It is a very happy ending. All the drama that preceded it can just fade away amidst the ultimately successful season. Chatfield (Section 1AA champion, 12-1) took on West Central Area/Ashby (Section 6 AA champion, 11-1) for the Class AA state football title. And just like the drama that preceded - star running back Sam Backer’s ejection from the state semifinal and thus … [Read more...]
There’s no stopping Duxbury
What matters is not how many times you’ve been knocked down. What matters is how many times you’ve gotten back up after being knocked down by life. That seems to be the story line of Carter Duxbury’s football career. Growing up in Chatfield, Carter played football, basketball, and baseball. He said one of his favorite memories was as a sophomore in 2013, when the football … [Read more...]
Lion girls build with experience, seek improvement
The 2022 Spring Grove girls, more experienced but still young, will be an improved basketball team this winter for fourth-year head coach Kody Moore. All the key contributors are back from last year – all five starters and the two most active reserves. A few promising young players may make the Lions a deeper team than last year. Summer league basketball returned after a … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys are experienced but still young
The Spring Grove boys embark on the 2022 basketball season as an experienced but still young squad with aspirations of winning another regular-season championship and winning a postseason playoff game. “Last year we were "very young", this year we are just "young," said veteran coach Wade Grinde. “We will play only one senior again this season with all (others) sophomores and … [Read more...]
Spring Grove gridders remain in the middle
There were plenty of eye-popping big plays and a couple of dramatic late rallies during Spring Grove’s 2021 football campaign that ended with a 3-5 record after facing a few of the state’s best teams, including the runaway state champion. It was often highly entertaining to witness and with only three seniors, a young Lion lineup proved to be very resilient. However, the … [Read more...]
LFC CC alum Kiera Olson earns All-American honors
LFC cross country alum and current Washington University cross country runner, Kiera Olson, achieved All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, November 20, concluding a remarkable high school and collegiate career. In the six kilometer race, Kiera ran a personal best time of 21:47 and placed 35th of 394 runners, … [Read more...]
Delaney to Carrier Carries Gophers to 1AA Title Game
It was a game that veered off script, if any football game has a script. The contest had a wild finish. It had two situations where one team was primed to score the clinching touchdown (but didn’t). The winning team lost its star player, but banded together and proved its metal. That team was the Chatfield Gophers. It wasn’t an easy task to make the 1AA state title game, but … [Read more...]
Third Quarter Rebuttal Propels Trojans to State Semis
Rushford-Peterson’s ground game was mostly stymied, but they made plays in the passing game and their defense, particularly their secondary, was up to snuff in taking down Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in a 1A state quarterfinal. The Trojans (1A Champ, #3 in A, 11-0) and Jaguars (4A Champ, 8-3) hooked up at Crown College outside Waconia. The first score of the game came courtesy of … [Read more...]
L-O Topples Lanesboro for Section 9-Man Title
LeRoy-Ostrander turned a 6-6 halftime stalemate into a decisive 30-6 runaway win in the 9-man Section One football final at Dodge Center. With the No. 3 section seed, the Cardinals (9-2) were in the section title game for the first time in 17 seasons against the defending section champ. With the No. 1 section seed, the state-ranked No. 2 Burros (10-1) did sustain an impressive … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls fall to top seed in section semi-finals
The Spring Grove girls, with the No. 4 seed, saw their volleyball season end in the section semi-finals with a 3-0 loss to top seed and state-ranked No. 8 Bethlehem Academy. The Lions, who closed at 20-10, were the only Section 1A semi-finalists that were not state ranked. The Cardinals from Faribault (20-11) went on to win the section championship with a straight-set victory … [Read more...]