With the end of the regular season came the usual accolades. To no one's surprise Justin Jefferson was named All-Pro but in addition came the same recognition for long-snapper Andrew DePaola & kick-returned Kene Nwangwu! Now that the season is over those guys and others will be in the running for the Reimagined Bowl in a few weeks.
It's a kick below the belt that they once again couldn't even make the final game of the season but they proved that there was no flip to switch, no adjustment to make, the Purple were entirely who they showed themselves to be over the duration of the season.
More than that, today showed the whole resiliency angle to be fraudulent because the defense was a house of cards waiting for a gust. Given time, the 13 wins will be remembered as a fun ride and perhaps the next draft will yield more immediate-impact players than the 2022 did but there's no promise that the 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, etc. teams will even be able to do what this rag-tag bunch accomplished.
Even so, the Horns will keep us on the hook through all the developments from now until the game is no longer played. Among the players that will help significantly as soon as a next season, TJ Hockenson & KJ Osborn both had benchmark moments in today's loss. For the Norseman it was the second-best receiving day by a TE in the franchise's history while Osborn hit pay-dirt for the first time in his young career! That both are still on the right side of their primes should get people as excited as most things they manage to do between the lines!
The much-maligned one that was getting them the ball also played more than well enough to win at the rate that the team won this season. 31/39 is pretty surgical and it could have been better if not for some drops, the most costly of which was in the direction of Osborn. From top to bottom the offense wasn't the problem & should be rolled forward in nearly identical fashion next July. Doesn't mean Jefferson will finish as the best in the League for a second time but could lead to even better things.
As mentioned before, it will come down what they can do with the defense because just rolling that forward would lead to another first round exit, at best. There's plenty more to say about the team, the season, the outlook, but now there are months for all that to happen.
In the wake of the defeat last Sunday three anticipated departures were confirmed as Hunter Luepke, Noah Gindorff & Nash Jensen all confirmed they will be foregoing any remaining eligibility and entering the Draft.
When the competition commenced Thursday men's & women's 🏀, along with wrestling, earned a sweep and all kept it rolling with even more impressive efforts across the country Saturday! The women ran their home record to 7 - 0 for the first time in nearly 20 years! The 🏃 teams also lined up Saturday, with records & wins to show for their effort!
Rescheduled from late-December, Northern State came to town for a pair Tuesday. The men came out on the short-end of a 72 - 71 final while the women got a solid 7-point victory. The two teams then hit the road to Marshall with the ladies forcing OT while the guys flipped the script to a win. In Sioux Falls Saturday the men battled through to an extra-frame win while the women dropped their eighth of the year.
The weekend also included 🏊 hosting their two-day invite Friday/Saturday, 🏃 in Bismarck and duels against UMary & Upper Iowa.
Concordia started the week with the news that sophomore Makayla Anderson was named the Conference Defensive Player of the Week!
It continued with both teams taking the court against St. John's. The men forced OT with a second-half comeback but couldn't sustain the momentum while the ladies rode first & fourth quarter victories to win their ninth game of the year! They were both back at it Saturday against Hamline & managed to a close out that set in two different ways.
The ice was less accommodating as the lone win came Saturday in the rematch against St. Scholastica. The guys fell behind early Friday & Saturday and couldn't recover.
🤼 closed out the week in Illinois with a second-place showing out of 18 teams, with a pair of weight-class wins!
After a couple days off Minnesota started the week with a trip to Detroit and for the second time in as many weeks could not handle business against the lottery-bound. As another sign of the cohesion & progress that they're making they turned the page from that loss to beat a depleted Phoenix & full-strength Cleveland in back-to-back days. With the results they've moved back to .500 & up to seventh in the standings. In-so-doing they're also just one win behind fourth place Sacramento so it's going to be a wild ride the rest of the way!
Over the 38 games that remain the question of what they do with Towns will need to be answered and there doesn't seem to be a clearly-best option. To their benefit they've managed to get closer & closer to full-strength, which has been an irrefutable factor in the progress! Even when Gobert went out during Saturday's game Naz Reid & Luka Garza were able to slide in & keep the ship upright. Like the team looking to advance in the playoffs Sunday, nothing will come easy but there continue to be small & medium signs of positivity to cling to (even as they provide headaches).
The circuitous route that Carlos Correa's free agency journey took ultimately lead to him signing back with Minnesota on a six-year deal that could get to a full decade in length depending on how he holds up! That does nothing to quell the need for pitching that is on par with the offenses that they continue to piece together. The front office also found a way to potentially enhance that part of the roster, signing Chris Paddock to a three-year deal while adding a few more members to the minors as the opportunity to sign international players began on the 15th. More & better is almost always preferable but the move for Correa is further proof that the old Pohlad model has been adapted.
The Bolts were in a Sioux mood this weekend, first at the Falls then at the City with each finishing as a double-up for the Conference Leaders as they matched Chicago with the 21st victory so far! With Lincoln & Waterloo riding four & six game streaks Fargo will need to maintain their level of play or risk being surpassed by one or both. With the top two goalies in the League, in terms of goals allowed, the job of the rest of the team does get that much easier.
January typically doesn't include a lot of news about the Summer Squad but catcher Christian Correa's decision to hang up his gear is the first change to the roster for the Hunted.
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
On the prep level, Sheyenne's girls opened with a 27-point win over GF Central and a day later their new neighbors to the South had a 70-point win. Tuesday around town also included a couple classics at Davies during a visit by West Fargo. During the boys game Mason Klabo used a 33-point performance to clear 1,000 as the Eagles soared to a 38-point victory. In the early game both of the State Tournament hopefuls showed why they are among the favorites to make the eight-team field, with the home team coming back from a seven-point halftime deficit that was much larger before the break to win on a Mariah Burian layup!
The West Fargo boys came back with a 2-point victory against South while Davies finished 34-points ahead of Wahpton. WF's girls had a 49 on the Bruins as the Eagles made another statement, beating the Huskies by 30. Chloe Pfau finished that game with a 19 point/5 rebound/10 assist/9 steal/2 block line! Shanley's girls got the last word with a 26 over Central.
Tuesday night also included Enderlin's Carson Bartholomay hitting quadruple-digits with a 29-point night! That was joined by a 36-point win by Central Cass over Wyndmere/Lidgerwood & a 50-burger from Thompson against Langdon/E/M. Thompson came back #3 Grafton with a 10-point win. CC followed with a 35-point win over Carrington & a 49 margin against Northern Cass while W/L fell to Oak Grove by 25. May/Port/C/G also checked in with a 30-point victory.
On the girls side #3 Thompson also checked-in with a 35 against Cavalier while the Squirrel's took care of Lisbon by 38, as did seventh-ranked May/Port versus Hillsboro/CV. Thompson then faced M/P/C/G, winning by 24! CC also had a ranked showdown as they took care of Carrington 65 - 32! The Cass County Jaguars also got into the act by beat Kindred as Halle Crockett had a 32-point night. M/P/C/G was back out Friday and took care of Richland by 38. Kindred bounced-back from their besting to beat #1 Kenmare by 10 Saturday!
Across the River both of Park Christian's teams started the week with 35-point victories over Bagley. Further East, Fertile/Beltrami's girls second contest went-off as a 31 over Win/E/Mac as the boys beat W/E/M by 25. Barnesville's boys proved to be 42-points better than Lake Park/Audobon. D/G/F added a pair of wins to their resume, in OT to Perham and by 30 against Park Rapids and Ada/Borup began the week with a 45 over Climax/Fisher as they ran their record to 9 - 1!
On the ice Moorhead's girls put up six on Sartell while allowing just one. Davies also were among the best with a 10 - 4 win over EGF and a 7 - 3 against Devils Lake. North's boys had a 6 - 0 performance against Grafton while South/Shanley came a goal shy of doubling that during a visit by Devils Lake!
The mat also yielded some noteworthy results as West Fargo's boys beat Hillsboro by 42 & Davies scored 46 more points than Devils Lake. The Eagles then scored to third at Moorhead's invitational. The Fargo girls also got another victory, in a tiebreaker against Pembina County.
Saving one of the very best for last, Moorhead's Emily Stamm set a new state record in the 101kg clean & jerk. Lifting is supremely nichè but that's undeniably a best-of across all forms of competition!
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