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...]
LARPH Wins 1A Title, Five Individually Qualify for State C-C Game
It has been a big year for Journal 11 cross country athletes. The 2021 Section 1A Meet was an identifier of that success. One team and five individuals qualified for the 2021 state meet. And this year they’ll get to compete in Northfield. Battling a steady rain, the LARPH guys team, Kingsland runners Garrison Hubka and Cole Kruegel, Chatfield’s Logan Thompson and Lexi … [Read more...]
Two Lion rallies rebuffed in section rematch with Rebels
Down early and twice trailing by two touchdowns, Spring Grove twice got back within one score and then twice were close to the goal line with a chance to pull even or take the lead. But twice in the fourth quarter, the Lions did not score after reaching Southland 1-yard line and 5 yard-line. No. 4 seed Southland escaped with a 19-12 section quarterfinal win against No. 5 seed … [Read more...]
Lion girls surge into section semi-finals with wins versus Knights, Falcons
The Spring Grove girls, with the No. 4 seed, advanced to the Section 1A Volleyball semi-finals with playoff wins over No. 13 Kingsland and No. 5 Fillmore Central. The 3-0 home win over the Knights on Thursday night (Oct. 28) preceded a midday Saturday 3-1 victory over the Falcons In Rochester. It was the second straight-set win of the season against conference rival Kingsland. … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls coast past Cardinals in regular-season finale
The Spring Grove girls dominated a matchup between the two SEC division runners-up. The Lions thus closed the regular season with the straight-sets road win at LeRoy-Ostrander on Oct. 18. Spring Grove (18-9, 12-2 SEC East) then received the No. 4 seed in the 20-team Section 1A Tournament, which for the first time is scheduled in one large bracket instead of two sub-section … [Read more...]