Bison
Pick Six for the SDSU game
The Volleyball team had their senior night on Friday and closed it out in dramatic fashion with a narrow victory over Fort Wayne. They have show downs with Western Illinois and Omaha before heading to Denver for the Summit tournament. With a win over either of those two they'll guarantee themselves a winning record in the conference. Losing both would result in a .500 finish. Considering that they took both by 3 - 0 counts a few weeks ago, they have a great chance of closing above even.
The Soccer team eliminated the #1 seeded Jacks on Thursday night before falling to Denver on Tuesday. Even though they ended with a loss, that's a better finish then some of the Bison teams have made in recent Summit tournaments.
In other news, the Winter contingent have gotten through some scrimmages and are all rapidly nearing their schedules starting. For the men's Basketball team that means a trip to southern California late next week. The women of the basketball court took on Morris as their exhibition and get under way against Mayville State and the New Jersey Institute of Technology next weekend.
And finally the men of the mat held an inter squad scrimmage today and host the Bison Open next weekend.
So even with all the deserved negativity over the Football team's bad loss yesterday, there are things to be positive about with them and with many of the other facets of the athletics department.
Vikings
The Vikings had their bye this week and didn't manage to supply any bad news this week. So things are still trending in the right direction with that team! How many times have we been able to say that nothing negative come out even when the team was idle?! Probably more often then not but it doesn't seem like it sometimes!
The best news may be that young Theodore is going to be activated. How Zimmer handles this will be one of the most significant decisions of his entire tenure as Vikings chief. I'm in the camp that until Keenum deserves to be pulled, it should be his job but only time will tell how it will all work out!
Timberwolves
Team howl is going for their fifth straight win as I type. I'm cautiously optimistic, emphasis on the cautiously because it is still very early in their team melding. The recent run has been a lot of fun though and I'm looking for it to continue against Charlotte tonight!
Dragons
The Football team had a third consecutive win and put themselves into prime position to close out the season above .500 next Saturday on senior day. Less then a month ago I would have wagered that such an outcome was all but out of the question. I'm glad to be wrong about that!
The other remnant of the Fall teams for MSUM closed out their home time with a trio of losses. The Volleyball team has a pair of matches remaining but there isn't as much reason for optimism with them as with the Footers before it's all over.
As for their hoopsters, the men have an exhibition against VCSU tomorrow before heading to Texas for a two game challenge next weekend. The women have a pair of exhibitions on the docket, first came against SDSU and the second is against Iowa - happening right now. After that each team is off for a while.
Lastly, the wrestlers head up to Thief River Falls in a few days and then take part in the Bison open at the end of next week.
Cobbers
The story of the weekend in college sports in the area should be Cobbers Football. They may not have the fanbase or the fare but the way they've dismantled almost all of their challengers is fun to pay attention to, even from a distance! Count me impressed by the fans who came out yesterday and chose to support their team in the elements!
There's more then Football over in Corn country too. Their Hockey team got flattened last weekend by Augsburg but came away with a win against Wisconsin - Stout on Friday night. They return to Moorhead with a quartet of contests leading up to Christmas break.
Their hoop heads haven't yet had any meaningful action but that all changes soon. The men did have an exhibition against NDSU, for whatever that's worth, but neither team has a game that counts for another 10 days.
With the weather turning, as it always does, it's great that all the indoor activities are getting under way on both sides of the river!
High School Football
Fargo+
West Fargo managed to run the gauntlet and get through to championship Friday against Minot. Each team broke through against a Bismarck school but I would still have to heavily favor the Bulls to take the AAA title.
But West Fargo is not alone in representing the region in the 2017 Bowl. The Shanley Deacons get a rematch against of their kryptonite - Bismarck St. Mary's. I would be shocked if this doesn't turn out to be the best of the four games on Friday, just considering all the history between the school's and the stakes of it this time.
Thirdly but not leastly, Hillsboro - Central Valley blanked Dickinson Trinity on their way to the title game. That will be a showdown against Langdon/Edmore/Munich who also managed to shutout their opponent in the class A semi-final. Defense may reign in that one, but surprises have already happened and may happen once more on the way to that title.
The fourth member of the day will be Wyndmere-Lidgerwood vs. Shiloh Christian for the 9 - man title. They, in contrast to the class A contingent, both came away with narrow victories in their semi-final's.
It all adds up to the makings of a great Dakota Bowl and four Fargo area schools could take their crowns. Whether it's four or zero, hopefully the day is as great as possible for all eight teams. That they finish with as many healthy players as they start and that each one, to a man, conducts himself well!
Moorhead+
As for the Minnesota side of things, Barnesville is the lone team standing in the playoffs. They got a double dose of revenge against Hawley. Not nearly as many points as when they faced each other a few weeks ago but the cold and the weight of it likely played into that. With the win, Barnesville earned a place amongst the eight state playoff contestants. They take on Paynesville in Alexandria on Friday night. One more win and they get to take their talents to the biggest stage - the home of the Vikings. For that, if nothing else, I'm rooting for them to make it through!