Football

Spring Valley won an absolute thriller over McDonnell Central. The Cardinals entered the fourth quarter trailing 34-22 with the Bulldogs retaining possession. Quarterback Mason Winger tossed a beautiful deep pass to Jake Hannack to strike once, but McDonnell countered with a touchdown for a 42-28 lead with under six minutes remaining. Landon Forster ran in a fourth and short touchdown near the goal line with just under four minutes remaining, but Spring Valley still trailed 42-36. Winger then booted potentially the best kick-off of the WIAA high school football season, going off the outstretched hand of the returner and bouncing out at the one-yard-line. For the second week in a row, the Cardinals secured a safety. Winger scored on a quarterback sneak with a minute to play, closing the game out with a swift stop to move to 2-1.

Elmwood/Plum City joined the Cardinals with back-to-back wins for the Dunn-St. Croix duo. The game was a gritty one, with the Wolves taking it 12-6 over Colfax. Landen McDonough and Logan Auth connected for a touchdown, and Auth scored again on an interception return to move to 2-1.

River Falls got into the win column in a defensive showcase, taking down Eau Claire North 21-6. Running back Trevor Bartlett was unreal, taking 33 carries for 183 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcats are 1-2, taking a long road trip Friday to face Superior.

Prescott continued its run of playing some of the best teams the state has to offer, losing 56-12 to 2025 State Semi-finalist Baldwin-Woodville. Ellsworth dropped a home game against Middle Border Conference contending Osceola 28-6. The Panthers and Cardinals are now each 0-3, with Friday’s rivalry game in Prescott giving one of the two their first win this season.

Volleyball

River Falls started its conference season with a bang, beating Eau Claire North 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-20) on the road. The Wildcats play their first home conference match Sept. 10 against Menomonie.

EPC took two of three at its quad, beating Ladysmith and South Shore 2-0, losing to Boyceville 2-1. Ellsworth took one of three at the Durand-Arkansaw Quad, beating Whitehall 2-1 and losing to the hosts 2-1 and Stanley-Boyd 2-0. Prescott was swept at its quad, losing 2-1 to Baldwin-Woodville, 2-0 to Webster and 2-0 to St. Croix Falls.

Spring Valley is off to a great start to the season, arriving at a busy week with a home quad against Bloomer, Cadott and Chetek-Weyerhaeuser on Sept. 8 and a Baldwin-Woodville quad against Baldwin-Woodville, Clear Lake and Spooner on Sept. 10.

Cross Country

Prescott and Spring Valley competed in Somerset. Prescott took third in both races, and Spring Valley took fourth in both. Kyra Dix won the girls race for Prescott and Emma Schmitz took ninth. Dawson Langer took fourth in the boys race for Prescott. For Spring Valley, Dexter Arco finished ninth in the boys race. Elmwood/Plum City’s Tessa Asher and Kyra Duval finished 31st and 44th for the Wolves.

Ellsworth is slated for events Sept. 12 at St. Croix Central and Sept. 15 at Rice Lake. River Falls competes in Faribault on Sept. 11 next.

Girls Golf

River Falls took third of eight at the Chippewa Falls conference meet. The Wildcats were just three strokes off of second place Eau Claire Memorial. Senior Elsie Schmid led the charge, tying for second place with a 38. Senior Rory Opatz tied for sixth with a 42.

There was not a Middle Border Conference meet scheduled for Ellsworth and Prescott, but they have conference events scheduled Sept. 8, 10, 14 and 15.

Girls Tennis

Ellsworth had a calm week after things were both busy and exciting early in the season. The Panthers lost 6-1 against Amery on Sept. 1 but are off to a strong start to the year thus far. River Falls was no match for New Richmond and Eau Claire Memorial, losing 7-0 to both.

Boys Soccer

River Falls lost 2-0 to Menomonie and 2-0 to Superior, still searching for the team’s first win of the young season. The game against Menomonie was the first conference game of the year for the Wildcats, so there is plenty of time to find their form.

Girls Swimming and Diving

River Falls began its dual season at Hastings Sept. 3 and will continue its season by hosting Eau Claire Memorial on Thursday and taking the trip to North/Tartan on Sept. 15.