2021

As the excitement about the possibilities that another calendar year can offer continues to grow it's time to reflect on the previous 52 weeks of activity. The custom had been that the first major event of the year was NDSU playing in the national championship. Since they didn't begin the 2020 season until late February the inauguration went the way of high school competitor. Minnesota ended their hiatus in mid-January which gave North Dakota schools even more of a chance to grab the early headlines.

In boys basketball Oak Grove went to double overtime against Oakes, which gave Noah Swenson & current MSUM QB Garrett Meehl the time to get their 1,000th points, with the Grovers getting a two-point victory. Two weeks later Kindred's Gavin Keller also got into quadruple digits. Looking back on it now, the start could have been a tip-off that the year was going to be full of individual accomplishments during team success. That goes for Carter Zeller & the Fargo North boys as well when he threatened to become the new high scorer in school history. Little did we know that they would continue to improve and ultimately made it to the state basketball tournament. Sheyenne rode their senior-laden squad to their third Eastern conference title in four years it was the original West Fargo school that represented in the title round. Adam Palczewski's team was lead by Carter Birrenkott's 21 & 12 as they raised the trophy for the first time since 1992. It seems like every other week sports streaks of various lengths come to an end but having to wait 10x as long should merit that much more attention for the accomplishment!

They weren't the only ones to achieve at the highest level. The culmination of several years as one of the most talent teams in the state, Davies girls advanced to the Class A championship as well. They had the misfortune of facing the Bismarck Century buzz-saw in pursuit of their sixth championship in the last 12 years and Davies was not able to quell it.

In the Region 1 tournament Kindred had to overcome the up-start Grovers fresh off one of the biggest victories in school history over Enderlin. They translated that success into advancement through the State bracket for the chance to be the first basketball champions in school history. It was a grinder of a game but behind a 23 point day by Paul Olson the Vikings added another conquest to their banner.

The local successes continued onto higher level courts as Moorhead State outlasted Northern State in the regular season finale but weren't able to replicate the success in the conference tournament or regional play in the national tournament. NDSU had their own memorable conclusion to the season. Down 25 at the half to Oral Roberts in the championship game they stormed back to make it a one-score contest but could not prevent the memorable run on the grand stage that Max Abmas & the Eagles were about to embark upon.

As for the highest level of the game, Anthony Edwards showed flashes of superstardom during his rookie year but the perpetual inability to get the full compliment of players on the court together at the same time lead to an in-season coaching change from Ryan Saunders to Chris Finch.There is valid evidence that Saunders was in over his head but few coaches could have succeeded with all the hurdles he had to navigate. The organizations history of dysfunction got a few more paragraphs, if not complete pages, when GM Gersson Rosas was fired days before the season began. It was speculated that the move wouldn't have much impact on the players, which seems to have been proven true but it's still another black mark on an organization that has far more of those than positive parts of it's history.

The pro hockey team had their rookie sensation as Kirill Kaprizov helped guide them back to the playoffs where they forced a full-length opening series with Las Vegas. They've built on that by being one of the hottest teams to start the current season and remain in the playoff mix. The puck was also good on the local level.

The Fargo Force advanced to the championship round for the fifth time in their 13 years of existence. They weren't able to overcome Chicago for their second trophy in four years but with the success came several D1 departures. The success extended beyond the selected.

The girls of Davies & the Fargo co-op each advanced to the state championship thanks two two goals apiece by Kaia Johnson (FD) & Abby Promersberger. The Eagles knocking-off Bismarck was the first such outcome since 2014 when West Fargo did the same in that final. They lost both regular season contests to the co-op by shootouts and the season clincher would be no easier but they managed to come out on top 3 - 2 for their first title. Promersberger took the experience as a springboard to D1 hockey at St. Thomas where she scored the first goal for them at that level.

Won't go so far as to say that it's the pinnacle of the success by local recruits this year but it is certainly in the running. The Fargo area has been putting out more and more college-level athletes that it's hard to keep up, a great problem to have! From division 3 to the Power 5, across all the seasons, college competitors continue to come. The new year will include some new elements to try & better track the flood of recruiting & commitment news.

As Winter gave way to Spring the accomplishments continued to accumulate. The forgettable football season came to an end in the quarterfinals as NDSU once again lost to the eventual champs. The experience that Cam Miller had down the stretch aided him in helping the team reach the upcoming title game after Quincy Patterson was sidelined. It's already begun but be prepared for the long months of conversation regarding the future of the starting quarterback position whether they add one more to the banner or not.

Then came the traditional Spring activities. The Minnie & Paul's were an abject disaster after generating about as much buzz as is possible. They set the table for the teams which followed - talent on paper not translating to success between the lines. But thankfully that blight did not manifest back in the Fargo area!

After meeting in the Eastern Conference Championship Shanley & Sheyenne returned to the diamond against each other with State honors up for grabs. The Mustangs were not to be denied their first title as they won 11 - 1. That experience helped the players go into the Legion season and bring home the North Dakota state title as well. As the regional tournament unfolded it was the news kids on the block that were not to be denied their chance at nationals as Post 400 stunned the region by earning their spot in Shelby, NC. On the age 13 level West Fargo showed that they've got more talent coming down the pipe as they won their regional tournament.

The success in Spring extended beyond the Mustangs as Davies' girls soccer made it to the title game against Minot. The magic was not on their side in that match but should take nothing away from the achievement! On the softball diamond Central Cass continued their run of success with a third straight championship, 4 - 1 over Thompson.

Moorhead made their own memories as the second season of competition on the lacrosse field concluded with the boys in the running for the State title.

Then came NDSU's ushering in of Summer. At the conference tournament they won their first two contests before being forced into a winner-take-all game against ORU. The quick turnaround proved to be no problem as they rebounded from a 15 - 5 loss with a 11 - 6 win. When the bracket was announced they were pegged for Palo Alto. In the second game they jumped out a 5 - 0 lead and held on for a 6 - 1 victory, their first in the division 1 era. With the success came the inevitable change as Tod Brown was named the new head coach for New Mexico. The change continued as Bennett Hostetler & Parker Harm were drafted by Miami & Kansas City respectively. The charge to continue improving will be on Tyler Oakes as the new head coach & freshman All-American Cade Feeney.

The quality play at Newman continued with the Birds finishing second in the division to Chicago. Fargo went on to beat them in the playoff for the chance at another title against Kansas City. The championship round proved to be the Monarchs time to fly.

It came a year late but among the Summer activity was the Tokyo Olympics. NDSU has managed to get track & field competitors into the mix over the years and this go round it was Payton Otterdahl throwing up the Horns before throwing the stone. In his first crack at the competition he faced an uphill climb but in just making the team he set a new bar for himself.

Summer gave way to a new-look Fall with a re-cast breakdown of the divisions. Fargo North capitalized by advancing to the AA semi-finals, losing to the eventual champs from Jamestown. With many of the same players who helped them to the Class B Basketball title Kindred add another piece of hardware to their trophy case with a 37 - 14 win over Hillsboro in the Class A Championship. The highest level saw Sheyenne run the table to the championship once again but this time it was their cross-town rival on the opposite sideline. West Fargo reached the title game by knocking off Bismarck Century with a shutout but the years of knocking on the door by Jeremy Newton & Grant Warkenthien finally paid off with a 27 - 7 victory.

It was the second championship of the Fall for Sheyenne as sophomore Aiden Johnson paced the field for their first cross country crown. Both of those victories came in the wake of Eastern Conference and State wins by the Davies boys soccer team. Shanley went from the fourth seed position to the final match of the season which concluded 10 - 9 in penalty kicks to secure Davies their first title in four tries over the last five seasons.

So the Fall was the culmination of those dynastic entities but the successes extended to the unexpected as well. In their first appearance at the state volleyball tournament Hawley knocked-off #2 seeded Cannon Falls by taking the fourth & fifth sets. They weren't able to go the distance in the semi-finals against Sauk Centre but in the third place match closed out strongly with another five-set come-from-behind victory over Mounds Park Academy. That matched the top finish by a local school from the ND side as West Fargo took third with a 3 - 1 win over Shanley but Northern Cass one-upped the rest by going undefeated to the Class B Championship. The Jaguars couldn't complete the perfect run as Linton/H/M/B won in shutout fashion.

As the seasons wound down West Fargo's Nadia Chwialkowski & Shanley's Aidan DeVine were name the Senior Athletes of the Year, joining Sheyenne's Alex Urlaub who had been named Baseball Player of the Year in the Spring. In conjunction, Sheyenne's Leah Newton & Jeremy Newton were named coaches of the year for volleyball & football, as was North's Adam Roland.

But the Fall games weren't quite done. After being crowned the 2020 state champions and losing many players to the next level Moorhead took their shot at the unusual repeat but their rivals from Alexandria prevented that chance. Where the Taters were stymied others were not. D/G/F earned another trip to the state tournament with a win over Fergus Falls but lost to Annandale in the first round. Barnesville got to the semi-finals but the eventual champs from Chatfield stopped them there. On the 9-man level Fertile/Beltrami ran an undefeated season all the way to the title game but then it was Le Roy/Ostrander that played the foil.

Moorhead's boys soccer also advanced beyond the section championship on their turf as they won a shootout against St. Michael/Albertville. (Some great images of which can be seen in the Gallery of the Year)

Much success and even more memories to reflect upon and the colleges added to it as well.

The high-point of the Fall for Concordia came as Munir Isahak out-ran the conference and then had the 21st best run at nationals to earn All-American, the first to do so for them since 1987. More great history to ponder on!

Even as the weeks have waned big things have continued. Yes, of course, NDSU is set to be back in the familiar area to start the next year but above and beyond their elimination of James Madison from the sub-division came a blazing fast finish on the mat by Kellyn March. And there's also the beginning of the conference season by the basketball teams. After missing a few weeks Sam Griesel returned to the court and had one of the best performances of his career against Indiana State. Taking the cue, Grant Nelson has also been starting to impose his will on the opponents which culminated in a monster game against the Grand Forks school. The women also handled their business against the Birdies after receiving a commitment from West Fargo's Miriley Simon. With the way she's showing up so far during her junior year Jory Collins will have to continue recruiting her until the pen hits the paper because the South Dakota schools, along with many more, will want what she can do. Things didn't go so well on the second to last day of the year as the women came up well short in Brookings while the men came back from down 20 in the second half to tie it in the final minute but the Bunnies exited the SHAC with another W. For all that happens on the football field between the universities teams, basketball is at the heart of the rivalry & the competition remains as close as ever!

And even for the results, it wouldn't be the story of the sports year in the Fargo area without talk of the Purple. From game 1 to game 15 they have been in lock-step with the boys of Summer as underachievers and just like last year all the misery will not yield commensurately. There is the hope for change which could be justified solely on the loss to Detroit but with two games to go it's just about getting to the end.

The basketball team also managed to accumulate much more talent than it historically has had but they too have struggled to maintain consistency from game to game. They have more of a viable excuse as members of the roster have been in & out on a week by week basis. When Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns & D'Angelo Russell are on the court together they have the capability to beat anyone. Lord knows that has almost never been the case for this team!

The pro Hockey team has also had it's struggles of late but could be a challenger come Cup time with Kaprizov leading the way. On the local, the Bolts were horrendous to start the year but over the last month have shown signs of progress and may be able to be the final winner in town for 2021.

We have been & continue to be in a golden age of sports in the region with the quality continuing to get better & better. Whatever the ceiling is for all the players' potential, it hasn't been reached yet and truthfully speaking, hopefully it never is reached! It's exciting to think what new heights may be reached during the upcoming!

Of the many 1000's of photos that were taken, none more accurately captured greatness than this display of sportsmanship during the section championship game between D/G/F & Fergus Falls.

Click the pic to see the Gallery of the Year

The year will begin with another party in Texas as NDSU will defeat Montana St..

The Purple will replace their head coach but not the GM. They will draft another CB in the first round and use the currency acquired in a trade of Kirk Cousins to continue building both lines.

NDSU's men's basketball will advance to the League championship, beating SDSU once again. The women will lose to South Dakota in the second round.

Minnesota will make it to the conference championship on the ice and to the second round on the court after earning the fifth seed.

Moorhead's boys lacrosse will make it to State for the second year in a row.

The Class A boys basketball championship will come down to Davies & West Fargo. The West Fargo girls will win the state championship.

The Redhawks will advance to the association championship again.

Davies will repeat as state champions in boys soccer.

Dave Richman will be hired by a different university. Matt Entz will be contacted but not hired during 2022.