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While I'm a little slow on the uptake, my friend at Wissports.net, Jay Messar, was not. Click the link for his preview of the Large Lakeland conference.

Here's my play-by-play schedule for the next few weeks on 105.7 WXCX (football starts at 7, volleyball at 7:30)

As of now we only have the one volleyball match scheduled, but it is my understanding that we will be bringing you many more volleyball matches as we get into this season.
 

The sky housed no clouds tonight as the football season kicked off in Grantsburg. Unfortunately, for the Pirate football team, there were some metaphorical clouds that lasted the entire game.

Grantsburg starting quarterback Brent Myers was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with some kind of shoulder injury. He spent the remainder of the game on the sideline and afterward received an x-ray to try to figure out the extent of the damage. Junior Daniel Larsen took over the quarterbacking duties and did very well in Myers stead.

The return game for the Pirates left a lot to be desired. On kickoffs the Pirates struggled as they were never able to get it to the 20 yard line except for one touchback.

The Pirates turned the ball over on downs four or five times while just inside Spooner territory. This, to me, was one of the biggest stories of the game. Not only because it killed a drive, but it gave Spooner a short field to move the ball to score.

The final ended up being lopsided: 23-0 in favor of the visiting Spooner Rails.

That isn't to say there weren't some silver linings on these clouds. As I stated earlier, I thought Daniel Larsen stepped in at quarterback and did a fine job. I think the offensive line got better as the night went on. And, for the most part, Grantsburg's tackling was good… lots of guys to the ball.

Grantsburg has been hurt by injuries. Fullback Derek Bertelsen told me before the game that he would be ready to go against Cumberland, which would be a huge addition to the team if that happens. Tackle Seth Coy says he will be ready by week three when West Lakeland play begins as Grantsburg travels to Unity. He will be a welcomed addition to the offensive line.

One game does not a season make. I hope the guys will realize that. There are many games left and they still have a great opportunity to make it back to the playoffs.

The Pirates host Cumberland next week and the game will be on 105.7 WXCX starting at 7pm.

Here's a link to one of my Inside the Huddle columns which goes through the trials and tribulations of my love life. It was tough to write and it is definitely an abridged version because I can only write 800 words or so for the Sentinel. Give it a read if you have five minutes.

Hooray for common sense!

The WIAA board of control rejected the proposal by an 8-2 margin to change the current football setup with conferences to a district format. You can read about the ill-fated plan here.

There were some good things about the plan, such as ending the three games in ten days at the end of the regular season and beginning of playoffs. That issue is slated to be confronted by the 2011 season. Here's a few ideas.

Todd Beckmann from the Sentinel has been all over this story and here's his latest about the thumbs-down vote from the WIAA.

For those of you who are hoping to listen to the Webster vs. Glenwood City football game you can listen online here. Find the link that says “Listen Live” and you’ll be able to follow the Tigers in a big victory (hopefully).

Angela Gaffney, Michelle Lund, and Steven McKinley represent the Grantsburg Pirates at the state cross country tournament held today at Wisconsin Rapids.

Angela (Jr.) finished 33rd last year and Michelle Lund (Sr.) finished 61st. Steven McKinley (Sr.) finished 65th last year.

Also congratulations to the Webster boys (ranked 6th) and Frederic girls (ranked 13th) cross country teams as they both qualified as teams. Webster won state last year.

The Webster Tigers (ranked 8th in the state) take on Glenwood City (ranked 12th) this afternoon in the second game of the WIAA state playoffs. Webster beat the Northwood/Solon Springs Evergreens 42-0 on Tuesday to advance to this game today. Good luck, Tigers!

The Frederic Vikings play Shell Lake (ranked 7th in D7) in second round football action as well. The Vikings, though seeded lower than the Lakers, are hosting the game.

Finally, the Grantsburg volleyball team is traveling to Clear Lake to try and defend their sectional championship and make it back to the Resch Center in Green Bay for the second year in a row. The Pirates take on Melrose-Mindoro for that right.

Grantsburg is ranked number one in the state, Melrose-Mindoro was unranked and had a number two seed in the tournament (Mondovi was the number one seed).

You can listen to the broadcast of the volleyball match on 105.7 WXCX starting at 7pm. Go Pirates!!!

The football brackets are out and even though Grantsburg missed them this year I thought you might like to know where other area teams are scheduled.

Congrats to the Webster Tigers, Luck Cardinals and Frederic Vikings… the only area teams to receive a berth.

Division 6 (Webster)

Division 7 (Frederic, Luck)

105.7 WXCX will be following the Webster Tigers.

Good luck to all three teams!

Congratulations are in order for the Siren Dragons football squad. By beating Winter last week they snapped a 42 game losing streak, the longest active streak in Wisconsin.

They were nominated and won the team of the week at wissports.net. You can read about it here.

Congratulations to our green and white neighbors!

A successful home season was capped off tonight for the Grantsburg football team as they blanked the Cameron Comets 22-0. The shutout is the second in a row for Cameron as Webster smoked them 49-0 last week.

Grantsburg moves to 2-3 in the conference. With a win against Clear Lake next week, Grantsburg would technically be eligible for the playoffs, but would probably not be included because they would not have an overall winning record. As it is now Grantsburg is 2-3 in the conference and 3-5 overall.

The game was a breath of fresh air for Pirate fans. Big plays and turnovers have been killers in the past couple games for the guys in Purple, but tonight they limited their turnovers (thought I think they lost the turnover battle 3-1) and allowed no big plays… while turning in a few of their own.

Grantsburg’s big plays were courtesy of Kyle Johnson. He had a 52 yard run which led the Grantsburg’s third and final touchdown of the night. Then he and QB Brent Myers connected on a couple of 40 yard passes in the game as well.

I think the game can be summed up with just one word.

Solid.

The defense played great, holding Cameron to several three and out drives and stopping them on fourth down once. And obviously holding them scoreless.

The offense did what they are supposed to. They ran effectively, gained good yardage on first downs and threw only occasionally. That is a recipe that has produced success in the past.

Like the title says, the Pirates won three games (Cameron, Colfax, Unity) at home while losing only one (Webster).

They probably won’t make the playoffs this year, but I think most people would qualify this year a success as the team has turned it around after the brutal year last year (winless) and the tough start, the Pirates seem to be heading in the right direction and that is a testament to Head Coach Keith Lehne and his coaching staff.