The Prescott volleyball team is listed as Honorable Mention in Division II in the most recent Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association rankings. The #5 ranked Bloomer Blackhawks are the only other area team in Division II listed in the rankings. Head Coach Tracey Budworth and her charges will open the Middle Border Conference season this Thursday at Baldwin-Woodville. 

The Prescott Cardinals continue to be the No. 1 ranked team in Division II in the most recent Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll. Last week the three-time defending state champions competed against Division 1 schools at the University Ridge Invitational at the WIAA state tournament venue in Madison. Prescott shot 337 and finished sixth in the 11-team field, just 11 strokes behind two-time defending Division 1 state champion Westosha Central.

Freshman Macy Reiter shot 79, junior Gabbi Matzek shot 81 and freshman Layla Salay shot 86 to lead Prescott, which was one more sub-90 score away from a top-five finish. Tuesday's tournament marked the last time Prescott will face Division 1 competition this year. 

Speaking of girls golf, congratulations to Head Coach Chad Salay. The Cardinal skipper has been selected by the Wisconsin Golf Coaches Association as the recipient of the 2022-23 NFHS Coaches Association Girls Golf Coach of the Year Award for Wisconsin. Each year the National Federation of High Schools identifies and recognizes a coach from each state for significant achievement in their sport. State level recipients are considered for NFHS Sectional recognition. National Coaches of the Year are then chosen from the sectional winners. Bravo to Coach Salay on this well-deserved award. 

Hmmm…There must be something about 70%. A recent national poll showed 70% of officials quit officiating because of berating commentary from both fans and coaches. We have all seen the countless videos on social media and the news of embarrassing, infantile behavior. The shortage of officials around the country in all sports is becoming an enormous problem. Ask any high school athletic director how difficult it is to find officials. And 70% of youngsters stop playing competitive sports at the age of 13. The primary reason is “it’s just not fun anymore.” Are they connected? Hmmm…

The Prescott and Somerset football teams combined for over 800 yards on offense Friday as the Spartans outlasted the Cardinals in an offensive shootout by a score of 44-36. The game had everything. Long touchdown passes, fourth down conversions, and gadget plays that made for an extremely entertaining, albeit nail biter contest in Somerset. Another crucial Middle Border Conference game looms on Friday as Prescott hosts St. Croix Central at Laney Field with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Panthers are coming off a 49-6 drubbing of Osceola and are led by junior Sam Fisher who has rushed for 574 in five games. St. Croix Central and Prescott are both 3-1 on the season. 

University of Wisconsin-River Falls Linebacker Jack Olson collected a team high eight tackles as the No. 9-ranked Falcons defeated Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday by a convincing score of 37-10. Olson, a sophomore, is a 2022 graduate of Prescott High School.  

Did you know…The first-ever baseball cap, worn by the New York Knickerbockers in April 1849, was made of straw? This design would go on to be made of Merino wool and later cotton, as seen in today’s baseball caps. The youngest player to ever play in a Major League game was Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds. He was 15 years and 316 days old when he debuted on June 10, 1944. The league banned the use of spitballs in 1920. However, the league identified 17 pitchers who could throw a spitball until they retired. The last legal spitball pitcher to win a Major League game was Pittsburgh Pirates hurler Burleigh Grimes. The Hall of Fame righthander is a native of Clear Lake, Wis., the same hometown as local high school sports information aficionado Fred Booth. 

Baldwin-Woodville Quarterback Cal Smith has thrown for 932 yards and 14 touchdowns. The junior signal caller has yet to throw an interception and tossed five touchdown passes in his team’s convincing win over Ellsworth Friday, 49-0. Smith’s 14 touchdowns rank second in Wisconsin, trailing Westosha Central Quarterback Brock Koeppel who has thrown 19.  

Prescott defensive back Barrett Temmers leads the state of Wisconsin with five interceptions.

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Bear hunting with dogs only opened this past weekend. However, bear hunting with the aid of dogs, bait, and all other legal methods opens this Thursday and continues until Oct. 3. Hunters should know the management zone (A-F) in which they are licensed to hunt and review the specific bear hunting regulations within that zone. Also bow and cross bow deer hunters head to the woods this weekend for the first of eight Wisconsin deer seasons. Good luck hunters and be safe. 

Headshaker of the week. As professional football fans invaded the Ptacek’s parking lot on Sunday to pick up their Packer meat stick trays, a lone Minnesota vehicle was parked diagonally across four spots. Disgruntled Packer rooters became angrier when they spotted a Minnesota license plate and the phrase “Skol Vikings” emblazoned across the back window of the four-wheel drive pickup truck. Taking up four parking spots while Green and Gold rooters are trying to pick up the halftime culinary delights? It was a headshaker.