On the Bench with Byron Higgin
Got to admit I sat in front of the television and cried like a baby as I saw the Minnesota Gophers very young football team win the Wisconsin game and go on to capture Paul Bunyan’s Ax. That’s something I haven’t seen much of in the past very many years.
To see this young bunch rebound from a very poor season to beat Wisconsin, capture the ax and get a bowl game, was enough to bring anyone to tears. I felt so good for this group of young players who didn’t give up under Coach P. J. Fleck.
Then on Sunday the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers, their arch-rival. I can’t remember very many weekends when both the Gophers and Vikings won. This is one for the ages and will have to be savored.
Also ... happy for Jon Konold and the great season his Willmar Cardinal football team had — finishing second in state. Most people felt BOLD would roll easily to a state title. But if we recall, Mahnomen gave Minneota a tough game in the state quarterfinals last year — and with two good football programs coming together — it wasn’t hard to imagine that was a very good team as well.
ODDS & ENDS:
•A year ago Cole VanOverbeke put on a wrestling exhibition at the state finals and ended up in third place. Wrestling much like his state championship brother Josh did, VanOverbeke surprised many of the wrestlers in his class. Now, he’s a senior and will lead his team into a new season. It will be interesting to see if the younger VanOverbeke can follow in his big brother’s footsteps. He’s a very intelligent wrestler, if not a bit unorthodox, as his brother Josh was.
•It was surprising to see the first Class A wrestling pairings and see Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove ranked No. 1 During all those years when Minneota was on top, Tracy wasn’t a contender at all. But with their third place finish last year, and several returning wrestlers, I guess they’ve earned the honor. There could be some good wrestling when they meet Minneota and also in the Section 3A Tournament.
Minneota likely will bring their youngsters to a point where they will contend but a lot might depend on three wrestlers the coaching staff hope will return before playoffs: heavyweight Jackson Esping and middle-weight wrestlers Austin Kloos and Landon Rolbiecki.
•When Thomas Hennen came out of the Section 5A championship football game with BOLD, many began to hold their breaths. Hennen suffered a leg injury and the fear became how that would affect his basketball season. Thomas is back on the court, although Coach Dave Busselman has been holding him out to let the leg recover. Ironically, his brother Jacob, the other half of the one-two-scoring punch for Minneota on the hardcourt, is trying to work his way back into shape after recovering from a broken hand in the first game of the year. But don’t count each brother out. They likely will be in the starting lineup come opening day. •Nice to see Riley Buysse back on the basketball court. He lost a lot of time with a painful couple of knee injuries. But he’s a gamer and is giving basketball another try
. •Coach Busselman likes what he’s seen from Alex Saltzer, a junior who got limited playing time last year.
“He can jump,” said the coach. He may fit into the starting lineup or at least will be a top man off the bench.
•A deep freshman class is how JV Coach Dale Kockelman describes the Minneota upcoming girls’ basketball squad. Some of them will be on the varsity squad as well as the JV. Led by Natalee Rolbiecki, Jeren Rost and McKenna Yost appear to have made the talented varsity girls’ team.
Old and New in Class A
By John Millea, Minnesota State High School League
There was the old and the new in the Class A Championship game. Mahnomen/Waubun defeated BOLD to win the state title. The two towns, separated by 12 miles of Highway 59 in northwest Minnesota — completed season No. 1 as a cooperative team with a 22-21 win over BOLD and a record of 13-0.
Mahnomen went to state 26 times between 1974 and 2017, winning eight state titles (most recently in 2013).
Waubun made four state appearances, including 2015 and 2016. That was the new. The old was BOLD coach Steve Solem, who has led the Warriors for 33 years.
Saturday’s game was his last before retirement; his teams won two state titles and this year’s runner-up finish was the Warriors’ fourth under Solem. “I’ve got grandkids,” Solem said.
“I’ve got two sons who coach football (Grant Solem is the head coach at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial and Trevor Solem is an assistant at Minnewaska Area) and a daughter who raises cows. So I might go out and help her when I’m not watching the other two play games.”
A group of BOLD fans showed their admiration for the coach by holding up sheets of white paper, each bearing one letter.
The message was clear and from the heart: THANK YOU COACH SOLEM!