Sports & Recreation

Sports Editor

It has been an impressive week for the Cromwell Cardinal high school volleyball team. They defeated Moose Lake/Willow River in a tight match on the road, traveled to McGregor for another road victory, and finished the weekend with a 4th place finish in their home tournament.

Head coach Lori Wester is pleased with the week. “We are getting there,” Coach Wester said. “We are learning to be more competitive.”

The five-game match victory over the Moose Lake/Willow River Rebels was a big one for the Cardinals. It was the first win since 2004.

The close match was tight all the way. Cromwell won the first game 25-21, lost the second 23-25, won the third 25-20, lost another tight game 23-25, and finished off the match with a 15-13.

The match featured some excellent blocking by the Cardinals. Lisa Peterson and Ashley Collman had nine solo blocks, while Ari Korpela and Marlene Wester had four each. The match couldn’t have ended any better – Ashley Collman’s block landed in play for the victory.

“We played well, and all the girls were playing together,” said Coach Wester.

Cromwell’s serving was also excellent. Ashley and Marlene converted on all their serves, and the overall team serving percentage was 93.

Two nights later, Cromwell traveled to McGregor and won three straight games, 25-18, 25-12, 25-16. Then on Saturday, the team placed fourth in their home tournament.

Cromwell won the first three games of pool play. They came up with a big win over Cook County 20-25, 25-23, 15-10. Earlier in the season, Cook County defeated Cromwell in five. All eight games have been close.

In the second match, Cromwell took Lakeview Christian Academy two games to zero. They won 25-18, 25-16. The completed pool play with two wins over Ely 25-18, 25-9.

“It was a very evenly matched tournament,” commented Coach Wester. “Our overall morning play was excellent.”

Things didn’t go quite as well in the afternoon. The Cardinals (#1 seed in Pool B) lost to Floodwood (#2 seed in Pool A) 24-26, 20-25. They then played for third place and lost to Cotton, 23-25, 18-25.

Overall, the Cardinals had a solid week winning five matches to just two losses.

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Sports Editor

It was Homecoming week at McGregor High School. To cap off a week filled with student activities, the McGregor football team hosted the Floodwood Polar Bears.

McGregor came away with with an 18–6 victory, moving their record to 4-0 on the season.According to Head Coach Bob Staska, the McGregor Mercury High School football team played excellent defense all night.

“We were able to come up with several big stops,” said Coach Staska.

Neither team got on the board in the first quarter, and the teams scored one touchdown each in the second quarter.

The Mercuries scored on a 9-yard touchdown run by Zerek Marsyla, and Floodwood’s Amos Blanton caught a 20-yard pass from Zach Heggedahl. Both teams failed to convert the point after, and the game was tied 6-6 at the half.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that McGregor put some distance between themselves and Floodwood. “Offensively, we seemed to lack the big plays, and we didn’t take advantage of the field position,” Staska said. “I thought that we came out and played very well in the third quarter offensively, and that seemed to be the difference.”

McGregor put up two scores in the quarter – a 4-yard touchdown by Christopher Pierce and Zerek hooked up with Ryan Napstad on a 20-yard pass.

Meanwhile, the defense held Floodwood in check the remainder of the game.

Christopher Pierce continued his excellent play on offense. The senior rushed for 146 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown. Matt Carlstrom rushed for 44 yards on 11 carries, and Zerek Marsyla carried the ball six times for 26 yards and a score.

Ryan Napstad caught the one pass (20 yards) for a score, and Christopher Pierce had one catch for 25 yards.

Defensively, TJ Troup led the team with 17 tackles and one interception; Christopher Pierce had 10 tackles and a sack; Preston Hurd added nine tackles; and Matt Carlstrom and Ryan Napstad had one interception each.

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Sports Editor

There are two very important fundamentals of football that come to mind – blocking and tackling.

In the 9-man game of the week between the Cromwell Cardinals and the Floodwood Polar Bears, one team blocked and tackled very well. The other team didn’t.

The result was a 40-6 blowout favoring Cromwell in Floodwood.

The win wasn’t a surprise for Cromwell, but the lopsided score was. “Coming into the game, I expected it to be tight,” Cromwell head coach Jeff Gronner said. “They hadn’t given up a point in two games. They also have some good athletes.”

Cromwell came out and controlled the line of scrimmage, and despite two ugly possessions to start the game, recovered and took it to the Polar Bears.

A key point in the game was early in the first quarter. Neither team could get anything going. Cromwell’s defense played very well, and Shale Korpela made the play of the game.

Shale found a seam in the line and forced Floodwood quarterback Zack Heggedahl into a hurried throw. The errant pass was nowhere near a receiver, and Floodwood was flagged for intentional grounding.

On the next offensive series, the Cardinals finally put things together. They went 80 yards on nine plays, overcoming one penalty.

Adam Smith scored the first touchdown, a 45-yard run, and Jordan Suhonen tacked on the 2-point run.

The Polar Bears continued their problems on offense and went backwards.

Backed up near their own goal line, Floodwood had to punt. Cromwell took advantage with a punt return for a score. “We had Floodwood pinned deep, and Coach Foster just wanted our players to catch the ball and we would have good field position,” Coach Gronner said. “We usually have two guys back. and we added Jordan (Suhonen). He caught the punt and took it the distance.”

From that point on, it was all Cromwell. They added a 10-yard touchdown run by Shale Korpela. The score was set up by a 75-yard pass completion from Jordan Suhonen to Jordan Smith.

“Adam was the primary receiver on the play, and he was wide open,” Gronner said. “Jordan actually overthrew him, and Jordan Smith was in the right place. He made a nice catch and run.”

Jordan Suhonen added a one-yard run for a 26-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Cardinals received a little resistance from Floodwood but still managed to outscore the Polar Bears 14-6.

Jordan (Suhonen) completed a pass to Adam, and he did the rest. “Adam’s catch in the third quarter was phenomenal,” said Gronner.

Adam caught the pass and went 63 yards for the…

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