The Prescott girls basketball team will host the winner of the game between St. Croix Falls and Ellsworth this Friday. A regional final showdown with conference champion Baldwin-Woodville is a distinct possibility. The two teams split their regular season games this season. The Cardinals won on the road 46-33 and dropped the season finale by a score of 44-40.  

Congratulations to Head Coach Nick Johnson on winning his 300th game last Friday as the Cardinals defeated Osceola by a score of 61-47. Since Johnson’s inaugural 2011-12 season, the Cardinals have averaged over 18 wins per season and won multiple conference titles. A Prescott and Ripon College Hall of Famer, Johnson was a three-sport high school athlete and earned All Conference recognition multiple times. 

As predicted in the pre-season, the Middle Border Conference Boys Basketball Conference title will be decided this week. Entering the final week of the regular season it is incredible that four teams could share the conference championship. 

To the surprise of some prognosticators, St. Croix Central received the #1 seed in the top half of the Division 3 Section 1 Bracket. Head Coach Nick Johnson’s charges received the #1 seed and will host the winner of the game between #7 seed Amery and #10 seed Somerset. Every team in Prescott’s regional bracket is a member of the Middle Border Conference. St. Croix Central is the only Middle Border Conference team in its regional.  The Altoona Railroaders also received a #1 seed in the lower half of the sectional bracket. 

I have mentioned the following in this column around this time of year many times. I know I echo the thoughts of many Western Wisconsin Tournament basketball fans when we reminisce about the bygone days of the Spooner Sectional. I am also quite confident local cager legends like Mike Bjurquist, Randy Hansen, and Dave Swanson would agree. There was nothing like the Spooner Sectional. 

Congratulations to Violet Otto on winning the Middle Border Conference scoring crown. The St. Cloud State bound recruit finished the regular season averaging 24.1 a game and enters the tournament series this week with 566 points on the year. 

Good luck to freshman Bryce Feran as he travels to the Kohl Center to compete in the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament. As the lone Cardinal boy heading to Madison, last week Feran practiced with members of the Hastings Raiders Wrestling team.  

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR is seeking public input on migratory bird hunting season frameworks for the years 2026-2030. Comments can be submitted through various formats through March 6, 2026. Historically, waterfowl and migratory bird season frameworks were developed on an annual basis. However, with near-unanimous support from conservation organizations and the public, a new process was developed to set season structures for multiple years at a time. This year is the first time the DNR is doing so. An online public input form and supporting information are available on the DNR's Waterfowl Hunting webpage for those interested in submitting comments electronically. 

Speaking of the outdoors, there is a movement afoot by an organization called Upstream Policies seeking to prevent fisherman from using live minnows or any other fish for bait. The group has been active in Delaware, Colorado, New Hampshire, and New York. A recent story in the Wisconsin publication Outdoor News described the group’s motives for banning live bait. Stay tuned. 

Amery All Conference football and basketball player Keaton Wollan has been offered a football scholarship by Big 12 Conference football power Texas Tech. A junior, Wollan was All Conference running back and linebacker, and is currently the second leading scorer in the Middle Border Conference this season averaging 26 points a game, second only to Altoona’s Grayson Becker. 

Headshaker of the Week: As Ronald Reagan famously said in the 1984 Presidential Debate with Walter Mondale, “There you go again.” This season the National High School Federation along with the WIAA is reminding coaches and teams that “bench jockeying has no place in the high school game.” Bench jockeying, defined as negative verbal comments, taunting, or attempts to distract, intimidate, or embarrass opponents or officials from the dugout, violates the standards of conduct expected in interscholastic competition. It escalates tensions, provokes retaliation, and leads to unsportsmanlike behavior that can tarnish the game and damage the experience for players, coaches, umpires, and spectators alike. The Federation goes on to say “Allowing or ignoring bench jockeying sends the wrong message. By rule, sportsmanship (bench jockeying) is prohibited and will result in warnings, restrictions, or ejections as deemed appropriate by the umpire. Enforcement of this rule is not about silencing enthusiasm—it is about upholding the spirit of fair play and modeling appropriate conduct for students, schools, and communities.” Yet such behavior can be seen in baseball dugouts throughout the state of Wisconsin with little or no enforcement from game umpires. Why is this a point of emphasis every single year? Because it is allowed by umpires, embraced by coaches and players, and cheered on by the fans. I wish I was wrong, but this point of emphasis or “warning” will be just another paper tiger. And it’s a headshaker.