MINOT, ND – The second high school volleyball polls of the season have the same teams at #1. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

 

 

Team (First Place Votes)          Record    Points    Last Poll
1. West Fargo Sheyenne (13)   13-0          69         1
2. Bismarck Century (1)             12-1          57         2
3. Fargo North                           13-1          36         3
4. Jamestown                             11-2          24         5
5. Bismarck Legacy                     9-4          19         NR

 

Others receiving votes: Fargo South (9-4), West Fargo (8-5), Bismarck High (7-6)

 

 

Team (First Place Votes)                Record     Points    Last Poll
1. Northern Cass (13)                      17-0         130         1
2. Kenmare-Bowbells                       18-0         117         3
3. Linton-HMB                                  14-1         104        T4
4. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich    13-3           70         T4
5. Thompson                                      8-2           62          2
6. May-Port-CG                                 13-3          56         NR
7. Dickinson Trinity                             8-2           39          7
8. Oakes                                            13-5          26          6
9. Central Cass                                  11-4          25         NR
10. Beulah                                         14-2          22          NR

 

Others receiving votes: LaMoure-Litchville-Marion 10-5), Bishop Ryan (12-3), North Border (10-3), Our Redeemer’s (14-7), North Star (8-2), Grant County (10-5), Rugby (7-3)

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MINOT, ND – Scores from Tuesday:

 

 

Watford City Invitational
1. Watford City, 23
2. Killdeer, 46
3. Williston Trinity Christian, 93
4. Heart River, 136

 

Individual winner: Jekori Dahlen of Killdeer, 18:03

 

Beulah-Hazen Invitational – Black Sands Golf Course
1. Rugby, 34
2. Beulah, 75
3. Southern McLean, 88
4. Kenmare-Burke Central-Bowbells, 95
5. Lemmon SD, 121
6. Hebron, 121
7. Des-Lacs Burlington/Lewis & Clark, 129

 

Individual winner: Austin Dibble of Rugby, 18:06

 

 

 

Watford City Invitational
1. Watford City, 28
2. Killdeer, 32
3. Heart River, 66

 

Individual winner: Jaelyn Ogle of Watford City, 19:48

 

Beulah-Hazen Invitational – Black Sands Golf Course
1. Rugby, 19
2. Lemmon SD, 62
3. Stanley, 64
4. Hettinger-Scranton, 95

 

Individual winner: Brynn Hanson of Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark, 20:04

 

 

Williston Invite – The Links of North Dakota
1. Bismarck Century, 340
2. Mandan, 367
3. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 383
4. Bismarck Legacy, 384
5. Minot High, 390
6. Dickinson, 394
7. Williston, 407
8. Jamestown, 415
9. Minot North, 418
10. Watford City, 464
11. Bismarck High, 479

 

Medalist: Anna Huettl of Mandan, 78

 

High School Boys Soccer
Minot 7, Dickinson 0 (Minot qualifies for state)
Bismarck Legacy 6, Bismarck Century 1
Bismarck High 7, Jamestown 1
Mandan 2, Williston 2

 

High School Boys Tennis
Minot 7, Mandan 2 (Magi host Legacy on Thursday. Winner gets WDA regular season title and #1 seed at WDA Tournament)
Bismarck Legacy 7, Bismarck Century 2

 

 

Class A
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City (3-0) 25-9, 25-16, 25-22
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Minot High (3-0) 25-18, 25-18, 25-16
Mandan def. Turtle Mountain (3-0) 25-15, 25-14, 25-14
Bismarck High def. Dickinson (3-0) 25-17, 25-14, 25-22

 

Class B
#7 Dickinson Trinity def. Hazen (3-1) 23-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-7
#10 Beulah def. Beach (3-0) 25-20, 25-15, 25-15
Our Redeemer’s def. Surrey (3-0)
Bishop Ryan def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (3-0) 25-10, 25-12, 25-17
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Glenburn (3-0) 25-14, 25-6, 25-18
South Prairie-Max def. Berthold (3-0) 25-19, 25-20, 25-20
Bottineau def. Newburg-Westhope (3-1) 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20
Rugby def. TGU (3-0) 25-14, 25-14, 25-12
St. John def. Dunseith (3-2) 18-25, 26-24, 25-21, 19-25, 15-6
North Prairie def. Four Winds-Minnewauken (3-0)
New Rockford-Sheyenne def. Drake-Anamoose (3-0) 25-20, 25-17, 25-20
Garrison def. Center-Stanton (3-1)
Central McLean def. Flasher (3-2) 11-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-10
Washburn def. Harvey-Wells County (3-1) 25-12, 26-24, 26-28, 27-25
Wilton-Wing def. New Salem-Almont (3-1) 25-23, 11-25, 26-24, 25-18
Shiloh Christian def. Standing Rock (3-0)
Trenton def. Powers Lake-Burke Central (3-1) 25-22, 25-15, 13-25, 25-15
Tioga def. North Shore-Plaza (3-0) 25-13, 25-13, 25-16
Divide County def. Ray (3-1) 25-20, 26-28, 25-19, 25-17
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MSU GOLF

 

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Minot State golf teams wrapped up a solid effort in South Dakota with four players earning Top 10-finishes at the Fall Hardrocker Invite hosted by South Dakota School of Mines. Jaci Jones made a big final-day charge with an 11-over 83 to climb 10 places and into the Top 10, joining teammates Taylor Cormier and Holly Knudsen, as the Minot State women’s golf team finished fifth overall. On the men’s side, Andrew Makarchuk turned in a second solid round to remain in the Top 10, tying for sixth at 9-over 153 (76-77) to lead the Beaver men’s team to a fifth-place finish, as well. Cormier led the way for the Minot State women as she finished fifth at 23-over 167 (83-84), while Knudsen and Jones tied for eighth at 27-over 171 as Knudsen shot rounds of 83 and 88, and Jones shot 88 and 83. Abigail Goettle was 35th overall for the Beavers at 52-over 196 (99-97), and Averi Bradley tied for 38th at 67-over 211 (113-98).

 

Minot State finished fifth with a team score of 129-over 705 (353-352) at The Golf Club at Red Rocks. Chadron State won the women’s team title with a 99-over 675 (332-343) and Rianna Garland of South Dakota School of Mines was the individual champion as she shot 14-over 158 (76-82).

 

In the men’s field, Makarchuk’s sixth-place finish paced the Minot State, which was fifth with a team score of 76-over 652 (331-321). South Dakota School of Mines won the team title with a 32-over 608 (303-305), while Montana State-Billings golfer Dawson Strobel was the individual champion at 6-under 138 (70-68). Zach Hendrickson was next for Minot State as he climbed into the Top 20, finishing 16th at 18-under 162 (84-78), then came Joshua Tu, who tied for 21st at 24-over 168 (83-85), then Aimery Barrault, who tied for 24th at 25-over 169 (88-81), and then Arron Grandy, who was 35th at 36-over 190 (88-92).

 

The tournament was the second in a busy stretch for the Minot State golf teams, who play four tournaments in four consecutive weeks. Minot State’s next event is Monday and Tuesday at the Watkins Invitational hosted by Winona State.

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UND HOCKEY-GABER

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UND) – UND Junior forward Riese Gaber was named to one of the six spots on the 2022-23 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Preseason All-Conference Team, as announced by the league on Tuesday. Media members voted for three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender on their ballot with each vote worth one point. The top three vote-getters at forward, top two defensemen and highest vote-getting goaltender made up the preseason all-conference team. A total of 23 ballots were submitted by media members covering each team.

 

Gaber alongside Denver sophomore forward Carter Mazur were the top vote-getters on the team, each receiving 22 of a possible 23 votes. The Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, native is the only returning player from last season’s All-NCHC First Team. In 34 games, he led the team with 15 goals and 37 points to earn All-NCHC First Team honors and a Hobey Baker Award nomination. Limited to just 19 league games, Gaber terrorized the NCHC with nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points. In those 19 contests, he scored a point in 13 of them, including seven multi-point outings. Three of his 15 goals were game winners and seven came on the power play, both pacing the squad. The NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete selection was recently voted an assistant captain for this upcoming season by his teammates.

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TWINS-ROYALS

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — MJ Melendez hit a two-run homer, Salvador Perez drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the seventh inning, and the Kansas City Royals held off the rapidly fading Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Tuesday night to open their final homestand of the season. Dylan Coleman (5-2) pitched a scoreless seventh for the Royals, then Scott Barlow cleaned up Jose Cuas’ mess by striking out Mark Contreras to strand runners on second and third in the eighth, before handling the ninth for his 22nd save. The Royals trailed 3-0 in the second, pulled ahead in the fifth and were still tied 4-all when Melendez doubled off Twins reliever Michael Fulmer (5-6) in the seventh. Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a double, then took third when Melendez tried to score and was thrown out by Twins left fielder Jake Cave on a bang-bang play at the plate. Perez came through on the very next pitch, though, dumping the go-ahead double down the right-field line.

 

UP NEXT
Twins RHP Bailey Ober (1-2, 3.49 ERA) starts tonight against Royals LHP Daniel Lynch (4-11, 5.15).

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VIKINGS-O’CONNELL

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Guiding a team’s navigation of the inherent rollercoaster of a regular season is a vital part of the job for an NFL head coach. Making the right strategical adjustments to maximize the ups and minimize the downs is just as important. Kevin O’Connell, welcome to the club. After the Minnesota Vikings had all the answers in a well-rounded win over rival Green Bay to start his first season, they were outplayed and outsmarted in Philadelphia on Monday night in a 24-7 defeat by an Eagles team that has emerged as one of the few early favorites to win the NFC.

 

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had the hot hand — and the fast feet — that would’ve been tough for any team to stop, but defensive coordinator Ed Donatell stayed committed to a shell zone coverage that was consistently picked apart during three first-half touchdown drives of 80-plus yards. The Vikings were awfully sluggish on offense, too, with a pair of three-and-out possessions to start the game and three second-half interceptions thrown by Kirk Cousins the most glaring examples of regression from the 23-7 victory over the Packers the week before.

 

“We didn’t stay on the field. We didn’t run enough plays,” said Cousins, who completed only one of five passes to star Justin Jefferson when Eagles cornerback Darius Slay was the closest to him in coverage. Two of those throws were picked off. Cousins didn’t get much help. The Eagles blitzed him often, and extra rushers frequently entered the backfield unabated. Dalvin Cook, Johnny Mundt and Irv Smith Jr. all had egregious drops, including an under-pressure deep throw to Smith late in the second quarter that likely would’ve been a 63-yard touchdown to pull the Vikings within one score. They punted instead. The first interception, in the end zone in the third quarter, was Jefferson’s fault for not flattening his route in front of Slay. “We’ve got to find ways to make it easier on our guys,” O’Connell said, adding: “I have to do a better job and make sure we stay true to what we are and what we want to be offensively.”

 

WHAT’S WORKING

The kicking game units under new special teams coordinator Matt Daniels have been impeccable. Rookie punter Ryan Wright had a gross average of 49.2 yards on five attempts against the Eagles and is tied for the NFL lead with six punts inside the 20-yard line. None of Philadelphia’s kickoff or punt returns went anywhere, and Patrick Peterson had the blocked field goal that was returned to the Eagles 30 in the third quarter.

 

WHAT NEEDS HELP

One of the biggest questions about this team is the ability of several young defensive backs to establish themselves as reliable fixtures in the lineup. The Eagles took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a 53-yard touchdown pass by Hurts to Quez Watkins, when second-year safety Camryn Bynum and third-year cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr. both made their initial break toward tight end Dallas Goedert to allow Watkins to blow by. “We made some adjustments, just not the proper ones that we felt we could put ourselves in better positions,” Peterson said.

 

STOCK UP

Right tackle Brian O’Neill, who has begun the first season of the contract extension valued at $92 million he signed a year ago, has picked up where he left off in 2021 with a strong start in both run blocking and pass protection.

 

STOCK DOWN

Cousins didn’t send a pass Adam Thielen’s way until his 24th attempt, a ball forced into a risky spot with Thielen running a corner route toward the sideline between two Eagles cornerbacks that was picked off by a leaping Avonte Maddox late in the third quarter. Jefferson was open underneath. Through two games, Thielen has only seven receptions for 88 yards. “Kirk trusts him inherently, and we have to find ways to continue to get him the ball within the rhythm of the game,” O’Connell said. “We only had 21 plays in the first half, so there were not a lot of targets to go around in general.”

 

INJURY REPORT

Star safety Harrison Smith (concussion) left in the fourth quarter. O’Connell indicated optimism about his status, though the shortened week of practice and rest makes the clearance process more of a challenge. Rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. (quadriceps) was inactive for the game, so rookie Akayleb Evans took 21 snaps in place of Dantzler in the second half.

 

KEY NUMBER

51.1, the second-lowest single-game passer rating for Cousins in five seasons with the Vikings. His worst (15.9) came on Sept. 20,

2020, in a 28-11 loss at Indianapolis.

 

NEXT STEPS

The exhaustive routine that NFL teams follow through the regular season gets a rude interruption from Monday night games, so the pressure will be on O’Connell, Donatell and the rest of the staff this week to reset their strategy in preparation for a home game against Detroit. As much as the Vikings have historically dominated the series, each of the past three matchups have been decided by exactly two points. The Lions won the most recent one 29-27 on Dec. 5, 2021. “I can promise you this much: Our guys, even postgame, felt like they wanted to get right back to work,” O’Connell said. “A bad taste in your mouth is one thing, but we know what our standard is.”

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WOLVES-EDWARDS FINED

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined $40,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for homophobic comments he made on social media. The league announced the punishment for Edwards’ use of “offensive and derogatory language” in a since-deleted Instagram video he later apologized for. Edwards recorded a group of men on a sidewalk from a vehicle he was inside and could be heard in making a disparaging, profane comment about what he assumed to be their sexual orientation. He posted an apology on Twitter soon after, and the Timberwolves issued a statement reprimanding their young star. “What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way,” Edwards tweeted last week. “There’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!” The first overall pick in the 2020 draft, Edwards was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer last season with an average of 21.3 points per game that ranked 19th in the league. His average of 1.5 steals per game was 13th in the NBA.