Vikings
For an eighth win, today was some slop. My irritation level is such that I'm not going to take the time to do the recap post but will get into it a bit here. The defense was hot garbage in the first half and the dead-weight cornerbacks didn't pick up their play much at all in the second. The offense made Denver look like they were primed for a run to the championship through 30 minutes but Cousins and the guys got their performance high enough to take the lead and eek out the victory. There's a lot wrong with this team. Maybe it will get better after they've gotten away for a while or maybe that will only lead to worse performances down the stretch. A bad win is an oxymoron but in classic Minnesota fashion, they found a way to achieve exactly that.
Bison
NDSU started the week with a visit by Cal Poly to the SHAC. Lead by a 21 point performance by Vinnie Shahid and double figures by Tyson Ward & Cam Hunter they pulled off a 74-67 victory.
On Tuesday the Volleyball team hosted North Dakota and took care of business 3 - 1 as they prepare for the conference tournament.
Fast forward to Friday, the Cross-Country teams competed in the NCAA regionals. The women were paced by Kelby Anderson as they finished as the 11th best team. The men didn't fare quite as well, ending in 19th place. The men's Basketball team returned to the court in Texas against UT - RGV and won 76 - 70 behind 15 points from Jared Samuelson. Back in Fargo, the women faced Valparaiso but lost 66 - 54.
The guys played again on Saturday and made it four wins in a row over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, 57 - 45 with another 13 points coming from Hunter. The Football team also dominated South Dakota on senior day, 49 - 14.
Sunday included a visit by #25 ranked Purdue in wrestling. NDSU got some positive results but wasn't quite up to the task and ended with a 22-12 score. The Basketball team ended their time in the Southern border state with a 64-57 loss against Stony Brook. The Volleyball team also had senior day and defeated ORU 3 - 1.
Dragons
Moorhead State started the week against Dickinson St. and won 86 - 71 with five players going double figures.
On Friday the women's Basketball played Metropolitan St. and won convincingly, 72 - 46 with 18 apiece from Megan Hintz & Madi Green. They also combined for 19 rebounds. The water squad traveled to St. Thomas and finished in fifth place collectively but with several better finishes as well. The Volleyball team started their last time on the road this year in Nebraska against Wayne State, 3-0.
On Saturday the Football team closed out their season with a 24 - 13 win over St. Cloud St. as they continued to work toward next season. The women's Basketball team returned to the court versus Michigan Tech and won 76 - 50. Four players reached 10+ in that one and Hintz made it two double/doubles in a row. Volleyball ended their year in Sioux Falls but was on the wrong side of a 3-1 note.
Cobbers
Concordia's men's Basketball team spent the middle of the week in Wisconsin as the first action of the week. They were in Superior to start but lost 75-6, only to return on Wednesday against Wisconsin - Stout and win 92 - 90 with four players in double figures, lead by Tommy Schyma.
The women's team got on the court in Mayville but finished on the wrong side of 62 - 51 final score. The Hockey teams also played on Friday against St. Mary's. The men lost 3 - 2 and the women lost 4 - 3.
On Saturday the Cross Country teams competed in the NCAA regionals. The men finished behind 14 others while the women were a respectable 10th. The Football team traveled to Carleton and rolled to a convincing 54 - 21 win. Maybe the best part of it is that it gives some insight into how the team may look next year. In his first start at quarterback, Sean McGuire threw three touchdown passes out of only five attempts and ran for another score while carrying the ball 14 more times than the next closest rusher. That's the kind of offense to get excited about! The Hockey teams rematched against St. Mary's and finished with different results. For the guys that came in the form of a 5 - 0 loss while the women won 3 - 1, with goals by Ally Wiitala, Maiah McCowan & Callie Fagerstrom. The Basketball teams capped the action against St. Scholastica. The women were edged 77 - 73 while the men finished ahead, 82 - 77 thanks in large part to 26 pts by Jackson Jangula & 19 by John Reiten.
Timberwolves
The positivity of the first few weeks gave way to some issues in the latest games. Following wins over Detroit & San Antonio to start the way, they were thoroughly outplayed by Washington and a Houston team without several of their top players. It was a pair of embarrassing performances that reinforced some of the concerns about the roster. Maybe the most astounding thing is that both games came without Andrew Wiggins - personal reasons. If the ultimate takeaway turns out to be that they need him to play in order to win then maybe the contract will turn out to be a good decision. No one would have seen that coming before this season started!
Force
Fargo hosted Madison for a pair to begin the weekend. On Thursday they cruised to a 7-1 win with each goal coming from a different player. Friday was more of a test as Fargo fell behind 2-0 in the first period. Tristan Broz cut that deficit in half early in the third and Noah Beck tied it up a few minutes later. They played the rest of the way to overtime. The extra time was capped by Beck scoring his second goal of the season to win the game. They'll take their three-game winning streak on the road over the next ten days to Des Moines, Lincoln & Sioux Falls.
High School Sports
The high school Football year came to a close this week for all the teams in the coverage area. On the Dakota Bowl side it was Hillsboro/Central Valley & Sheyenne left to go. The Borros took care of the AA championship against Beulah, 35-12. The Mustangs closed out championship day against Bismarck Century and competed to the end of the game. The Patriots were just more successful making the big plays en route to a 10-0 win to complete an undefeated season that ironically enough started on the far South end of Fargo.
On the Minnesota side, the Purple Palace proved to be a house of horrors for all three of the area teams that made it that far. Win-E-Mac took the first crack at advancing to the championship but ended on the wrong side of a 45-6 game. Barnesville followed against the latest Minnesota powerhouse - Caledonia - but the Warriors dominated the Trojans, 43-12. Ada-Borup had the last chance against Blooming Prairie but they too were rolled, 41-0. While it's tough to go out in all those ways, each of teams had great seasons & hopefully they recognize that in the future!
On the Volleyball side of things; Davies, Shanley & Sheyenne all made the Class A state Volleyball tournament. Oak Grove made into the Class B tournament as the fifth seed of eight teams. They all start play on Thursday at the Dome.