Armstrong Falcons End SLP Orioles Season

Armstrong quarterback James Malone overcame a slow start after four first half interceptions with five touchdown passes, including two to Eustace McGowan that led the Falcons to a 36-25 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles Saturday afternoon in the Section 5AAAAA football semifinals in Plymouth.  

The Oriole defense was strong in the early going, intercepting Malone four times but they could only cash in once on Nick Kent's 15 yard goal to put St. Louis Park ahead 3-0.  The Falcons would take the lead on Malone's 51 yard strike to Peyton Newburn with 1:11 left in the first quarter to give them a 7-3 lead.  

Armstrong would widen their lead in the second quarter as Malone would throw three touchdown passes.  The first was a 24 yard completion to Kayden College that followed a 47 yard run by Ernest Evans and he added another 10 prior to the touchdown.  Malone would find McGowan in the end zone twice.  The first came on a  40 yard pass and the second a six yard strike that came after the Falcons were moved back 10 yards due to a holding penalty.  Armstrong led 29-3 at the half.  

St. Louis Park would inch closer to Armstrong in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns, followed by two point conversions.  The first was a one yard run from Deontez Ross Jr.  The second featured the familiar combination of Will Dvorak and Stefano Giovannelli as Dvorak fired a 21 yard pass to Giovannelli to cut the Falcon lead to 29-16. 

The Dvorak-Giovannelli  duo would strike again inn the fourth quarter, this time on a 32 yard pass and the lead was cut to 29-26.  But the Orioles couldn't catch the Falcons as Malone threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game, a 30 yard completion to Marquan Tucker to wrap up the scoring.  

The Falcons improved their record to 6-3 and will face their district rival, the Cooper Hawks for the Section 5AAAAA title on Friday, November 5 at 7 PM in New Hope.  The Orioles concluded their season with a 5-4 record.  

2021 Section 5AAAAA Football Preview

 The road to the 2021 State Football Tournament will likely go through the Robbinsdale school district as the Cooper Hawks and the Armstrong Falcons are the top two seeds in Section 5AAAAA.  Here's a preview of the five team section.  

Two Minneapolis City Conference rivals will battle in the lone game on Tuesday, October 26 as the fifth seeded Minneapolis Washburn Millers travel to Southwest to take on the fourth seeded Lakers.  It will be a rematch of the September 23 game where the Lakers routed the Millers 41-7.  Preston Engen threw three touchdown passes, two to Cam Holter and Declan Maida declared victory with two rushing touchdowns.  Southwest overcame a three game losing streak in the season finale with a 19-2 win over the Minneapolis South Tigers.  As for Washburn, it has been a rough road for this long-time Minneapolis football power house that ended a five game run of giving up 40 points or more with a 28-14 win over the Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies.  Could there be an upset in the making?  

The winner will face the top seeded Cooper Hawks, entering section play with a 6-2 record.  They are on a four game winning streak since losing to the Holy Angels Stars 56-34 on September 24.  The Hawks have an experienced quarterback in Joe Russell, who has thrown 21 touchdown passes, 10 of them to David Connors.  In the backfield, Camden Royal has been the King of the Cooper End Zone, making 14 trips this season and rushing for 1255 yards.  The only game where he has been held under 100 yards was the September 10 game against the Waconia Wildcats, rushing for only 73 yards.  Could there be a celebration in New Hope November 5?  

Concluding the Section 5AAAAA bracket is the third seeded St. Louis Park Orioles and the second seeded Armstrong Falcons.  In the regular season finale against the unbeaten Chaska Hawks, the Orioles came close and fell to the Hawks 21-14.  The combination of quarterback Will Dvorak and wide receiver Stefano Giovannelli have helped St. Louis Park has a successful second season under head coach Jason Foster with a record of 5-3.  Ten of Dvorak's 13 touchdown passes have gone to Giovannelli, including the eventual game winner against the Waconia Wildcats October 14.  The second seeded Falcons enter section play with an identical 5-3 record.  After a three game winning streak where they put 40 points or more on their end of the scoreboard, Armstrong has lost two straight games.  They lost to Chaska and Spring Lake Park.  Jamen Malone has anchored the Falcon offense, passing for 17 touchdowns.  Seven of them were to Peyton Newbern, son of former Gopher men's basketball player Melvin Newburn.  Jordan McClorn has been a bright spot in the Falcon defense, recording four interceptions.  It should be an interesting matchup to find out who will play in the November 5 section final.  

There's plenty of outstanding section football coming up and it all begins this coming Tuesday.  

SLP Orioles to Wrap Up Regular Season in Chaska

 The final week of the Minnesota high school football regular season has the St. Louis Park Orioles heading down Highway 212 to Chaska to battle the Hawks.  

If you left last Friday's St. Louis Park-Waconia game early, you made a big mistake as the Orioles came back from a 21-0 deficit to score 29 fourth quarter points to beat the Wildcats 29-28.  Will Dvorak threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Stefano Giovannelli that led to the eventual game winner with :04.2 left in regulation time and Deontez Ross Jr. made the two point conversion to comp-lete the miraculous comeback. Defense also was a factor for the Orioles as Zach Helfmann recorded nine tackles and an interception.   Looking at St. Louis Park's section, 5AAAAA, it resembles a late season baseball pennant race with Armstrong, Cooper, Minneapolis Southwest and St. Louis Park battling for the top seed.  Minneapolis Washburn, the fifth team in the section is a lock as the fifth seed.  

As for the unbeaten Chaska Hawks, they beat the Armstrong Falcons last week 17-6.  The Hawks are led by running back Jack Boyle who is 39 yards short of 1000 yards.  His season high was 251 in the season opener against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  Chaska has a powerful ground game, piling up 256 yards last Friday against the Falcons.  Going into the season finals, they have average 246 rushing yards per game.  On defense, Myles Meiller had two interceptions last week, his first of the season.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is to build on the momentum of last week's win but not get overconfident because they are playing a very tough Chaska team.  The Dvorak-Giovannelli combination will need to beat The Brothers Dietel on defense, Jacob and Dominic.  

The key to the game for Chaska is for the running game to wear down the St. Louis Park defense.  They have to get to Boyle who has been their main offensive cog in 2021.  

It will likely be a wet weather picture for Wednesday with rain in the forecast.  So if you plan on making the trip to support the Orioles in their regular season finale, you might want to bring an umbrella.  Game time is 7 PM.  

Five Reasons Why the 1980 Version of To Tell the Truth Failed

In 1980, the classic panel game show To Tell the Truth returned to syndicated TV after the last incarnation ended production after a nine year run.  But its run was much shorter than the original version hosted by Bud Collyer and the five day a week syndicated version that was hosted by Garry Moore and later Joe Garagiola.  

So why did the 1980 To Tell the Truth revival fail?  Here are five reasons why. 

1.  It came back too soon.  When this version of To Tell the Truth came back, it was two years after Garagiola signed off for what would be the final time.  The show went into decline after Moore retired due to throat cancer in 1977 and ended the following season.  

2.  No regular panel.  The first two versions of To Tell the Truth were successful due to the chemistry between the regular panelists.  In the Collyer version's heyday, there was Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean and Kitty Carlisle.  Cass and Carlisle would be regulars on the syndicated version along with Bill Cullen, who also filled in for Moore as host occasionally.   The Three Cs of Cass, Cullen and Carlisle made numerous appearances on the 1980 incarnation but they weren't regulars.  Among the semiregulars were Soupy Sales, Nipsey Russell and Pat Collins.  But no regular panelists were signed on and there wasn't any chemistry.  

3.  An inexperienced host.  Who was Robin Ward?  He was an actor from Canada that Mark Goodson hired as the show's new host.  Prior to hosting To Tell the Truth, he was seen on American television in the Muppets special Hey Cinderella and a syndicated science fiction series The Starlost.  Going into To Tell the Truth, he didn't have any hosting experience and it showed early in the run.  In Adam Nedeff's biography of Bill Cullen Quizmaster, Allen Koss mentioned about replacing Jack Barry who died of a heart attack after production for The Joker's Wild ended for the 1983-84 season, "You can't replace an older host with a really, really young host because viewers won't accept him."  Goodson made that mistake. 

4.  This format was too rushed.  On the Moore version, there was time for contestant demonstrations just like the syndicated version of What's My Line. But on the Ward version, there were none, except leading into the closing credits and question rounds were sped up in order for a new feature One on One, which brought back the four imposters from the first two spots.  One of them had a concealed fact that the panel had to figure out.  It would have been better to abandon the One on One feature.  

5.  A saturated syndicated game show market.  When To Tell the Truth debuted in 1980, it joined a crowded syndicated game show lineup.  There were four shows from Jack Barry and Dan Enright, The Joker's Wild, Tic Tac Dough, Bullseye and Play the Percentages.  Two shows still aired once a week, Match Game PM and the $100,000 Name That Tune.  Speaking of Match Game, it was one of two daily syndicated games from Goodson-Todman.  The other was Family Feud, which just expanded from two nights a week to five and became the highest rated syndicated game show.  Also in syndication was The $50,000 Pyramid, which was launched after ABC canceled The $20,000 Pyramid in 1980.  

So that's why the 1980 version of To Tell the Truth failed.  In the Twin Cities, WTCN (now KARE) aired the show at 3 PM before moving the show to 11 AM.  The NBC affiliate aired To Tell the Truth instead of Card Sharks.  Both shows were gone in 1981.  

A Miracle on Lake St.

 If you left the Waconia-St. Louis Park football game early Friday night, you missed a miraculous comeback from the host Orioles who got a game winning touchdown from Stefano Giovannelli with:04.2 left in regulation time that led them to a 29-28 win over the Wildcats.  

The Orioles were hurt by turnovers in the early going, including the first offensive play of the game.  Their second turnover would be costly as Max McEnelly followed up a 35 yard run with a three yard run to put the Wildcats ahead 7-0.  

It looked like St. Louis Park would even the score in the second quarter on Will Dvorak's 75 yard touchdown pass to Giovannelli.  Unfortunately, a holding penalty nullified the score.  Instead, Alex Riley would run left for a 15 yard touchdown and Waconia led 14-0 at halftime.  

McEnelly, who would finish the game with 207 rushing yards, would score his second touchdown, this time from 15 yards and the lead ballooned to 21.  

Going into the fourth quarter, the Orioles had a mountain to climb in order to catch the Wildcats.  The key was Dvorak's four touchdown passes.  The first was a 15 yard strike to Giovannelli, followed by a 21 yard score to Stanley Regguinti.  However, the Wildcats were not done yet.  Riley scored his second touchdown of the game on a one yard run and it would be 28-13 in favor of Waconia.  St. Louis Park got the ball and once again the Dvorak-Giovannelli combination unlocked the Waconia defense for a 24 yard touchdown with :30.7 remaining.  Hold on there.  The game was not over yet.  And why?  Because the Orioles would recover an onside kick and it would pay dividends as Dvorak threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, the third to Giovannelli for 36 yards with :04.2 left.  Deontez Ross Jr. got the handoff from Dvorak to make the two point conversion and complete a 29 point fourth quarter miracle victory.  

Following the game, HSGN caught up with Dvorak who game his reaction to the game winning pass to Giovannelli.    

"You've got to give him a chance and I did."  

The Orioles improved their record to 5-2 and wrap up the regular season on Wednesday, October 20 at 7 PM as they head down Highway 212 to face the Chaska Hawks.  The Wildcats fell to 3-4 and will also  conclude their season on the 20th, hosting the Holy Angels Stars at 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles Soccer Teams Advance in Section 6AAA Tournament

 It was a chilly Thursday night in St. Louis Park but there was plenty of hot soccer action in the Section 6AAA Soccer Tournament with the Oriole soccer teams hosting quarterfinal action with the girls winning in overtime over the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers 1-0 and the boys flying past the Armstrong Falcons 4-2.  

First up was the girls quarterfinal game and just when you thought the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers and St. Louis Park Orioles were headed for a shootout after close to 100 minutes of game time, Hanna Wilsey scores the game winning goal with 1:43 left in overtime to lead the Orioles to a 1-0 win over the Lakers.  

The game was a defensive battle throughout regulation time and neither team would erase the zeros from the St. Louis Park stadium scoreboard.  So the game headed to the first of two 10:00 overtime periods.  The second one wouldn't be needed because Hanna Wilsey would score from the center slot with 1:43 left in the period to send St. Louis Park into the semifinals.  

The Orioles improved their record to 8-8 and will face the Hopkins Royals on Saturday, October 16 at 1 PM at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka.  The Lakers ended their season with a record of 6-7-3.  

What a night for Luca Guarin.  He would get the hat trick as the St. Louis Park Orioles bounced back from an early deficit to beat the Armstrong Falcons 4-2.  

The Falcons would break out of the starting gate early on William Saar's left side goal :28 into the game.  The Orioles would even the score at one on Bennett Kouame's goal.  

St. Louis Park would break the game open in the second half with a pure hat trick from Guarin.  His first two goals would come off passes from Bennett Kouame, the first 1:01 into the second half.  He would pick up his third goal after Kouame's goal was disallowed due to an offside call.  The goal would come on a penalty kick and the Orioles led 4-1.  But Armstrong would not go away.  The Falcons would cut the deficit to two as Nathan Hunt got a pass from Jonathan Castro and he would put it past St. Louis Park goalkeeper Luis Benitez Matias.  That would also be the final goal of the game.  

The Orioles improved their record to 11-4 and advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, October 16 at 3 PM in Minneapolis as they face the top seeded Southwest Lakers.  The Lakers punched their ticket to the semifinals with their fourth consecutive shutout, a 5-0 win over the Cooper Hawks.  The Falcons end their season with a record of 7-9.  

SLP Orioles-Waconia Wildcats Football Preview

 Week Seven of the high school football season brings the first of two straight battles with Carver County schools for the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

First up is the Orioles home season finale against the Waconia Wildcats.  Last Friday, the Orioles four game winning streak ended in a 49-25 defeat to the Holy Angels Stars.  The St. Louis Park defense was just too much for Holy Angels running back Emmett Johnson as he had 24 carries for 416 yards and scored five touchdowns.  There were some bright spots for the Orioles.  Quarterback Will Dvorak completed 17 of 31 passes for 301 yards and two touchdown passes to his top target Stefano Giovanneli.  Dvorak also rushed 40 yards and ran for a touchdown.  According to mnfootballhub.com, there was no mention of any defensive statistics.  

As for the Wildcats, they were shutout last week by the Chanhassen Storm 27-0.  The Storm defense held the Wildcats leading rusher Max McEnelly to 88 yards on the ground.  It's the second lowest rushing total for the junior running back this season.  On September 24 against the Chaska Hawks, he was held to only 61 rushing yards in a 7-0 loss to the Hawks.  On defense, Gage Mueller recorded 11 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is for the Dvorak-Giovannelli combination to wear down the Wildcat defense and for the St. Louis Park defense to slow down McEnelly, who is 206 yards short of 1000 yards for the season.  

The key to the game for the Wildcats is for McEnelly to get back on track and the offense line to create opportunities for him to rack up yardage.  

Friday's weather picture is going to be a bit cooler as the night progresses so you might need to bundle up if you plan to attend the game.  As usual, game time is 7 PM.  

2021 Section 6AAA Soccer Tournament Preview Part Two

 After examining the eight boys teams in Section 6AAA, here's a preview of the eight girls teams in the section.  

No fans, this is not a typo.  The Hopkins Royals are the top seed in Section 6AAA.  They are three wins away from their first state tournament trip since 2014.  Hopkins won six straight games, including a 1-0 win over one of the most dominant teams in the state the Wayzata Trojans (more on them later).  Their first round opposition is the eighth seeded Cooper Hawks who have recorded only one win this season.  Could the Royals and Trojans meet for a third time this season in the section final.  

Concluding the upper bracket is the fourth seeded St. Louis Park Orioles and the fifth seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers.  It's been a transitional season for the Orioles with Anne Beaton taking over the coaching reigns after the retirement of Benji Kent.  They lost their first six games before finishing the season 7-2, including a couple of game winners from senior Alma Beaton.  Looking at the Lakers, they came back from defeats against Lake Conference powers Wayzata to finish the season 3-3.  Can the Orioles maintain their late season momentum or will Southwest comeback after losing their regular season finale to Holy Angels.  

Over in the lower bracket, the third seeded Minneapolis Washburn Millers lost their first three games and won three straight by a combine total of 10-0.  They lost three of their last four games to Edina, Hopkins and St. Louis Park.  They beat their section opponent, the sixth seeded Minneapolis South Tigers 5-0 September 14.  In order to upset the Millers, they have to put the ball in the net. They have scored only three goals in their last six games.  

Concluding the preview will be the second seeded Wayzata Trojans and the seventh seeded Armstrong Falcons.  The Trojans, led by veteran head coach Tony Peznecker are in the hunt for their 28th trip to the state tournament.  But it won't be an easy one for the Plymouth Powerhouse because the Trojans will likely face their Lake Conference rival the top seeded Hopkins Royals for the third time this season.  They tied the Royals 1-1 September 9 and lost to Hopkins 1-0 September 30.  They open quarterfinal play against the seventh seeded Armstrong Falcons that has only one win this season.  Don't count out Wayzata from a possible state tournament berth but first they have to win their first two games.  

There's plenty of action coming up and it begins Thursday, October 14.  

2021 Section 6AAA Soccer Tournament Preview Part One

 This season is a historic one for Minnesota high school soccer as the state tournament expands from two classes to three.  Both St. Louis Park Orioles teams are in Section 6AAA and here's a look at how the sections shape up.  

First up is the boys bracket and the top seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers enter section play unbeaten and looking for their first state tournament trip since 2013.  The Lakers have been playing solid defense in their final three regular season games, outscoring their opponents 6-0.  A key nonconference win came on September 21 over the Minnetonka Skippers 3-1.  Their quarterfinal opponent is the eighth seeded Cooper Hawks who hope to end an eight game losing streak.  It won't be easy against a tough Southwest team.  

Should the Lakers prevail in the quarterfinals, they will play the winner of the fifth seeded Armstrong Falcons and the fourth seeded St. Louis Park Orioles.  The Falcons, the only Northwest Suburban Conference team in the section has had an up and down season.  They lost four straight games outscored 12-2 before finishing the regular season winning four of their last five games.  Looking at the Orioles under the veteran leadership of Chato, they lost their regular season opener to the perennial section power Wayzata Trojans before embarking on a nine game winning streak.  However, St. Louis Park hit a bump in the road to wrap up the regular season, losing three of their last four games, including a 3-1 defeat to section rival Minneapolis Washburn in the season finale.  Can the Orioles get back on track or will the Falcons pull a upset?  

And speaking of Washburn, the Millers com in as the third seed.  They have won four of their last five games by a margin of 10-2 and have not given up more than two goals in their four defeats.  They will face their conference rival, the sixth seeded Minneapolis South Tigers in the quarterfinals.  It will be a rematch of the September 14 game that was won by Washburn 5-1.  The Tigers got off to a hot start with four straight wins but have cooled off going 3-4-1 since then.  Could South pull an upset or will Washburn make it two straight against the Tigers?  

Wrapping up the quarterfinals is a Lake Conference battle between the second seeded Wayzata Trojans and the sixth seeded Hopkins Royals.  The two teams played each other twice in the regular season with the Trojans recording shutouts of 3-0 and 2-0.  Wayzata won their first seven games before they got blanked by the Edina Hornets 3-0 on September 20.  They face a Hopkins team that has won only two regular season games.  The Trojans have a great shot to earn their 16th trip to the state tournament but could they get past Southwest if they meet in the section finals?  

Next up will be the girls Section 6AAA preview.  

Hastings Raiders Hold Off Surging Two Rivers Warriors

 If you pardon the cliche, Axel Arnold was firing on all cylinders.  He passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one to lead the Hastings Raiders to a 42-31 win over the Two Rivers Warriors Saturday afternoon in Mendota Heights.  

The Raiders would tally twice in the first quarter.  Arnold would play a role in the first as he ran the ball to Warriors two yard line and reached the end zone on the next play.  Hastings got the ball back on an interception by Luke Chorlton.  It would pass off on Arnold's 11 yard touchdown pass to Stephen Reifelsberger to put the Raiders ahead 14-0.  

Two Rivers would get their only points of the first half on Eric Lail's blocked punt that landed in the end zone for a safety.  Hastings forged further ahead with three touchdowns, capitalizing on Two Rivers turnovers.  The first would come after Thomas Reifelsberger recovered a fumble and Rico Cooper caught a six yard touchdown pass from Arnold.  The second came on a seven yard score from Brenden Freiermuth.  Defense would help set up the final first half points thanks to Will Meyer's sack of Warrior quarterback Jonny Youness that forced a fumble and returned the ball to Hastings.  Once again, it was Arnold's arm that factored in the equation as he fired a 34 touchdown pass to Jonathan Bezdicek and the Raiders led 35-2 at halftime.  

Both teams reached the end zone in the third quarter.  First came the Raiders, as Bezdicek would score his second touchdown of the game, a 31 yard run around left end.  The Warriors would get a two yard touchdown run from Carl Strohofer and Hasting led 42-9 at the end of the third quarter.  

If you thought the game was over and considered heading to your car to beat the post game traffic, think again as Two Rivers would extend their scoring run to 29 with three more touchdowns.  Hastings turnovers would also be part of the Two Rivers run.  The first came following a fumbled Raider punt that awarded the ball to the Warriors and Mason Moynihan ran around right end for a 10 yard touchdown run.  Moynihan would strike again as Two Rivers got the ball back on a fumbled onside kick and the junior ran around left guard for a 34 yard touchdown run.  The Warriors regained possession on Arnold's fumbled kickoff return and Gabriel Golderman ran 35 yards down the left sideline and into the end zone.  Could there be a miracle on Delaware Ave.?  The answer would be no as Arnoild returned to quarterback and ran out the clock to preserve the win.  

The Raiders improved their record to 4-2 and will head to Bloomington Stadium on Thursday, October 14 for a 7 PM game against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  The Warriors fell to 0-6 and will also be in action on the 14th against the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders at Seafoam Stadium on the Concordia University campus in St. Paul.  Game time is also 7 PM.  

Maple Grove Crimson Celebrates Homecoming With Win over Wayzata Trojans

 Crimson clad fans packed the Maple Grove High School stadium Friday night for Homecoming football action and they got plenty of it from Derrick Jameson who scored two touchdowns to beat the Wayzata Trojans 21-3.

There wasn't a lot of scoring in the first half.  Both teams defense would shine bright as the Trojans line would put pressure of Crimson quarterback Jacob Kilzer and the Crimson defense partially blocked a Wayzata punt that gave them a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard since the ball was spotted at the Trojan 20 yard line.  Unfortunately, Maple Grove came up shot on fourth down and couldn't capitalize on great field position.  

The scoreless tie would eventually be broken on a 33 yard field goal from the Trojans kicker Andy Vrudny with :08 left in the first half and Wayzata led at halftime 3-0.  

The Trojans lead would be short lived in the third quarter.  Jameson would put the Crimson ahead as he ran down the sideline, cut to the center of the field and reach the end zone on an 84 yard touchdown run.  Maple Grove would get the ball back on a bad snap from a Wayzata punt that would begin the Maple Grove drive at the Trojan 16 yard line.  On the first play, Cole Newell, on the option play, fired a 16 yard strike to Kilzer and the Crimson took a 14-3 lead.  

Turnovers would plague the Trojans throughout the game, including a pass intercepted by Maple Grove's Jacob Anderson.  The Crimson would line up in the Wildcat formations and on a direct snap to Jameson, ran down the field like traffic heading down Highway 81 for a 50 yard touchdown to clinch the victory.  

Maple Grove improved their record to 5-1 and host the St. Michael-Albertville Knights on Friday, October 15 at 7 PM.  Wayzata fell to 4-2 and will also return to action on the 15th as they head to Blaine to take on the Bengals at 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles End Home Season With Sweep of Cooper Hawks

 Thursday night was the home season finale for the St. Louis Park soccer teams with the boys back on the winning track against the Cooper Hawks 4-1 and the girls shutting out the Hawks 3-0.  

First up was the boys game as they bounced back from consecutive losses to DeLaSalle and Orono with scoring balance to beat the Cooper Hawks 4-1.  

It didn't take long for the Orioles to reach the next thanks to Amauel Shetaye's right side pass to Bennett Kouame and he would tally :26 into the game.  Kouame would set up to second goal as he fed Sebastian Tangelson and he would put St. Louis Park ahead by two.  The lead would increase by three on Abdi Abdullahi's goal with five minutes left in the first half.  

Both teams would score in the second half.  There would be no shutout for the Orioles as Saymon Simons would line a shot to the net.  St. Louis Park would get a rare goal from Beau Finley, who serves as a backup goalkeeper. But tonight he received a pass from Mason Boesche and his shot would roll into the net with :40.8 seconds remaining.  

The Orioles improved their record to 10-3 and conclude the regular season Saturday, October 9 at 1 PM in Minneapolis.  The Hawks fell to 3-10-1 and also end their season on the ninth as they head to Golden Valley to face the Breck Mustangs at 3:30 PM.  

Now to the girls game.  It was Senior Night and it turned into the Alma Beaton Show as she got the hat trick to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 3-0 win over the Cooper Hawks.  

In the first half, she had a chance to give the Orioles the early lead but her shot bounced off the crossbar.  The second try would be the charm as the ball headed to the net.  Beaton would score her second goal with 1:59 left in the first half and St. Louis Park led 2-0 at halftime.  

Following the Senior Night ceremony that honored nine seniors and a student manager, it was Beaton, who will be playing next season for Minnesota that would wrap up the scoring as she did what she did best this season, scoring on a free kick.  She would face a Cooper wall and lined the ball into the net.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 6-8-1 and ends their regular season in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 9 against the Washburn Millers at 11 AM.  The Hawks conclude their season with a record of 1-12-1.  

SLP Orioles-Holy Angels Stars Football Preview

 Welcome to Week Six of the high school football season and it's time for another episode of Two Hot Teams.  In this week's episode, a pair of 4-1 teams will battle in Richfield this Friday night as the St. Louis Park Orioles take on the Holy Angels Stars.  

Last Friday, the Orioles, thanks to a missed game winning field goal by Jack Kalman, won their fourth straight game 22-21 over the Orono Spartans.  Quarterback Will Dvorak completed 10 of 13 passes for 154 yards and added 47 on six runs.  He threw a 33 yard touchdown pass to Stefano Giovannelli and a 50 yard strike to Stanley Regguinti that he took to the end zone.  Deontez Ross Jr rushed 18 times for 75 yards and accounted for a touchdown.  On the defensive side, Zach Helfmann matched his uniform number with 15 tackles.  

Looking at Holy Angels.  You'll need only two words to describe the Stars offense.  Emmett Johnson.  Last Friday, in a 35-3 rout against the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights, he rushed for 222 yards and four touchdowns.  In five games this season, the senior has rushed for 1,037 yards and made 19 trips to the end zone.  Johnson's season high was 360 yards and five touchdowns on September 17 against the South St. Paul Packers.  PJ Fleck, are you taking notice?  Your Gophers could use him in the backfield next season.  But the Holy Angels offense is more than Johnson.  Quarterback Aaron Boarman has also added to the Stars rushing attack with a season high of 82 yards against Cooper.  Ryan Bercich was the key to the Stars defense last week with 11 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is for the defense to slow down Johnson and for Dvorak to continue to find Giovannelli downfield. 

The key to the game for the Stars is for Johnson to continue his offensive momentum and beat the St. Louis Park defense and for Boarman to utilize the passing game to test the Oriole defense.  

Friday's weather picture looks promising with the high temperature in the upper 70s.  If you plan to make the trip to Richfield, you might want to bring a jacket in case the weather cools down.  as usual, game time is 7 PM.  

The Passing of Alan Kalter

 Another veteran game show announcer has been silenced.  

Alan Kalter, best known as the announcer on the Late Show With David Letterman as well the voice for several New York based game shows passed away October 4 at the age of 78.  The cause of death was not known.  

Kalter, a former Long Island English teacher, made his game show debut as the announcer on the short-lived ABC daytime game show The Money Maze from December 1974, to June 1975 that was hosted by the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney, Nick Clooney.  

He would move on to announcing the first season of the $64,000 Question revival The $128,000 Question.  The second season was produced in Toronto with Alex Trebek hosting and Sandy Hoyt replacing Kalter.  

Kalter was also one of several fill in announcers for the $10,000 and $25,000 Pyramid when Bob Clayton stepped down due to illness and his death in November 1978.  He didn't get the permanent job which eventually went to New York disc jockey Steve O'Brien.  

Kalter would also have the distinction of being the first announcer since Johnny Olson to work two versions of To Tell the Truth.  In 1977, he announced the final syndicated season of the show, replacing the man who would replace on The Late Show, Bill Wendell.  He would also announce the 1980 incarnation that was hosted by Canadian actor Robin Ward but unfortunately it would last only one syndicated season.  

After his game show announcing career ended, Kalter would do many commercial voiceovers and become the voice of the USA Network.  

His big break came in 1995 when he was hired to replace the retiring Wendell on CBS' Late Show With David Letterman.  In addition to the witty introductions of the title host, he was sometimes seen on camera in sketches.  

Though he was best known for exclaiming "Daaaaaaavid Letterman!" on late night TV, he will also remembered as a New York based game show announcer.  May he rest in peace.  

Another Beaton Game Winner for SLP Orioles

 For the second straight game it was Alma Beaton who would score the game winning goal for the host St. Louis Park Orioles and she did it 4:55 into the second half to lead them to a 2-1 win over the Armstrong Falcons Saturday afternoon.  

The Falcons, who have score only three goals this season would add a fourth on Ella Picka's center slot goal.  The lead would be short lived as Beaton's free kick went en route to the goal area where Vesna Dennison's header tied the game at one.  

In the second half, it would be Beaton who would once again deliver the game winner for St. Louis Park.  Facing a free kick on the left side of Armstrong goalkeeper Sydney Smith and a two player wall, she lined the ball to the right side of Smith and it would land in the net.  It would hold up for the victory.  

The Orioles improved their record to 5-7.  Since they started the season 0-6 under first year head coach Anne Beaton, who teaches English at Armstrong, they have won five of their last six games.  They will head to Long Lake on Tuesday, October 5 to face the Orono Spartans at Pesonen Stadium at 5 PM.  

The Falcons fell to 1-11-1.  They will head up Highway 169 to Anoka to take on the Tornadoes on Monday, October 4 at 7 PM at Goodrich Field.  

Four Wins in a Row for SLP Orioles

 It was no rhapsody in the rain for Orono kicker Jack Kalman as he missed a game winning field goal Friday night that resulted in the host St. Louis Park Orioles beating the Spartans 22-21.  

Neither team would reach the end zone in the first quarter.  The Orioles would strike first in the second quarter when Will Dvorak's 42 yard keeper run set up Deontez Ross Jr.'s eight yard touchdown run to give them a 6-0 lead.  The Spartans would vault ahead on Aidan Mueller's six yard run and a converted extra point to put them ahead 7-6.  But St. Louis Park would regain the lead as Dvorak fired a 33 yard touchdown pass to Stefano Giovannelli and the Orioles led at halftime 12-7.  

St. Louis Park would add a Nick Knt field goal in the third quarter to take a 15-7 lead that was proceeded by Ross' 36 yard run.  

On to the fourth quarter as a downpour engulfed the St. Louis Park stadium.  The game would go on and Orono would tally twice.  The first would come on a 12 yard touchdown pass from Charlie Kraus to Connor Mahoney.  The two point conversion was successful and the game was even at 15.  The Spartans would forge ahead as Kraus faced a fourth down and two situation.  He converted on a 20 yard strike to Bradley Walker but the extra point attempt was blocked and Orono led 21-15.  The Orioles would get the ball back following a Spartan fumble and they paid dividends off the Orono turnover when Dvorak sent a 50 yard right side pass to Stanley Regguinti and he went to the end zone to put St. Louis Park ahead.  Orono had a chance to send their fans down I-394 home happy.  It would be first and goal at the Oriole nine yard line following a pass interference penalty.  Kalman would attempt the game winning field goal.  He got the snap on the wet turf, aimed the ball toward the goal posts and it would go wide to the right, securing the win for the Orioles.  

St. Louis Park won their fourth straight game and improved their record to 4-1.  They will travel to Richfield to face the Holy Angels Stars on Fridau, October 8 at 7 PM.  Orono fell to 1-4 and will also be in action on the 8th, hosting the Chaska Hawks at Pesonen Stadium at 7 PM.