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.