Sports from the week of October 12, 2005

Panthers improve in Camden

The Panther Volleyball Team won over Lincoln HI 3-0 at Ivanhoe Tuesday night. The game scores were 25-8, 25-6 and 25-5. The Panthers are now 11-9 for the season and 4-1 in the South Camden Conference.

“We put a nice match together,” said Panther Coach Katie Gervais. “We controlled the tempo while on offense and were consistent on serves in games two and three. The timing between our setter and hitters was on tonight. We also had some nice defensive plays by our back row players. It was a nice match for us to build some confidence going into this weekend’s tournament.”

Emily Miller led the team in kills with 12 while Rachel Gervais had eight and Michele Lanoue seven. Krysta Tholen had 29 set assists, Emily Miller had three blocks and also led in digs with 11 while Michele Lanoue had 13, Krysta Tholen nine and Sarah Fritz seven. Jackie Haecherl was 18 of 18 serving with one ace, Krysta Tholen was 21 of 21 with one ace and Michele Lanoue was 10 of 11 with three aces.

Spikers split loop matches

The Panther volleyball team split two South Camden Conference matches last week. The Panthers shut out MACCRAY at Tracy Thursday, after Minneota handed Tracy/Milroy/Balaton its first conference loss of the season Tuesday.

The action left TMB with a 9-9 season record and 3-1 in the conference.

Panthers 3, Wolves 0

The game scores were 26-24, 25-11 and 25-20.

“We came out tentative and that dictated the pace of game number one. We seemed a step behind,” said Panther Coach Katie Gervais. “In the second and third game we changed our rotation and added Mallory (Fultz) and Lindsey (Daniels) to the mix. They did a nice job of playing on the right, a spot they are familiar with from B squad. Lindsey passed and defended well, while Mallory had some key net plays. We weren’t happy with the outcome of the games but thought we started going in a positive direction—we were just unable to finish plays at key times. We hope this will be the rotation that will carry us into the playoffs.”

Emily Miller led the Panthers with 10 kills and nine digs, Rachel Gervais served 11 of 11 with one ace, Michelle Lanoue had seven kills, nine digs and two blocks, Jackie Haecherl served 14 of 15, Sarah Fritz had nine digs while Krysta Tholen had 22 set assists and two blocks.

Minneota 3, Panthers 0

Minneota won the close games to blank the Panthers. Scores were 25-16, 25-23, and 26-24.

Tholen had 38 set assists to go with her eight digs, Emily Miller had 16 kills, 13 digs and one block plus was 14 of 14 serving with one ace, Gervais had two blocks and seven kills and Lanoue had 13 digs and was 13 of 14 serving while Molly Miller was 12 of 12 serving.

Cold blustery weather can't stop harriers

The Panther cross-country teams participated in the Luverne Invite last Thursday with the girls finishing fifth. The team scores were: 1) Adrian, 23; 2) Luverne, 52; 3) Sioux Falls Lincoln, 54; 4) Worthington, 11; 5) Tracy/Milroy/Balaton, 149; 6) Brandon Valley, 150; 7) Flandreau Indian School, 192.

“The weather was less than desirable but we still managed some great performances,” said Panther Coach Marie Clauson.

The Panther girls’ individual results were: 13) Jillian Tholen, 17:11; 31) Stacy LaVoy, 19:17; 34) Jessica Mason, 19:33; 35) Jen Vroman, 19:38; 36) Rachel Stobb, 19:46; 39) Bobbi Jo Buyck, 20:25; 40) Celia Brockway, 30:54.

“Rachel Stobb had a great start,” said Clauson. “She fell back a little during the final mile but still ran her best time of the season. Jessica Mason also ran well—her last mile looked great and her finish reflected that.”

In the boys’ varsity race Ryan Tholen finished 10th with a time of 18:01, Brad Lanoue was 20th with a time of 18:51, Alex Jones was 34th at 19:48 and Sam VanNevel finished 64th at 22:50.

“There was some tough competition on the boys’ side. Ryan Tholen and Brad Lanoue held their own. Brad fell back slightly after a quick start but still finished respectably. Ryan ran a solid race,” said Clauson.

In the boys’ junior high race Dalton Kirk finished 10th at 6:27 and Josh Lubben was 22nd with a time of 9:58. Karli Tholen finished second in the girls’ junior high race with a time of 9:01.

Runners brave blustery conditions at Adrian meet

The Panther girls cross-country team placed ninth in the Adrian Harrier Invite Tuesday. Team scores were: 1)Adrian, 30; 2)Luverne, 71; 3)MLBO, 97; 4) Worthington, 136; 5) SF Washington, 141; 6) Pipestone, 154; 7)MCC, 198; 8) Southwest United, 216; 9)T/M/B, 218; 10)JCC, 220; 11)W—WG/RRC, 222.

The Panther girls individual results were: 17) Jillian Tholen, 16:39; 44) Jen Vroman, 18:35; 45) Stacy LaVoy, 18:38; 54) Rachel Stobb, 19:09; 58) Jessica Mason, 19:48; 61) Celia Brockway, 19:54; 67) Jessica Coulter, 21:15.

In the boys varsity race Ryan Tholen finished in fifth place with a time of 17:43, Alex Jones was 14th at 18:45 and Sam VanNevel was 50th at 21:33.

Dalton Kirk finished 18th in the Junior High race with a time of 8:44 and Josh Lubben was 36th at 9:44.

Bobbi Jo Buyck was 10th in the girls junior varsity race with a time of 20:09 and Bekah Zens was 23rd at 32:21.

Karli Tholen won the girls junior high rce with a time of 8:41.

“Rachel Stobb ran her best time ever tonight,” said Panther Coach Marie Clauson. “She works very hard and it’s nice to see her rewarded for her effort. Bobbi Jo Buyck also ran an excellent race tonight. Karli Tholen finished with a great lead. She ran all out from beginning to end. Ryan Tholen and Alex Jones ran a strong race today. Both medaled and look to be in excellent shape for the section meet on the 27th.”

Gridders play well, but are shut out of end zone

By Dick Donaldson

The Tracy/Milroy/Balaton football team lost to the Fulda Raiders 13-0 at Fulda Friday night. The loss dropped the Panthers to 1-5 on the year and in the conference. Fulda improved to 4-2 and they are also 4-2 in the Little Sioux Conference.

The Panthers lost the game but accumulated 240 yards of offense to 167 yards by the Raiders. TMB’s downfall was the inability to score when they neared the Fulda goal line. The Panthers gave up the ball on downs at the Fulda 24 yard line in the first quarter, at the Fulda seven yard line in the second quarter, at the Fulda 40 in the third quarter and at the Fulda one yard line in the fourth quarter.

“We actually played quite well in this game,” said Panther Coach Randy McIntire. “Our defense played very well, especially after losing two of our first string defensive players to injuries in the very early part of the game. We just need to take advantage of our scoring opportunities.”

First half

TMB started the game by kicking off to Fulda with the Raiders returning it to their 41 yard line. However, a penalty moved them back to their own 25 yard line. The Raiders then lost two yards in three plays and punted with the Panthers starting from their own 49 yard line. TMB moved to two first downs, with running back Seth Swan carrying six times for 26 yards, before turning the ball back on downs at the Fulda 24 yard line. The Raiders then marched 76 yards in nine plays, including a 24-yard pass play and a 22-yard pass play, to a touchdown. The kick failed and Fulda held a 6-0 lead with 1:19 left in the first period.

The Panthers returned Fulda’s kick off from the one yard line to the 27 but a run by freshman quarterback Isaac Dolan and two incomplete passes lost two yards and TMB had to punt as the first quarter ended. The punt only netted two yards and the Raiders moved 27 yards to their second score on a 26-yard pass and a one-yard run. The kick was good and the Raiders led 13-0 with 11:55 left in the second period.

TMB took the ensuing kick-off and David Schmidt returned it 32 yards to the Panther 48 yard line. From there the Panthers moved in 12 plays, with Swan picking up 40 yards in 10 carries, to the Raiders’ seven yard line before turning the ball over on downs. After the defense forced a Fulda punt TMB started over again on their own 34 yard line. This time a penalty and a sack forced a punt with neither team being able to move the ball as time expired in the first half. Dan Deiter stopped the Fulda possession with an intercepted pass.

Second half

Schmidt received the kick-off for the Panthers on his 12 yard line and returned it to the 31. The Panthers then moved to two first downs before facing a fourth and 12 at the Fulda 40 yard line. TMB served notice that they were not going to give up easily and, instead of punting, went for the first down. Dolan’s pass to Matt Bauer was incomplete and the ball went over to the Raiders.

Fulda marched, in nine plays, to TMB’s 15 yard line where, on fourth down, a field goal attempt missed and TMB took possession on their own eight yard line. Two running plays gained five yards and an incomplete pass forced TMB to punt with Fulda returning it to the Panther 24 yard line. Sean Fox, Panther defensive lineman, sacked the Fulda quarterback, on third down, back to TMB’s 35 and forced a punt.

The Panthers took possession at their own 12 yard line as the final period began. The Panthers then moved, in 17 plays, while over coming three penalties, all the way to the Fulda eight yard line. With fourth down and three Dolan’s rushing attempt was a yard short and the Panthers lost the ball on downs at the Fulda six yard line with 6:14 remaining. The Panthers had moved 82 yards while completing five of 10 passes for 67 yards and rushing for 15 yards in three carries. The Panthers’ defense forced another Fulda punt after six plays and TMB put the ball in play on their own 37 yard line. On the third play a Panther pass was intercepted at TMB’s 49 yard line.

Three Fulda running plays netted six yards and the Raiders had to punt with the Panthers getting the ball back on their own eight yard line. A pass to Schmidt got a first down on the 25 yard line and another to Drew Nelson for 16 yards got a first down at the TMB 41 as time ran out.

The Panthers rushed 34 times for 95 yards and were 11 of 28 passing for 145 yards giving them total offense of 240 yards. Fulda rushed 26 times for 42 yards and were seven of 15 passing for 125 yards giving them 167 yards of total offense.

Seth Swan led TMB in rushing with 28 carries for 100 yards while Schmidt had seveb receptions for 67 yards. Paul Carlson, Dan Dieter and Derek Daniels led the defense with four tackles each.

TMB 0-0-0-0-0

Fulda 6-7-0-0-13

Fulda-Lavoie 6 pass from Isder (kick failed)

Fulda-Henning 1 run (Isder kick)

TMB looks for more scoring against Adrian

The Panther football team travels to Adrian Thursday evening for a Little Sioux Conference game. Adrian is now in the middle of the pack at 3-3 in the conference. The Panthers, who have suffered several close conference losses, are looking for their second win.

“Our goal in this game is to improve our performance in the red-zone,” said Panther Coach Randy McIntire. “We are going to do some different things to try to improve on our scoring ability.”

Adrian has always played the Panthers tough in football and is coached by Tracy High School Graduate Randy Strand. His team this season is of average size and speed and uses the pass and the run evenly.

“Adrian gives our defense some serious problems,” said McIntire. “They use a varied offense with multiple sets making it hard to defense them.”

The Panther defense sustained several injuries in the Fulda game. Gary Knott has an injured shoulder, Kyle McIintire had a concussion and Drew Hebig has a broken bone in his foot.