Driving home from Friday’s Section 3AA volleyball match between Luverne and Jackson County Central in Windom, I had some time to reflect on what has been a pretty good fall sports season in our neck of the woods.I’ve witnessed a lot of entertaining sporting events over the last two months, and some of them will be tough to forget about years down the road.With the Adrian football team and the Luverne and Adrian cross country programs still competing in early November, I might be jumping the gun a little bit.Still, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about the teams and people that have made the 2005 fall campaign a special one.True characterThe Luverne-Fairmont football game played Sept. 16 stands out as one of the most memorable team performances of the year.After beating Fairmont in the section semifinals in 2004, the Cardinals returned to the scene for a Week 3 game with a huge target on their backs.Fairmont, ranked fifth in the state at the time, ambushed LHS by scoring two quick touchdowns and led 21-0 at halftime.It would have been easy for the Luverne kids to quit at that point, but they did not. The Cards dominated the second half of the game and trailed 21-13 when they went on a long drive that ended short of the end zone in the final minutes.Luverne may have lost that game, but the character the Cards displayed in the second half is something I’ll never forget.Take-charge playerThe most dominating individual performance I witnessed came during a volleyball match between Edgerton and Ellsworth Sept. 19.Visiting Edgerton was in a position to sweep the Panthers after winning the first two games of the match, but Ellsworth senior Amy Tiesler didn’t let it happen.With Tiesler’s 27 kills, 12 ace serves and six blocks, she helped the Panthers rally to win Games 3 and 4.The fifth game was tied at 10 when Tiesler took matters into her own hands, delivering four kills and recording one block to ice a 15-10 victory.Quality assistantsSince I deal with the head coaches most of the time, it’s easy to forget about the assistant coaches who make an equally important impact with every sports team.Two such men who grabbed my attention this fall are Mike Wenninger and Darrin Pater.As an LHS football assistant, Wenninger is in charge of the LHS defense. The play of Luverne’s defense was the main reason the Cardinals compiled a 6-3 record this year.During the eight-game regular season, the LHS defense surrendered just six points. They allowed a single touchdown in 192 minutes of play. Any way you look at it, that’s a pretty impressive feat.I don’t know Pater personally, but Adrian cross country coach Doug Petersen recently shared some information with me about the only assistant coach he ever had.Pater, who doesn’t hold a job in the Adrian School District, has a son (Jordan, an eighth-grader) who’s a member of the cross country program.In order to play an active role in his son’s interests, Darrin Pater uses vacation time to attend all AHS practices and meets. That type of commitment deserves to be recognized.Team to watchA team to keep an eye on in the future will be the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys’ cross country squad.With a lineup consisting of one senior, one junior and five freshmen, the Patriots earned my respect by placing sixth as a team at the section meet.Patriot coach Tom Goehle did everything right by limiting his boys to junior high and junior varsity competition most of the year, then letting them build some confidence for the future by racing them at the varsity level at the end of the season.The H-BC-E boys will be a team that will be feared in years to come.Tip of the hatThe Luverne girls’ cross country team and senior Thomas Pinkal deserve this gesture from all of us.Pinkal emerged as one of the area’s top runners this season, and the LHS girls qualified for the state meet for the fourth straight year.Those are top-notch achievements.
