Congratulations to Kobe Russell on being named Middle Border Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Russell, who was also named All Conference on both offense and defense, finished with 1,139 yards rushing and averaged 7.7 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns. Russell also threw nine touchdown passes this season. Offensive linemen senior Toland Macejkovic and junior Charlie Rohl were also named All Conference. Defensively joining Russell on the All Conference team were senior Defensive End Wyatt Wrisky and senior Linebacker Ryder Doyle. Keaton Wollan was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Osceola Head Coach Scott Newton was named Coach of the Year. And congratulations to Prescott volleyball senior Amanda Miller for being named Honorable Mention All Conference. 

Owen Hamilton and the Prescott girls basketball team began practice this week. The Cardinals are coming off a fourth-place conference finish last year and hope to finish the 2025-26 season in the upper half of the always tough Middle Border. Conference Player of the Year and St. Cloud State recruit Violet Otto returns. A four-year starter, Otto averaged 19.5 points per game last season and enters her final year in a Prescott uniform with 1,126 career points. 

The defending WIAA Division 3 State Volleyball Champions Barron Bears lost to Manitowoc Lutheran in the state semifinals last Friday. Incidentally, five of the six schools in Divisions 3, 4, and 5 finals were private schools. 

From the WIAA: The Association has agreed to a contract extension with the Resch Center as the host of the high school state championships in girls volleyball, boys volleyball and girls basketball through March 2030. The Resch Center, opened in 2002, has been the host venue for the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament since 2002 and the State Girls Basketball Tournament since 2013. 

Northwestern and Baldwin-Woodville, two Prescott football opponents this fall, have advanced to their respective WIAA Division Semi-Final. Northwestern defeated Grantsburg by a score of 44-16 and Baldwin-Woodville squeaked by tiny La Crosse Aquinas 27-20. Baldwin will play Winneconne in Marshfield and Northwestern will play Stratford in Chippewa Falls. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. 

The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association continues to support the implementation of a 35-second shot clock. Currently there are 33 states with a 35-second clock including Minnesota and Iowa. First proposed in 2017, the 35-second shot clock continues to gain more and more support among the coaching fraternity. My guess is the AAU, whom I believe is a malignant force in high school athletics, will get their way and the shot clock will become reality.

Bravo to Prescott resident John McNamara and other volunteers for removing and replacing the Firehall Field batting cage turf this month, a much-needed facility facelift. This year the batting cage was used from the end of March to the end of October.

The No. 8-ranked UW-River Falls football team earned a commanding 41-7 win over No. 9-ranked UW-La Crosse on Saturday and clinched at least a share of the 2025 WIAC Championship, their first since 1998. Linebackers Jack Olson and Brady Block, both Prescott graduates, and the rest of their teammates will play in the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 1996. 

Lila Posthuma scored 11 points and was the team leader in assists as Bradley University opened the regular season with a 94–33 drubbing of Judson University. A 2024 Prescott alumnus, Posthuma appeared in 28 games last year and expects to receive significant playing time this season for Bradley. A member of the Missouri Valley Conference and located in Peoria, Ill., Bradley will play Indiana University of Indianapolis this Saturday. 

Prescott alumnus Reese Ptacek had nine kills as the No. 13 Kansas Jayhawks picked up their ninth win in the past 10 matches with a 3-0 victory over Cincinnati at home last Saturday. The Jayhawks improved to 10-3 in conference play and 19-8 overall. Kansas will host in-state rival Kansas State this Saturday. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR reminds hunters to know their target before they shoot and understand the difference between swans and other waterfowl this hunting season. All wild swans are protected in Wisconsin and it is illegal to hunt native trumpeter swans, tundra swans and non-native mute swans. Other large white birds, including American white pelicans and whooping cranes, are also illegal to hunt. Shooting a swan may result in a fine and a revocation of all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges. Waterfowl hunters may encounter various swan species while afield. Swans are more abundant and widespread in Wisconsin than they were a generation ago and will start migrating through the state over the next few weeks.

Headshaker of the Week. There has been some serious discussions among the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association about expanding the WIAA State Basketball Tournament. Coaches around the state are considering the current 20-team, 5 Division format be expanded to 40 teams, with eight schools in each division. Such a change would necessitate quarterfinal games beginning on Wednesday and involve multiple venues. The semifinals and title games in each division would continue to be played at the Kohl Center. Currently a sizable majority of high school coaches support the proposed expansion. With about 80 schools per division, that would mean 10% of all participating schools would advance to the state tournament. Yes, I understand. It’s 2025 and we want to provide kids (and their parents) more opportunities. But sorry folks, it’s overkill. Why stop there? Why not 12 or 16 teams? Today, we live in a sports world of 32nd place ribbons so it’s really no surprise. But, expanding the state basketball tournament from 20 to 40 teams? It’s a headshaker.