Center Republican Sports
Timing issue at forefront of 36-0 shutout
The average North Dakota high school football game counts down 48 minutes on the scoreboard. Center-Stanton coach Brett Eckert would have liked 12 minutes back from Friday’s game. Washburn scored 24 unanswered points in the first quarter en route to a 36-0 shutout of the Wildcats moving them to 0-3 this season.
Slow starts lead to exciting finish
With any road game, there is always a worry of how prepared the team is going to be after sitting on a bus. The 36 miles between Center and Underwood seemingly had the effect of a much longer trip as a slow Wildcat beginning led to their first regular season loss Sept. 1. Fellow Region 5 competitor Underwood burst out of the gates behind its 6-foot middle hitter Alix Auck for a 3-2 finish.
‘Hard hands’ down Wildcats 42-12 to Shiloh
With all their scoring coming in the final quarter, Center-Stanton’s slow start opened the door for Shiloh Christian to earn their first school win as they downed the Wildcats 42-12 Saturday. Former regional opponents last season, the North Dakota High School Association football realignment has moved the 9-man Skyhawks into Region 1 and in only their second year of housing a football team, they earned their first win against their second opponent of the 2009 calendar.
Two-year realignment affects prep football landscape
With the continual changing landscape of North Dakota schools, it was only a matter of time before prep sports such as football were once again affected. Starting this week, the North Dakota High School Athletic Association’s most recent football class realignment will begin to show. The current two-year plan was devised according to male enrollments currently in grades 7-10.
The importance of safety and a clear mind
The average power pull attempt takes less than 30 seconds to complete once the vehicle is given the signal, but in that short amount of time many tiny aspects of racing need to go according to plan. One longtime power puller found out just how quickly a small mishap can become a big problem last Friday night.
Blackjaws experience successful season despite early elimination
The measure of a team’s season typically is determined by its record. In those terms the Beulah-Hazen Blackjaws amateur baseball team was less than a success going 6-10 overall this summer. Just don’t tell that to any of the players. To the men wearing the black and red jerseys it’s not the measure of the victories but the amount of joy they have still playing the sport they love.
14th annual Old Man & Kid Fishing Derby reels in fun
The number of children, the number of teams, the catch weights and the big fun received by all were pretty much par for the course at the 14th annual Old Man & Kid Fishing Derby held Sunday in Stanton. The derby marked the culmination of Stanton’s annual Knife River Days event – and 14th year of honoring the event’s originator, the late Ed McLain.
Washburn’s legion season ended by mental mistakes
The hitting power of Washburn American Legion bats has been the backbone of their Section 8 push to the top this season. The final breakdown to see who would call themselves the top of the eight team collection came to a halt last week for the Section 8 Tournament. Post 12 won’t be advancing to State but left a mark as a contender that won’t soon be forgotten.
Weather packs final regular week
This hasn’t been a summer of ideal weather conditions for the Washburn American Legion team. Mother Nature has forced four doubleheaders to be rescheduled, including two this past week. With a final five days remaining in the regular season, Post 12 is scheduled to compete against Dunn County this past Tuesday, host Mandan Thursday and have a third attempt at completing the series with Hazen Friday.
Kip Erickson has had the same monologue all season long: throwing strikes and playing low-error defense is the way Washburn is going to remain competitive in American Legion baseball. Monday afternoon, the head coach saw the evidence of the wisdom in his words.
