The second-to-last week before the conquests commence was packed with developments. In shoring up the 53 they put T.Y. McGill & Olabisi Johnson on the practice squad. They also effectively traded Armon Watts & a 6th round pick to Houston for Ross Blacklock & a seven. Watts will suit up for Chicago as he was released instead of actually dealt but it's one player for another. They also dealt OL Jesse Davis for a seventh in 2025 which kind of signals that the Football League is inching closer to deals that at least have some resemblance to those made in the Basketball Association.
The wheeling & dealing continued as the Purple swung a trade with Philly for the guy they chose one spot ahead of Justin Jefferson. It remains to be seen whether Jalen Reagor will have any offensive impact for the team but he has already been slotted in as a primary punt return option. With the bargain bin pricing for him it would be enough if he can just handle that smoothly all season.
The team also filled out it's practice squad, initially announcing 12 of the 16 members then signing David Blough, recently of Detroit fame. They also signed CB Tay Gowan & North Dakota receiver Travis Toivonen which leaves one spot yet to be filled.
KO also opened up about some of the new things we can expect to see this season!
The start of game week included the second win in the Cities as the ⚽️ ladies put four scores on Chicago State. As the weekend began they got the other side of that experience, losing to Craig Bohl U 3 - 1 and then got throttled by Northern Colorado 5 - 0.
🏃 also got good news as both of the teams were chosen as top two in the coaches preseason poll. The men did much better than that in Grand Forks as eight of the top 10 had the good logo, including the top three. In the women's race it was the same ratio of Bison to Birds, though in a slightly different order to secure that win as well.
On the court Louisiana took care of the ladies in four but they bounced back with a shutout win over UT-SA. Rio Grande Valley then evened out the loss of their fellow Texans with a 3 - 0 victory Saturday AM.
The men's team opened it's season Sunday in Michigan. After day one they were looking up at four teams while Moorhead's Ian Simonich paced the way from just inside the top 10. They will finish the event Monday while the women will host their first event Tuesday/Wednesday in Oxbow.
Which just left the season opener at the Dome.
In pro news, Cordell Volson was confirmed to be the starter at left guard by Cincinnati's Zac Taylor, confirming reports from a week ago. With as quickly as he was able to rise through the depth chart you'd like to think that he will get at least a month of opportunities before anyone else gets a shot but it's a cut-throat business so hopefully he just locks it down from week 1 on!
Joe Haeg also got another opportunity after being released by Pittsburgh, to compete with one of their division rivals. It's one reason to monitor Cleveland that's less obvious and actually positive.
The school also announced the 2022 Hall of Fame class, seven deep.
The weekend started early as Sioux Falls came to town Thursday. Sioux Falls scored the first 10 points of the game which Moorhead answered with a touchdown from Tommy Falk to Ryan Bieberdorf but the game would stay that close for less than three minutes of scoreboard time and never got closer. Being behind as they were did not aid in play-calling but two yards of rushing offense by Moorhead is hard to fathom. So it's back to the drawing-board with Upper Iowa fresh off of a 30-point loss to Northern State on the horizon.
🏐 had Friday & Saturday to themselves as ⚽️ first match in Florida was cancelled, the results were less than stellar. The ladies had a tough time when they did get on the pitch as Tampa took them down by a field goal.
With just over two months remaining until the opening tip the men's team had the schedule finalized with the highlights being a trip to Vegas to ring in the New Year, which will begin with six of seven games on the road. They will then be able to skate out of the regular season with all but one game at home over the final three weeks. With all the size that Tyler Bormann's staff has put together they should have the chance to compete on a nightly basis, which would make for a great time at that gem of a gym!
The week continued with the season opener in Valley City as Terry Horan's team used a 14-point fourth quarter to edge the Vikings, with Cooper Mattern coming in and throwing a touchdown pass via Dawson Schaffer. The game left significant room for improvement by each team but better to do so as the winner!
Friday/Saturday the women's team was in Lincoln and played to a two-game draw, losing the first 1 - 0 and winning the second by the same score. Their male counterparts had more success getting shots to go but less at keeping their opponents from scoring in turn to put them two games in the hole through two.
It was also a busy two days on the 🏐 court with a 3 - 2 victory over Bethany Lutheran the only one of the four.
Sunday wasn't any better as the men's & women's ⛳️ teams finished in the bottom half of both leaderboards at their invitationals.
The Bolts announced their preseason & promotional schedules, with the three home dates in mid-September free to attend.
As the season-defining week commenced the Birds received more good news as Tyler Grauer was named Association Pitcher of the Week. Grauer then toed the rubber in the first start of the week but Sioux City got the better of them with a two-run shutout. When the teams rematched both sets of bats were ready to go as they piled up 21 runs on 25 total hits, with the local squad overcoming three errors to win by one. The series finale brought them both back down to earth, with Fargo falling considerably further to set-up the make or break set against Kansas City.
The first game was a total team win as the bats got six runners across while the pitchers & defense held KC to two runs. With the win the Hawks moved to a single W away clinching the division. The bats were not able to overcome the Monarchs' three runs Saturday & the wheels fell off Sunday to the tune of a 12 - 3 defeat. So the months of work & travel will come down to Monday afternoon! It's high drama the likes of which keeps sports so high on people's list of preferences.
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
The prep week began with an announcement that Moorhead boys lacrosse will have a new head coach next Spring. Monday at the Patch also included a shutout win over South by the boys on the pitch.
Sheyenne got the first great outcome as their boys 🎾 took down Wahpeton 8 - 1. South took down North by the same score while Davies blanked West Fargo when they took the court Thursday.
Horace 🏐 separated itself from the field with the only shutout win Tuesday, beating Wahpeton in their first home-court action. South, Shanley, West Fargo & Sheyenne all won in the same fashion Thursday. Across the river Park Christian, Hawley & Ada/Borup all had minimal-length victories as well. 3 - 0 victory applied to both Cass County schools, Kindred, Hankinson & Thompson as well.
Thursday evening also brought the first 🏈 of the Fall in Minnesota. Thief River Falls came down to Glyndon but were no match for the State playoff favorites as Jordan Summers put on a show. The next night Davies hosted Sheyenne but were not in a hospitable mood, breaking the Mustang's nearly three-year-long regular season winning streak in dominant fashion. They were joined in the win column by Shanley, who eeked-out a touchdown victory in a shoot-out with West Fargo, and South who finished 25 up on Central. Across the River Moorhead also took no prisoners with a 36-point win over St. Cloud Tech.. They weren't the only Minn's to drop the hammer right of the chute, Hawley (42 - 6), Barnesville (29 - 6) & Fertile/Beltrami (54 - 6) were all ready to go.
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