By Adam Roberts – 11/11/2020

I’m switching things up a little bit this week. Since Minnesota traditionally plays its final week of the regular season out on Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be splitting up the weekly preview into two parts. It’s primarily for my benefit so I’m not doing a ton of games on the same day and making the article a million lines long, but also to give more focus to our Minnesota teams that may not get the attention they deserve. Let’s dive into tonight’s action.

Prediction record last week: 8-2

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WINONA @ KASSON-MANTORVILLE

Going over my preview from last week, I expressed confidence that Winona could find some kind of a run game against a Faribault team that had given up 385 yards on the ground in their two losses this season. But to the Falcons’ credit, they clamped down on the defensive line and held the Winhawks to just eight yards on 20 carries. On the other side, goal line defense was a challenge for Winona; Hunter Nelson had just 47 yards on the ground for Faribault, but scored three times. This week, the Winhawks visit the Komets, who boast a run-heavy offense highlighted by run-first quarterback Matt Donovan’s 119 yards on 18 carries and two scores last week against a previously unbeaten and eighth-ranked Byron. To illustrate their dominance, consider this: Donovan threw just four times with two completions for 17 yards, but the Komets still amassed 359 total yards of offense. Byron did have a big game from their own rusher Austin Freerksen (34-164-1), but Winona will likely have more difficulty finding a person to have a big game tonight.

Prediction: Kasson-Mantorville  31 Winona  7

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WINONA COTTER @ BETHLEHEM ACADEMY 

Neither of these two programs are strangers to sub-500 records lately. And neither team will finish above .500 this year, either. But at least for the Ramblers, they can hang their hat on a victory this year, ending a stretch of futility record-wise dating back to 2017. Coincidentally, that was the last season the Cardinals finished above .500 themselves. Offense has been hard to come by for either team this season, with the Cardinals scoring single digits or getting shut out three times and Cotter has been held to under 13 points all year. But what each team lacks in offensive firepower, they make up for in a hunger to play. You really learn a lot about a coach for how well they are able to keep a team together during difficult times, and both Seth Haun and Jim Beckman are no strangers to keeping players together through adversity. Tonight’s contest should be dictated by ground efficiency, and the Cardinals should have the slight advantage.

Prediction: Bethlehem Academy 24 Cotter 12

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HOUSTON @ LANESBORO

I know very few people who would’ve given the Hurricanes much of a chance against #3 Grand Meadow on the road last week, and the Super Larks’ 403 yards of offense was proof enough of that. That’s not to say Houston was completely inept; Issac Heyer racked up 112 yards on seven carries with a score, certainly a statement against a usually airtight Grand Meadow front. This week, they face Lanesboro, who’s only loss this season was a close contest against a good LeRoy-Ostrander team to open the season. Last week in a 30-7 one-sided win over Southland, the offense once again was on a roll for the Burros, who this season have averaged just over 34 points per game. Conversely, the Hurricane defense has been gashed in multiple weeks, giving up a combined 118 points to the Cardinals and Super Larks.

Prediction: Lanesboro 31 Houston 14

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MABEL-CANTON @ SPRING GROVE (THURSDAY)

CAT FIGHT! Both Mabel-Canton and Spring Grove feasted on the bottom two teams in the conference last week, with the Lions methodically keeping the offense productive against Lyle-Pacelli and the Cougars run-run-running against Kingsland and exploding for 24 points in the second quarter on their way to a 46-20 win. As is the case with many games listed above, this one comes down to production in the run game, and who executes run routes better. The Cougars surrendered 150 yards against the Knights, but were able to keep any one back from having a big day, while Spring grove spread their rushing out for 178 team yards on the ground, led by Hunter Holland with 78 yards. A key to this game will be which defense is more opportunistic; last week the Lions stole two fumbles away and picked off L-P three times.

Prediction: Spring Grove 27 Mabel-Canton 21

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HAYFIELD @ RUSHFORD-PETERSON (THURSDAY)

The Trojan offense finally came full circle last week against Winona Cotter, and they could make it back-to-back big games this week against Hayfield. The Vikings are very much a pass-first team, and scored the Fillmore Central secondary last week with 263 yards through the air from quarterback Ethan Pack. But those yards didn’t yield a whole lot of points, and a grand total of 7 rush yards didn’t help much either in the 32-8 loss. As long as the Trojans can learn from watching film and referring back to their own game against the Falcons, they probably have just enough offense to keep up with another big Pack passing day.

Prediction: Rushford-Peterson 28 Hayfield 13

UPDATE: Per both schools’ Twitter pages, this game has been cancelled for COVID-19 reasons. Rushford-Peterson will await their sectional seeding later today while Hayfield will opt out of the postseason.

By Adam Roberts – 11/10/2020

The Badger men’s basketball schedule continues to come together piece by piece.

We already knew that Wisconsin would have at least three games to play in addition to their Big Ten schedule with games planned against Eastern Illinois November 25th, at Marquette on December 4th, and against Louisville in Madison as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on December 11th. We can now add one more contest: Northern Iowa will be at the Kohl Center on December 16th.

The Panthers are a formidable foe to face early in the season, coming off a 25-6 regular season record last year that netted them the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. The game will also feature A.J. Green (not to be confused with the veteran Bungl…erm excuse me, BENgals receiver), who received a number of big school offers. Green was the team’s leading scorer as a sophomore last year.

We’ll continue to pass along the rest of the Badgers’ schedule as it comes out. You should also check out @MitchellSpeltz on Twitter for more Badger updates.

By Adam Roberts – 11/10/2020

Not that many are surprised, but Brewers’ reliever Devin Williams secured the National League Rookie of the Year award yesterday evening after a 2020 season that saw him become one of the toughest relief pitcher to hit.

Especially his change up, one of the nastiest pitches in baseball at the moment.

Statistically, Williams’ change up was contacted in play just 2 out of 62 times; his .032 ERA on the pitch was the lowest in the majors, followed by Cleveland pitcher Zach Plesac’s slider and a tie for third between Trevor Bauer’s slider and Michael Lorenzen’s 4-seamer in Cincinnati.

Another interesting tidbit about William’s win is the fact that he’s the first pitcher to do it without recording a save or making a start. Craig Kimbrel was the last reliever to win the award when he did so in his rookie year in Atlanta back in 2011.

Williams is the second Brewer to win the award, after Ryan Braun did so in 2007. Padre’s second baseman Jake Cronenworth and Phillie’s infileder Alec Bohn tied for second.

By Adam Roberts 11/9/2020

The winds of change are blowing at La Crosse Central High School today, where the school announced it would be dropping its “Red Raider” mascot name. Principal Troy McDonald released a statement today, in which he notes that this conversation has been going on for a number of years.

“The proud tradition of being a Central High School student, staff member, or alumni isn’t about a mascot, an image, or a name but it’s rooted in excellence and life-long learning and I want to move forward with that spirit,” McDonald said. “We will work with our Central High School family to find a new mascot that will be a source of pride for future generations and be consistent with the belief that Central is a safe and welcoming place for all.”

The process has already begun on removing the current imagery, and the school is reaching out to students and staff for input on what the new school mascot will be. The administration hopes to be able to present a new name and mascot in early January to the District of La Crosse Board of Education.

By Adam Roberts – 11/6/2020

Its baseball awards season right now, and as we continue to wait for word on whether or not Brewers’ reliever Devin Williams will be the NL Rookie of the Year, one big bat for Minnesota is bringing home some hardware.

Twins’ designated hitter Nelson Cruz has claimed his fourth Silver Slugger award and his third in four years. He hit .303 with 16 homers in 53 games out of a shortened 60-game season. It’s the second time Cruz has won the award in Minnesota (his third and fourth were with the Seattle Mariners in 2015 and 2017). Cruz is still hitting pretty well considering he passed the 40-year-old mark earlier this year.