As we enter the first week of December, the high school winter sports season is in full swing and the NFL has reached 12 games with four crucial contests remaining.
The Vikings were not able to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday, taking a 24-10 loss while being clearly outplayed in the second half. Lots of fans are still saying that Kirk Cousins is a big improvement over Case Keenum. I am still not convinced. Keenum may not be putting up big-time figures in Denver, but the Broncos have won three games in a row and at 6-6 (in the AFC) are about where the Vikings (6-5-1) are in the NFC. Last year the Vikings, with Keenum at quarterback, finished 13-3.
Adrian’s Mitch Lonneman scored 20 points and had numerous rebounds, along with blocking a few shots, for the Mount Marty College (out of Yankton, S.D.) junior varsity (JV) basketball team last Thursday evening, November 29. Although the Lancers fell short in an 87-77 overtime loss to Dakota State University at the DSU Field House in Madison, South Dakota, Lonneman certainly did his part to help Mount Marty.
HL-O’s Logan Knutson contributed (but did not score) for DSU, getting a couple of steals, an assist and hustling well on defense. He had a pair of three-point shots rim off during DSU’s exciting late-game comeback. In the middle of November, Logan had back-to-back double-figure games (scoring 10 points, along with three assists, three rebounds and two steals) in a home game against Dordt College of Sioux Center, Iowa. Two days later, he finished with 11 points and three steals in a game against Presentation College in Aberdeen. S.D. On November 13, Logan played the last two minutes and 30 seconds of a varsity game in Ellendale, North Dakota (against Trinity Bible College) and came up with a steal, getting his name included in the DSU website game report.
Dakota State finished 30th out of 36 teams at the NAIA National Cross Country Meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on November 16. DSU’s top runner, Braden Curnow (a junior from Hibbing, Minnesota) earned NAIA All-American honors by placing an impressive 19th out of 330 finishers. Curnow’s finish was six places better than DSU Coach Anthony Drealan’s 25th place All-American performance when he ran for the Trojans in the 2009 National Meet in Fort Vancouver, Washington. Drealan is a 2006 Fulda High School graduate.
Can you answers these “local sports history” questions?
Fulda’ Trent Kirchner, a 1996 FHS graduate and the quarterback on the Raiders’ 1995 “Keep The Dream Alive” football squad which won the Section 3A championship and played Chatfield in the state-tournament quarterfinals, continues to work for the Seattle Seahawks as the Director of Player Personnel. The Seahawks host the Vikings on Monday Night Football next week. Who did the Raiders beat in the 1995 sectional title game?
A pair of famous Minnesota High School coaches had brief stops in Slayton before moving on the big-time roles elsewhere. One of them was Duane Baglien, who after coaching basketball in Slayton (’53-54 and ’54-55) took Fergus Falls to the 1957 state tournament and then guided the Edina Hornets to four state-tournament trips (1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968) before becoming an administrator. Baglien’s Edina teams won three consecutive state titles (’66, ’67, ’68) and had a 69-game winning streak in the process.
Who was the other guy (he became a legendary high school football coach) who coached football at Slayton during the 1950s?
Who was the awesome all-around Adrian athlete who starred in football at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. during the late 1960s and later played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers? What famous Minnesota sports legend both played for and coached the Blue Bombers?
Which all-around Fulda athlete from the 1970s played basketball in Europe and now runs basketball schools in Southern California?
Which year did Adrian win the District 8 boys’ basketball championship (and who beat them in the Region 2 tournament)?
Which girl made a miraculous long shot in the 2006 South Sub-Section Quarterfinals (at Worthington, Super Saturday) which sent Adrian into overtime against Southwest Star Concept (Heron Lake-Okabena). The Dragons went on to win during those extra minutes. Who was that Adrian player, who three years later led AHS to the state tournament?
Which two years did Slayton win the District 8 boys’ basketball championship during the 1950s?
Okabena twice played in the District 7 championship game, losing to Jackson both times. Who was Okabena’s tall ace player the first time in 1941? Who did the Bluehawks soundly beat in the semifinals the second time (1961) when a senior-loaded team was coached by former OHS all-around athlete Darold Baumgard?
Who was coaching Heron Lake-Okabena when they defeated Jackson to win the District 7 title in 1985? Who did the Scarlet Knights beat in the first round of the Region 2 tournament at Mankato State’s Highland Arena?
And finally, which 1985 HL-O player had a father who played for Okabena in 1961? List both names, from ’61 and ’85.
Call me at 507-822-2053 or email me at lknutson5169@gmail.com with any of your correct answers — which I will reveal next week. Good Luck!
