North Dakota

Three Things We Learned: North Dakota

Published

1 year ago

September 4, 2024

Welcome back everyone to Three Things We Learned for the 2024 season. Let’s take a look at the win over North Dakota this past weekend in the season opener.

The Passing Game is as Good as Advertised

The Cyclones started the game last week with a bang, scoring a touchdown in less than a minute with huge catches by Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, which signaled an explosive start to the career of Taylor Mouser as the offensive coordinator.

We also saw what the passing game can do on long drives, as the Cyclones were able to dink and dunk their way down the field, largely getting whatever they wanted in the passing game. I think that same formula could be a major key to success for Iowa State against Iowa’s very strong defense.

I also think the Cyclones may have found their third wide receiver in Eli Green, which could prove to be a big boost going forward. Given that defenses will need to focus a ton of their attention on Noel and Higgins, having Eli Green as another option will make it near impossible to cover all of Iowa State’s passing options on a well-designed route pattern. Green plays extremely similarly to Noel, so he’s a natural fit in the offense.

Linebacker is Thin

Most Cyclone fans went into the season largely agreeing that linebacker was probably the weakest position group on the defense, and that turned out to be true on Saturday. What we didn’t know was how shaky the situation actually is, as we found out on game day that Will McLaughlin is out for an extended period of time, and Caleb Bacon went down with a significant injury in the first quarter.

Right now Kooper Ebel, Jack Sadowsky, Zach Lovett, and Cael Brezina look to likely be your top four linebackers, with Jacob Ellis and John Klosterman also getting snaps. The loss of Bacon caused a lot of issues and was likely a driving factor in the twelve-minute-long possession North Dakota was able to sustain immediately following the injury.

This week, Jon Heacock and the rest of the defensive staff will be busy getting that linebacker group stabilized and figuring out a plan to deal with Iowa’s running game and tight end Luke Lachey.

Young Talent is Abundant

Even though Iowa State is returning nineteen of twenty-two starters, there is still a significant number of young players expected to get significant snaps this season, and we saw a few of them in action Saturday.

I think Kooper Ebel and Jontez Williams both had their moments of youth, but otherwise had strong showings against North Dakota that illustrate why we’ve heard so much about them in the offseason and through camp. Ebel looked the part of blossoming into another strong player in Iowa State’s lineage of great linebackers, and Jontez Williams nearly cut off a pass to the flat and took it to the house.

Williams did admit in his postgame interview that he was guilty of getting ahead of himself and not watching the ball in before running to the endzone, which shows maturity on his part.

Source link

Click to comment

North Dakota

LIVE Updates – Virginia Cavaliers vs North Dakota State Baseball Score

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates – Virginia Cavaliers vs North Dakota State Baseball Score

Bottom of the 3rd

Top of the 3rd

Paone allows one single, but keeps NDSU off the board. They lead 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

Didawick reached on a leadoff single, but nothing else for UVA. NDSU leads 1-0 heading to the 3rd.

Top of the 2nd

Paone pitches a scoreless 1-2-3 inning. NDSU leaads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

Becker draws a leadoff walk, but nothing else for UVA. NDSU leads 1-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

A walk and single put two runners on with no outs and then an RBI groundout gave NDSU a 1-0 lead. Paone got the final out, but UVA is trailing heading to the bottom of the inning.

After a surprising loss to Stetson on Saturday night, Virginia baseball looks to finish the weekend tournament on a higher note by beating North Dakota State on Sunday morning.

The Cavaliers are hoping that they will find better pitching today, as that was the main reason for their downfall. Some more offensive consistency would be great, but issuing double digit walks is not a recipe for success for this Cavaliers team. Can they bounce back and get a big win today before they head back home to Charlottesville?

John Paone is on the mound today for Virginia. Here is how UVA is lining up in today’s game:

1. SS Eric Becker

2. CF AJ Gracia

3. 1B Sam Harris

4. 2B Joe Tiroly

5. LF Harrison Didawick

6. 3B Noah Murry

7. C Noah Jouras

8. RF Griffin Enis

9. DH Aiden Harris

More Virginia Baseball News:

Source link

North Dakota

Grand Forks places fourth at North Dakota state dual tournament to earn program’s best finish

Published

14 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks places fourth at North Dakota state dual tournament to earn program’s best finish

FARGO, N.D. — Grand Forks girls wrestling head coach Matt Berglund had a message for his team ahead of Saturday’s North Dakota state dual tournament at the Fargodome.

“When you get to that last day of the state tournament, everybody’s going to be sore,” Berglund said. “Everybody’s going to be tired. So this is just a test of both our mental and physical will right now to get through these last three duels.”

The KnightRiders, missing a four-time state placer in Shayla DeBlaere, aced that test.

Third-seeded Grand Forks upset second-seeded Minot United with a 42-33 win in the quarterfinals en route to its fourth-place finish at the tournament.

It was the best finish in program history.

“It’s just another stepping stone with our program,” Berglund said. “We’ve qualified for the state tournament three of the four years it’s been in existence, but we’ve never finished higher than sixth. So we made that a goal this year, to keep moving up the podium. And the girls came ready to wrestle in that first match.”

The KnightRiders suffered a 50-23 loss to Lisbon in the semifinals and a 46-29 defeat to Bismarck Legacy in the third-place match.

Junior Kaylee Kurz marked personal milestones in her last match of the tournament. She bested Morgan Schneider of Bismarck Legacy by fall in 2 minutes, 39 seconds to pick up her 100th career pin and 150th career win.

“We really wanted to get that today,” Berglund said. “Otherwise, you’re waiting nine months.”

To pull off the upset against Minot United, Grand Forks needed to win some key tossups.

Maddie Look got the KnightRiders started in the 130-pound weight class. She bested Minot’s Aaliyah Laboy by fall in 4 minutes, 46 seconds.

“Maddie Look just had a great weekend, both on the dual squad and the individual,” Berglund said. “She was really a fire starter for us. Then we had a good run of middleweights pick up some wins too in those toss-up matches.”

Kurz, Sara Novak, Aulani Long and Lexi Ray each provided wins by fall to push Grand Forks past Minot United.

“We are excited about our future as girls wrestling continues to grow,” Berglund said. “It’s getting more and more difficult each year to place, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re providing opportunities in the offseason for the girls to get better. Whether that’s our weight lifting program, our club season. But more than anything else, we want them to be in multiple sports. I love multi-sport athletes, so as long as they’re doing something year round to get better, that’s what we try to push the most.”

Grand Forks Central placed sixth in the boys’ Class A dual tournament. The second-seeded Knights suffered a 58-3 loss to third-seeded Williston in the quarterfinals but rebounded with a 47-25 victory over Devils Lake in the consolation semifinals.

Bismarck Century defeated Central 39-22 in the fifth-place match.

Pembina County North placed eighth in the Class B quarterfinals. First-seeded Velva beat the Grizzlies 58-12 in the quarterfinals.

Pembina County North suffered a 44-29 loss to Hettinger/Scranton/Bison in the consolation semifinals. In the seventh-place contest, the Grizzlies lost to Williams County by a score of 52-21

Staff reports and local scoreboards from the Grand Forks Herald Sports desk.

Source link

North Dakota

Letter: Keeping North Dakota’s children safe

Published

1 day ago

February 21, 2026

Press Room

Letter: Keeping North Dakota’s children safe

To the editor,

When the sirens fade, school still starts the next morning, with some children carrying more than just a backpack. When children witness something potentially traumatic at home, it does not just stay there; it follows them into the classroom. Handle with Care connects schools, law enforcement and the community to ensure that educators know when a child needs understanding, not questions, so support, safety and learning come first.

Handle with Care (HWC) is a school-community partnership program that enables law enforcement to notify school districts when they encounter a child at a traumatic scene with a short, confidential statement: “Handle ___ With Care;” no other information on the situation is provided, only the student’s name. By alerting only the educators and staff that work with the child, it allows them to be able to provide support, a safe environment and keep all information confidential.

Research has proven that trauma can undermine children’s ability to learn, form relationships, and function appropriately in the classroom. When we don’t interrupt trauma, we see kids who are more at risk of absenteeism, expulsion, dropping out and additional long-term negative outcomes. And quite the opposite is true when we implement supportive programs, like Handle with Care.

Families Flourish ND (FFND) drives this program forward across North Dakota. FFND recognizes the importance and impact of the Handle with Care program and has strong allies. In seeing the impact of the communities who are implementing HWC to fidelity, we see the strong potential it carries for every community, large and small, across the state. We work to bring it to every community by meeting with various educational groups, task forces, and community agencies. Educating on the value and the impact. These are North Dakota’s children, and they deserve it.

Frankie Piatz
Bismarck, North Dakota
Piatz is an intern with Families Flourish ND.

Source link