BY CRIPE OLSON

There are more eye-popping offensive numbers from Prescott’s 43-23 victory over Osceola in the Middle Border Conference opener for both teams. The Cardinals racked up 560 yards of total offense as they ended an eight-game losing streak to Osceola. Sophomore quarterback Teddy Bernick threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns. The 357yard performance is most likely a Cardinals record. Once again Bernick’s favorite target was fellow 10th grader Will Packard who caught seven passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wideout Nolan Thomley also eclipsed the century mark catching four passes for 109 yards. And finally, Barrett Temmers ran for 169 yards on 26 carries. After three games Temmers has rushed for 362 yards and scored seven touchdowns, Bernick has thrown for 718 yards and four touch – downs, and Will Packard has 22 catches for 324 yards. Last week the offensive line of Will Rohl, Brady Block, Dryden Seeley, David Regnier, and Tobias Ripley were awarded game balls. Bravo and certainly well deserved. The success of the high-powered offense of the last two games would not be possible with – out the work of the men up front. You will be hard pressed to find better linemen than the senior tandem of Dryden Seeley and Brady Block.

According to the most recent state rankings, the Prescott girls golf team remains the #1 team in Division 2. The Cardinals defeat – ed Altoona/Regis by 18 strokes at a six-team Middle Border Conference match at Pheasant Hills in Baldwin. Sophomore Jeanna Rohl finished first with Ava Salay finishing second. Prescott’s Rhi Stutz, Maddie Rundquist, and Madison Reiter all finished in the top 10. Starting sophomore guard Austin Fox and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls foot – ball team opened their season with a 63-0 trouncing of Elmhurst College (Illinois) on Saturday. A 2020 Prescott alumnus, Fox and his teammates will take on #5 ranked St. Johns at home the conference opener for both teams this Saturday. The Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association has released its first set of rankings for the 2022 season. The top-ranked Division 2 in the Osceola Regional are the Bloomer Blackhawks at #10. In Division 3 there are several teams in the west mentioned in the rankings. Unity is ranked #4, St. Croix Falls #5, Fall Creek #7, Stanley-Boyd #9, and Grantsburg is listed as Honorable Mention.

The Minnesota Vikings have added former North Dakota University wide receiver Travis Toivonen to their practice squad. My guess is some of the Green Bay Packer faithful who are reading this are having a conniption as to why such information is being included in this column. Here’s why. In the early 1990’s, Lisa Toivonen taught German at Prescott High School and was also an assistant girls basketball coach. Toivonen left Prescott after three years and moved to Red Wing, Minn. It was at Red Wing where her son Travis be – came an All State football player and a star receiver at the University of North Dakota. Tyler Loucks finished third and Breckin Schommer fifth as the Prescott Cardinal boys cross country team finished fifth in the St. Croix Central Invitational last week. The Prescott girls cross country team finished third in the same invitational with senior Ella Johnson leading the Cardinals with a seventh place finish. Both teams will be running this Thursday in the Somerset Invitational. From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Recently the DNR announced the fall 2022 sharp-tailed grouse hunting sea – son will remain closed due to spring survey results and concerns over the long-term vi – ability of the sharp-tailed grouse population. Each year, the sharp-tailed grouse advisory committee, which consists of interested conservation groups and DNR wildlife biologists, uses spring dancing ground surveys to evaluate the size of the population. The recommendation to keep the sharp-tailed grouse hunting season closed follows the review of spring 2022 survey data, historical data trends and scientific models that indicate a potential marked decrease in population vi – ability if hunting were to take place this fall. This is the fourth year the season has been closed.

The Prescott CAB Company will be host – ing the annual helicopter ball drop at Firehall Field this Saturday at 4 p.m. One hundred numbered baseballs will be dropped from a hovering helicopter onto a target in the out – field. The ball closest to the “bullseye” will win a prize of $2,000. Six other winners will take home $500 apiece. Headshaker of the week. For many it will be the only thing on their minds this week. It will dominate conversations at the coffee shop, the grocery store, and of course social media. It will be the subject of countless jokes and good-natured banter throughout the next several days. However, at the conclusion of Sunday’s NFL opener between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers, the mood of locals fans who watch this six decades plus rivalry undergoes a concerning metamorphosis. For the winners, it’s a weeklong state of euphoria filled with face splitting smiles and a productive week at work. For the other side, the results lead to a week of the doldrums and seven days of behavior similar to those of a 6-year-old who lost a playground game at re – cess. It’s always fun to watch the Vikings and the Packers tangle. But it’s funnier to watch the childlike behavior of the crazed, zealous fan bases. It’s a headshaker.