For the first time this season the Prescott football team found itself trailing. It actually gave some of the Cardinal faithful some feelings of angst. It didn’t last long. Prescott scored 34 unanswered points and dominated in the second half to improve to 3-0 on the season. The second offensive onslaught was sparked by some big defensive plays. A Will Rohl sack and a fumble recovery by David Regnier led to one score. A fumble recovery by Henry Rohl led to another touchdown. And interceptions by Cole Platson and Andrew Lesso led to two more scores as the top 10 ranked Cardinals pulled away in the second half. 

Speaking of Friday’s game in Altoona, several Cardinal football alumni were filled with questions regarding the Railroader coaching staff’s sideline offensive signal system. First, a coach relayed to the coaches a play call. Second, two coaches using oversized and clumsy flip charts relayed the call to the players. Third, each player then referenced their own wrist bands to see to the play call. Fourth, the quarterback then started the cadence.  It seemed like 50% of the time Altoona was on the verge of a delay of game penalty using what appeared to be quite a cumbersome system. No wonder they had 14 coaches. 

Look for Prescott to be the only Middle Border Conference this week team ranked in the Top 10 by the Wisconsin Sports Network. Last week Head Coach Jordan Hansen’s charges were ranked #8. St. Croix Central, who was ranked #6 heading into Friday’s game against Ellsworth, were humbled by the Panthers by a score of 26-6. Baldwin-Woodville blanked Amery 49-0, and Osceola upset Somerset by a score of 27-26. Prescott will face Osceola this Friday at Laney Field with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. 

The Prescott girls’ golf team cruised to an 18-shot victory in a Middle Border Conference meet at Krooked Creek Course in Osceola. Senior Jeanne Rohl shot a 39 to finish atop the leaderboard with sophomores Macy Reiter and Layla Salay both finishing second with a round of 41. Senior Gabbi Matzek turned in 44, good for fourth place as Prescott won going away. Earlier in the week, the Cardinals traveled to the south to compete in the 18-team Brookfield Invitational in Madison. Prescott finished second to Divine Savior Holy Angels with Gabbi Matzek and Layla Salay each shooting an 82 to pace the Cardinals. 

The Prescott girls’ cross country team finished third in the St. Croix Central Invitational last Thursday. Sophomore Kyra Dix finished fifth for the Cardinals and turned in the 11th fastest time in Prescott girls’ cross country history. The boys finished fourth and were led by Nolan Leask who finished with a time of 19.15.  The Cardinals travel to Somerset this Thursday for a 10-team invitational. 

Peter Brookshaw went 1-2, walked and scored twice as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks defeated the Sioux City Explorers by a score of 6-5 in Game 3 of the West Division Series Saturday night at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. With the win, the RedHawks advanced to the West Division Championship Series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes – the third Division Championship Series appearance for the team in the last four years.

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls football team defeated #7 ranked Alma University (Michigan) last Saturday by a score of 41-35. Linebacker Jack Olson’s four tackles and offensive lineman Austin Fox's consistent play helped the Falcons defeat a top 10 ranked opponent for the second consecutive year. Both Prescott alumni, Fox and Olson will be back in action this Saturday when River Falls hosts the Greenville (Illinois) Panthers. Speaking of alumni, Valley City State linebacker Aiden Russell had 10 tackles as the Vikings defeated Augsburg University by a score of 24-14. The Vikings will host Dakota State this Saturday. 

From the Department of Natural Resources: Last week the department published its final Environmental Impact Statement for Enbridge, Inc.’s proposal to replace a segment of its Line 5 liquid petroleum pipeline in Ashland and Iron counties. Operational since 1953, Line 5 is part of an extensive network of petroleum transport pipelines owned and operated by Enbridge Energy, LLC. The existing line runs for 645 miles from Superior, Wis. to Sarnia, Ontario, including a 12-mile segment that passes through the Bad River Reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Enbridge is proposing to replace 20 miles of existing pipeline, including the 12-mile segment within the reservation, with 41 miles of new pipeline routed entirely outside the reservation’s border. The dispute between Enbridge and the Bad River Reservation was the subject of a documentary entitled “Bad River” that aired in select theaters around the country last spring. 

Headshaker of the week: Before the kickoff of each high school, college, or professional football game various renditions of the Star Spangled Banner are piped over loudspeakers around the country. All those in attendance are asked to stand (if they are able), to remove their caps, place their hands over their hearts during the song's one minute duration. Last Friday in Altoona some spectators heard lyrics certainly not penned by Francis Scott Key. A small group of fans noticed a pack of elementary school boys along a fence about 30 yards from the field. The small cadre of boys were jostling, wrestling, and playing catch with a football – typical Friday night youngster tomfoolery. It is not their behavior that got the attention of fans. It is what these kids said at the top of their lungs. During the anthem while fans heard the lyrics “whose broad stripes and bright stars” a kid chorus in the background simultaneously screamed an expletive phrase that would have impressed any drunken sailor. Not once, but twice, a filthy idiom, usually reserved for hunting shacks and deer stands, echoed across Altoona’s Oak Leaf Stadium. Unbelievable. Those who heard the profane laced diatribe are pretty confident those words were not part of the fifth grade weekly vocabulary list. Where’s the soap? Someone’s mouth needs cleaning. It was a headshaker.