By Adam Roberts – 2/4/2021

300+ days since their last contest, Kent Dernbach’s UW-La Crosse men’s basketball team didn’t need much motivation to come out swinging against UW Eau Claire.

The Eagles, by a combination of stout defense and aggressive paint play, opened their abridged 8-game schedule with a 62-43 victory over the Blugolds. Sophomore Ethan Anderson (Black River Falls) led UWL in scoring with 17 including 3 3’s in 35 minutes of action.

Overall, the Eagles led in nearly all statistical categories on a night when they would never trail.  UWL had the advantage in field goal, 3-point, and free throw shooting, and also outpaced the Blugolds on the boards 39-35 and in the paint 28 points to 10. The only spot where Eau Claire had the advantage was in bench points, outscoring UWL 43-10.

The two teams rematch on Friday in Eau Claire.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Meanwhile, the Eagle women lost the lead midway through the first quarter and trailed 41-27 at halftime. That deficit would prove too large to overcome in a 76-58 defeat. Scoring was led by Austin, MN senior guard Shayley Vesel with 14 points, followed by junior Lexie Higgins with 12. Both teams face each other again Friday at Mitchell Hall.

By Adam Roberts – 2/3/2021

We learned on January 27th that the Midwest Players Classic, an event we’ve had the privilege of covering in-depth the last few years, will be growing to a two-day event next year. And today we learned who will be a part of the historic expansion.

The usual hosts, Aquinas, will be one of five teams playing both of the two days at the La Crosse Center, with the boys opening up the competition Friday January 14th against Black River Falls. They will be followed by the return of two big-profile Minnesota schools that have been highlights of the last few Classics as Caledonia challenges powerhouse Minnehaha Academy. The first day will conclude with a DeForest-Fox Valley Lutheran night cap.

Heading into day two, the event’s lone girls match up could provide plenty of early-morning fireworks as Aquinas and Minnehaha open the competition. Then the Blugold boys return to action against current Top-10 foe Bangor. Following that, another big player from the Coulee Region will tip off at noon as Onalaska play FVL. Caledonia and DeForest will follow that, and then Minnehaha is back again playing Johnston, Iowa. Johnston is one of two Iowa schools participating next year, with Council Bluffs Lincoln scheduled to face the Polars of Minneapolis North later in the evening. Eau Claire Memorial will make their MPC debut against Madison East, and the evening will wrap up with Catholic Memorial playing Owatonna, Minnesota and La Crescent and West Salem in the finale.

Stay tuned as we get closer to the event for more details on our involvement next year!

By Adam Roberts – 2/2/2021

We continue to inch closer to the WIAA boys and girls basketball playoffs, with recent news that the La Crosse Center will get to host some of the state finals this year. And two usual area suspects have emerged as a couple of the more dominant programs in the state.

In the latest edition of the Wissports.net Coaches Polls, the undefeated Onalaska boys and Aquinas girls are number one in Divisions Two and Three, respectively. Area ranked teams this week include:

• Onalaska Boys (17-0; #1 D2)
• Blair-Taylor Boys (15-1; #6 D4)
• Aquinas Girls (17-0; #1 D3)
• Bangor Girls (14-1; #2 D4)
• Blair-Taylor Girls (14-2; #6 D4)
• Cashton Girls (11-5; #10 D4)

By Adam Roberts – 2/2/2021

Fans got their wish over the weekend, with the firing of defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. While the firing likely goes deeper than the failures exhibited in the NFC Championship Game, certainly back-to-back awful performances and at times schemes in the conference’s biggest game were certainly a factor.

Whomever takes over the position next will be told off the bat that the team is 100% in win-now mode, given the volatility of things last week concerning quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the reality that father time is undefeated.

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky has compiled a list of candidates for the DC position, a list that features some notable names in the on-deck circle to be interviewed today and tomorrow. Here are some of the highlights:

• Jim Leonhard (Defensive Coordinator, Wisconsin) – Leonhard would probably be a top candidate for the job even without his Badger State connection. Leonhard has consistently had a top FBS defense without the flashy recruits of places like Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, and others. According to the Badgers’ website, over his first four seasons, the Badgers ranked third in scoring defense (17.2 points per game), fourth in total yards allowed (297.9 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (112.3 ypg) and fifth in pass efficiency defense (109.0). Wisconsin also forced the second-most turnovers of any FBS team during that span, with 104, and the Badgers’ 68 interceptions also ranked No. 2 nationally. The big question is whether or not Leonhard wants to stay at his current spot, pursue a college head coaching opportunity, or make the leap to the NFL.
• Chris Kiffin (Cleveland Browns Defensive Line coach) – Kiffin began his full-time NFL coaching career in 2018 as a pass rush specialist with the San Francisco 49ers, but last year he made the move to Cleveland and helped the Browns finish 4th in the NFL in rush yards allowed and forced 17 fumbles.
• Ryan Nielsen (New Orleans Saints Defensive Line coach) – While the points per game would indicate the Saints defense has looked suspect recently, the defensive line has been a highlight on that side of the ball. In Nielsen’s four years at t he position, six different defensive linemen have produced multi-sack games and the New Orleans defense has gone the last 43 regular season and postseason games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.
• Jerry Gray (Packers Secondary coach) – The only candidate from within being considered, Gray joined LaFleur’s staff a year ago and has eight years’ experience as a coordinator with Buffalo and Tennessee.

Among candidates already interviewed include  Chargers defensive passing game coordinator Joe Barry, Washington Football Team defensive backs coach Chris Harris, Rams safeties coach Ejiro Evero, and Falcons senior assistant Bob Sutton.

By Adam Roberts – 2/1/2021

The news first broke on Friday evening that the La Crosse Center, fresh off hosting a full-day of high school basketball at the Midwest Players Classic, would be getting another big prep basketball event on its floor in about a month with three WIAA basketball divisions making the Coulee Region their state championship home this year.

Center Director Art Fahey was on The Sports Lead last Friday to help break down the news, and says that while we still don’t know which division will be playing at the Center, it will be three of the five. “My understanding is one venue will get three division…we are targeted to get three divisions, and it will be for both they boys’ and girls’ tournaments.”

As for how the tournaments will be run and how many people will be admitted, Fahey said the biggest hurdle was securing clearance from the La Crosse County Health Department given their COVID protocols. “We became as a building a thing called GBAC certified, which means Global Biorisk Accreditation. It’s the golden standard for venues like ours for sanitation…[as for all the protocols] we’ve got all those things in placewe’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re confident we can do it and provide a safe and great environment for the tournament”.

Fahey said 1,000 people will be admitted to the facility that can handle about 6,000 for basketball.