SHOTS from the Hip

Hats off to the Prescott girls’ golf team on successfully defending its Middle Border Conference title last week. Brava to 1st Team All Conference Ava Salay on being named Middle Border Conference Player of the Year._ A hearty congratulations to Liz Rohl for earning 1st Team All Conference honors, along with senior Jessica Heinsch who was also named 1st Team All Conference. A big round of applause also goes to Maddie Reiter and Rhianna Stutz earning 2nd Team honors._And a salute to Finley Magee and Lindsay Olson for being named Honorable Mention All Conference. Head Coach Chad Salay and his charges begin their quest for another state title as the Cardinals begin WIAA regional play this week.__ The Prescott Hall of Fame Banquet is fast approaching._Tickets are still available for Oct 9 in the Prescott High School Commons and can be purchased at Croix Insurance, Ptacek’s IGA, City Hall, and Prescott High School for $25._ Hopefully there will be a strong turnout for a local event that recognizes the accomplishments of 2021 inductees Char Magee, Nick Schommer and Roy Finley. __ Congratulations to Prescott Head Football Coach Jordan Hansen, assistant coaches and the players for qualifying for next month’s WIAA playoffs. The playoff-bound Cardinals have little time to celebrate as they prepare for a showdown with the #2 ranked Ellsworth Panthers._ Head Coach Rob Heller’s undefeated club is coming off a hard fought 36-26 road victory over 10th ranked Osceola on Friday.__ When it comes to the WIAA playoffs, chances are the Cardinals will play in the Division IV bracket._However, there is the possibility Prescott could slip to Division V.

The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 1458 in the first half this season and hold a 210-71 scoring edge against their opponents._ The only team to score against Prescott before halftime this season is Durand. The Panthers incidentally are also 5-1 and are coming off a 36-14 victory over Elk Mound where Panther running back Simon Bauer ran for 333 yards. The Durand senior also ran for 333 yards in a win over Stanley-Boyd and has run for almost 1,400 yards this year._ Two talented running backs will take the field this Friday night in Ellsworth. Cardinal running back Aiden Russell has rushed for over 700 yards this season and has 15 touchdowns. The senior has run for over 100 yards in six of the seven games this fall. Ellsworth halfback Max Grand has run for over 600 and has run for eight touchdowns. The senior has rushed for over 100 yards in all five games for the Panthers, who have played one fewer game than the Cardinals. Both teams have explosive quarterbacks. For the Cardinals, senior Grant Stanton has been both lethal on the ground and in the air for Prescott. For the Panthers, talented senior Jack Janke also poses a dual threat for the Highway 10 rivals. __ The Prescott volleyball team behind the strong serving of Prescott senior Madison Matzek and the lethal sister combination of sophomore Reese Ptacek and freshman Natalie Ptacek was too much for the Panthers as the Cardinals swept all three games last Thursday in Prescott._The next home match for Head Coach Geoff Snyder’s club will be on Oct. 7 when the Cardinals host Osceola._ Prescott boys’ cross country runner Tyler Loucks continues to have a strong season, finishing fourth in the Durand Invitational last week._Sophomore Breckin Schommer finished 12th and the Cardinals finished the meet in fourth place. Altoona took home top honors for the boys._For the girls, senior Amanda Auleciems was the top finisher for the Cardinals and sophomore Alee Warp was the next harrier to cross the finish line as the girls also finished in fourth place._Kickapoo/LaFarge finished in first place._ Peter Brookshaw is off to a strong start during the fall season for the North Dakota State Bison._The 2018 alumnus has homered twice this fall and says “I am feeling really good physically and swinging the bat really well.” Another Prescott alumnus, Isabella Lenz, officially begins her first season of college basketball at Michigan Tech on Oct. 15. Prescott basketball’s all-time leading scorer says, “College is definitely different from high school, but I really enjoy it and am looking forward to getting started next month.”__ Bravo to the handful of volunteers who spent the better part of Saturday working on repairing the pitcher’s mound and rebuilding home plate at Firehall Field. Hats off to the work of Matt Monteith, Greg Harris, “Juice” Johnson, and Paul Most for spending the entire day volunteering for the baseball program. As expected, volunteer stalwarts Dallas Eggers and Dennis Gagnier were the first on the job and the last to leave. Also donating a substantial amount of time were Brady Randolph, Bill Brookshaw, Mike Matzek, Bryan Early, Charlie Block, and high school sophomore Bennett Matzek. Work is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.__ A thank you to Carbone's Pizza of Prescott for providing lunch and soda for the Firehall Field volunteers on Saturday._ There are preliminary discussions about the possibility of the Prescott boys’ basketball team playing in the Fiserv Forum – the home of the Milwaukee Bucks – within the next two years._ Headshaker of the week: Humility, like some coastlines around the world and some species of animals, appears to be disappearing in sports._Sure there are handful of professional and high profile athletes who behave in ways worth imitating, but today for the most part, athletes who parents would want their 10-year-old child to emulate are long gone. Those who behave like Detroit hockey player Steve Yzerman, NBA great Isaiah Thomas, NFL star Barry Sanders (who never spiked a ball after a touchdown in his Hall of Fame career), or Detroit Tiger legend Al Kaline are largely absent. Today, such athletes are viewed as boring with no personality. That doesn’t play well on a video game. I guess it’s a sign of the times. Perhaps I and others need to recognize that many fans and athletes today do not know the names of Tom Osborne or Bud Grant. John Wooden or Dean Smith. Humility in athletes and coaches at all levels?_It is disappearing. _And it’s a headshaker._