always determined to do this. Give them a chance and they will undo the New Deal.
But I don't wish to focus on politics. Let's try to be a little more transcendent. On this occasion I wish to revive memories of a philosophical and reflective song. It dates back to the late 1970s. People my age realize what a different time that was. It was totally pre-digital. I might emphasize that life moved so very slow. Those were not optimistic times. We embraced irreverent humor a lot. Consider "The Gong Show" on TV with Chuck Barris.
The song I wish to exhibit is "Time Passages," a 1978 hit that had such a gentle feel. Singer-songwriter Al Stewart gave us "Time Passages" along with "Year of the Cat." These were ubiquitous songs on the radio.
Nostalgia is suggested in "Time Passages" but it's not a blunt message. Let's say it's nuanced and open to interpretation. This shroud of indirectness is a stamp of a masterful poet or song wordsmith. We are forced to think about how we consider our past.
Shall we consider alternate routes we might have taken? Or more importantly, should we wonder how certain friends need not have been so transitory? We wonder about past significant others or potential significant others. They linger in our thoughts. We ponder significant others, potential significant others and even imagined significant others. The latter is the most intriguing.
We think of our tangible accomplishments and possessions. We begin to wonder how truly valuable they are, if we ought to cling to our more intangible assets: our friends and faith etc. We watch cable TV news and are informed of the stock market's performance up to the minute. Are we really so gripped by that? Even if a bull market surges, does it really make us happier? Or are we clutching this "bling" that gives only an illusory sense of prosperity/security?
The Al Stewart song says "the things you lean on are the things that don't last." We needn't spend our limited time in this existence seeking to accumulate beyond our necessities. More than anything, I think Stewart is prodding us to find in our memories a gem of a relationship that might have been polished further. We all have someone like this lodged in our thoughts, right?
Do I dare make a confession like this? I'll say I knew a girl from Iowa, blond hair and a bit tomboyish, who played the trumpet in a time when female trumpet players were rare. I was annoyed by how certain instruments in the band seemed gender-specific. My first instrument was the French horn and I began to realize it was a female-dominated instrument. Buy why? Today I don't see why it should be. Once I learned the trumpet for marching band purposes, I began to gravitate toward it, and maybe my new preference was based on alleviating the gender association.
But the trumpet enabled me to meet my Iowa acquaintance. We sat side by side in an endeavor. Years later when the Internet came along with its boundless possibilities, I was intrigued by being able to look up just about anyone. George and Connie at Don's Cafe were on the ground floor for harnessing the web's possibilities. I think it was with this help that I looked up my old friend. We corresponded, writing letters of fair substance. She was married at the time but that changed.
It was so perfect from my standpoint that she took back her maiden name. I would always think of her with that maiden name. Perhaps "maiden" is a sexist term and I ought to opt for "birth name" or something.
Our correspondence tailed off and that might have been primarily my doing. We lived so far apart. At the time I was absorbed in my media work. Today I'm absorbed with domestic responsibilities. I view the potential bond through a fog of unreality. Or maybe I'm too cautious to break the chains of obligations that seem to have me frozen.
Such are the thoughts that are consistent with the song "Time Passages." In a sense, the song does have the type of cynicism that we associate with the 1970s. Stewart writes about a transitory old acquaintance who seems "just out of sight," in other words, seen through a blur of speculation only: "what might have been."
The lyrics bring to light one special relationship, a lover, a friend forgotten and lost over the years. Time has pushed this person "just out of sight." We deem the person "worth going back for." 
Stewart pleads in the song: "Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight." We wonder if we can get on that train and secure a relationship with that one special person. It's such a safe place in our thoughts, a haven in which we are soothed by that person. Don't we all have such thoughts? And aren't we realistic enough to know we must deal with reality, the present?
Stewart in fact makes us realize through his thicket of reflective thoughts that time moves forward, seemingly faster as the years pass. People like me who stumble into Social Security age realize we don't have the luxury of not making use of the days we have in front of us. Social Security gives me the confidence that I can at least eat. Memories never leave us, alas. I think of my Iowa friend as the lyrics roll by:
In these time passages, I know you're in there

You're just out of sight

Oh, time passages

Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight
 

I invite you to acknowledge my birthday by listening to Al Stewart's "Time Passages" from YouTube. You'll be moved. Put on your headphones or activate your speakers, please. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6TsYypBpY
 

I remember one morning listening to this song on the radio, in the serenity of a northern Minnesota lake after the summer lake visitor season had passed. Dad and I were there on the eve of deer hunting. It seemed unusual being there post-summer, but also refreshing. You know how the atmosphere generally gets cleared out in the fall.
It was early in the morning and so peaceful with only the sound of the Stewart song getting my attention. It was the late '70s. In that moment there was no room for cynicism, just contentment.

If I see my father in heaven, we will certainly do something other than go hunting.

Never forget these words:

 

Age is a case of mind over matter.

If you don't mind, it don't matter.

- Satchell Paige
 

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

Girls surge throughout to win 72-53

Tigers 72, ACGC 53

The GBB Tigers impressed with their play at the ACGC gym on Friday, Jan. 20. We took charge to assume a 36-27 lead at halftime. We continued taking care of business in the second half, outscoring the Falcons 37-26 to win in the 72-53 final.
Our outside shooting touch was impressive. Correy Hickman showed a sharp eye with three 3-point makes. Riley Decker found the range to make two 3-pointers. Malory Anderson connected once from three-point land.
Hickman was all over the court to steal the ball six times. Decker and Nicole Solvie each contributed five assists. Jenna Howden led in rebounds with nine. Howden was also at the top of the scoring list with 19 points. Hickman and Ashley Solvie each put in 15 points. Decker's output was ten points. Then we have Nicole Solvie with eight points and Anderson with five.
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City was not without its flashes of talent. Just look at Addison Bernstein with her 25 points. Bernstein made two 3-pointers and Maree Lee made one. Bernstein worked the boards well to collect seven rebounds. Lee performed four assists. Kendra Miller led in steals with eight followed by Bernstein with four.
 

Boys: Tigers 70, Montevideo 68 (3 OT)

A triple overtime thriller saw the Morris Area Chokio Alberta Tigers prevail over Montevideo on the road. Maybe it shouldn't have been that close. We were up by ten at halftime, 34-24. Monte showed resolve on defense in the second half, picking up momentum to get the score tied at the end of regulation. It was 53-all.
The Tigers and Thunder Hawks traded points through the first two overtime extensions. The deadlock persisted. Finally in the third OT, MACA carved out the advantage with Jacob Zosel putting in the winning points. Zosel showed poise making a layup to give his team the winning difference in the 70-68 final. He showed poise all night as he scored the team-best 30 points.
Camden Arndt was No. 2 on the list with 16 points. The list continues with Jaret Johnson (13), Tim Travis (10) and Lukus Manska (1). Johnson connected twice from three-point range while Zosel had one three-point make.
Monte displayed a balanced attack with Travis Dreyer scoring 18 points, Riley Emery putting in 17 and Isaac Douglas adding 14. Then we have Andrew Sweeney (7), Derek Kilibarda (6), Henry Strune (4) and Isaac Hoogevsen (2). Emery had the only 3-point make for the T-Hawks. Dreyer's nine rebounds topped that list.
Emery worked the boards for seven rebounds. Douglas had six assists and four steals. Douglas had a last-gasp 3-point attempt to try to salvage victory for his T-Hawks, but it was no-go.
 

Wrestling: Tigers 43, United 36

The home gym was the site for a dramatic wrestling win Thursday (1/19). Gage Wevley provided the margin of victory in this crowd-pleasing win for the Tigers. Wevley achieved a pin late in his 220-pound match. He overwhelmed Cole Bungarden in a time of 5:34. The orange and black prevailed 43-36 over the team called "United."
Ethan Lebrija was the 106-pounder for MAHACA and he decisioned Griffin Johnson 10-6. Dalton Rose came on strong at 113 pounds to get Seth Hubbard's shoulders pinned to the mat in 1:51. United's Trevon Johnson was the forfeit winner at 120 pounds.
Ben Travis was on the short end of a fall outcome at 126 pounds. Layton Wittnebel pinned Travis in :55. Gideon Joos of the Tigers pinned Trevor Geerman in 1:40. Jared Rohloff won by a 6-4 decision over Christian Kanten. Chase Metzger came on strong to win by fall over Slade Irvine in 2:29.
Brady Cardwell at 152 pounds pinned Ethen Montantes in :30. United's Peyton Mortenson got his arm raised via forfeit. Matt McNeill of the Tigers was on the short end of a fall (1:17) at the hands of Colton Struxness. Dakota Leupke of the Tigers pinned Quintin Lehmann in 5:14. Bain Laine of the Tigers lost by fall in the battle of 195-pounders. Austin Schmitt pinned Laine in 1:15.
Gage Wevley won the pivotal bout at 220 pounds, pinning Bungarden. United's Mason Hutt won by forfeit at 285 pounds. Congrats to MAHACA on its 43-36 win.
 

Girls hockey: Prairie Center 7, MBA 3

Morris Benson Area scored a goal in each of the three periods in the game against Prairie Center. But it wasn't enough as Prairie Center surged in the first and third periods with three goals in each. They polished things off with a second period goal in this 7-3 win for them. Let's compliment the MBA girls on scoring their three goals on just nine shots!
Leah Thompson scored the first period goal for MBA at 4:18. Shelby Otte scored two of the Prairie Center goals in the first, and Lupita Mora scored the other. Hallie Watzke scored the second period goal for MBA, assisted by Megan Kirkeide at 13:43. Sara McCoy put the puck in the net for the opposition.
Then in the third period it was Taryn Picht scoring for the Storm at 16:57. Otte performed smoothly again for Prairie Center as she got two of her team's third period goals, with Reece Ritter getting the other.
The goalies were Abby Hoffman for MBA and Mackenzie Och for Prairie Center. Hoffman had 28 saves while Och had six.

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

Our local institutions show signs of duress

The Morris newspaper was just 18 pages last Saturday. This is the smallest paper I've seen since it was twice a week. For a long time the standard was 24 pages. Then I noticed a pattern of 20-page papers toward the end of last year. I thought that was surprising because the period leading up to Christmas is normally a robust time for commercial media enterprises.

If newspapers lose their hold on the pre-Christmas business promotions, what does that mean? We have found other means to get our shopping information. Has consumerism been tamped down in connection to Christmas? Is Christmas a less high-profile or relevant holiday now? It sure doesn't seem as robust or as universally celebrated as when I was younger.
Christianity doesn't have its near-monopoly anymore. Non-Christians seem not as likely to accept Christmas as a benign happy time that we all ought to share in. There is pushback. If you're looking for a theory as to why, you might consider the tenor of much of Christianity today.
Christianity used to just go with the flow. We weren't interested in picking fights with people. Sometimes we'd actually get mocked because of our temperate nature. Young zealous Christians would point fingers and talk about the lackadaisical nature of mainstream Christian denominations.
But look at what they've created: a bloc of people loosely called "evangelicals" who are staunchly right wing in their political philosophy. They make you feel like an outcast if you say you like and admire Barack Obama. I'd like to press them on what specifically they object to, in regard to the two-term president. I suppose they'd talk about a receptiveness to LGBT rights, simple basic rights that don't need to be construed as an endorsement.
An acquaintance of mine says his church, a more rigid type of church, "doesn't allow homosexual ministers." What other categories of sinners are prohibited in that church? Adulterers? Is that prohibition official and in writing? A simple acknowledgment of gay rights does not constitute promotion of the lifestyle. At any rate, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
My church of First Lutheran in Morris is of the moderate stripe. Some have actually left our ranks because of that. First Lutheran is in fact struggling. There was an open forum after last Sunday's service in which people openly talked about our struggles.
I'm not convinced that First Lutheran's struggles are due to any perceived softness in our philosophical outlook. Democrats can feel comfortable attending an ELCA church.
To all you fundamentalists who think you have to be Jerry Falwell-like, stop and wonder if you might be getting manipulated by the political power masters. Stop and wonder if you're being courted simply because your votes and support are needed for a Republican agenda that really cares about nothing more than lower taxes (for the well-heeled) and "less regulation." All regulations are backed by sound reason. The insurance industry actually likes fairly rigid regulation.
Denial of climate change reflects ignorance and a knee-jerk fear of government, because climate change is the kind of issue that will in the end require a dynamic government. Republicans want to push aside government as much as possible. It's up to the other side to promote ideas that are in the best interests of our broad public. Concern for the poor and powerless is in fact the most Christian position you can take.
 
Is the root in the community?
Maybe the struggles of First Lutheran are in fact connected to this drastic shrinkage of the Morris newspaper. What I'm suggesting is that maybe Morris as a whole is experiencing decline and duress. Ever consider that? Our main street has become absolutely dead. It's nothing compared to what we had in the mid-20th Century.
The withdrawal of Thrifty White Drug from its two locations was the final dagger. Nobody locally will take blame for that because there is now so little that is locally owned. The local Thrifty White people will shrug and just say they follow directives from higher up. The same applies to the Morris paper which is owned out of Fargo ND.
I remember a few years ago, someone launched a lawsuit against a newspaper because right after he sent in a subscription check, the paper announced drastic downsizing and a reduction in staff. A suit like this has little chance of actually succeeding, but it sends a message to the newspaper industry that we're paying attention. If you subscribed to the Morris paper when its average size was 24 pages, are you now a little concerned that it was down to 18 last Saturday? Does that matter to you? It would, if a similar downsizing happened with another product you purchased.
Up until now, people continued getting the paper largely because it was a ritual. If there was a local paper, you bought it. With a shrug. This kind of thinking can change but it can be a slow process.
In Elbow Lake there's a newspaper that is far more robust than in Morris. Make a comparison. It has been 28 pages the last two weeks and the pages are bigger. The Anfinsons of Benson are in charge there. Which makes me wonder: Could the Anfinsons be lured to Morris? Could negotiations be started for that? Maybe someone on behalf of the Morris leadership network should approach Forum Communications and ask them to leave town.
Another strategy might be to encourage everyone around Morris to simply cease doing business with the Forum-owned Morris paper. Don't subscribe and don't advertise. Maybe this has already started and I don't know about it. The paper has slid from 24 to 18 pages. Even the Canary publication has gotten smaller.
The Anfinsons in Elbow Lake have a manager who is familiar with Morris. Her last name was "Erickson" when she was in Morris. You need a scorecard to keep track of her last name, but that's a minor issue. Bring it on.

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