The MSHSL board only voted on moving volleyball and football, didn't sound like they even broached the subject of moving spring sports. I understand the concerns which mirror those of having in person schooling this fall, but I am upset that many kids will have to choose between one thing or another next spring.
For my son this effectively ends his tenure in the Mankato Lancers marching band. He was on the fence about next season of Lancers anyway, but with football happening right during the time Lancers ramps up it will be a no brainer decision for him to move on from that.
*I just read a few more things about this...I guess the MSHSL is considering another sports season to start after May 15. Maybe spring sports like baseball will be moved to that season?
**I guess the MSHSL did vote to move traditional spring sports to the fourth season which will be May 15 to July 15. I think I got it right this time.
I have been following this intimately over the past few months because of my role in MSHSL football.
First off, I believe the MSHSL backed itself into a corner. It really only started planning for the fall about two weeks ago, and the task force in charge did not make a recommendation to the board of directors even today. In many ways, the meeting today was a $hit show-- tie votes, votes for reconsideration, last minute Title IX questions-- just not an organization that showed a ton of leadership. They did not seriously consider swapping seasons because they started too late to do so. You cannot tell a whole state worth of baseball and softball coaches to get ready for a season starting in two weeks right now-- you have to line up umpires, transportation, and facilities on very short notice inside of a MDE pandemic restraint. It would have been a nightmare.
That being said, moving football and volleyball is the right thing to do. They need more time to figure out how to do them right with the MDE constraints statewide.
A few notes, however: The dates March 15-May 15 are approximate, which was reiterated several times. But I could see a March 15 start. May 15 would be for a potential state tournament final. Keeping in mind that over half the teams would be done by week 9, you could potentially start traditional spring sports two weeks earlier without a problem for more than half of kids in the state.
Baseball always has iffy weather before May 1 anyway, so being able to play later into June is a good thing for them-- it will mean more doubleheaders, likely, but you can easily play two when there is no school in June!
I cannot speak to the Lancers, but they may need to move their season to accommodate also too- everyone in MN will end up sacrificing a bit (basketball and hockey are next to get to that March 15 timeline, remember), and while the Lancers may not be a direct MSHSL sport, their close association with the school district will require them to act like them.
Still, it sucks seeing kids having to make participation choices at all.
https://footballscoop.com/news/bishop-sycamore-online-only-prep-school-espn-img-academy
A wild story of a "school" that exists only for football (a lot like Gentry Academy and hockey) sort of dupes ESPN into getting a spotlight game even though they are really bad.
Caledonia has a really strong program. The community is behind it big time.
A former teammate / housemate of mine, who had held the MN state win streak prior to Caledonia had predicted that Caledonia would beat where he set it. He had been the HC @ Stephen Argyle Storm.
Edit. I read in the paper that Mark's team had a 76 game win streak so Stephen Argyle holds the record, at least in MN.
Some bad things going on up north.
[media] https://twitter.com/StarTribune/status/1443549235367002122 [/media]
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Some bad things going on up north.
Something similar happened a few years ago out in western Minnesota. A smaller town whose name i can't recall.
Something like this happened in Blue Earth a couple years ago. A co-worker lives in that school district and the crap that the offenders did was awful. It was covered up for a short while until the parents of the victim really pushed hard for an investigation.
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I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
Had to do some digging... but... wow. If the bits I found are even close to correct... just... wow.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
Had to do some digging... but... wow. If the bits I found are even close to correct... just... wow.
I’m guessing that it unfortunately has something to do with some messed up hazing going way too far?
I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
Had to do some digging... but... wow. If the bits I found are even close to correct... just... wow.
I’m guessing that it unfortunately has something to do with some messed up hazing going way too far?
Don't think it's hazing that went too far... but that's close enough for here.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
Had to do some digging... but... wow. If the bits I found are even close to correct... just... wow.
I’m guessing that it unfortunately has something to do with some messed up hazing going way too far?
Don't think it's hazing that went too far... but that's close enough for here.
Yeah I did some digging of my own. Gross. Forget I asked.
I don't have any inside information as to what is going on in Proctor, but given the information that has leaked out about it, it is not good.
I would expect their coaches to lose their coaching jobs at minimum. In some communities, this could also be the end of a football program altogether, but if it does survive, it will require a complete clearing out of the entire program.
Had to do some digging... but... wow. If the bits I found are even close to correct... just... wow.
I’m guessing that it unfortunately has something to do with some messed up hazing going way too far?
Don't think it's hazing that went too far... but that's close enough for here.
Yeah I did some digging of my own. Gross. Forget I asked.
I know I wish I hadn't gone digging.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
And, to be clear... I have no personal knowledge, etc, etc... but I've got to think that if the school conferred with lawyers and such to come to the decision to shut down the season, there has to be some substance to it.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I hear about this earlier this week, and did some searching. Lots of speculation, rumors and so on. Most likely won't know what really happened cause of minors being involved on both sides. Heads will spin most defiantly in some way. It's not good no way you look at it, cause it can or will have long tern effects on both the victims and preparators.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Keep your stick on the ice...
Things tend to get toxic when football players do what they did to that kid while many in the community seem to adopt the attitude of, "boys will be boys".
br>
Not a good look to grin and almost laugh, when you're hearing something like that "for the first time".
He's clearly lying when he says this is the first time he's heard about the alleged incident. That doesn't mean he knew about it or endorsed the behavior but it's not plausible that he hasn't heard the rumors.
What bothers me is somebodies kids thought that was ok to do to another kid.
What bothers me is somebodies kids thought that was ok to do to another kid.
:goodpost:
Keep your stick on the ice...
Things tend to get toxic when football players do what they did to that kid while many in the community seem to adopt the attitude of, "boys will be boys".
Are there actually people in the community with the "boys will be boys" attitude? Boys don't normally rape other boys.
Things tend to get toxic when football players do what they did to that kid while many in the community seem to adopt the attitude of, "boys will be boys".
Are there actually people in the community with the "boys will be boys" attitude? Boys don't normally rape other boys.
I have no idea. I am aware there are people who are upset that the season was cancelled over the actions of, anywhere from one to 3 kids...
My pushback to that is to say someone videotaped it and sent it out. And then others circulated it further. One is definitely worse, but the other is not innocent either.
We try to teach kids lessons about you counting on your team and your team counting on you. Consequences for your actions. Surround yourself with the right people, etc. Clearly, way too many people let that poor kid down. The whole team should be punished if it was widely circulated and involved several players. The accusations are horrific and deserve to be made an example of.
I am not sure why people where chanting the coaches name, or his children's name... If those claims are also true. That is puzzling. I don't blame the coach criminally for what happened, but certainly from some standpoint I find he contributed to it, indirectly.
I dislike the coaches who are "I have no control over what my players do. What do you expect from me?.". Well, with that attitude and leadership style - you never will. Lead by example, be a coach and a leader of (wo)men. This guy just seems to throw his arms up and say "why is this my problem?". I have an issue with that. If I was a school administrator, I'd show him the door as well.
What bothers me is somebodies kids thought that was ok to do to another kid.
What also bothers me is parents raising children that think behavior like that is okay. I’d be curious if the parents of the kids in question also say “I have no control over what my kid does.”
It’s sad, angering, disappointing, and disgusting no matter how you look at it. The human species is a disgrace these days.
I've learned to give parents the benefit of the doubt. Very well could be a factor, but some kids are just twisted.
No, I didn't learn this because my kid is twisted. I think. The point is moot in our case anyway. If he is it makes sense. 
What bothers me is somebodies kids thought that was ok to do to another kid.
What also bothers me is parents raising children that think behavior like that is okay. I’d be curious if the parents of the kids in question also say “I have no control over what my kid does.”
It’s sad, angering, disappointing, and disgusting no matter how you look at it. The human species is a disgrace these days.
I honestly think it is better than it used to be. Unfortunately, I am sure this happened before, but nobody video taped and distributed it. Hazing used to be far more prevalent and some pretty disgusting things happened. I do believe hazing has been reduced and the overall situation is better. Sadly, there are always some bad eggs.
I think more of this comes out now because there are groups of people who feel the need to document everything...
A guy I worked with played on State Tournament winning Hockey team from awhile ago, not going to name the team. After they won, at some point a case of beer showed up in the locker room and they each had 1 or 2 and just relished the moment. Cleaned everything up, and went out and met their parents, coaches, and everyone else. He laughs about it now, and says "Could you imagine if we had cell phones with cameras? Someone would've videotaped it, or taken photos, etc. and felt compelled to share it on social media. That would've been it for all of them.
Things happened before, people just didn't know about it. It became accusations that were easily swept under a rug and made to disappear. Now, with video evidence, its a little harder to make things go away.
I've learned to give parents the benefit of the doubt. Very well could be a factor, but some kids are just twisted.
Agree… There are many, many excellent loving parents that just have kids that our out of control. They try to do everything correct and the kid is just trouble or even twisted.
Keep your stick on the ice...
A guy I worked with played on State Tournament winning Hockey team from awhile ago, not going to name the team. After they won, at some point a case of beer showed up in the locker room and they each had 1 or 2 and just relished the moment. Cleaned everything up, and went out and met their parents, coaches, and everyone else. He laughs about it now, and says "Could you imagine if we had cell phones with cameras? Someone would've videotaped it, or taken photos, etc. and felt compelled to share it on social media. That would've been it for all of them.
Things happened before, people just didn't know about it. It became accusations that were easily swept under a rug and made to disappear. Now, with video evidence, its a little harder to make things go away.
Ask Blake McLaughlin about social media and apps like Snapchat.
Keep your stick on the ice...
I've learned to give parents the benefit of the doubt. Very well could be a factor, but some kids are just twisted.
No, I didn't learn this because my kid is twisted. I think. The point is moot in our case anyway. If he is it makes sense.
But how did the parents of the kids who assaulted this other kid react when they found out? Did they try to excuse the behavior or did they punish the living hell out of them? I have no idea but that is a key question in my mind. This was some seriously sick behavior.
I've learned to give parents the benefit of the doubt. Very well could be a factor, but some kids are just twisted.
No, I didn't learn this because my kid is twisted. I think. The point is moot in our case anyway. If he is it makes sense.
But how did the parents of the kids who assaulted this other kid react when they found out? Did they try to excuse the behavior or did they punish the living hell out of them? I have no idea but that is a key question in my mind. This was some seriously sick behavior.
I don’t have kids and cannot imagine having to deal with something like that. I would be absolutely mortified. But if it were my child, there would be loss of sports, after school activities, driving and cell phone. A letter would be hand-written and delivered with a verbal apology to the victim and his family, the team, and the school for his behavior.
There would be lots volunteer time including with underprivileged/disadvantaged children who don’t have the luxuries he had. And this would all continue until there was true regret, remorse, and willingness to strive to be a better human being.
Although I’d like to think if I had kids they would be raised better know that behavior was wrong and not only not participate, but speak out and try to stop it.
But I do understand as Gator said your best efforts can be for naught. There’s so much you cannot control with what they learn/see from others and especially with social media.
I am glad I am not a parent and do not envy those who are in today’s environment. Hopefully this can be a teaching moment for many.
Well [mention]Viking[/mention] your alma mater has a football team. The jug game last night was the best one I've seen since I've lived in Mankato. East played a hell of a game and took away some of what West has done well all season. The biggest thing was keeping our defense off your QB, he had plenty of time to make a lot of his passes. They found holes in the secondary to make some very timely passes. As good as the QB was all night the game came down to an overthrow for the two point conversion and an intentional grounding in their endzone by the QB was the difference in the game in the end.
If [mention]SkiUMahLaw[/mention] and his team has to face East, they will have their hands full keeping tabs on QB1. Sections are going to be interesting with two teams with a 8-0 record and three others with a 6-2 record. That's a lot of good football teams in one section.
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Well @Viking your alma mater has a football team. The jug game last night was the best one I've seen since I've lived in Mankato. East played a hell of a game and took away some of what West has done well all season. The biggest thing was keeping our defense off your QB, he had plenty of time to make a lot of his passes. They found holes in the secondary to make some very timely passes. As good as the QB was all night the game came down to an overthrow for the two point conversion and an intentional grounding in their endzone by the QB was the difference in the game in the end.
If @SkiUMahLaw and his team has to face East, they will have their hands full keeping tabs on QB1. Sections are going to be interesting with two teams with a 8-0 record and three others with a 6-2 record. That's a lot of good football teams in one section.
I knew East and West were both supposed to be pretty good this year. It's going to be interesting how the seeding goes in that section.
Well @Viking your alma mater has a football team. The jug game last night was the best one I've seen since I've lived in Mankato. East played a hell of a game and took away some of what West has done well all season. The biggest thing was keeping our defense off your QB, he had plenty of time to make a lot of his passes. They found holes in the secondary to make some very timely passes. As good as the QB was all night the game came down to an overthrow for the two point conversion and an intentional grounding in their endzone by the QB was the difference in the game in the end.
If @SkiUMahLaw and his team has to face East, they will have their hands full keeping tabs on QB1. Sections are going to be interesting with two teams with a 8-0 record and three others with a 6-2 record. That's a lot of good football teams in one section.
I knew East and West were both supposed to be pretty good this year. It's going to be interesting how the seeding goes in that section.
I agree, the 3, 4, and 5 seeds could interchange easily and I think that both West and Chaska will have a challenge in the section semifinals next Saturday.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Well [mention]Viking[/mention] you get to play [mention]SkiUMahLaw[/mention] and his team on Tuesday which leads to a possible rematch with West next Saturday. Go Scarlets!
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Section 2AAAAA is absolutely ridiculous.
You have:
1. West (#2 QRF) 8-0
2. Chaska (#4 QRF) 8-0
3. Chanhassen (#7 QRF) 6-2 (losses to Chaska and a good Armstrong team)
4. New Prague (#13 QRF) 6-2 (losses to West and Section 1 #1 Seed Mayo)
5. East (#17 QRF) 6-2 (losses to West and 4A power Stewartville)
6. Waconia (#24 QRF) 3-5 (would have been 4-4 if they hadn't given up 29 points while up 28-0 in the 4Q against St. Louis Park).
A 6-2 team which won their subdistrict is on the road. The #6 seed would be a 2 or 3 seed in 5 other sections this year.
Should make for some great football!
By comparison, look at Section 4AAA. The absolute opposite.
Mankato West played their best football game of the year, so far, to win the Section 2AAAAA title over Chaska 35-0. Chaska is a hell of a team but they had no answer on either side of the ball for West.
Now West plays St. Thomas, who has been ranked #2 most of year behind West in the quarterfinals for state. I'm not overly thrilled how this plays out for West but I guess you never really know which section is going to have the best team each year. I do find it disappointing that the top four teams in 5A are all on one side of the bracket and the bottom four are on the other side of the bracket.
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Mankato West beat St. Thomas Academy in the snow on Saturday night 21-14. Now it's on to U.S. Bank this Saturday night for the semi-final against Rogers. Pretty excited for my son and the West Scarlets to be playing in the semi-final.
One question I have since I have never been to U.S. Bank...where is the best place to park for a reasonable price?
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
One option is park for free at the Fort Snelling light rail lot and ride the train.
Mankato West beat St. Thomas Academy in the snow on Saturday night 21-14. Now it's on to U.S. Bank this Saturday night for the semi-final against Rogers. Pretty excited for my son and the West Scarlets to be playing in the semi-final.
One question I have since I have never been to U.S. Bank...where is the best place to park for a reasonable price?
If you park near Delaware St. across the river on the U campus you can also take the train - you can even see US Bank from there.
Mankato West beat St. Thomas Academy in the snow on Saturday night 21-14. Now it's on to U.S. Bank this Saturday night for the semi-final against Rogers. Pretty excited for my son and the West Scarlets to be playing in the semi-final.
One question I have since I have never been to U.S. Bank...where is the best place to park for a reasonable price?
Check out the parking info on the US Bank website below:
https://www.usbankstadium.com/plan-your-visit/directions
There is parking right next to the stadium for $6 all the way up to $55. I'm sure there are other options not listed as well. Just make sure you book enough time if you reserve a spot. The games are notorious for not keeping on schedule.
[mention]g-manpuck[/mention], if I still lived downtown I would let you park at my l place for free. Though I’m pretty sure the ramps downtown and around USB are going to be reasonable. It’s not a Viking game or concert at USB. The best ramp for closeness and access to USB is the Fleet Farm ramp 740 South 4th Street. You can also try the street. You can pay via the app and add to it as time is expiring if needed while at the game.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Thanks everyone for the tips.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Saturday night at US Bank was a lot of fun and having West win certainly helps. Getting in and out of downtown went very smoothly and got lucky for parking in a lot to the north of the stadium for $15, which I thought was fair for the convenience of being so close. Getting around inside the stadium was something different though, especially for those wanting to go to the lower bowl of the south side. We ended up sitting the second level, which seems like it must be a club level or something for Vikings games.
It was a great experience for my son and his teammates and they are very excited to be playing for the championship Saturday vs. Mahtomedi. One problem that some players had though was being a little dehydrated, my son said it was hot down on the field and very dry. He ended up feeling nauseated during the second half and had to take his pads off and sit down. Which pissed him off because he would have been in during the last defensive series. It was very dry inside the stadium seats as well, the one bottle of water I had didn't seem like enough during the game.
Anyway, couldn't be more excited to go back Saturday afternoon for a chance for West to win the 5A championship.
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2021 Prep Bowl schedule:
Friday
Class 1A: Mayer Lutheran (12-1) vs. Minneota (13-0) @ 10am
Class 2A: Chatfield (12-1) vs. West Central Area/Ashby (11-1) @ 1pm
Class 4A: Hutchinson (11-1) vs. Kasson-Mantorville (9-3) @ 4pm
Class 6A: Lakeville South (12-0) vs. Maple Grove (11-1) @ 7pm
Saturday
Nine-Man: Fertile-Beltrami (13-0) vs. LeRoy-Ostrander (11-2) @ 10am
Class 3A: Dassel-Cokato (13-0) vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (11-2) @ 1pm
Class 5A: Mahtomedi (10-2) vs. Mankato West (12-0), @ 4pm
[mention]g-manpuck[/mention], Who has more butterflies and nerves… father or son?!?!?!
Keep your stick on the ice...
Saturday was a great day, Mankato won the 5A title in what turned out to be a very competitive game. Mahtomedi came to play but to their detriment their only game plan was to go for home runs instead of make it a punchers game. So they lived by the sword and then died because of it. Mankato were forced into making more turnovers and mistakes than I've seen in any game that didn't include rain.
Mahtomedi's returning star Ethan Foss, he was out injured for most of the year, was their team both on offense and defense. He shutdown Mehki Collins and picked off a TD throw to Collins and could have run it for a TD. Mankato's head coach admitted last night at the banquet that they used Collins as a decoy to draw Foss away from the ball most of the game.
The saying goes defense wins championships and Mankato's defense was something of the lore of Chicago or Baltimore. They only gave up 64 points on the year and only gave up an average of around 114 yards/game. The defensive MVP for the year Ryan Haley ended the season with 140 total tackles, 15 sacks, and 3 defensive TD's for the year. The team had 44 sacks and 9 TD's.
I was truly happy for my son to be a part of this team, even when in the last six weeks of the season he didn't see any time on the field in games and rarely in practice. The coaches used freshman and sophomores for the scout team while most of the junior class sat on the sideline. It was hard to hear that as a parent but I am glad my son was on this team. He knows what it will take to duplicate that next year. I heard whispers over the weekend about what Mankato will do next year. I reminded those who asked that my son's grade has not lost a game since they were in sixth grade. I told my son this morning before I left for work that the 2022 season starts today. He will be in wrestling practice starting tonight, but starting tomorrow morning he will be in the weight room with his junior class football teammates...working towards duplicating 2021.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Saturday was a great day, Mankato won the 5A title in what turned out to be a very competitive game. Mahtomedi came to play but to their detriment their only game plan was to go for home runs instead of make it a punchers game. So they lived by the sword and then died because of it. Mankato were forced into making more turnovers and mistakes than I've seen in any game that didn't include rain.
Mahtomedi's returning star Ethan Foss, he was out injured for most of the year, was their team both on offense and defense. He shutdown Mehki Collins and picked off a TD throw to Collins and could have run it for a TD. Mankato's head coach admitted last night at the banquet that they used Collins as a decoy to draw Foss away from the ball most of the game.
The saying goes defense wins championships and Mankato's defense was something of the lore of Chicago or Baltimore. They only gave up 64 points on the year and only gave up an average of around 114 yards/game. The defensive MVP for the year Ryan Haley ended the season with 140 total tackles, 15 sacks, and 3 defensive TD's for the year. The team had 44 sacks and 9 TD's.
I was truly happy for my son to be a part of this team, even when in the last six weeks of the season he didn't see any time on the field in games and rarely in practice. The coaches used freshman and sophomores for the scout team while most of the junior class sat on the sideline. It was hard to hear that as a parent but I am glad my son was on this team. He knows what it will take to duplicate that next year. I heard whispers over the weekend about what Mankato will do next year. I reminded those who asked that my son's grade has not lost a game since they were in sixth grade. I told my son this morning before I left for work that the 2022 season starts today. He will be in wrestling practice starting tonight, but starting tomorrow morning he will be in the weight room with his junior class football teammates...working towards duplicating 2021.
Congrats to the Scarlets! Truly a well-deserved finish for them. And we saw more of them than anyone else in the state. Haley was an absolute stud (and gave our offensive staff headaches trying to draw up ways to get him out of the play so we could try to run the ball somewhere.).
But just know that the Trojans see a target on West's back for next year!
Steve Walsh announced as new CDH HC. Former NFL QB and heisman finalist at Miami.
In regards to the Proctor football story from last fall, a 17-year old (who has been named) has been charged with Third Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. It appears what was rumored on Twitter was true, including the primary culprit.
Okay, that's revolting. Something definitely is wrong with this game even having taken place.