Sports from the week of November 30, 2005

Boys participate in Windom scrimmage

The TMB boys’ basketball team held the first action of the season this past Saturday in Windom as they participated in a three team scrimmage with Windom and Adrian. The Panthers faced off with the Adrian Dragons to begin the day and completed the day by facing the Windom Eagles.

“In the first scrimmage we met up with a team that wanted to keep the pace of the game at their level and we really did all we could not to let that happen,” stated Coach Nat Boyer. “We had a strong team effort from the majority of our squad. I felt we really pushed the ball up the floor on offense, which led to some very good open looks at the basket and defensively we disrupted the flow of Adrian’s offense by giving them some different full and half-court looks from our defense.

“Individuals who looked strong were Gary Knott. who ran the floor, hit the boards and passed well out of the post, as we expected him to do, and had a monstrous slam-dunk to highlight the scrimmage, plus he converted a free-throw to finish off the three point play; Anthony Dolan who handled the point guard position, with Kyle McIntire and Drew Nelson, also converted on the offensive and defensive end. Isaac Dolan, showed a lot of strength on the boards as well as helped move the ball well throughout the morning, and Andrew Prairie played some key minutes and converted on both ends of the floor”.

When matched up against Windom, the Panthers faced a team which was much more up-tempo and athletic than Adrian had been, Boyer said.

“The Eagles wanted to run the floor and they tried to hide nothing as they wanted to show everyone that they intend on being a power in both the Southwest Conference and in Section 3AA. With ten players available for the scrimmage, two were not present due to personal reasons, the Panthers showed some late signs of fatigue in this scrimmage as Windom used the entire court to their advantage. “We are not yet in the kind of shape we want to be in, but these young men knew that immediately following the scrimmage. It isn’t often during the season, when you will be playing four 20 minute halves in a row with only 5 minute breaks in between.”

Boyer said that Taylor Rignell, did some nice things defensively, while Steven Paradis and Nick Soupir both converted in the post on both ends of the floor.

“ Derek Radke continued to fill his role as well, while playing both the shooting guard and small forward position. Overall, we did see some very good things, but we suffered some defensive and offensive breakdowns. After looking at film and reflecting with our coaching staff and players we know that adjustments need to be made and we are always in the process of doing that. I would say for our first scrimmage and only our fifth day back on the court since this past summer we did well, not great by any means, but well.”

Boyer is looking for a good game at Slayton Saturday.

“Murray County Central is a great opponent, the proximity and the atmosphere which comes into play with those types of game are tough to match. I know the team is excited to get the regular season started and represent TMB and we hope the Panther fans will be there to show their support as wel,” Boyer concluded.

Wrestlers open with quad in Clara City

The Panther wrestling team continues working out in preparation for its opening meet at Clara City Tuesday. A couple of off days due to the recent snowstorm have made it difficult to determine, at this time, who will be representing the Panthers in the Dec. 6 quadrangular with MACCRAY, Benson and Renville County West.

“We will have “wrestle offs” on Thursday to see who will be opening for us,” said Panther Coach Brian Michelson. “Right now we have more than 35 kids out and the intensity and the attitude have been great!”

The squad has been bolstered by the addition of two unexpected senior candidates, Drew Hebig and Dan Malmberg. Both have had some wrestling experience and are expected to help the team.

“They (Hebig and Malmberg) are both very good athletes and their maturity will help us very much,” said Michelson.

The squad is also helped by the leadership of captains Paul Carlson, Cole Cooreman, Andy Nelson, Cody Arnold and Chia Thao. Carlson has had three trips to the state tournament and Cooreman two.

Girls host Jackson in home opener

The Panther girls’ basketball team opens the season Friday against Jackson County Central at Tracy.

“The girls have been practicing well but we lost two days to the weather Monday and Tuesday,” said Panther Coach Rick Haberman. “JCC has had school both days plus they have two games under their belts.”

Jackson County Central placed second in a tournament at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s by winning over Mayer Lutheran and losing to Sleepy Eye St Mary’s in the championship game.

“We will be trying different schemes on offense and defense in the early part of our schedule,” said Haberman. “You can’t lose people like Tessa Nelson, Jenna Schaar and Nicole Haecherl and still continue to do the things we did last year.”

The Panthers will have to build around the ball handling and shooting ability of Alyssa Kirk, the scoring of Ashley Domine and the rebounding and defensive presence of Emily Miller.