Cougars one win away from state tourney
The Central McLean Cougars are one win away from a big first.
With one big hurdle standing in their way.
Central McLean goes into Thursday night's Region 5 volleyball championship game with the No. 1 seed in the region, a No. 3 ranking in the final Class B poll and only three losses on the season.
A victory would send Central McLean to its first state tournament.
To do so, they've got to get past No. 3 seed Shiloh Christian.
"We played them really early in the season, like our seventh game," Cougars coach Whitney Jangula said. "They've improved since then. We've improved since then. It should be a fun atmosphere and a fun game."
The Cougars swept the Skyhawks on Sept. 5 in Bismarck. But they know it will be a challenge on Thursday night in New Salem.
"They're some strong blockers," Jangula said. "They're the toughest team in the region blocking. We call it the wall up there.
"They swing hard. They go up with the mentality of swing hard and put the ball away, so we'll have to see their block and try to hit around it and our defense will be important too."
The Cougars (30-3) have lost only three times all season – with two coming against ranked teams (No. 1 Linton-HMB and No. 7 Kenmare-Bowbells) and one in a tournament against Flasher, which was the regular-season Region 5 runner-up. Shiloh edged Flasher 3-1 in the regional semifinals on Tuesday while Central McLean swept Washburn.
Central McLean's success has been a team approach.
"What's been big for us is playing together as a team," Jangula said. "We've peached to them to have that next-play mentality and we haven't dwelled on errors."
Adlyn Eng and Reagan Kjelstrup have led the way for the Cougars at the net.
"They've got good length, good verticals, they lead us in kills and they're good blockers as well," Jangula said.
Setter Daphne Lauer leads the team in kills, having reached the 2,000 mark in her career this season.
The Cougars have not been looking ahead.
"We focus on small victories all year long," Jangula said. "They set one goal at the beginning of the year to go into the regional as the No. 1. We knew we had a lot of experience coming back, we knew we were going to be the team to beat, but we want to stay present, one practice at a time, one game at a time.
"We told them you can't look ahead at Thursday – you have to do your job on Monday and Tuesday first."
They did just that. Now comes the final test.
"We've adjusted as the season went along," Jangula said. "It's a very unselfish crew. They want to do whatever it takes, whether it's moving to a different spot in the back row or moving to a different position, they've been willing to do that.
"This is something this crew has been working for for a long time."
Two prolific offenses meet in nine-man
LaMoure-Litchville-Marion opened the season as the No. 1-ranked team in nine-man football. New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock ended the season at the No. 1 spot.
The Loboes (11-0) and the Rockets (11-0) will meet for the title at 9:10 a.m. on Friday at the Fargodome.
Both teams are undefeated and boast explosive offenses – each scoring 60 points per game. Both teams have had stingy defenses. The Loboes allow only 14 points per game with one shutout, while the Rockets have three shutouts and allow only 9.5 points per contest.
As they say, something has to give.
Gunner Thielges has some eye-popping numbers running the ball for LLM. The junior has 2,956 yards and 40 touchdowns on 222 carries – an average pf more than 13 yards per carry. He has a total of 45 touchdowns on the season.
Mason Warcken is 54-for-106 passing for 1,284 yards passing with a 23-2 TD to interception ratio. Owen Lesko and Brayan Karlgaard each have six receiving TDs and average mor than 20 yards per catch.
The Rockets counter with an explosive passing game led by Easton Simon. The junior has completed 133 of 176 passes (76 percent) for 2,664, yards, 48 TDs and three interceptions.
Carter Engebretson has rushed for 956 yards and averages 9 yards per carry.
Kage Walford has 770 yards and 15 TDs and Bennet Meier 656 yards and 10 scores, while averaging more than 23 yards per catch apiece.
A rematch in Class A
Velva-Drake-Anamoose-Garrison opened the season with a tough 13-6 loss at Kindred.
Ten wins in a row later, the Aggies get a second shot at the Vikings.
Kindred (11-0) and VDAG (10-1) meet on Friday at the Fargodome in the Class A state title game.
The Vikings' ground game has been piling up more than 250 yards per game, with Kindred averaging 42.6 points per game.
Kylan Swenson leads the ground game, averaging more than 10 yards per carry with 1,110 yards and 13 TDs, Jake Starcevic has thrown for 765 yards and 14 TDs, with Brooks Bakko the top target with 33 catches for 743 yards and 11 scores.
The Vikings' defense has posted five shutouts and held seven of nine regular-season opponents to seven points or less.
Velva-Drake-Anamoose-Garrison is putting up 49.2 points per game and allowing only 6.6.
Ben Schepp is 129-for-184 passing (74 percent) for 2,201 yards and 31 TDs. Hank Bodine leads the Aggies' rushing attack with 731 yards and 13 scores. Reggie Bruner and Treyson Iglehart each had 34 catches and have combined for 23 TDs.
The Aggies have four shutouts and have held seven opponents to eight points or less.
