Sports

This could be just the beginning. That’s how Sauk Prairie boys soccer coach Drew Kornish and his Eagles felt as they left Marshfield late Saturday night.

This isn’t the way they wanted it to end. When Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team stepped back, though, and looked at the big picture, the Eagles took tremendous pride in what had been accomplished.

For a couple of days, it appeared the end was here. Sauk Prairie’s football team fell to Madison Edgewood, 16-12, last Friday. That left the Eagles with an 0-7 regular season mark.

Organized sports are starting to return for youth of all ages, though as of September, they are still half as active as they were prior to the pandemic.

Junior midfielder Samuel Drescher treasured every moment he spent on the Sauk Prairie Eagles’ home pitch last Saturday afternoon. The Eagles played this season literally day-to-day and game-to-game due to the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has had on high school sports since last March.

What a long, strange trip it’s been for Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team. The journey will continue for at least one more week as the Eagles secured their first state tournament appearance since 2009 with a 26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 25-19 victory over visiting Appleton Fox Valley Lutheran in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final last Saturday night.

Jack Boerger’s wild and wacky cross country season came to an end Saturday. And what a ride it was. Boerger finished in 44th place at the WIAA Division 1 state meet held at Hartland Arrowhead High School. Boerger finished in a time of 16 minutes, 53.1 seconds. West Allis Hale senior Joshua Truchon won the race in 15:18.3.

Sure, the win column still reads zero. But Sauk Prairie football coach Clay Iverson believes he has a team of winners. Lake Mills defeated the Eagles, 22-13, last Friday as Sauk Prairie fell to 0-6 in this truncated season.

The home crowd was getting antsy. Head coach Amy Schlimgen was getting a little squeamish herself. Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team — a heavy favorite in its WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal with Slinger — was in a dogfight last Thursday.