Let's rumble!!!

Hello friends. I'm back from my Holiday stuff, so it's time to get back to work on the North Dakota Prep Notebood. I hope you didn't miss me too much.

Anyway, the Rumble on the Red wrestling tournament is underway at the Fargodome. The tournament runs today through Saturday.

More than 1,500 athletes are signed up to compete. The event includes junior varsity and varsity competition from South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and California.

This tournament should have some great competition at every weight class.

There are 17 wrestlers ranked No. 1 from Minnesota, four No. 1s from North Dakota and a pair of top-ranked guys from South Dakota.

Defending Minnesota Class A champion Jackson County Central and defending Class A South Dakota champion Rapid City Stevens are bringing their entire teams.

One of the top wrestlers to watch will be 189-pounder Scott Schiller of West Fargo. He's the No. 1-ranked junior in the country.

Posted by: Hotzler on 1/02/2009 at 12:34 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Bison add North Dakota flavor

North Dakota State added some of the state's top prep football talent on Tuesday with commitments from Fargo South running back/linebacker Brandon Jemison, Hillsboro fullback Andrew Grothmann and defensive lineman Ryan Drevlow of Milnor-North Sargent.

IIt's big for the Bison to get the in-state talent to stay home. For most, the likely other option was the University of North Dakota. But a Division I transition probably made the decision a little easier for each of the them.

All three of these players were dominant in high school. All could be solid starters by the time their careers are over.

Here are the questions: Which do you think wil have the most immediate impact for the Bison? Which will have the best career? Why?

Discuss. 

Posted by: Hotzler on 12/17/2008 at 8:36 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink

Civil War x 2

The Fargo North and Fargo South boys and girls hockey teams will face each other tonight at the Urban Plains Center.

The girls game gets underway at 5:15 p.m. It's an interesting matchup of the defending state champion in North, and a 4-1 South team with a lot of talent. Both teams are 4-0 in North Dakota play.

The boys game at 7:30 p.m. is an opportunity to see one of the top young goaltenders in North Dakota in South junior Scott Buchholz. North goalie Jake Labernik could also be hard to get one past. He's already face high-powered Grand Forks Central, West Fargo and defending champion Grafton-Park River.

See you at the UP Center. 

Posted by: Hotzler on 12/12/2008 at 1:44 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Prep basketball is underway

It's a week into the basketball season, and you can already see a few things brewing.

-Mandan is going to be solid in both girls and boys hoops.

-South's girls team has a lot of talent and depth.

-West Fargo is getting a lot of respect in the boys poll despite losing much of the offensive firepower from last year's team. The Packers are ranked No. 4 in the first Class A poll.

Let's try to get some basketball discussion going. What are the storylines you are most interested in? What teams should we look out for?

Who are the state's best boys and girls players?

Posted by: Hotzler on 12/11/2008 at 1:06 PM | Comments (6) | Permalink

South hockey looking good

Two games into the season, the Fargo South High School boys hockey team is looking like a contender in coach David Benson's first season.

The Bruins, who advanced to the North Dakota state semifinals last season, are 1-0-1 so far, with a win against White Bear Lake (ranked No. 8 in Class 2A in Minnesota at the time) and a tie against Moorhead.

One of the big reasons for the success has been solid play of its top scoring line and the goaltending of junior Scott Buchholz. The Forum will have a feature on Buchholz in Thursday's edition.

South takes on Wahpeton on Tuesday, and rival North on Friday.

Anyone else think the Bruins can push for a state title this year?

Posted by: Hotzler on 12/09/2008 at 12:15 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink