Before the reshaping of the roster can begin the 2023 coaching staff has to be assembled. To that end, Ryan Nielsen (New Orleans' co-DC), Sean Desai (Seattle Associate HC), Brian Flores (Pittsburgh Senior Assistant) & current member of the staff Mike Pettine. Before they got the chance to talk with another possibility, who would have created quite a stir among the fans, Miami added Vic Fangio to helm their defense. There's now reporting that the deal with Fangio isn't done yet, but it remains a long shot that he's enticed elsewhere. They also are still in danger of losing WRs coach Keenan McCardell as he interviewed with Tampa for their OC job.
They also officially found out that Justin Jefferson is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year & League MVP. In the event that he wins either one or both it/they would join the Offensive Player of the Year as voted by the Pro Football Writers of America!
It was an abbreviated week of action but before the meetings with North Dakota came news that WRs coach Noah Pauley took the same position with Iowa State. The team then announced the addition of Jason Petrino as the defensive coordinator. Grant Olson may have been the only choice that could create a buzz but choosing to not promote him means there's that much more coaching acumen on the staff, which will be needed for the rebuild of the defense.
When the games began Grant Nelson scored a career-high 36 to lead them victory. The next day, in GF, the women couldn't overcome a sluggish third quarter and added to the muddled race for the two-seed in Sioux Falls. A few buildings away both the men & women showed-out in their events!
It was also a short week for Moorhead State with 🏀 in Iowa to defeat by each even as Lorenzo McGhee scored 31. The next day, in Winona, it was Mariah McKeever who had the best offensive performance with that script-flip came a pair of wins.
The Mavericks also made the journey for pool time, winning convincingly.
🏃 managed to also come through during their visit to Grand Forks, highlighted by a school record for Robynn Rolle-Curry!
The surprise of the Winter has been the women's 🏀 team. Already as the winners of 9 of their last 10 games they took care of both St. Olaf & Bethel in not-too-dramatic fashion as they remain just behind Gustavus & ahead of St. Benedict in the Conference standings. It will be a wild few weeks at Memorial Auditorium!
The same can't yet be said of the men's team as they faltered to two more losses, against the Oles & Royals.
On the ice in Northfield the women were held scoreless Friday & Saturday. Back in Moorhead the men protected home-ice with a pair of 5 - 2 wins and win four-in-a-row for the first time this season, getting back to .500 in the process!
🤼 also came through with significant results in Illinois as they battled to third place out of 31 participating schools!
Two games above .500 and three more quality wins to their credit, the Howl have not yet shaken the #MNigmatic reality which plagued the Purple. Until they stop losing to teams which will have the highest odds of getting the #1 overall selection that hashtag will continue. The next opportunity to prove it will be Friday when Orlando visits. They are by no means the worst team in the Association but are trending toward high odds so we'll see if they can handle their business!
If it does happen, (should be) all-star Anthony Edwards will have a lot to do with it as he has taken his high-flying game to a whole new level over the last week+ with five games in a row all above his season average while showing little effect on his performance the defensive end! It's still a small sample size but if he can continue to grow it then doubters and ignorers will find it all the tougher to do so!
The Duplicates continued their aggressive offseason with a trade for Gold Glove outfielder Michael Taylor. In exchange, Kansas City got minor league pitchers Steven Cruz & Evan Sisk. It's not a move that will fill much of what Luis Arraez provided but when Byron Buxton goes down Taylor will help maintain a high level of defense in the outfield which should take some more pressure off the lineup. With reporting dates just weeks away there may be a few more moves to be made but it remains to be seen whether they will tap into the remaining free agent pool.
The Bolts took a trip to Frisco for a pair against Tri-City Thursday/Friday. The trip to the Lone Star State started with an overtime thriller after trailing 3 - 1 to start the third period! Forward Cole Knuble took the puck from end to end to secure the 23rd win of the season. Disinterested in a second day of drama, Fargo doubled-up Tri-City in the rematch, 6 - 3. In doing so they maintained their lead on Waterloo, despite the Hawks being on a 9-1 tear! Fargo & Waterloo will face-off Friday/Saturday on their ice, the first of seven pivotal contests between the clubs before the end of the regular season!
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
Monday night Central Cass traveled to Enderlin for their 12th win of the season, beating the Eagles by 33 as Mason Bosse dropped 25. Northern Cass did two-points better versus Drayton/Valley. The next day Jeremiah Sem scored 34 of North's 80 in victory against Valley City. Friday night both Sem's cracked 20, lead by Carter Zeller's 25 in a thriller against South, as they were lead by James Hamilton's 37. The combined effectiveness finished with the lead but it took overtime for the decision! Shanley's Connor Kraft also checked-in with a big-time performance, scoring 30 in an 11-point win over Red River. To the East Owen Leach etched his name deeper into D/G/F lore, becoming the school's all-time leading scorer and collecting his 1,000th rebound! Ada/Borup's boys also deserve mention as they've run their record to 14 - 2, including a 30-point win a week ago. Barnesville's might finish the season with that many Ws, they got some frustration out Tuesday with a 59-point over Crookston! Hawley added a 33 over Breckenridge to their resume. Ulen/Hitterdal was 10 points better than that in their win of the week over Climax/Fisher. Thompson added a 44-point win over Larimore and a 43 over Park River
Monday, in girls hoops, Sheyenne & Horace faced-off for the first time. Suffice it to say that junior guard Brenna Dick won't forget it as she broke her own scoring record with 41 points! At about the same time, Thompson hosted East Grand Forks for a 25-point win. The next day Davies went to Grand Forks and put the first loss of the season on Red River, holding them to 37 points in the process. Thursday, Sheyenne made the short drive to the original gym but couldn't get the 12th conference win of the season. Davies returned to the court against the other GF girls, beating them by 33. Park Christian sandwiched the week with 28+ point victories as they hit 15 already! Out of town, Enderlin's Genevieve Gruba scored her 1,000th point while Northern Cass' Halle Crockett scored 31 more to lead them to victory over Maple River. Central Cass beat Oak Grove by 25 and would finish the week 33-clear of Grafton. Enderlin took down Hillsboro by 32. Fertile/Beltrami's girls got to 15 - 2 with their 13th straight win, a 37-pointer over Clearbrook! Ulen/Hitterdal's added a 26-point victory in Climax/Fisher to the mix. Thompson came back with a 49 against Drayton/Valley while Northern Cass beat Richland by 32
On the ice, Moorhead's girls started Hockey Day week with a 6 - 0 win over Davies. At the same time the Eagle boys were out-shot by South 40 - 19 but had the only one able to get past the goalie, it was just the second loss of the season for the top team in state. South bounced-back with a 5 - 0, 52 - 9 rink-race of Grafton Saturday. North also flexed on a team from up North, taking Devils Lake 9 - 0! The Davies girls added a 6 - 1 win in Williston and then earned a 2 - 0 Saturday in Minot.
In the water, Moorhead managed to outscore Detroit Lakes by 71.
On the mat, North slammed South 66 - 6 Thursday, Davies beat Red River 68 - 6 Friday & Sheyenne put West Fargo down 58 - 12 Saturday. North finished the week with a second place effort in Larimore.
Beyond the lines, a draft of the North Dakota Three Class proposal was released Friday and includes tweaks to the controversial enrollment multiplier & classification standards.
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