As we pass the middle of November and approach Thanksgiving, there is a bit of a ‘break’ in the weather as the snow has melted and late-fall returns (replacing our early ‘shot’ of winter).
That’s the good news. The bad news is that a worse-than-normal winter is still being predicted and will likely be here for keeps in a couple of weeks.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are no longer undefeated. A lack of first-quarter tackling and too many dropped passes resulted in a 23-19 Saturday afternoon victory for the Iowa Hawkeyes on their home turf at Kinnick Stadium — where the Gophers still haven’t won since 1999.
I was surprised last week when the Playoff Committee ranked the Gophers as high as eighth. That was a huge jump from 17th the week before (prior to the U’s 31-26 win over Penn State). This week’s AP poll dropped the Maroon and Gold from seventh to 11th and I would certainly expect a similar lowering by the Committee on Tuesday.
The Gophers have games remaining with Northwestern (in Evanston, Illinois) this week and at home (November 30) against arch-rival Wisconsin. A Rose Bowl trip to lovely Pasadena (the warmth of Southern California) is still a possibility.
Making the ‘Final Four’ in the playoffs is almost a sure bet not to happen? The Gophers would have to be most impressive in wins over Northwestern, Wisconsin and Ohio State (the likely opponent in the Big 10 title game) and at least one of the other powers — LSU, Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma — would have to lose another game?
The Vikings were horrible in the first half Sunday (trailing the Denver Broncos — at home — by a stunning score of 20-0), but were brilliant in the second half, rallying for a 27-23 victory. I’ll have to admit that Kirk Cousins is playing better — although not totally consistent — but he’s still not worth what he’s been paid.
Three former Adrian athletes — Darwin Gonnerman, Dean Krogman and Pat Dorn — are all members of the South Dakota State Hall of Fame.
Gonnerman excelled in football at SDSU in the late 1960s — twice earning College Division All-American honors while rushing for 1,023 yards in both the 1967 and 1968 seasons. He still holds the Jackrabbit career record for all-purpose yards (5,465) and his 95-yard punt return for a touchdown against North Dakota State in 1966 remains a SDSU record. Gonnerman, who was a track and field star in high school for the Dragons, played several years of professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Krogman was a baseball star for the Jackrabbits in the early ‘70s, earning All-North Central Conference honors three times and twice being named as a College Division All-American. A catcher-first basema, Krogman won the North Central Triple Crown in 1971, leading the league in home runs, RBIs and batting average (.428). He also played football for the Jackrabbits as a defensive end and place kicker. His 46-yard field goal against Morningside in 1970 was a SDSU school record for nine years.
Dorn was a two-time national wrestling champion for SDSU and a four-time All-American in the late 1980s. He won back-to-back NCAA Division II championships in 1987 and 1988 as a 134-pounder. Dorn later earned NCAA Division I All-American honors by placing eighth in the major-college tournament, becoming the first SDSU wrestler in 18 years to claim that distinction. He was a stellar 100-33-3 during his four years as a Jackrabbit wrestler.
Fulda’s Anthony Drealan has again been named the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Cross Country Coach of the Year. Drealan’s Dakota State University (DSU) Trojans won both the men’s and women’s team titles at the conference meet (November 8) at the Bear Creek Golf Course (hosted by Waldorf College) in Forest City, Iowa — qualifying each team to the national meet.
The Trojans, based out of Madison, South Dakota, repeated as men’s champions in dominating fashion with a winning score of 29 (1-2-5-10-11), 24 points better than the second-place team. In much closer fashion, the women needed a sixth-runner tiebreaker to nudge Dickinson State (of North Dakota) as each team finished with 41 points through its top five.
Both DSU squads will run in the NAIA National Meet Friday (November 22) at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington. Drealan ran there as a qualifying runner for the Trojans in 2010.
Basketball games and wrestling meets are fast-approaching. It should be another interesting winter for area high school teams.
Did anyone figure out many towns are involved in the Red Rock Conference? Not teams, not schools, towns. MCC alone has six towns — Slayton, Lake Wilson, Chandler, Hadley, Iona and Avoca. Red Rock Central has four — Storden, Jeffers, Lamberton and Sanborn (five if you count Revere). So that’s maybe 11 towns between just two of the schools. I’ll bet there is at least 40 towns involved in the Red Rock Conference?
