While the ending was sub-optimal, to put it mildly, the Purple had a good week going. On Wednesday they inked Brian O'Neill to a 5 year, $92.5 millon extension that makes him one of the highest paid players at his position in the League. It was long-expected but the team's ability to continue keeping their best guys is nevertheless astounding. It obviously comes with the clause that he & his battery-mates need to handle their business like professionals but to have one high-quality cog in place long-term is a necessary step.
A semi-light week started with an 8.5 - 5.5 win by the men on the ⛳️ course against North Dakota. They followed match play with a stroke match Thursday that finished with a 10-stroke win over the Birdies.
Later Thursday ⚽️ was in Omaha but lost 2 - 0.
As the weekend began 🏐 was in Berkley, CA for three. Butler, Cal & Nevada each lost 3 - 1. They couldn't have gotten much better of a confidence boost than that!
Friday both of the cross country teams were in Brookings. While it wasn't the best that's ever been managed the men & women held their own.
Which leaves the whoopin' at the Dome. But you'll have to tap the link for the observations about that one.
There was also some good news for those who have moved onto bigger stages.
In his first opportunity at high-A ball, Bennett Hostetler put the ball over the fence. It wasn't the only news for the ⚾️ as they added former pitcher Trent Keefer to the staff.
As for the 🏈 guys, Carson Wentz made his debut with Indy in a losing effort to Seattle but he was only sacked three times while managing to throw a pair of scores in the midst of 251 yards. Trey Lance also got his first whiff of the pro game with a goal-line play which he converted into a score. 1/1 for 5 yards & a touchdown. Probably not how anyone other than the coach saw his first action going but he managed to make it special!
New icon comes with a less-than-stellar week for the Fire Breathers. 🏐 lost to SD Mines 3 - 1 Thursday & followed it up with the same score against Augustana & Northern St. Friday. They got two off NM Highlands Saturday, but only two.
⚽️ wasn't much better in their first action of the week, a 3 - 0 loss to Montana - Billings. They lost by the same margin Saturday despite a goal against Black Hills St..
The cross country teams did fare decently in their Twilight event.
🏈 had a chance at an outright win but gave up 27 straight points in the second half to Winona, losing 27 - 13.
Concordia opened the week on a low-note when 🏐 dropped a 3 - 1 against Presentation. After a couple days off they traveled to Superior, WI for four. They dropped the opener 3 - 0 to Nebraska Wesleyan but blanked Bethany Lutheran later on Friday. The host's edged them 3 - 2 the next day but the Cobbers left with a split after shutting out Northland. Their efforts earned Anna Brakke & Hannah Keil all-tournament recognition.
Back in Moorhead the women's ⚽️ team reeled off their first of three straight wins over Crookston on Wednesday, 3 - 1. Amber Weiybe, Megan Barnick & Samantha Holmberg all made good on their shots. They kept the momentum going with a 6 - 0 win over Morris Friday. The coup de grace came Sunday with a 2 - 0 win over NE Wesleyan. Weiybe got her third goal of the week while the other came from Samantha Holmberg.
Friday also included participation in the Twilight meet. The men had the second best showing of the nine teams while the women were finished fifth.
🏈 finished it off with a 55 - 14 win over Presentation Saturday. Tanner Dubois went 36/45 for 319 yards & four scores while Noah Halmar went 4/4 for 56 & a score as well. Two of the TDs went to Andy Gravdahl as he racked up 9 catches for 128 yards, along with a kick return score.
While the 🏀 world waits for a conclusion to the Ben Simmons situation Minnesota made a couple smaller moves Friday re-signing Jarred Vanderbilt to a 3 yr., $14 million deal & Jordan McLaughlin to a 3 yr., $6.5 million deal. While neither move made the scroll on the four-letter network the pair add a bit more depth to the rotation and could be additions in possible future trades.
It's a slight bit of news but the Bolts announced the upcoming season's special days.
The Birds ended the regular season with a fourth-straight win over Winnipeg to set up a win or go home game against Milwaukee. Matt Tomshaw & Ryan Flores spun a three-hit shutout, with all three coming over the 23 outs that Tomshaw was on the mound for. From there they traveled to Chicago for the first two games of a best-of-five with the winner advancing to the Association championship.
The Dogs got four runs in the opener but Fargo more than doubled them up, 9 - 4 to take the early advantage. Chicago evened up the series with 1 7 - 1 win Saturday. The teams will battle the rest of the way at Newman starting Monday.
In the midst of the travels it was confirmed that Manny Boscan & Kevin Krause finished 1/2 in the batting title race. It was the second straight year that the Birds had the top two batting average finishers. They'll need to keep mashing to take two of the next three!
For score throughout the week check back often.
When the action start Tuesday South & Moorhead each managed victories on the 🎾 court against Shanley & Perham. The Taters also picked up a 4 - 0 boys ⚽️ W against Red River. Sheyenne got another win in the crosstown rivalry, 3 - 1 & Davies got the better of South 3 - 0.
Sheyenne picked up another win over West Fargo inside to improve to 8-2 on the 🏐 season. Shanley also got a 3 - 1 win over Valley City while North took care of Oak Grove by the same score. South did even better with a 3 - 0 win, which Barnesville did as well against Park Christian. D/G/F made it a sweep with a 3 - 1 win as well, over Wadena.
In water competition Moorhead picked up a 99 - 87 decision over Sheyenne. They kept it going Thursday with outcomes of 100 - 76 over Shanley & 125 - 14 over Wahpeton.
Davies had the best 🎾 showing with a 9 - 0 win over West Fargo while North & Shanley were just shy of that against Wahpeton & Valley City.
At the indoor net Moorhead, West Fargo, Shanley & South all won 3 - 0 while Sheyenne had a battle against North, 3 - 2. Both Cass County schools had shutout wins, against Maple River & Tri-State while Hawley finished on the wrong end of that score against Perham. It took an extra set but Kindred got by Richland 3 - 1 as well.
Back on the field, Moorhead had a couple best of's while Davies, Shanley & West Fargo each won their matches. Sheyenne & North played to a draw. Moorhead's girls couldn't put it together for a second straight day, losing to Elk River 5 - 0.
Along with a Best Of game in the Southwest, Davies got a comfortable win over Legacy 27 - 7 while South beat Valley City by a field goal. Moorhead controlled the action of their first away game, beating Brainerd 28 - 18. Also out of town, Central Cass & Hillsboro got shutout wins while Kindred crushed E/E/K 62 - 12. Oak Grove came close to their first win but Sargent County prevailed 22 - 20.
In racket action Friday Sheyenne blanked Williston & Bismarck in shorter matches while South went 4 - 1 over Minot. In cross-conference action Saturday Davies, North, South, Sheyenne & Shanley all handled West schools, with Williston getting the closest to winning against North & Davies 3 - 2.
Shanley headed to the metro for a couple matches but couldn't quite keep up with Delano 3 - 1 or Holy Family 2 - 1. North & South handled Grand Forks' 2 - 1 (RR) & 3 - 1 (C) to end the week
Best of got started a little later this week but quality over quantity & Moorhead proved plenty of quality on ⚽️ field Thursday. The girls cruised by Fergus Falls 8 - 0 while the boys put up a touchdown over St. Cloud Apollo. It was the first win for the girls new coach, which may have added a couple style points.
Across town junior Olivia Soine got her 1,000th assist for West Fargo.
At Moorhead State's Twilight meet Moorhead's girls finished first & their guys were one behind that.
Sheyenne & Shanley squared off in a playoff-caliber contest at the Pony Palace. Josh Henricks & Aidan Devine each gashed the opposing defense for over 175 yards on the ground but the home team finished with the lead, 36 - 29.
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