Head Coach Tim Phillips and the Prescott cross country teams kick off their season at home this Thursday in the Cardinal Invitational. Boy and girl harriers from Ellsworth, Amery, Elk Mound, Mondovi, and Legacy Christian Academy (Andover, Minn.) will be competing. Prescottonians, if you have never been to a cross country meet now is your chance to come out and cheer on Cardinal runners. The starting and finish lines are on the east side of the high school. Start time is 6:15 p.m. 

In his debut as starting quarterback, senior Kobe Russell rushed for 107 yards on 21 carries, impressive numbers against one of the strongest teams in Division 5 in the state of Wisconsin. Defensively, senior linebacker Ryder Doyle led the Cardinals on defense with 16 tackles. 

The Durand Panthers, Prescott’s gridiron opponent this week, opened the 2025 season with a 34-8 victory over Spring Valley. Last season Teddy Bernick tossed three first quarter touchdowns as the Cardinals pummeled Durand by a score of 65-16. Incidentally, the Panthers play on a turf field. In the Middle Border Conference, St. Croix Central, Baldwin-Woodville, Osceola, Altoona, and Amery all play on artificial turf. Incidentally, lifespan of an artificial turf surface is from 8 to 12 years. 

The Prescott girls golf team was busy last week as the Cardinals participated in three invitational meets. On Monday, junior Macy Reiter shot a 42 as Prescott defeated Ellsworth by eight strokes in a Middle Border Conference Invitational at Amery. The Cardinals followed on Tuesday with an 11-stroke victory over Ellsworth in the Baldwin-Woodville Invitational. Junior Layla Salay finished with a score of 80 to lead the Cardinals. Juniors Macy Reiter, Lily Vesperman, and Ruby Johnson all finished in the top 10 as Prescott won comfortably. The Cardinals will travel to Osceola next Thursday to participate in an eight-team invitational. 

Prescott Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction tickets are now available on the Prescott School District Website. Go to https://gofan.co/app/school/WI19710?activity=Banquet to purchase tickets. 

Prescott grad Reese Ptacek had 15 kills as the 14th ranked Kansas Jayhawks opened the 2025 volleyball season with a victory over Vanderbilt. Trailing two games to one, the Jayhawks rallied to win the last two games, including the fifth and final game by a score of 15-4. Kansas travels to the University of Wisconsin on Friday to take on the #8 ranked Badgers. 

There has been a lot of activity at Firehall Field recently. Along with standard field care, members of the Prescott CAB Company are hoping to complete several projects before the snow flies. One planned refurbishment is installation of new turf in the batting cages along with changes to the concession stand/storage building nearest home plate. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Hunters are reminded to avoid placing deer stands in or near ash trees as they start scouting properties ahead of the coming deer hunting season. Most ash trees in the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin are dead or dying due to the emerald ash borer, and infestations in the northern part of the state are rapidly expanding. Emerald ash borer has been confirmed in all 72 Wisconsin counties, and unreported infestations are also likely to be present. Native to Asia, the invasive species is believed to have entered the United States approximately two decades ago. 

The 2025 Wisconsin Mourning Dove season opens this Monday, along with Snipe, Teal, and the popular Common Gallinule. Additionally, the dogs only Black Bear hunt runs from Sept. 3-9. 

Infielder Peter Brookshaw and his Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks teammates have qualified for the playoffs. The American Association Team West Division team enters the final week and a half of the regular season tied for third place with a record of 53-39. Playoff seedings will be determined at the end of the regular season on Sept. 1. 

Headshaker of the Week: While pursuing the aisles of an area big box department store, I overheard a conversation in the sporting goods department. A gentleman wearing a football shirt that was two sizes too small for him said to another guy clad in similar clothing, “I can’t believe they don’t start the NFL season during Labor Day Weekend.” The other fella said, “I know. There’s gonna be nothing on TV for the whole weekend.” What’s a holiday weekend without football? Apparently six months of NFL games is not enough for this dynamic duo. That’s a headshaker.