Area Sports
Weekly Edition
Their performances versus Tri-
ton and Lewiston-Altura weren’t
lights out. But wins are wins and
Caledonia
boys bas- THE TRENDE
ketball
posted REPORT
1 A A
quarter-
final and
semifinal
victories
to make
the 1AA
champi-
onship
g a m e .
Last year’s Paul Trende
1AA sec-
tion champs will defend their
title. It’ll be two one loss ranked
teams going head-to-head.
Warriors Ease by Snakes
in Quarterfinals
It wasn’t a completely domi-
nating performance by #1
Caledonia (1-seed, 24-1). But
Brad King’s group handled
a solid Triton squad (8-seed,
16-11) in a 1AA quarterfinal.
The Warriors forced 21 turn-
overs while committing just
nine (only two in the first half ).
They only trailed briefly very
early. But Triton was with two
(40-38) early in the second half
and within five (50-45) with
10-plus minutes left. This after
the Warriors led by as many as
14 in the half (36-22) and by
nine (38-29) at halftime. Cale-
donia’s reply to Triton’s push
was to turn to seniors. They
got buckets. With it 50-45, the
Warriors spurted 10-0. Ja’Shon
www.marzolfimp.net
Monday, March 21, 2022
Caledonia’s Boys to Play PEM for 1AA Title
A somber Kendyl Queensland and River Landers hoist the 1A runner-up trophy following GM’s
loss to Hayfield 65-41. It was a GM girls team’s furthest progression ever, and the Superlarks fin-
ished an excellent season at 23-7.
Simpson put in the first five
points and Eli King the next
five. The scores gave team Cal
a 60-45 lead. They then closed
things out for a 70-53 win.
King led the charge, making
plays everywhere (26 pts, 7-8
FTs, 9-16 FGs, 9 rebs, 5 asts,
7 stls). Jackson Koepke added a
double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs).
Simpson chipped in 13 points.
Six other Warriors scored. Owen
Petersohn scored 21 points (3-7
threes) to lead the Cobras. He
was the only Triton player in
double figures. Braxton Mun-
nikhuysen chipped in 9 (pts)
and 5 (rebs). Efficiency with
the basketball, plus 18 offensive
rebounds, led the Caledonia to
shoot 18 more shots. The War-
riors were 26 of 72 from the
Volume 37 Issue 27
Photo by Paul Trende
field (36%), Cobras 18 of 54
(33%). Triton (7 of 25 > 28%)
held an edge from deep over Cal
(5 of 22 > 23%). The Warriors
were near flawless from the free
throw line (13 of 14 > 93%)
though Triton wasn’t shabby (10
of 14 > 71%). All those War-
rior offensive rebounds yielded
15 second-chance-points. Triton
had 11 offensive rebounds for
just three second-chance-points.
It was Caledonia’s first game
since February 25 (beat La Cres-
cent/Hokah), or a span of 10
days. Section 1AA only has 15
teams, so the Warriors had a
Round of 16 bye. They moved
to face Lewiston-Altura (5-seed,
20-8), which beat LC/H 75-57
in the quarters.
Team Cal Survives
L-A in Semifinals
Cal-nation was on the edge of
its seat. So too were all of Lew-
iston-Altura’s fans. The favored
Warriors (1-seed, 25-1) led the
Cardinals (5-seed, 20-8) late,
but by just two at 55-53 with
0:22 seconds. And L-A had the
ball. It had all come down to
the wire in a game where each
team rallied multiple times.
Caledonia started the game 8-2.
L-A laid back defensively, dar-
ing the Warriors to make threes.
Ja’Shon Simpson and Eli King
hit a couple early. But the Car-
dinals then went on a 14-0
run. After missing their first
two threes, L-A hit five straight.
They hit six of seven shots at
one point and built a 16-8 lead.
The Warriors fought back, using
L-A turnovers as a catalyst. They
pulled to down two at 19-17
only for L-A to build a 29-21
lead. At the half, the Cardinals
led 31-28. In the second half,
Caledonia’s defense again forced
a cluster of turnovers. L-A had
five miscues in six possessions,
and the Warriors ran 8-0, turn-
ing a 38-34 deficit into a 42-38
See SPORTS Page 2 
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TO SUPPORT THE
TRENDE REPORT
SPORTS REPORT!
Page 2 FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL
A picture says a lot. Caledonia players Brett Schultz (#21) and Thane Meiners (#30) are elated
after beating Lewiston-Altura 55-53. Teammates Eli King and Ja’Shon Simpson are more relieved.
Cardinal players are stunned. Cal survived a late game-winning three-point attempt by Thomas
Menk (#4) to claim their victory and move on to the 1AA finals.
SPORTS
Continued from Page 1
lead. A Thane Meiners three (40-
38) gave Cal its first lead since
8-5. Down the stretch, L-A 6’4”
senior forward Thomas Menk
tried to will his team to victory.
He scored 11 straight Cardinal
points, including hitting three
triples over a five-possession
span. Meanwhile, the War-
riors got buckets from Jackson
Koepke, who had four second
half triples, and King. Caledonia
stayed tentatively ahead on the
scoreboard. A Simpson offensive
rebound put-back had the War-
riors up five, 54-49, with 3:05
left. Caledonia’s offensive pace
had slowed as they looked to
dribble/pass out victory. But a
Colin Bonow steal and lay-up
with 1:36 left made it a one-pos-
session ballgame at 54-51. On
an in-bounds play, King missed
an open inside look. On L-A’s
end, William Kreidermacher, a
5’6” freshman, somehow got his
own miss amidst the trees, and
scored making it 54-53 War-
riors with 1:00 left! Caledonia
then ran off 33 seconds before
King was fouled. He hit the first
free throw but not the second.
It set up the conclusion; L-A’s
ball down 55-53 with 0:22 left.
The rock went to Menk. Though
he’d hit the only four shots he
took in the second half, a game-
winning three was on-line, but
off deep. Menk then found him-
self with the offensive rebound,
but a desperation two-point
toss before the buzzer was also
no good. Brad King’s Warriors
escaped 55-53! Koepke (20 pts,
4-9 threes, 5 rebs) and King (19
pts, 3-8 threes, 6 rebs, 6 asts, 3
stls) led the way. Koepke, a 6’3”
senior guard, hit all his threes
and scored 14 points after half-
time. King had 13 in the first
half. Simpson added 7 points.
Menk (18 pts, 4-8 threes, 8 rebs)
and Bonow (15 pts, 3-6 threes,
4 rebs, 3 asts) paced L-A. Menk
had 13 points in the second half
on 5 of 7 shooting (the lone
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Area Sports
Rushford-Peterson’s Malachi Bunke shoots over the defense of
Southland’s Eli Wolff in the teams 1A quarterfinal. R-P had too
many “poisons” in the game, including Bunke, who scored 18
points. They downed the Rebels 53-42.
Photo by Paul Trende Photo by Dawn Hauge
misses in the finals seconds).
Kyle Frederickson chipped in 8
(pts) and 8 (rebs). L-A finished
with 16 turnovers to Caledo-
nia’s 10. Other numbers were
pretty close. However, like the
Triton game, Caledonia (21 of
49 > 43%) took more shots
than the Cardinals (20 of 42
> 48%). The teams combined
for 19 made threes; Caledonia
10 of 25 (40%), L-A 9 of 20
(45%). The Warriors beat the
Cardinals 83-57 in January,
but L-A was down key players
including Bonow. Brad King’s
group (27-1) moves on to the
1AA section title game. They’ll
play #4 PEM (2-seed, 28-1),
which beat Lake City 59-44
in another semifinal. The Bull-
dogs have won 14-straight since
losing their only game of the
year to Caledonia, 71-43 in late
January. The Warriors have won
nine straight.
Turnovers Doom GM
Girls in Section Finals
For half of the game, Grand
Meadow’s girls (3-seed, 23-6)
played #3 Hayfield (1-seed, Chatfield’s Caden Nolte (middle) has signed a letter of intent to play football at Iowa Central Col-
30-0) about even. It was the lege. He is pictured with his family (left to right) brother Westin, father Chad, mother Jennifer,
other half that didn’t go so well and sister Kendyl. Chatfield head football coach Jeff Johnson is standing. Nolte was the starting
at all. The favored Vikings got center and defensive lineman for the state Class AA champion Gophers.
off to a good start and ended Photo by Dan Schindler
emphatically to take out GM
in the 1A girls basketball sec- But GM went traditional inside- GM succumbed to the constant Hayfield. Watson (17 pts, 6-11
tion title game. Hayfield 5’11” outside basketball. River Land- pressure. They scored just two FGs, 5-5 FTs, 4 stls) and Beaver
forward Aine Stasko was the ers, a 6’0” senior center, scored points after pulling to down two, (15 pts, 6-11 FGs, 8 rebs) also
story early in the game. With nine points in a 14-2 Lark run a Lauren Queensland basket in hit double figures. Watson had
GM concentrating its defense that cut Hayfield’s lead to just the lane. Over the final 12:09, 12 after intermission, Beaver 10.
on Kristen Watson and Natalie two at 41-39. GM even had they were 1 of 8 shooting with Chelsea Christopherson chipped
Beaver, who scored 43 com- the ball with a chance to go 11 turnovers. It brought their in 9 (pts) and 5 (asts). GM (17
bined points versus Lanesboro ahead. But the final 12:09 of the turnover mark for the game up of 38 > 45%) didn’t shoot ter-
in the 1A semis, Stasko gave contest is largely forgettable for to 24. The Vikings had 11. Hay- ribly, though Hayfield (23 of
Hayfield its offense. The senior Ryan Queensland’s girls. After field grabbed the 1A title going 44 > 52%) shot better. GM was
took six of Hayfield’s first seven combining for a modest 10 first away by a final of 65-41. Junior 15 of 25 from two-point range
shots, nailing a trio of three- half points, Watson and Bea- Kendyl Queensland (10 pts, 5-7 (60%). The Vikings outdid the
pointers. The Vikings got off to ver got going post intermission. FGs) was the only Lark in dou- Larks from deep, making 8 of
a 12-2 start, as the Superlarks Watson authored back-to-back ble figures. All her points came 21 threes (38%) to GM’s 2 of
had six early turnovers versus steal-and-scores in reply to GM in the first half. She was limited 13 (15%). Hayfield was also
Hayfield’s full-court gal-to-gal pulling to within two. Beaver to one second half shot. Landers plus-six at the free throw line,
pressure defense. For the rest followed with an interior post added 9 points (3-3 FTs), all in going 11 of 12 (92%) to GM’s
of the half, the teams played score. Stasko then hit her fifth the second half. Lexy Foster (8 5 of 5. Turnovers were the story,
about even basketball. At half- three of the game. Hayfield went pts) and Lauren Queensland (7 as GM was out-scored 36-4 in
time, Hayfield led 31-23. The on a 9-0 run to lead by double pts, 9 rebs, 3 asts) helped the the first 6:00 and last 12:09.
Vikings then started the second digits again at 50-39. And the Lark cause. Stasko (21 pts, 5-7
half 8-2 to lead by 14 at 39-25. Viking defense was harassing. threes, 4 asts) was the hero for See SPORTS Page 3 
Share your thoughts at www.fillmorecountyjournal.com Monday, March 21, 2022 FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL Page 3

Area Sports
SPORTS
Continued from Page 2
In those spans, the Larks had
17 of their 24 miscues. Grand
Meadow’s excellent season ends
at 23-7. It was their furthest
play-off progression ever, their
first section title game. GM has
only two seniors, starting center
River Landers and Leah Han-
son. Four starters and six of the
seven girls to play versus Hay-
field will return next year.
Trojans Make
1A Semifinals,
Fall Agonizingly in
Overtime to Goodhue
Rushford-Peterson’s boys
made their second straight 1A
semifinal. They then fell agoniz-
ingly in overtime.
Trojans “Poisons”
Too Much for Rebels
Eighth-ranked Rushford-
Peterson (2-seed, 21-4) used
a pick-your-poison offensive
attack to down Southland
(7-seed, 17-6) in a 1A quar-
terfinal. The Rebels fell to R-P
61-52 in the regular season, a
game where the Trojans hit 11
three-pointers. Southland was
thus intent on stopping that
“poison” of the Trojans attack.
Caledonia’s Thane Meiners tries to power a shot past a pair of They used a 3-2 zone to cur-
Triton defenders on his way to the hoop. The Warriors powered
tail R-P’s shooters, particularly
past the Cobras 70-53 to earn a spot in the 1AA semifinals. cousins Malachi and Dawson
Photo by Paul Trende Bunke. It worked in as much the
Trojans were just 2 of 13 from
deep in the first half. But that
zone left the interior open, and
R-P inside poison Justin Ruberg
had a big first stanza, scoring 16
points including 10 straight at
one point. He alone created a
10-0 run that annulled a 15-14
Southland lead. The Rebels have
a pair of good offensive weap-
ons in Eli Wolff and Harrison
Hanna. The duo each made a
play late, as the Rebels scored
the last five points of the half.
They cut a once nine-point R-P
lead (24-15) to four at intermis-
sion (24-20). The second half
saw the Rebels cut down on the
athletes of the week
M-Bunke (18 pts, 4-9 threes, 3
asts) scored 13 of his 18 points
after halftime. Hengel chipped
in 7 points. Dawson Bunke
added 6 points. M-Bunke, Hen-
gel, and Andrew Hoiness were
tasked with limiting the aggres-
sive drives of Wolff and Hanna.
The 42 points scored by the
Rebels was their third worst of
the season. They came in aver-
aging 72.2 PPG. Only Spring
Grove twice (37 and 38) had
held them lower than 42 points.
Wolff led Southland (19 pts,
5-6 FTs, 7 rebs). Hanna added
9 (pts) and 7 (rebs). After a 10
of 27 shooting first half (37%),
R-P was 10 of 15 in the sec-
ond half (67%). They finished
going 6 of 21 from deep (29%).
Southland shot 16 of 39 (41%)
but 4 of 16 (25%) from deep.
R-P moved on to face Good-
hue (3-seed, 22-6), which beat
Lyle/Pacelli 47-39 in another 1A
quarterfinal.
Late Shots Don’t Drop,
R-P falls to Goodhue
The result wasn’t unexpected.
It was super close and went
beyond down to the wire. R-P
had the ball at the end of both
regulation and overtime with a
chance to win. But the Wild-
cats had the trump card. The
1A semifinal battle of #8 Rush-
ford-Peterson (2-seed, 22-4) and
Goodhue (3-seed, 22-6) was
just that; an expected close-knit
defensive-minded and offen-
sively disciplined battle. After
all, both coaches are Rushford-
Peterson graduates; R-P with
Chris Drinkall, Goodhue with
Matt Halverson. And the teams
have met one other time in
recent memory with a lot on
the line. The 2017 1A Section
final saw Goodhue out-last R-P
40-37 in double overtime. Hal-
verson headed the Wildcats and
Drinkall was an assistant for the
Trojans. When R-P’s slow delib-
erate style meets R-P’s deliber-
ELI KING & JACKSON KOEPKE
ate style it leads to a deliberate
game! Goodhue scored the first
six points. R-P settled in. By
halftime, it was tied 17-17. The
second half had ties at 22, 30,
32, and 34 leading up to the
final minutes. R-P sophomore
Dawson Bunke hit a three at the
2:55 mark to give the Trojans
a 37-36 lead. Goodhue then
went inside and got a basket
from their ace card, 6’4” senior
center Dayne Wojcik, to make
it 38-37. Andrew Hoiness then
hit another big three and R-P
was up 40-38 with under a
minute to play. Hoiness’s basket
came after he grabbed a steal on
the defensive end. But on the
Wildcat end, Wojcik received
an interior-to-interior pass from
Sam Opsahl. He scored inside
to make 40-40. R-P had the
ball for the last shot in the
final 23.5 seconds, but their best
attempt was an off-balance three
by D-Bunke (who hit three tri-
fectas in the second half ). It
didn’t fall. The game went to
OT tied 40-40. The Wildcats
then scored the first four points,
with Wojcik going baseline from
the corner to give Goodhue a
44-40 lead with 2:06 left. After
an offensive rebound, R-P’s
Grady Hengel scored to narrow
the margin to 44-42 (1:14). The
Wildcats missed the front end
of two one-and-one’s in the final
1:02. R-P missed an interior
shot with their second to last
possession. They took over for
their last possession with 0:41
seconds left. After a timeout and
withstanding a foul (Goodhue
had fouls to give), the Trojans
drew up a play for the final
0:08. It got scuttled by a mis-
handle and Goodhue’s defense,
but Hengel found senior guard
Malachi Bunke in the corner for
a semi-open game-tying three.
The ball was in the air a long
See SPORTS Page 4 

Ruberg poison. But it left the Caledonia Basketball

three-point line less defended.
R-P started the stanza 6-0 to
lead 30-20, only for Wolff and
Hanna to lead Southland on
a 11-5 spurt, cutting the edge
to 35-31. Trojan senior guard
Malachi Bunke then hit a three
out of a timeout. A few min-
utes later, he hit his third tri-
fecta of the second half. R-P
went ahead 40-33 with under
six minutes left. Zone useless
while trailing, Southland went Caledonia boys basketball is again in the 1AA finals and
man-to-man. The Grady Hengel seniors Eli King and Jackson Koepke led them there.
‘poison’ came to the forefront. Versus Triton in the quarters, King played his usual all-
The Trojans’ junior guard used around game (26 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 7 stls). Koepke added
his off the dribble game to score a double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs). Cal won 70-53. Versus
seven straight points. R-P built L-A in the semis, Koepke hit four second half threes to post
a 48-36 lead with around 3:00 a game-high 20 points. King was again well-rounded (19
to go. Southland didn’t have pts, 6 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls). Cal won 55-53.
enough antidotes. R-P moved
Kenyon-Wanamingo 6’10” center Paul Kortsch swats away the on to its second straight 1A Photos by Paul Trende, Fillmore County Journal
shot of Spring Grove’s Elijah Solum in the teams’ 1A quarterfi- semifinal by a 53-42 final. They Brought to you by:
nal. But the Lions were able to get around the Knights, posting avenged last year’s semifinal loss
a 51-35 win behind great defense and Solum’s 20 points. to the Reb’s. The senior Ruberg
Photo by Paul Trende had a game-high (22 pts, 9-13
FGs, 4-6 FTs, 10 rebs) to lead
the Trojans. He had 16 of their (507) 272-0333
www.fillmorecountyjournal.com 24 first half points. Fellow senior 312 Ramsey Lane, Caledonia MN
Page 4 FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL Monday, March 21, 2022 Call the FCJ at 507-765-2151 to advertise or offer news tips!

Area Sports

Goodhue’s Dayne Wojcik looks to block the shot of Rushford-Peterson’s Justin Ruberg in the
teams’ 1A semifinal game. Wojcik versus Ruberg was a battle, but Goodhue’s big man was a beast,
scoring 25 points. The Wildcats staved off R-P game-winning shots at the end of regulation and
overtime to post a 44-42 OT win. R-P’s excellent season ends at 22-5.
Photo by Dawn Hauge

Grand Meadow freshman Lauren Queensland flips up a shot past

SPORTS M-Bunke (6 pts) also battled, R-P senior class of 1,000-point Hayfield’s Aine Stasko in the teams’ girls 1A final. The bucket
Continued from Page 3 as all five Trojans to score had scorer Ruberg, M-Bunke, Hoi- banked its way home, but it was GM’s only score the last 12:09 of
at least six. R-P shot just 29% ness, plus Carson Thompson the contest. Behind Stasko’s 21 points, the Vikings claimed the
time, as Bunke lofted over an (14 of 48) while Goodhue shot and Logan Skalet. The first three
on-rushing Wojcik and Opsahl. 1A title by a 65-41 final.
49% (19 of 39). R-P did their have all been varsity contribu-
It was on-line but short, leaving work from deep, making 7 of tors at least three years. Photo by Paul Trende
the Wildcats with a dramatic 23 threes (30%) while the Wild-
44-42 win in overtime! The war cats were just 2 of 11 (18%).
Lions Reach
of attrition, a great high school Goodhue was 17 of 28 (61%) Semifinals,
game, was won by Goodhue. from two-point range while R-P
They were led by Wojcik’s huge was 7 of 25 (28%). The Trojans
Fall to Vikings
effort (25 pts, 11-18 FGs, 14 were plus-three at the free throw Spring Grove’s boys made the
rebs). He was 7 of 8 field goals line, going 7 of 7 to Goodhue’s section semifinals, but saw their
in the second half and overtime, 4 of 8. The teams combined for season end there.
scoring 17 points after intermis- just 14 turnovers (R-P 6, Good Solum Surges Lions
sion. His only miss was a three- 8). Goodhue beat R-P on the Past Kenyon-Wanamingo
pointer. Adam Poncelet chipped glass 30 to 22, but R-P had in Quarters
in 9 points. Opsahl contributed 11 offensive rebounds for 11 For the second time in two
6 (pts), 5 (rebs), and 6 (asts). second-chance-points. Goodhue playoff games, Spring Grove
R-P was led by Justin Ruberg had 8 offensive rebounds for six (4-seed, 23-4) played a team
(13 pts, 4-14 FGs, 7 rebs), but second chance points. Oddly, nicknamed Knights. For a sec-
the going was tough for the in overtime, Goodhue was 2 ond time, Lions were greater
senior versus Wojcik. D-Bunke of 2 field goals but 0 of 3 free than Knights. Versus Kenyon-
added 9 points (3-7 threes), all throws. The Trojans excellent Wanamingo (5-seed, 21-6) in
in the second half. Hengel (8 season ends at 22-5. The game a 1A quarterfinal, SG had to
pts), Hoiness (6 pts, 4 rebs), and ends the careers of a notable navigate one notable obstruc-
tion, 6’10” Knight center Paul
Kortsch. His length was defi-
THIS WEEK’S nitely a story in the game. But
Wade Grinde’s group used its
excellent defense to hold down
the Knights. SG spotted K-W a
2-0 lead, but then scored 14 of
the next 16 points to lead 14-4.
Spring Grove sophomore Elijah Solum
K-W tiptoed to down 16-11 at
scored a game-high 20 points to lead the intermission, though the Lion
Lions past Kenyon-Wanamingo in the 1A defense held the Knights to six
quarters. Solum then had a team-high 13 points though about 14-min-
points in the Lions semifinal loss to Hayfield. utes of action. K-W started the
The sophomore was the Lions’ go-to-guy in ELIJAH SOLUM game 3 of 17 from the field
Spring Grove
both contests as SG finished the year 24-5. BOYS BASKETBALL with seven turnovers. In the sec-
Photo by Paul Trende, Fillmore County Journal ond half, things were still uncer- Chatfield’s Drew O’Connor gets the rejection on 6’7” Aeron Ste-
tain, as the Lions led 23-20. vens of PEM in the teams’ 1AA quarterfinal. Chatfield’s Drew
S P O N S O R E D B Y:
But SG sophomore guard Elijah
Solum then scored nine straight Schindler and PEM’s Baden Fenton are also shown. The Go-
points midway through the half, phers were up 34-33 in the second half, but the #4 Bulldogs
took a charge on Fortsch defen- ended 33-10 to post a 66-44 win. Chatfield completes a solid
sively, and ended by snaring a season at 17-11.
Photo by Leif Erickson
See SPORTS Page 5 
Official Legal Newspaper for this Region Monday, March 21, 2022
Area Sports
Spring Grove’s Carson Gerard (#32) and Jaxon Strinmoen try to alter the shot of Hayfield’s Isaac
Matti. The Lions didn’t alter Matti enough. The junior hit five threes and scored a game-high 21
points in leading the Vikings over SG 54-40 in a 1A semifinal. SG ends an excellent season at 24-5.
Photo by Paul Trende
SPORTS
Continued from Page 4
rebound and passing the ball
ahead to assist a Jacob Olerud
three-pointer. That shot put the
Lions up 37-25 with under five
minutes to go. SG wasn’t super
sharp at the free throw line
late, but the hill for K-W to
climb was too steep. The Lions
moved on to the 1A semis via
a 51-35 win. Solum led the
way with (20 points, 4-6 FTs,
4 rebs, 3 ast). His mid-range
shot was a good antidote to
the 6’10” Kortch inside, whose
length made short-range shots
near impossible. Tysen Grinde
(11 pts, 8 rebs, 4 stls) also hit
double figures. Carson Gerard
added a near double-double (9
pts, 9 rebs, 3 stls). The senior
had a soft tip-dunk early in the
first half. His athleticism helped
negate Fortsch’s size inside.
Olerud added 8 points. K-W
didn’t have a double-digit scorer.
Laden Nerison (9 pts, 8 rebs, 7
stls) and Kortsch (8 pts, 6 rebs, 7
blks) led the Knights. The teams
combined for 35 turnovers (SG
18, K-W 17). SG entered hav-
ing gone 12 straight games with
single-digit miscues. Eighteen
TO’s was a season-high. K-W
was 13 of 51 (25%) from the
field including a woeful 2 of 23
(9%) from deep. They missed
their first 16 threes, not hit-
In the waning ticks of overtime, R-P’s fan section hopes for the ting a trifecta until the final five
best as Malachi Bunke lets fly a would-be game-winner in the minutes. SG shot a respectable
face of Goodhue’s Dayne Wocjik (two hands up) and Sam Op- 17 of 42 (40%) from the field,
sahl (one hand up). The shot came up short and R-P came up 5 of 15 (33%) from deep. Wade
short, falling 44-42 in OT to the Wildcats in a 1A semifinal. Grinde’s group left some points
Photo by Paul Trende
FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL
at the free throw line, going 12
of 22 (55%) to K-W’s 7 of 10
(70%). K-W was held to a sea-
son-low point total. The Lions
(24-4) moved on to face top-
seeded #1 Hayfield (27-2). The
Vikings snuck past Randolph
late in another 1A quarterfinal,
66-62.
Vikings Too Much for Lions
The first 1A semifinal at Mayo
Civic Center had Spring Grove
(4-seed, 24-4) playing #1 Hay-
field (1-seed, 27-2), the defend-
ing section and state champion.
All year, the Lions used defense
as a catalyst to suppress opposing
teams and post wins. This time,
the Vikings were just too good
offensively, and their defensive
was similarly strong. After an
early 8-8 tie, Hayfield went
ahead for good. On the back
of an 11-2 run, they led by as
many as 11 (24-13) in the first
half and by seven at intermission
(24-17). The Vikings rode 6’2”
junior guard Isaac Matti and
6’4” sophomore center Zander
Jacobson. Matti hit three early
threes and Jacobson scored six
straight points later in the half.
The duo scored 19 of Hayfield’s
24 points the in stanza. The
Vikings then scored the first five
after intermission to lead 29-17.
But SG then scored five straight,
all by sophomore Elijah Solum.
The Lions hung around trail-
ing 29-22 early in the stanza.
But Hayfield then scored five
straight, including Matti hitting
his fourth three. They went back
ahead double digits at 36-24.
Matti’s shot was the first of four
straight possessions where the
Vikings execute well offensively
to get scores. SG kept pace by
scoring on three straight pos-
sessions, but Hayfield nonethe-
less led 42-31 with about six
minutes left. All second half, the
Vikings answered any SG push.
Hayfield scored on their final
six possessions including hitting
their last five free throws. They
kept the Lions at arm’s reach and
Thurs. Evenings, 7:30
Page 5
posted a 54-40 win. The Vikings
earned their second straight trip
to the 1A finals. Solum (13 pts,
4-14 FGS, 4 rebs, 5 asts) led the
Lions, but it was tough going
versus a good Hayfield defense.
Carson Gerard (10 pts, 5-9 FGs,
6 rebs, 4 blks) also hit double
figures. Tysen Grinde added 7
(pts), 4 (reb), 3 (asts), and 4
(stls). Matti led all scorers (21
pts, 5-8 threes, 8-13 FGs, 4
asts, 3 stls). Jacobson (12 pts,
5-9 FGs, 7 rebs) also hit double
figures. Easton Fritcher (9 pts,
10 rebs) and Ethan Pack (7 pts,
4 rebs) aided the Viking cause.
Jacobson and Pack both had
four fouls in the second half,
and the Vikings aren’t deep. But
Hayfield navigated the situation
without a drop off. The Vikings
shot 20 of 43 (48%) while the
Lions went 15 of 43 (35%).
Hayfield (7 of 16 > 44%) was
plus-12 from behind the arc, as
SG hit 3 of 9 threes (33%). The
teams combined for 27 turn-
overs (SG 14, Hayfield 13). The
Lions’ season ends at 24-5. Car-
son Gerard is the only senior on
the squad.
Boys Basketball (3/9)
(1AA Quarterfinal)
Chatfield (7-seed, 17-10) 44,
#4 Plainview-Elgin-Millville
(2-seed, 26-1) 66 (C: Cole
Johnson 16 pts (8-16 FGs),
5 asts; Drew Schindler 8 pts;
Drew O’Connor 8 pts, 5 rebs.
PEM: Kaiden Peters 29 pts (five
threes); Aeron Stevens 19 pts, 8
rebs. Gophers trailed 26-22 at
halftime but would lead 34-33
in the second half (11:42) They
then got out-scored 33-10 to
end the game. Peters scored 20
second half points including hit-
ting four threes. He hit back-
to-back triples to give PEM a
50-39 lead with 6:25 left. FGs:
PEM 27 of 52 (52%), C 19
of 45 (42%). Chatfield’s season
ends at 17-11)
*The Fillmore County Journal
Sports page is a written collabora-
tion of Paul Trende and Lee Epps.