Sports from the week of September 14, 2005

First win is nailbiter

By Dick Donaldson

The Tracy/Milroy/Balaton Panther football team improved to 1-1 (1-1 Little Sioux Conference) with a narrow 21-19 win over MACCRAY at Maynard Friday night.

“It was a fun game until the last quarter,” said Panther running back Seth Swan. “We have to learn to finish the game.”

“We played very poorly, “ said Panther Coach Randy McIntire. “But we were fortunate enough to score more points than MACCRAY did.”

The Panthers opened the game unable to move the football and fell behind 6-0 in the first period. However Kyle McIntire came in to play quarterback and ignited the Panther offense with 15 points in the second period and another 6 in the third to take a 21-6 lead.

In the fourth quarter the Wolverines stormed back to score 13 points and only a pass deflection by Matt Rosa on the final play of the game saved the win.

“We made quite a few mental mistakes on defense and left some receivers open-fortunately they did not hit them,” said McIntire. “Other than that our defense played well.”

The game began with the Wolverine kickoff going into the end zone for a touchback and the Panthers putting the ball in play at the 20yard line. Three running plays lost 6 yards and Derek Daniels’ punt gave MACCRAY the ball on T/M/B’s 40yard line. The Wolverines moved to two first downs before a 4th down, 29yard field goal attempt was blocked.

The Panthers started from the 24 yard line and a pass from Tristan Larson to Derek Daniels got them a first down at the 42 yard line. Two penalties prevented T/M/B from moving the ball and, with 4th and 21, Daniels’ punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown. With 4:23 left in the first period MACCRAY’s conversion kick was blocked and the score was 6-0.

“We finally got our running game going when we executed the option,” observed McIntire. “Then MACCRAY had to alter their defensive alignment and our offense worked better.”

T/M/B could only return the kickoff to it’s own 14 yard line. On second down and 10 yards to go Quarterback Kyle McIntire entered the game and broke loose for 13 yards and a first down at the 31yard line. Three plays picked up only 4 yards and Daniels’ punt carried to MACCRAY’s 37yard line. The Panthers held and MACCRAY punted back to the Panther’s 29 as the quarter ended.

Swan then ran for a total of 70 yards in six straight carries to the MACCRAY 1 yard line from where McIntire carried it in for the touchdown. The kick failed and, with 9:53 left in the second period the score was tied at 6-6.

The Wolverines returned the kickoff to midfield and moved, in 7 plays, to the Panther 27 before Drew Nelson intercepted a Wolverine pass on the 6 yard line. A false start penalty and 2 running plays forced a punt from the T/M/B 11 yard line. MACCRAY started on the T/M/B 35 but the Panther defense held and took the ball over on downs at the 41 but then the offense sputtered and the Panthers had to punt. The Wolverines started on their own 21 and on the second play T/M/B’s Daniels intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to the MACCRAY 28 yard line. Isaac Dolan entered the game at quarterback and fired two completions to take the Panthers to the the 2 yard line. Swan scored on the first play but his run for the two point conversion failed and, with 1:06 showing on the clock, T/M/B led 12-6.

The kickoff went into the end zone and MACCRAY put the ball in play at the 20 yard line. Their first play lost 11 yards and, on the second play, the Panthers recovered a fumble at the 7 yard line with 14 seconds remaining. A pass was incomplete but Matt Bauer’s field goal was good and with just 4 seconds showing on the clock T/M/B led 15-6.

The second half kick off gave the Wolverines the ball on their own 25 yard line. They failed to move and punted to the Panther 40 yard line. Six carries by Swan and 2 by Dolan brought about a T/M/B touchdown. The kick was blocked and with 6:44 left in the third period T/M/B led 21-6.

Three Panther fumbles (1 lost) and 2 Wolverine fumbles ( 1 lost) ensued as Sean Fox’s recovery of a fumble gave T/M/B the ball on it’s own 25 yard line as the quarter ended.

The Panthers were forced to punt and MACCRAY put the ball in play on the T/M/B 49 yard line. The Wolverines marched, in 9 plays, to the T/M/B 3 yard line before losing the ball on downs. T/M/B could not move the ball and punted with the Wolverines putting the ball in play at the Panther 23. The next four plays brought the Wolverines a touchdown with Aekins scoring from the 2 yard line. The kick was blocked and the Panthers held the lead at 21-12 with 6:57 remaining.

The kick off went into the end zone and T/M/B started at the 20 yard line. Swan got 10 yards and a first down at the 30 and then another at the 40. An off side penalty and a delay of game penalty forced a Panther punt from the 30 yard line. MACCRAY put the ball in play at their own 49 and a 40 yard pass from Koenen to Aekins led to another MACCRAY score in 6 plays. The conversion kick was good and T/M/B held a slim 21-19 lead with 1:33 left in the game.

The Panthers returned the kick off to the T/M/B 35 yard line but were forced to punt after three plays and two Wolverine time outs. The punt was shanked and MACCRAY had the ball on T/M/B’s 33 with 39 seconds remaining. A penalty for grounding the ball came on the first play and the second gained 12 yards to the Panther 34 before the final pass to an open receiver was tipped, at the last moment, by Matt Rosa as time ran out.

The Panthers had 142 yards rushing and 74 passing for 216 yards and MACCRAY rushed for 84 yards and passed or 159 for 243 yards. The Panthers turned the ball over 2 times to 5 for the Wolverines. Seth Swan led the offense with 34 carries for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kyle McIntire was 3 of 5 passing for 36 yards and Paul Carlson had 2 receptions for 48 yards.

T/M/B 0 15 6 0 21

MACCRAY 6 0 0 13 19

Scoring

MACCRAY-Meyer- 27 yard return of blocked punt (kick bocked)

T/M/B-McIntire- 1 yard run (kick failed)

T/M/B- Swan- 2 yard run (run failed)

T/M/B-Bauer- 24 yard field goal

T/M/B-Swan- 1 yard run (kick blocked)

MACCRAY-Aekins-3 yard run (kick blocked)

MACCRAY- Meyer-pass from Koenen-11 yards (Pauling kick)

Tholen takes first in TMB invitational

Jillian Tholen won the girl’s varsity race, the Panther girl’s cross-country team placed sixth and the boys were eighth with Ryan Tholen third in the Tracy/Milroy/Balaton’s Invitational held at the Tracy Country Club Thursday.

The girl’s team scores were: 1) Canby/Minneota/Lincoln H.I., 59; 2) Windom, 87; 3) Springfield, 108; 4) YME, 127; 5) SW Star Concept, 133;6T/M/B, 146; 7)RRC/W-WG, 162; 8)SESM, 205; Lakeview, incomplete; R-T-R, incomplete.

The Panther girl’s individual results were: 1) Jillian Tholen, 15:33; 18) Stacy LaVoy, 18:37; 32) Jen Vroman, 19:44; 47) Rachel Stobb, 21:42; 48) Jessica Coulter, 21:51.

The boy’s team scores were: 1) Springfield, 74; 2) Canby/Minneota/Lincoln H.I., 76; 3) SESM, 102; 4) Worthington, 118; 5) Windom, 167; 6) RRC/W-WG. 193; 7) Pipestone, 213; T/M/B, inc.; R-T-R, inc.; Lakeview, inc.; YME, inc.; Wabasso, inc.

The Panther boy’s individual results were: 3) Ryan Tholen, 18:24; 12) Brad Lanoue, 19:16; 18) Alex Jones, 20:12; 49) Sam VanNevel, 22:43.

In the Junior High/JV race the Panther’s Dalton Kirk placed 42 with a time of 8:56 and Josh Lubben placed 47^th with a time of 9:15.

In the Junior High/JV girls race Karlie Tholen placed 7th with a time of 8:23, Bobbi Jo Buyck placed 20th with a time of 9:03 and Celia Brockway placed 36th with a time of 9:37.

“Jillian Tholen ran without much competition, but seemed to be more focused in this race. The result was a solid performance,” said Panther Coach Marie Clauson. “Kalrie Tholen placed 7th in her first race. She really looks strong and has lots of potential. The boy’s varsity had an awesome race. Ryan Tholen has really become a person to beat and Alex Jones ran his best time of his career so far.”

Panthers split tough Columbia Heights play

The Panther volleyball team won 2 matches and lost 2 matches at the Columbia Heights Tournament this weekend.

“The quality of play in this year’s tournament was down,” said Panther Coach Katie Gervais. “”Hibbing and Marshall were the only outstanding teams.”

The Panthers opened with a 2-1 loss to Anoka The game scores were 25-23, 26-27 and 9-15. Tracy/Milroy next won over St Louis Park by scores of 25-21 and 25-14. T/M/B completed pool play by losing to Hibbing (the eventual champion) with scores of 12-25 and 21-25.

In it’s last match T/M/B won over North St Paul 25-15 and 25-20.

“We played all right in our last match against North St Paul,” said Gervais. “Our ball control was better and we were able to get some offense going. We ended the tournament on a good note.”

In stats that included all four matches Emily Miller led in kills with 31, Rachel Gervais had 16 and Michelle Lanoue had 8. Emily Scharfe led in blocks with 7, Gervais and Krysta Tholen had 4 each. Tholen had 63 set assists and Miller had 39 digs, Sarah Fritz had 28, Tholen 19 and Lanoue 16.

The Panthers are now 3 wins and 4 losses for the season.

RCW sweeps spikers

The Panther volleyball team’s season record dropped to 1-2 as they were swept 3-0 by Renville County West at Renville Thursday night. The game scores were 22-25, 14-25 and 22-25.

“We lacked ball control again in this match,” said Panther Coach Katie Gervais. “Without ball control we have no offense. We have not been serving very aggressively either.”

Emily Miller led the attack with 14 kills plus 13 digs and Krysta Tholen had 22 set assists and 18 digs. Rachel Gervais and Tholen had 2 solo blocks each.

Tigers win match-up of '04 champions

It was a meeting between two volleyball teams who had won their respective state championships last season when the T/M/B Panthers met the Marshall Tigers last Tuesday. The Tigers came away with a decisive win by scores of 18-25, 17-25 and 18-25.

“They served very aggressively and we were weak at serve receive,” said Panther Coach Katie Gervais. “In volleyball everything starts with the serve. If you do not handle the serve very well and get a poor pass to the setter, the setter can’t set the ball well and the hitter can’t get a good hit. If the hit is not strong the other team can get a good pass, a good set and a good hit-it makes for a long match.”

On the other hand the Panthers had some problems serving with first year player Molly Miller leading in serving at 10 for 10 and 1 ace and Krysta Tholen was 9 of 10 and 1 ace. Tholen had 20 set assists.

“Twenty set assists is very good for the type of passes she was getting,” said Gervais.

Emily Miller had 8 kills and Emily Scharfe 7. Emily Miller and Sarah Fritz led in digs with 7 each.

The B squad lost 11-25, 22-25 and 13-15.

“The B squad made big improvement in all areas over the MCC outing,” said Gervais.