Another Fall Sports and Activities Season has come and gone. It always shocks me how fast they go. The fun just gets started, and then we are writing these blogs. This year was special once again. Many teams and individuals found success. And that's going to be the bulk of blog, but we wanted to share some new things we did as a business this fall.
Highlights Following Football and Volleyball Games
You may have noticed in the 2023-2024 season we began to do highlights following the games. A lot of that was trial and error and we enjoyed the progress we made. We wanted to make sure we became more consistent with it. So, we utilized some new equipment to make the videos more crisp and appealing to you, who consume our content.
We also had a business, Prairie Girl Candle Company, as the title sponsor for that piece of content.
Postgame Interviews During the Season
We also did more postgame interviews this season too. It's always fun to talk with coaches and athletes after the game. I would like to thank coaches that were gracious enough to chat after a loss if needed.
Acme Printing Company was our title sponsor for the Football interviews.
Now, let's dive into the season itself.
Girls Golf
We have always covered Girls' Golf in the blog. We attended a couple of invites this fall, and it was a lot of fun. With Cambridge, Southwest, and Hi-Line competing, we were thrilled to get some photos and provide updates throughout the day.
Softball
What a season for the Southern Valley/Alma Saints. In 2023 this team was 9-18. With a new Head Coach in Paige Houser this team bought in and improved, going 15-11 on the season. They pitched well, had an excellent offense, and played hard. It's always a treat to see a team make a big improvement. We covered a softball game which was new for us. And we look forward to getting to more in the future.
Cross Country
We have always covered cross-country on the blog, too. Kenzie had the idea of covering Cross Country in person more. Kenzie was a runner in high school for Bertrand and then at UNK. So she gets it. She had a vision and ran with it. Pun totally intended. Congrats to Ashley Robertson of Wallace, the RPAC Champ for girls with a time of 20:32.62 and for the boys side, Kael Garrett of Medicine Valley with a time of 17:29.81.
The girls' team title went to Wallace, their fifth straight RPAC championship, and the boys' title was won by Bertrand-Loomis, their second straight championship.
At state, there were 32 runners from nine different teams. Of course, the State Invite is held in Kearney at the Country Club. One RPAC runner, Ashley Robertson of Wallace, took home a medal. She took 4th with a time of 20:10.80.
Football
As usual, the football season was full of great action once again. We had teams make the playoffs within the conference this season. Anytime you get half or more, that's a great thing, I think, anyway. Arapahoe and Dundy County Stratton each won a playoff game and advanced to the second round, where the NSAA reseeds the teams. Both teams had injuries on their teams but man, did they fight hard until the end of their seasons.
On the individual front, there were some great performances. For example Trenton Williams of Southwest. He set a new Class D6 state record for receptions in a season with 69. Stay tuned; we will have the All-Conference Football Teams coming out very soon.
Volleyball
The volleyball in the RPAC is underrated. There are some really tough teams that play at a high level. Southwest won its second straight RPAC Title, beating Maywood-Hayes Center in four sets. During the RPAC tournament, what a run Hitchcock County went on. They were the #6 seed and took home the fourth-place plaque.
We had two teams make it to Lincoln, a couple that have frequented there in recent seasons, as Southwest made it, and so did Cambridge. Cambridge was the #4 seed and fell in the first round to #5 EMF. The way the Trojans' season started, it was impressive to watch them come together and get to state.
Southwest was the #1 seed and was hoping to turn their undefeated record into a championship. They dropped their second-round match against #5 EMF and then faced the #2 seed in the 3rd and 4th-place game, BDS, and fell in that one.
It is totally worth mentioning how hard they played, too. Roughrider Nation, I was thoroughly impressed with how many people filled the stands at Lincoln North Star for the final game of the tournament. Kudos to you.
We will also be doing Conference Volleyball Teams.
RPAC Play
Another new coverage item for us was RPAC Play. This was a lot of fun. My wife Mackenzie was heavily involved in play when she was in school. Her mother, Jennifer Kaps, is the Bertrand Coach. I did not do play, but I am always open to new coverage ideas. So, we went to the Tassel Performing Arts Center in Holdrege for RPAC Play. We had interviews all day and got to enjoy the plays. What a fun and unique thing for us to do, and we look forward to doing it again. Congrats to Bertrand in East Division and Paxton in the West for taking home the titles.
The play season has not quite ended as districts are this week and State will be in Norfolk from December 11th-13th.
Winter is coming...
All in all, the fall was so much fun. And as we approach the winter, we have a lot in store. We are doing a couple of Video Spotlights. We hope to do a couple in the season, too, but we will see what time allows. We have begun putting the podcast on YouTube, so you can watch episodes there now, too.
Naturally we will be attending a number of games and events this winter, so we look forward to seeing you out there.
As always, we want to thank the member schools, coaches, athletes, advertisers, and people who consume our content. It means so much to us.
