The little Minnesota town of Fertile, located
23 miles southeast of Crookston, was founded in 1879 when the first settlers
arrived. Brothers Knute and Einar Nelson, plus their uncle Lars A. Bolstad, made their way to Minnesota from Norway. Soon thereafter, brothers Askeld Olsen
Morvig and Anders Olsen Morvig were part of a group that set up homesteads near
the Nelson-Bolstad place.
At any mention of the word “pigskin,” those pioneers would probably have thought of a nice hat or gloves made
from hog parts. But in this autumn nearly a century and a half later, football has
been the biggest thing in Fertile – as well as in Beltrami, 13 miles due west – since about as
long as anyone can recall.
A great testament to the support for the
Fertile-Beltrami Falcons came walking through the Legacy Gate at U.S. Bank
Stadium for Saturday’s Nine-Man football state championship game. Business
owners, farmers and other folks made sure everyone in those little towns (Fertile
has 808 residents and Beltrami is home to 101 proud
citizens) could catch a free ride to the game … 275 miles and more than four
hours away from home.
Five chartered buses were filled with
Falcon fans, all riding free of charge, thanks to approximately $25,000 worth
of donations. In a report by Matt Henson of WDAY TV in Fargo, “We get to see these kids every day, ever
since they asked their parents for candy in the candy aisle," said Travid
Jensrud, the co-owner of JT's Station, a convenience store in Fertile. (Click
here to see the story: https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/7299461-Businesses-and-farmers-raise-money-to-bus-Fertile-community-to-cheer-on-football-team-at-state-title-game?fbclid=IwAR3vGGWWY6URUDnJlpyafqtD52BLWd_2NLMMfR7w4OFkktY7A_2QXDfDNzU
)
"Oh, that's
just our community. It’s very tight-knit,” said Falcons coach Brian Nelson
after a 58-8 loss to LeRoy-Ostrander. “They love their sports teams, along with
band and choir, too, and they get behind you, they support you.
“You know, that's just the tip of the iceberg, with some of the things that have been donated,
like food and snacks on the bus and things like that. We're very, very grateful
for those and we'll get thank yous off as soon as we can get take a little
while to digest some of this.”
The Falcons
fans filled the stands behind their team’s bench and never stopped pulling for
their boys. The players were well aware of their fans, too.
“Our crowd is insane,” said senior Austin Bjerk. “You look back in the stands and it’s all red. We just love that, all the support they give us. It’s like the whole town was here.”
Classmate Rylin Petry added, “I'm very grateful. It’s such a great community. They've been with us since the first game. We had a whole bunch of people come to our home games and away games. And now, looking to see them in the stands, it was great, the amount of support we have, and we're very thankful for that.”
Fertile-Beltrami played in its first Prep Bowl, advancing
to the state tournament for the first time since 2006 and sixth time overall.
The Falcons finished with a record of 13-1.
LeRoy-Ostrander, at state for the 13th time and
first since 2004, won its first championship; the Cardinals were state
runners-up in 1993 and 1995. They finished 12-2, losing to Lanesboro and Grand
Meadow during the regular season and defeating both in the Section 1 playoffs.
The Cardinals also were recipients of strong community
support that went beyond the large number of fans at U.S. Bank Stadium. They held
two practices this week at the Packer Dome in Austin, a bubble that covers Austin
High School’s football/soccer field during cold months. Community contributions
covered those costs.
“God bless our community,” said LeRoy-Ostrander
coach Trevor Carrier, who also talked about his small group of players.
“You look at
our sideline and we’ve got 18, 19 guys,” he said. “We don't have a lot of guys but
we have a lot of quality. I wouldn't trade my 18 guys for another 60 anywhere.”
--LeRoy-Ostrander
senior quarterback Chase Johnson finished with a Prep Bowl-record 412 yards
(140 passing, 272 rushing). The previous record was 401 (344 passing, 57 rushing)
by Cory Hackett of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in 1999.
--The Prep Bowl record for longest run from scrimmage is 92 yards by
Hutchinson’s Robbie Grimsley in 2013. Another Hutch Tiger, Mitchell Piehl, ran
for a 90-yard score in Friday’s 42-14 Class 4A win over Kasson-Mantorville.
--Brad Rosa, a member
of the officiating crew for Saturday’s Nine-Man championship game, worked his
second Prep Bowl game. The first was 37 years ago, in 1984, when he was on the
field as Granite Falls defeated Breckenridge 13-7 for the Class B title.
--Lakeville South, which won the Class 6A title
Friday night with a 13-7 win over Maple Grove, has a first-year offensive
coordinator who is no stranger to championship football. Jon Bakken was the
head coach at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown for 34 years, winning state
championships in 1989, 1999 and 2009.
2021 Prep Bowl
Friday’s Games
1A: Mayer Lutheran 20, Minneota 14
2A: Chatfield 14,West
Central Area/Ashby 13
4A: Hutchinson 42, Kasson-Mantorville 14
6A: Lakeville South 13, Maple Grove 7
Saturday’s Games
Nine-Man:
LeRoy-Ostrander 58, Fertile-Beltrami 8
3A: Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs. Dassel-Cokato
5A: Mahtomedi vs. Mankato West
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
No comments:
Post a Comment