Saturday, November 21, 2009
Lots of excitement for games
Football fans pumped about teams
BY Jeff Bahr, jbahr@aberdeennews.com
Published on Saturday, November 07, 2009
Warner football coach Tom Kulesa speaks at Friday's pep rally for the football and volleyball teams which compete in playoff games this weekend. American News Photo by John Davis
With all the rain and the wet fields, farmers have been down in recent weeks. But Leola-Frederick's unbeaten football team has “brought the morale of the community up,” said Leola athletic director Brett Schwan.
The success of a football team can make life look better, and bring a lot of excitement. Many area fans are pumped today, getting ready for their teams to play high school semifinal games.
Tonight in Howard, Bill Taylor of Leola will be walking the sidelines. The father of Leola-Frederick player Jaime Taylor, he doesn't like to sit down during games. “I'm known quite well as being the nervous one,” he said. “They say I'm really a pacer.”
Leola-Frederick, which is unbeaten, plays Howard at 6 p.m.
Taylor, 48, has been thinking about the strong Leola teams of the 1970s and early '80s. He was a senior on the 1979 team that went 9-0. The next year, the Leola Pirates ended the season with a win over No. 1-rated Tripp at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
Frederick won a state title in 1982. This is the eighth year the schools have joined together for football.
A lot of farmers haven't been able to make it to games this year. But the way it sounds, a lot of them “might take a holiday” today, said Frederick athletic director Marty Morlock.
The last couple of weeks have been exciting in Warner. The Monarchs, hampered by injuries, went 2-6 in the regular season. But in the playoffs, they've made long and successful trips to Faith and New Underwood.
Warner's mothers helped fuel those victories with lunches they sent along for players, cheerleaders, coaches and student managers. On the bus trips, the Warner contingent enjoyed sandwiches, granola bars, water, cookies, apples and bananas.
Warner plays Hitchcock-Tulare at 7 p.m. at Hitchcock.
The turnout will be large. Because the weather will be good and Warner is close, Hitchcock-Tulare principal Jeff Clark expects “the biggest crowed we've seen in two years.”
The mothers have also been busy at Hitchcock-Tulare, which is hoping for a return trip to the DakotaDome. On Friday, after practice, the parents served a meal to the players.
Normally, Roncalli players carpool to games. But today, the Cavaliers are taking a bus to Colton, where they will face Tri-Valley at 5 p.m.
The last time Roncalli's football team traveled by bus was three years ago, to the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The bus is “kind of a reward for the kids,” said athletic director Tom Murphy.
Aberdeen Central, meanwhile, will stay at home for a rematch with Sioux Falls O'Gorman at 6 p.m. at Swisher Field.
Gettysburg alumni are expected to augment the crowd at 4 p.m. at Dell Rapids St. Mary. Football coach Vern Smith expects Gettysburg natives now attending colleges in the area to help cheer on the Battlers.
Sully Buttes fans chartered a bus to Monday night's game in Buffalo. Fifty-six fans boarded the bus for the four-hour trip.
Tonight's game at Alexandria is closer, so there won't be a fan bus. The game with Hanson starts at 6:30 p.m.
Sully Buttes fans, who are known for supporting their team, will hit the road. “I think you can probably turn the lights off in town,” said Onida's Clark Jordre.
Post a comment [ You must be registered and logged in to post a comment ]
The success of a football team can make life look better, and bring a lot of excitement. Many area fans are pumped today, getting ready for their teams to play high school semifinal games.
Tonight in Howard, Bill Taylor of Leola will be walking the sidelines. The father of Leola-Frederick player Jaime Taylor, he doesn't like to sit down during games. “I'm known quite well as being the nervous one,” he said. “They say I'm really a pacer.”
Leola-Frederick, which is unbeaten, plays Howard at 6 p.m.
Taylor, 48, has been thinking about the strong Leola teams of the 1970s and early '80s. He was a senior on the 1979 team that went 9-0. The next year, the Leola Pirates ended the season with a win over No. 1-rated Tripp at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
Frederick won a state title in 1982. This is the eighth year the schools have joined together for football.
A lot of farmers haven't been able to make it to games this year. But the way it sounds, a lot of them “might take a holiday” today, said Frederick athletic director Marty Morlock.
The last couple of weeks have been exciting in Warner. The Monarchs, hampered by injuries, went 2-6 in the regular season. But in the playoffs, they've made long and successful trips to Faith and New Underwood.
Warner's mothers helped fuel those victories with lunches they sent along for players, cheerleaders, coaches and student managers. On the bus trips, the Warner contingent enjoyed sandwiches, granola bars, water, cookies, apples and bananas.
Warner plays Hitchcock-Tulare at 7 p.m. at Hitchcock.
The turnout will be large. Because the weather will be good and Warner is close, Hitchcock-Tulare principal Jeff Clark expects “the biggest crowed we've seen in two years.”
The mothers have also been busy at Hitchcock-Tulare, which is hoping for a return trip to the DakotaDome. On Friday, after practice, the parents served a meal to the players.
Normally, Roncalli players carpool to games. But today, the Cavaliers are taking a bus to Colton, where they will face Tri-Valley at 5 p.m.
The last time Roncalli's football team traveled by bus was three years ago, to the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The bus is “kind of a reward for the kids,” said athletic director Tom Murphy.
Aberdeen Central, meanwhile, will stay at home for a rematch with Sioux Falls O'Gorman at 6 p.m. at Swisher Field.
Gettysburg alumni are expected to augment the crowd at 4 p.m. at Dell Rapids St. Mary. Football coach Vern Smith expects Gettysburg natives now attending colleges in the area to help cheer on the Battlers.
Sully Buttes fans chartered a bus to Monday night's game in Buffalo. Fifty-six fans boarded the bus for the four-hour trip.
Tonight's game at Alexandria is closer, so there won't be a fan bus. The game with Hanson starts at 6:30 p.m.
Sully Buttes fans, who are known for supporting their team, will hit the road. “I think you can probably turn the lights off in town,” said Onida's Clark Jordre.
Comments submitted by readers do not represent the views of the Aberdeen News Co. its subsidiaries, partners or parent company and will not be held responsible for misuse of the commenting system.
READER COMMENTS
| No comments posted |
-Keep it clean. Avoid language that is obscene, vulgar, lewd or sexually-oriented. If you can't control yourself, don't post it. Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone.
-Be truthful. Keep in mind that libel and defamation laws may apply to the comments you make.
-Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK, and forgive people their spelling errors. Let us know if it's getting out of hand. Please use the "report this comment" button on offensive comments.
-Share what you know, ask about what you don't. Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history. What more do you want to know about the story?
-Stay focused, and ask questions. Keep on the story's topic.
-We reserve the right to remove any or all comments at our discretion and without notice.
We are in the process of testing user commenting and registration. If you have any problems registering or posting a comment on our website, please email digitalmedia@aberdeennews.com