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The 2020 fall sports season in Rock County was like no other, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the start of the fall sports season, it appeared the football and volleyball seasons would be played in the spring. That meant cross-country and tennis would stand alone as the only prep fall sports in Rock County.
Then the Minnesota State High School League changed course and opted to play a shortened volleyball and football season this fall, albeit with no state tournaments.
Those already shortened seasons were cut even shorter when Gov. Tim Walz issued Emergency Order 20-99 on Nov. 18. The order put a four-week pause on youth sports in the state of Minnesota.
Teams across the state can begin practicing again on Dec. 21 with competitions being allowed to start on Jan. 4.
With no competitions left, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments that happened this fall.
A perfect season
If it weren’t for Covid-19, the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots would have possibly been celebrating a nine-man state championship.
The Patriots cruised to a perfect 7-0 season that was capped by a section championship victory over Mountain Lake Area.
In its final poll of the season, the Associated Press recognized the Patriots as the top team in nine-man.
H-BC dominated each team they faced this season. In seven games the Patriots outscored their foes 338-35.
Section champions
If it weren’t for Covid-19, the girls’ cross country team for Luverne would have competed in the state meet.
The Cardinals were one of the most dominant teams in Section 3A all season.
Luverne put an exclamation mark on a strong season by winning the section meet. The Cardinals had three runners finish inside the Top 10.
Tenley Nelson placed fifth. Jenna DeBates finished sixth and Brooklynn Ver Steeg finished eighth.
Camden Janiszeski would have qualified for state as an individual. Janiszeski finished eighth on the boys’ side.
Comeback city
The Luverne Cardinal football team enjoyed a successful 6-1 season that ended with a section championship.
The most memorable victory in the 2020 season was a 34-28 overtime victory over Redwood Valley.
Luverne and Redwood Valley both entered the Nov. 6 matchup with identical 3-1 records.
Redwood Valley jumped on Luverne early and looked to be the superior team. The visiting Cardinals led Luverne at halftime 21-6.
Luverne outscored Redwood Valley 28-7 in the second half and overtime period to pick up the 34-28 comeback victory.
The comeback victory was Luverne’s third straight victory. The home Cardinals finished the season on a five-game winning streak and with a 6-1 overall record.
First win
The 2020 season marked Dylan Gehrke’s first as head coach of the Hills-Beaver Creek volleyball program.
In his first game as head coach, the H-BC graduate picked up the first win of his coaching career. The Patriots defeated Mountain Lake Area, 3-0 to open the season.
Never say die
The Luverne Cardinal volleyball team entered its Nov. 5 match against Pipestone Area with a 1-5 record.
The Cardinals lost to the Arrows 3-0 earlier in the season and appeared to be on the brink of falling to 1-6 when they dropped the first two sets of the rematch.
Then a flip switched for the Cardinals.
Luverne won the third set of the match 25-23 and went on to take the fourth set 25-22 to force a fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Cardinals completed the comeback by defeating Pipestone Area, 15-11.
The win kickstarted a four-game winning streak for the Cardinals.
Clean sweep
On Sept. 17, the Luverne tennis program dominated Redwood Valley. The Cardinals swept Redwood Valley 7-0.
Luverne finished the season with a fourth-place finish in the section tournament.