DICKINSON — The end of January marks a critical time for teams across Southwest North Dakota. Wins are starting to become premium value, and standings are starting to take shape across all sports.

South Heart @ Hettinger-Scranton — Boys Basketball — Friday, Jan. 30

The Eagles are in the middle of the pack in the District 7 standings, sitting at fifth in the conference with a 1-1 record. South Heart is coming into Friday’s contest winning its last two outings, earning its first District 7 win over New England, 69-49, and then a tight non-conference win over Trenton, 67-58.

The game against New England was a back-and-forth first half, but the Eagles took control in the final 16 minutes, outscoring the Tigers 44-24. Garett Bargmann put up 29 points, which led all players on the floor.

The Nighthawks are heading into Friday’s game dropping their last two games, with the most recent being a close 59-56 loss to Divide County. Hettinger-Scranton led at half time, 25-23, but couldn’t pull away with a win. Gavin Parnow and Aidyn Fisher had strong performances in the game, with 19 and 18 points respectively.

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MST at Scranton High School.

Trinity @ Killdeer — Girls Basketball — Friday, Jan. 30

The Titans and Cowboys have played some really close games in the past. But the first meeting between the two clubs was a

lopsided affair that saw the Titans escape with a 55-36

win at the Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

Now the scene will shift to Killdeer in the final contest of the season-set. The Titans have been in some extremely tight games recently and have come out on both sides of the table. Trinity narrowly defeated Shiloh Christian, 46-44, to improve to 6-2 in Region 4 play and 8-6 overall.

The Cowboys are still searching for some consistency. Killdeer is riding a two-game losing skid and has losses in four out of its last five games.

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MST at Killdeer High School.

Devils Lake @ Dickinson High — Girls Hockey — Saturday, Jan. 31

Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press

The last time these two teams met, the Mavericks won in a 2-1 overtime decision. Saturday’s contest is the back half of a back-to-back home weekend, where DHS will take on Grand Forks on Friday.

Saturday’s game is the best chance DHS has to get in the win column. The Firebirds are currently sitting in last place in the conference and don’t have a win this season. They’ve also struggled to put the puck in the back of the net, scoring just 10 goals through 13 games.

Dickinson (4-10, 1-10-2) was in a tight first period with Bismarck Century last Friday, but things once started to turn sideways in the second period, when the Patriots scored two goals on 19 shots and held DHS to three.

Puck drop is slated for 1 p.m. MST at the West River Ice Center.

Jacob Cheris covers a variety of high school and college sports. A graduate of Penn State University’s class of 2023, with a degree in broadcast journalism, he covered Penn State Men’s Hockey for three years. Jacob also covers Big Ten Hockey for College Hockey News.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia isn’t returning to Columbus to mess around. He wants to win and wants to do so immediately to erase the bad taste from the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl loss to the Miami Hurricanes last month.

To do so, Patricia needed a mindset shift. It’s one made famous by ex-Ohio State legend Woody Hayes, whose words still resonate with Buckeye faithful to this day.

“You Win With People.”

“When you go into a new building, man, you better leave all that baggage behind,” Patricia said, via The Silver Bulletin.” “You [had] better leave that behind because they don’t deserve it or they’re not there in that same space.”

Patricia wants his players to remember, whether it’s ex-safety Caleb Downs or a practice squad plsyer thst he wants to remain in their life for as long as he can instead of just being transactional.

“I really have a lot of joy in this and love being around the guys and the relationships,” Patricia said. “I’ve got guys that I coached in the 90s, and I’m still really close with, and guys that don’t call, they just be like, ‘Hey, I need your advice on this,’ or after football, career advice and things like that. So I love being that mentor.”

Patricia does tend to use the growth vs. fixed mindset, channeling the growth mindset as his main source of positive coaching.

“I just try to take it one step at a time,” Patricia said. “I always want to have that growth mindset. I always want to be a curious learner.”

Matt Patricia Finds Inner-Motivation to Lead Buckeyes

Nonetheless, though, one thing is non-negotiable.

“I’m gonna give you everything I got,” Patricia said. “I’m really gonna sacrifice everything I can to make sure I come through for you.”

Regardless of the outcome, that’s Patricia’s constant message.

Everything can be reset, which Patricia realized after a failed stint with the Detroit Lions.

“I wasn’t my best version,” Patricia said. “I think learning that is really important. That’s how you get better as a coach, as a person.”

Now, he says feels much better about himself overall. Especially when it comes to mentoring players where he knows they will be successful with the next level like Downs.

“I think just in general with Caleb [Downs], just the amount of experience he has playing football is probably the most important thing,” Patricia said. “And his professionalism, and how he prepares, is probably the best example that I can point to for all the players.”

With Patricia at peace, the Buckeyes defense can move forward as well.

It remains to be seen whether everything pays off. Come August, we will find out.

The seven-time PRCA Top Indoor Rodeo of The Year is back once again in Rapid City, South Dakota. Rodeo Rapid City kicks off January 30th and is full of a week of non-stop action in the rodeo arena. As one of the biggest rodeos this early on in the season, athletes are ready to show out after the National Western Stock Show and the Fort Worth Stock Show.

Best Indoor Rodeo of the Year Begins This Weekend

Starting things off in The Monument Arena will be Xtreme Bulls 2026 on Friday night, following that on Saturday the 31st is Xtreme Broncs 2026. These two events mark the opening of what is sure to be some of the season’s most action-packed performances from the best athletes bull riding, and saddle bronc riding have to offer. 

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The official Rodeo Rapid City doesn’t kick off until Friday, February 5th, and it continues all weekend. Last year, securing the top spot for rough stock was Garrett Shadbolt in bareback riding, Damian Brennan in saddle bronc riding and Jake Lockwood in bull riding. 

Men’s timed event winners were Boyd Sawyer (steer wrestling), Cullen Teller and Brayden Fillmore (team roping), and Tyler Milligan (tie-down roping). Katie Chism won the barrel racing. 

Last season, this rodeo was an indicator of how 2025 was going to go for some of these athletes. More than one who performed well in Rapid City went on to secure a spot at the National Finals Rodeo. With a payout of nearly $200,000, a win here adds a nice chunk of change to season earnings totals early in the season.

Come For The Rodeo Stay For The Music

While there is just over a week of rodeo arena action happening in South Dakota, there will also be plenty to do in between. A new event is being added this year called Rope, Ride and Slide where two cowboys, one bronc rider and one steer wrestler each perform in individual events, then join together to team rope. This fun new addition happens Friday (Jan. 30th) and should be a way to introduce more people to the events of rodeo.

There will also be live performances happening all week as well. Kicking things off Friday night will be Tristan Schofield & The Drive by Night followed by Jessica Loobey on Saturday. During the week Big Skillet performs on Tuesday with Brandon Jones taking the stage Thursday. Rounding out musical acts are Tanner Usrey with Kenny Feidler (Friday, Feb. 6th) and Ole 60 with Rob Langdon (Saturday, Feb. 7th)

From rodeo action to live music, Rapid City is sure to be full of some of the best performances seen by rodeo fans so far this year.

To get tickets head to https://www.centralstatesfairinc.com/events

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