SPORTS FEEVER – August 29, 2024 | KROX

SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???????
The high school football season is finally here, with a bunch of games on Thursday night and a bunch of games on Friday to wrap up Week 1. There are a lot of interesting matchups in the first week, and there should be great weather, too.

I tried to get a Section 8AA Football coaches poll and preview, but as usual, it is tough getting 100 percent participation, and that is why I quit doing it several years ago. Too many coaches either don’t check their emails, are too busy with the season, or whatever. I decided to try it again this year and getting 6 out of 8 might have me try all area sections again next year. I have a little optimisim again!

SECTION 8AA Coaches Poll – 6 of 8 coaches responding (first place votes in parenthesis)
1. Barnesville – 5 (5)
2. Park Rapids – 13
3. Hawley – 14 (1)
4. Pelican Rapids – 15
5. Frazee – 17
6. Warroad – 24
7. Roseau – 37
8. Crookston – 39

BARNESVILLE – They are 93-15 over the last nine years and they are 26-1 over the last two seasons including a state championship in 2022 and a state runner-up in 2023. They are the heavy favorite and unanimous favorite to win the section for the 10th straight year. The last time they didn’t make it to state was nine years ago when they lost to United North Central 24-16 in the 8AA championship game.
The Trojans return a large portion of theoffensive line, 5 out of 7 starters and two backs that return with alot of experience in Wahl and Brenner. Adam Tonsfeldt will get the nod at QB and has looked fantastic up to this point.
Barnesville’s top returners – Center Jackson Poepping, Guard Connor Morse, Tackle Matt Samuelson, End – Hunter Zenzen and Preston Snobl, RB – Jack Wahl and RB Chase Brenner, along with two possible Fullbacks – Kellen Hinsz and Nick Detloff. On Defense they return many of the names above and Brooks Martinson. They will have some sophomores and juniors seeing playing time as well as a few ninth graders and even an 8th grader Jonny Robideau who has the potential to get on the field this year, he is outstanding.
Coach Strand says, “I expect us to be very competitive and be in the hunt for the district as well as the section. #1 key is we need to stay healthy and keep improving. The team at this point is very close and have been working very hard. We will have a nice combination between size and speed and I believe we should be competitive with any team we will come up against.”

PARK RAPIDS– had a great year last year and had tremendous athletes and they have a lot of returners back from last year. Up front on the Offensive Line – Kaleb Weaver, D’Andre Johnson, and Mason Nisius. Receivers Ryan Carroll and Landon Strasburg. Runningbacks Jaydon Walen and Aiden Maanum.
There are some other strong athletes that will be seemlessly plugged into the line up. On the Defensive Line, D’Andre Johnson, Ryan Carroll, Kaleb Weaver and Mason Nisius. Linebacker and leading tackler Parker Hunter. Along with Wrigley Clark and Aiden Maanum. Then in the Secondary Carter Hirt, Kale Ravnaas and Landon Strasburg all return.
Coach Jeremy Nordick said, “We’ve had a great off season, coming off a 6-4 Season and winning our first home playoff game in a long time. We ended last year getting knocked around by a very talented Pelican Rapids team. So we knew going into the Spring/Summer that we still had plenty of work to do in the weight room. We’ve seen a lot of commitment to the weight room as well as summer installs, 7 on 7’s, team camps, etc. We’re excited about our athletes, and returning leaders on both sides of the ball.”

HAWLEY – The Nuggets are coming off a 3-6 season last year, but are one team I look to make a flip on their record with an outstanding group of athletes coming back. The will bring back six starters on offense, and six starters on defense.
Noah Nelson is a player and threw fro 1,232 yards and 13 TD’s last year. Jack Ames was a menace on the defensive side with 70 tackles and nine for a loss. Other players that will be keys for the Nuggets Levi Lelm, Zach Libak, Mark Schauer, Blake Dauner, and Blake Bigger.
Coach Peder Naatz said, “We are expecting to be near the top of our district and section this year. We have most of our skill positions returning and our younger linemen have been putting in a ton of off-season work so there will be some competition for playing time on the OL & DL and that will make everyone better. The guys have put in a ton of time lifting in the offseason and have come into fall camp in pretty good shape, overall. We are quite a bit bigger than I thought we’d be and that is very encouraging. The kids have practiced with a purpose and done what we’ve asked of them thus far so we are expecting a significant turnaround with this program. Our senior class will play an integral role in the success of this season and they have accepted the challenge to get our program back on the winning track.”

PELICAN RAPIDS -The Vikings had a great year last year and finished 8AA runners-up with a 44-14 loss to Barnesville in the championship. Pelican Rapids was 9-2 on the year with both losses to Barnesville.
The Vikings lose six starters on the defensive end, including thre three linemen. On offense they los a kid named Timmy Guler. One of the better players I have seen in a while. They also lose four starting offensive lineman, a tight end, a wide receiver and mister utility Jack Paulson. They have a lot of holes to fill, but they are coming off one of their better years in a while and look to build off last years outstanding success.

FRAZEE – The Hornets were hit hard by graduation. They lost two outstanding backs in Brady Crabtree and Tyler moe. They also lost four starting offensive lineman. On the defensive side, they were a little younger, but lose their starting defensive lineman, a linebacker, and two defensive backs. They will have some great talent coming back with the likes of Jack Graham, Asher Blaine, Adam Vegan, and Cade Nagel to name a few. They are always a hard-hitting team and should be another tough matchup for most teams.

WARROAD – The Warriors are my sleeper team. They return a bunch of starters from last season. On offense, three out of five offensive lineman return with senior four year starter Cody Kvarnlov and senior Carter Jensen leading the way. In the offensive backfield, three year starting senior quarterback Liam Grover returns along with starting senior running back Zach Rose. The wide receivers all have varsity experience from last year and senior WR/RB Teferi Reeves returns as well. The defense returns many starters mentioned on the offensive side of the football along with senior defensive end Wil Anderson. A newcomer to the team this year is senior RB/LB Karlvinson Paul.
Coach Brandon Barker says, “The key for us to be successful this year is to stay healthy and minimize penalties and turnovers.”

ROSEAU – The Rams are coming off a tough 1-8 season with their only victory coming in a 36-19 victory over Crookston in week 5. They have some talent coming back and should be a little more competitive this year.

CROOKSTON – The Pirates are coming off the worst season in school history with an 0-9 record. The Pirates are looking to make major improvements from last season, and the bar (in all honesty) is pretty low. They have some size and stength on the line with Riley Helgeson at 6-4, 290 pounds, back out for football is Hunter Nicholas (great to see this kid out again) at 6’4, 275 pounds, Wyatt Maryla at 5’10 and 240 pounds, Isaiah Reyes at 240 pounds and the tight end Tate Hamre is a stud at 6’4 and 215 pounds. So the line, which was a huge problem last year should be much improved. Brayden Pederson will also be on the line and is 185 pounds, but a strong and athletic kid that gives you everything he has. They have Teagen Lubinski back at quarterback and that will be nice to have the senior leader who is a smart kid and hard-nosed athlete. Backs will have a nice mix of Jose Arriaga (who had to play some line last year!!!!! and he has looked promising in practice (granted against the scout defense, but he is a strong athletic kid and never bet against a wrestler on the football field). You also have Rylan Lubarski and Zachariah Ali that will be in the backfield a little bit too. The Pirates should be much improved, but staying healthy is going to be huge for this team because they aren’t very deep.

— — —

SECTION 6 9-MAN
The unanimous top team in the section and one of the top teams in the state will be the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons. The big question is how do they fill Caiden Swenby’s shoes at quarterback. The good news is they have EVERYBODY back but two players from last years state semi-final team. Granted Swenby and Derek Sorenson are big losses, but the Falcons are the team to beat again this year.

SECTION 8A-
Can anybody beat the Mahnomen/Waubun Thunderbirds? They are like Barnesville in 8AA, they are a dynasty, but each year it seems like teams clos the gap until the Thunderbirds get to the Fargodome, then it is lights out. I don’t know if I have seen a team that is so good (Barnesville) when they get to the big game. The key is to knock them off before. Ada-Borup-West and Red Lake County will be two teams that look to dethrone the reigning champs and never count out Polk County West either.

SECTION 8 9-MAN
Who is the team to beat this year?
Goodridge/Grygla had a tremenous year last year and lost to Fertile-Beltrami in the first round of the state tournament. They lost a lot of amazing talent to graduation including five starters on defense and five starters on offense. They lose Lewis Jones, Kehan Nelson, and Carsen Rabishko who carried the ball for almost 2000 yards last year. THey have Blake Richlok back and he will be tough to stop.
Stephen-Argyle should be a force again this year along with Kittson County Central and the Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies are always a tough team. I would say this year it is wide open.

JOKES

I taught my kids about democracy tonight by having them vote on which movie to watch and pizza to order.
I then picked the movie and pizza because I’m the one with the money.

— — —
A small boy is sent to bed by his mother…
[Five minutes later]
“Mom…””What?”
“I’m thirsty. Can you bring me a glass of water?”
“No. You had your chance. Lights out.”
[Five minutes later]
“Mom…””WHAT?”
“I’m THIRSTY… Can I have a glass of water?”
“I told you NO! If you ask again I’ll have to spank you!!”
[Five minutes later]
“Mom…””WHAT??!!”
“When you come in to spank me, can you bring me a glass of water?”

— — —
A guy is walking down the street with his friend. He says to his friend, “I’m a walking economy.”
His friend replies, “How’s that?”
“It’s like this — my hair line is in recession, my stomach is a victim of inflation, and the combination of these factors is putting me into a deep depression.”

— — —

How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com

Emilee Tate is a freshman playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.

Halle Bruggeman is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.

Grace Fischer is a Sophomore on the Concordia College (Moorhead) Women’s Golf team.

Ethan Boll is a Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.

Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Emma Osborn is a Junior playing basketball at the University of Minnesota Crookston.

Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Aleah Bienek is a Junior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND..

Kaleb Thingelstad is a junior playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan.

Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.

Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.

Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.

Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Womens Track and Field team.

Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.

Crookston School District Coaches

Emilee Tate is the Pirate 7th grade volleyball coach. 
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach and assistant girls golf coach
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach

Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc

Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.

Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball

Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.

Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.

Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.

Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.

Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.

Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park

Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.

Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.

Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.

Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming.

Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.

Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.

Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.

Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.

Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.

Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis

Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.

Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.

Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.

Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.

Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.

Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.

Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome

That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com.

Tags: sports, Sports Feever