JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER This past summer, before the 2020-21 school year began, Gavin Haggerty found himself facing a tough decision. Should he complete his senior year at Freeman Academy — the school from which his mom, Heather, and older brothers Ryan and Brennan had all graduated — or open enroll elsewhere?

Menno/Marion had opportunities in the second half to make key plays, including late in the fourth quarter, but did not execute at critical times and unded up one touchdown short in a 24-18 loss to Scotland in Scotland Friday night, Sept. 25. Last week was suppose to be a bye week for the Razorbacks, but the Scotland game was scheduled after Menno/Marion’s Sept. 18 game against Baltic was canceled because of COVID-19. The Razorbacks played without student-athletes from Marion.

Freeman Public bounced back from a 25-16 loss in the first set to take down Menno 3-1 in Cornbelt Conference volleyball action in Freeman Thursday night, Sept. 24. The Flyers beat the Wolves 16-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18.

Senior standout Tyce Ortman threw for two touchdowns, rushed for a pair of others and returned a punt 65 yards for Canistota/Freeman’s fifth touchdown of the night as the Pride routed Irene-Wakonda 50-0 in Irene Friday night, Sept. 18. The win moved No. 2 Canistota/Freeman to 4-1 while the Eagles dropped to 0-5.

Glenda Bohlmann, who has a 30-year-history with the Menno School District, was honored over the weekend by the South Dakota Coaches’ Association as the 2019-2020 Middle School Coach of the Year. Bohlmann was recognized at an awards luncheon at the Highland Conference Center in Mitchell Sunday, Sept. 13. She was one of 16 coaches from across the state, representing various sports, earning Coach of the Year honors. The program handed out at the luncheon had this to say about Bohlmann:

Freeman Academy/Marion dropped to 0-4 after another straight-set loss, this time to Irene-Wakonda in Wakonda Tuesday night, Sept. 15. The Eagles defeated the Bearcats 25-12, 25-10, 25-17. Zenovia Butler had two kills and two digs, Leah Goodwin had four digs and a pair of blocks and Sarah Cremer had 16 set assists to lead FA/Marion.

The Freeman High School volleyball team had its moments against Class B’s No. 3-ranked squad, playing them close in the second set and winning the third, but Bridgewater-Emery was too much for the Flyers and left town with a 3-1 win and a 6-0 record. Bridgewater-Emery won 25-13, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17; the Flyers fell to 3-3. Peterson finished with 15 kills and had 26 digs to lead the team while Oddy Pankratz had a great all-around game, recording 12 kills, 19 set assists and 17 digs.

In their first matches since early September, when a close contact to a COVID-19 positive put a temporary hold on the season, the Menno volleyball team was back in action early this week in matches against Ethan Monday, Sept. 14 and Howard Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Wolves lost both, falling to the Rustlers 3-1 and the Tigers 3-2 and dropping their season record to 1-3. Ethan

Menno/Marion topped Parker 36-20 for its first win of the season while No. 1 Canistota/Freeman lost a wild game to No. 2 Howard 16-14 in triple overtime. The game was tied at 8-8 after the first quarter and stayed that way until the Pride scored on their third possession of overtime. But, trailing 14-8 on their next (and final) possession, the Tigers scored a touchdown on fourth-and-4 to tie the game at 14 and then converted a 2-point conversion on a fake extra point attempt to win the game.

Freeman built a 2-0 lead over unbeaten Gayville-Volin in Gayville Thursday night, Sept. 10, but the Raiders rallied to take the win in a thrilling volleyball match featuring two good teams. The Raiders (5-0) won 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 17-15.