Wayzata Trojans Shut Out SLP Orioles in Season Opener

Saturday afternoon, the St. Louis Park Boys Soccer team opened their 2021 campaign against a familiar section rival, the Wayzata Trojans.  But it was the blue and yellow clad Trojans who spoiled the Orioles season opener with a 2-0 win.  

Wayzata scored the first half's only goal when Daniel Lyadov lined a shot on the far right side of St. Louis Park goalkeeper Luis Benitez Matias and it landed in the net to put the Trojans ahead 1-0 at the half.  

Benitez played pretty solid in the net for the Orioles, making a couple of key second half saves.  A theird save wouldn't be the charm for Benitez as Alex Alberti rebounded a blocked shot and it found an open path for the ball to enter the net.  Wayzata almost went up by three late in the second half.  Kat Williams made a left side pass to Mike Orlov but Orlov's shot would go wide to the right of Benitez.  

The Trojans improved their record to 2-0 and will host the St. Michael-Albertville Trojans on Tuesday, August 31 at 5 PM.  The Orioles fell to 0-1 and will also be in action on the 31st as they head down Highway 212 to face the Chanhassen Storm, also a 5 PM start.  

Beaton Era Begins for SLP Girls Soccer With Loss to White Bear Lake Bears

 A new era began Friday afternoon for the St. Louis Park girls soccer team when Anne Beaton took over the coaching reigns after long time head coach Benji Kent retired.  Unfortunately, her maiden voyage would capsize when Lauren Eckerle scored on a penalty kick with 16:32 left in regulation time to lead the White Bear Lake Bears to a 2-1 win over the host Orioles.  

There would be good news for the Orioles in the first half as they would take the early when Alma Beaton lined the ball toward the net and it landed past the right side of Bears goalkeeper Autumn Maki.  The lead didn't last as Cami Bachmeier picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and fired it to the goal to tie the game at one.  

White Bear Lake would vault ahead in the second half as a result of a St. Louis Park foul in the penalty area and Eckerle was awarded a penalty kick.  She didn't have any trouble sending the ball to the net, putting the Bears ahead and that would be the final result.  

The game was rescheduled from Thursday due to heavy rain in the St. Louis Park area and was delayed 52 minutes due to the absence of officials.  

White Bear Lake opened their season with a record of 1-0 and returns home on Saturday, August 28 to take on the Burnsville Blaze at 1 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 0-1 and will also be back in action on the 28th, traveling to Minneapolis Southwest for face the Lakers at 5 PM.  

Fall Sports Practice to Start on Time

 After last year's fall sports season was delayed by the pandemic,  Monday August 16 will be the opening date for practice in fall sports.  

Football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, girls tennis, girls swimming and boys and girls cross country will have their first practices.  

Here's the opening games for St. Louis Park's fall sports teams.  

The Oriole football team begins its second campaign under head coach Jason Foster when they travel to Inver Grove Heights to face the Simley Spartans on Friday, September 3 at 7 PM.  Their home opener will be the following Friday, September 10 as the Orioles host the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars, also a 7 PM start.  

The girls tennis team opens their season on Tuesday, August 24 as they head to Plymouth to take on the Providence Academy Lions at 4 PM.  Their home opener is two days later on the 26th againstt the Chanhassen Storm at 4:15 PM.  

A new era begins in girls soccer as new head coach Anne Beaton leads the Orioles in their season opener on Thursday, August 26 as they will host the White Bear Lake Bears at 5 PM.  The boys soccer team, under the veteran leadership of Chato, also opens their season at home on Saturday the 28th, hosting the Wayzata Trojans at 1 PM.  

Also in action on the 26th,  is the girls volleyball team as they open their season under new head coach Sam Hanlon by hosting the Park Center Pirates at 7 PM.  

The girls swimming and diving teams open their season on Tuesday, August 31 at 6 PM against the Chanhassen Storm at the Pioneer Ridge Middle School.  Their home opener is Thursday, September 9 against the the Waconia Wildcats, also a 6 PM start.  

Finally, the boys and girls cross country teams will run in the Rosemount Invitational on Friday September 3.  

This season will also mark the debut of three new Metro West Conference members.  They are the Orono Spartans, the Waconia Wildcats and the New Prague Trojans.  All three came from the Wright County Conference.  

Get outside while the weather's nice and support Oriole athletics as the roads return to the state tournament.  

A Tribute to Beetsch and Novak

 In July, the Minnesota high school basketball community lost two of its veteran coaches when long-time Red Wing boys basketball coach Dick Beetsch passed away July 17 at the age of 87 and Ken Novak Sr. died on July 28 at the age of 92.  

Beetsch, a three sport athlete who graduated from the University of Northern Iowa,  began his coaching career in Long Prairie before he moved on to Kasson and Windom.  In 1966, he led the Eagles to the state tournament but they didn't bring home the championship hardware as the start of the Edina Hornets dominance began with the first of three consecutive state titles.  

The following season, Beetsch took over the head coaching job at Red Wing, where he would be on the Winger sidelines for over 30 years.  Four years after heading down Highway 61, he led Red Wing to their first state tournament since 1957.  The first year of a two class tournament almost brought home gold medals for the Wingers, but they would lose in the Class A final to the Melrose Dutchmen.  

Beetsch would bring the purple and white clad Wingers back to Williams Arena in 1972.  They would advance to the semifinals with a win over the Proctor Rails and lost to the eventual Class A champion St. James Saints.  Red wing would lose to Howard Lake in the third place game.  

After he retired from coaching, Beetsch stayed active in athletics officiating football and umpiring baseball and softball.  

Novak's career took a different path.  He played at St. Cloud State from 1947-51 and became the first Husky to score 1000 career points.  After a stint in the US Army, Novak would return to his alma mater to become the head coach but in 1957, he would replace Butsie Maetzold as the head coach at Hopkins.  He would survive the district's split into two high schools in 1970 when he took the head coaching reigns at Lindbergh (now Hopkins High School). Novak would lead the Flyers to the 1974 Class AA state tournament, the first played at the St. Paul Civic Center.  But the Flyers didn't fly back to Hopkins with the state title trophy.  The Bemidji Lumberjacks, led by Jimmy Jenson would win the Class AA title.  

Novak's first stint in Hopkins would end in 1982 when Eisenhower shut down, reducing the district to one high school.  But he would still teach at Hopkins and assist his son Ken Novak Jr when he was coaching at Blaine.  The Bengals would advance to the 1987 Class AA final, losing to the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  

The Novaks would team up again at Hopkins, building a powerhouse that has produced eight state championships.  In addition, Novak Sr. was also the head girls tennis coach at Hopkins for 15 years, leading the Royals to the 1994 Class AA state title.  

Beetsch and Novak Sr.  Two members of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.  May they rest in peace.  

HSGN's Top 10 Game Shows That Deserve to be Revived in Prime Time

 This summer, there are a plethora of game shows airing in prime time.  Many are revivals of classics such as To Tell the Truth, Press Your Luck, Card Sharks and College Bowl.  But what should be the next game shows to return to prime time network TV?  Here's what HSGN picks for 10 shows to return.  

1.  Hollywood Squares.  It's been over 30 years since NBC canceled the long running comedy game that spawned two syndicated versions in the 1980s and 1990s.  There were also two versions on cable channels Hip Hop Squares and Country Squares that didn't get the square.  So the time is right for a new version of the famed tic-tac-toe game that could also be a big hit.  

2.  Truth or Consequences.  Last time Truth or Consequences was on TV was in a short-lived syndicated incarnation in 1987.  With the hour long time period that almost all the prime time games have, this show would be perfect since there would be time for several silly stunts and occasional reunions that made the original Ralph Edwards and network and syndicated shows with Bob Barker a long running success.  

3.  Concentration.  NBC should take notice.  They still own the rights to the network's longest running daytime game show that hasn't been on since Classic Concentration ended production in 1991.  Contestants could play for valuable prizes if they solve the puzzle.  This is a show that would work well in an hour time period with two separate games or a number of games that would continue for the hour.  

4.  High Rollers.   Why hasn't this show been back on the air since the recent syndicated version ended in 1987?  In the previous incarnation that was hosted by Alex Trebek, it was a very simple game that was canceled too soon all because NBC needed the time period for a new talk show starring a then unknown comedian named David Letterman.  Sticking to the format from that version would also work in an hour slot.

5.  Beat the Clock.  Last time this classic stunt show was on, it was buried on a network called Universal Kids.  It deserves better than that.  The original Bud Collyer version was a big prime time success as well as daytime.  The show's appeal came from the often messy and offbeat stunts.  The right host and the right execution to the show would make it a prime time success.  

6.  Tic Tac Dough.  When Tic Tac Dough last aired in 1990, it was a huge flop, marred by a terrible host in Patrick Wayne.  It was a simple game that home viewers could play along as they tried to answer the questions in the nine categories.  Just don't include any pot related questions like the Snoop Dogg revival of The Joker's Wild that aired on TNT.  

7.  You Don't Say.  The original version with Tom Kennedy was a huge hit, running from 1963 to 1969.  But in 1975, the show returned to ABC daytime with a four celebrity format that was axed 15 weeks later to make room for the move of the soap opera The Edge of Night from CBS.  A later syndicated version came and went due to low ratings and clearances.  Should You Don't Say be revived, whoever produces the show should go back to the original celebrity-civilian format.  A show that's long overdue for a return.  

8.  The Newlywed Game.  ABC has attempted to revive old Chuck Barris shows such as The Gong Show and now Celebrity Dating Game.  So how about The Newlywed Game?  The original Bob Eubanks version was a prime time success on Saturday nights when it was paired with The Dating Game.  The network should put the show between The Bachelor or Bachelorette and Celebrity Dating Game if it does return and there would be a whole night of love in prime time.  

9.  Child's Play.  Here's where CBS should get on the prime time game bandwagon.  It would make a perfect companion to Kids Say the Darndest Things though the original Bill Cullen version only latest one season.  It would make a good comedy game with the humor coming from the youngsters definitions of words.  

10.  Pantomime Quiz.  Since the original Mike Stokey version made the rounds of four networks (including the defunct Dumont network) in the 1940s and 1950s, the perennial summer replacement has aired sparingly under the titles Stump the Stars and Celebrity Charades.  The charades format was a staple of early TV but has been on the air with limited success in shows such as Showoffs and Body Language.  It would be a fun show to watch if they get the right celebrities and host.  

Those are HSGN's picks for future game show revivals.  Hopefully some of them will return in the next few years.  

BSM Red Knights Well Represented in Spring State Tournaments

 As the high school sports season draws to a close, there was plenty for Benilde-St. Margaret's fans to cheer for as three Red Knight athletic teams played in state tournaments the weeks of June 15.  

First up was girls softball.  Red Knight fans made the scenic drive down Highway 169 to Caswell Park in North Mankato to watch their team face the St. Anthony Village Huskies in Class AAAA quarterfinal play.  BSM was trailing 7-6 in the sixth inning but would clinch the win on pitcher Tibby Hessian's two RBI single to send the Red Knights into the semifinals.  Their state title hopes would be dashed by the Becker Bulldogs as they scored four of their five runs in the first inning to beat BSM 5-1.  Becker's trophy case would grow like the city's population from 365 in 1970 to 4,538 according to the 2010 census as they would shutout the Winona Winhawks 4-0 to take home the Class AAA title trophy.  Hessian drove in the Red Knights only run with an RBI single in the sixth inning.  BSM would fall in the third place game to a team familiar with Caswell Park since they played in the Section 2AAA tournament at the Howard Dr. fields.  The Red Knights were routed by the Mankato West Scarlets 9-2.  Mankato West took a 7-0 lead in the third inning and the Red Knights were unable to make a comeback, settling for the fourth place trophy.

For Red Knight fans who didn't make the trip to North Mankato, there was plenty of state lacrosse action in the St. Croix Valley as both the boys and girls lacrosse teams would play in the state tournament at Stillwater High School.  We'll start with the girls as they beat the perennial power Eden Prairie Eagles 13-10 in the quarterfinals.  But like their softball counterparts, the Red Knights went down in the semifinals, losing to the eventual state champion Prior Lake Lakers 16-10.  Mackenzie Salengre led the Lakers with five goals.  BSM would face the Rosemount Irish for the second time this season but Irish eyes would be smiling as Rosemount defeated BSM 10-7.  In their previous meeting, the Irish beat the Red Knights 7-6. 

There would be joy in Oak Park Heights for Red Knights fans as the boys lacrosse team would take home their fourth championship trophy.  They got off to a solid start with a 17-1 mashing of the Moorhead Spuds.  Their semifinal opponent would be the host Stillwater Ponies.  But there would be no home field advantage for the Ponies as Matthew Doerden got the hat trick to lead the Red Knights to a 9-3 win.  Next up, the Prior Lake Lakers for the state title.  Could the Lakers bring back two title trophies to the school's Savage campus?  The answer would be no as a balanced scoring attack with nine players tallying to lead BSM to a 16-1 rout of Prior Lake.  

An outstanding week for Benilde-St. Margaret's with the girls softball and lacrosse teams taking home the fourth place trophy and the boys lacrosse team winning back to back state titles.  Fall sports practice begins in mid August as the sports season for 2020-21 comes to an end.  

Record Setting Night for Mahtomedi Zephyrs

 For baseball fans who like plenty of offense, the Mahtomedi Zephyrs put on a display of hitting and taking advantage of 13 walks that included seven in a ten run sixth inning which would result in a 20-3 win over the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks in the Class AAA championship game Friday at Target Field in Minneapolis.  

It was the second state title for Mahtomedi in their sixth trip to state.  The last state title for the Zephyrs was 2018.  

Mahtomedi burst out of the starting gate with two first inning runs.  The first came when Tony Neubeck reached first base on an error by Grand Rapids second baseman Andrew Sundberg.  Their second run came on a bases loaded walk by Wyatt Miller.  

Neubeck would come through again in the top of the second with a two run single that scored Ethan Loss and Jordan Hull.  

Neither team would tally in the third inning.  But in the the top of the fourth, the Zephyrs would begin a streak of three innings where nine or more batters came to the plate.  They would bat around in the fourth and add three runs to their ledger, including a ground rule double over the left field wall by Luke Loughlin.  He would go on to have four hits and drive in four runs.  

Mahtomedi would also bat around in the top of the fifth as the first five batters would reach base and three would cross the plate.  They were Loss, Oswald and Neubeck.  Could the Zephyrs wrap up the state title due to the ten run rule in the fifth?  Grand Rapids would force them to wait another inning when they ended the shutout with three runs.  Kodi Miller's RBI double scored Ren Morque and RBI singles from Kyle Henke and Sundberg.  

Then the Zephyrs would double their run total in the top of the sixth with 10.  The Thunderhawks pitchers had trouble finding the plate as seven Mahtomedi players would reach base on a walk that helped them account for more runs.  Loughlin would pick up his fourth hit of the game with an RBI double and pinch hitter Sam Ruzynski would also drill a two bagger.  According to the blogger's scorebook, a total of 15 Zephyrs would step into the batters box in the sixth inning.  

There were no innings where a team retired the side in order.  

Mahtomedi concluded their season with a record of 20-5 and Grand Rapids ended the 2021 campaign at 19-8.  It was the 19th state tournament appearance for Grand Rapids.