Sports News

The defending state volleyball champion remains unbeaten and on top of the District 3 standings.
Hillsboro, with its 4-0 conference record (8-0 points), has a slim lead over Thompson (4-2, 8-3). Hillsboro, coached by Jamie Rerick is 13-10 overall.
The Burros, who played at Cooperstown last night, beat Central Valley, 3-0, Tuesday night at Buxton.
Hillsboro on Saturday competed in the Ulen-Hitterdal volleyball tournament, winning four matches and losing two. (more…)

In a showdown of unbeatens, the Hillsboro Burros and Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page Spartans are putting the Region 2 lead and their perfect 9-man records on the line tonight in Finley.
Kickoff in the key region game is 7 p.m.
The Burros, ranked fourth in this week’s power poll, beat an over-matched Barnes County North team, 35-14, last Friday in recording their sixth straight win. The Spartans slipped past Richland, 28-26. (more…)

With a sophomore quarterback starting his first game, Hillsboro rolled over Barnes County North, 35-14, Friday in the Burros’ annual acgame.
Starting in place of the injured Aaron Meyer, Josh Mayo, the a’ 5-9 164 lb. backup quarterback, scored three touchdowns, ran for 70 yards, completed the two passes he attempted as the Burros recorded their sixth straight win.
The undefeated 6-0 Burros meet Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page tonight in Finley. The Spartans are coming into the Friday night game with a perfect 5-0 record. The Burros and Spartans share the lead in Region 2 with identical 4-0 records.
The Burros, expected to beat the Bison from Barnes County North, stampeded the herd early, racing to a commanding 21-0 first quarter lead. (more…)

With a 3-0 record, the Hillsboro Burros volleyball team sits at the top of the District 3 rankings.
They earned the top spot this week with a 3-2 win on the road against the Thompson Tommies Tuesday. The Burros won 25-12, 25-27, 26-24, 17-25 and 15-13.
In a contentious match, the Burros prevailed in what their coach called a true “team effort.”
“The girls came to play at Thompson,” commented coach Jamie Rerick. “They never gave up. Everybody played well and played as a team. They showed they wanted to play hard and win.”
Rerick noted a “great match” by junior middle hitter Ashley Doeden, who tallied 13 kills and six stuff blocks on the night. (more…)

Riding the shoulders of junior fullback Andrew Grothmann, Hillsboro escaped the clutches of Wyndmere-Lidgerwood Friday, beating the Warriors, 21-20, in a Region 2 brawl that wasn’t decided until the final minute.
Playing in Wyndmere before a crowd that noisily surrounded the football field, the Burros won their fifth straight 9-man football game and third in Region 2.
The undefeated Burros and Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page share the Region 2 lead. Hillsboro entertains Barnes County North tonight in the Burros’ 2007 Homecoming game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. (more…)

Still undefeated and at the top of the Region 2 standings, the Hillsboro Burros welcome Barnes County North to town tonight.
It’s Hillsboro’s Homecoming.
The Bison bettåer beware.
Barnes County North, beaten 43-0 by the Burros last year, are winless in five games this year.
Hillsboro, meanwhile, is 3-0 in Region 2 play and 5-0 overall.
“The Bison will bring a very young, raw team to town Friday,” said HHS coach Mark Rerick. (more…)

Back from a respectable showing at the invitational volleyball tournament at Casselton Saturday, the Burros, who won four matches at the Volley in the Valley invite, were in no hurry to return to the Central Cass gymnasium.
Sandwiched in Hillsboro’s hectic September schedule, however, was a match at Casselton Tuesday night.
The Burros accommodated the schedule, only to lose to the Central Cass Squirrels, 3-0.
The 6-3 Burros, who hosted Central Cass last night, will participate in the Valley City tournament Saturday. Hillsboro is on the court again Tuesday night in Thompson.
The early season schedule is unrelenting for high school volleyball teams.
Nearing the halfway point in the September part of the schedule, the Burros have won six matches and lost three.
The Central Cass loss was a tough one to watch and sit through, admitted coach Jamie Rerick.
“We couldn’t piece it together.”
Hillsboro lost 25-23, 25-23, 25-13.
At the Volley in the Valley tourney Saturday, the Burros beat Park River, Thompson, Litchville-Marion-Montpelier and Des Lacs Burlington. Hillsboro’s only loss came to Park River, the team they beat in the tourney’s pool play. The loss to Park River came in the tourney’s semi-final gold bracket.
“It was a great tournament,” said Rerick. “Our aggressiveness and intensity carried over from the MayPort match.”
The Burros beat MayPort-CG, 3-2, last Thursday (Sept. 6).
Katrina Meyer had a strong Central Cass tournament, said Rerick.
But it was a long day for the team, she added.
“The girls ran out of gas.”
The Burros’ first match was played at 8:30 a.m.; their last match started at 6:15 p.m.
But when they were playing hard, both physically and mentally, they were a joy to watch, noted the Burro coach.
Hillsboro rolled over highly-regarded MayPort-CG, 3-2, at the Burros’ home gym last week.
“We were ready to play,” suggested Rerick. The scores: 25-23, 24-26, 26-28, 25-22 and 15-11.
Katrina Meyer had 11 kills. Ashley Doeden added nine kills. Joelle Evenson and Mikkaela Toenies each had eight kills.
Brittany Wilson had 31 digs in the match. Joelle Evenson and Kiley Coles had 22 and 20 assists, respectively.
Allison Bertsch had five serve aces against the Patriots.
Bertsch also had five aces against Central Cass Tuesday night at Casselton.

Hillsboro won its fourth straight game of the year, third in Region 2 9-man football, by shutting out Northern Cass, 28-0, last Friday on the Burros’ home field.
The whitewash of the Jaguars maintained the Burros’ share of the region lead.
Hillsboro, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood and Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page are undefeated and 2-0 in the region. The Burros, 4-0 overall, have one more win than the 3-0 W-L Warriors and the 3-0 F-S-H-P Spartans.
Hillsboro and Wyndmere-Lidgerwood clash tonight at Wyndmere in a game many are certain will live up to the hype of a Friday Night Lights clash of two high school Class B powers.
The Burros for the last two weeks have been the No. 5 team in the state 9-man power poll, trailing Napoleon, Mott-Regent, Edgeley-Kulm and Divide County. Wyndmere-Lidgerwood has received votes from the state’s sportswriters and sportscasters but not enough to break into the top 5.
Playing better each week, the Burros dominated the Jaguars last Friday. Wyndmere-Lidgerwood stopped Richland, 28-22. The Burros beat the Richland Colts, 35-8, two weeks ago.
The Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page Spartans kept pace with the Burros and Warriors by beating Hankinson, 44-36, in a Region 2 shootout.
The Burros and F-S-H-P Spartans meet Sept. 28 in Page.
Never mind what the rest of the region is doing, Burro coach Mark Rerick hinted.
“Friday night will be our biggest challenge so far this season. Wyndmere-Lidgerwood has been a perennial playoff team in both 9-man and 11-man.”
The Warriors, Rerick said, are athletic, extremely so. “They’re battle-tested and they’re physical.”
The Warriors are led by running backs Chris McKay (5-8, 160 lbs.), Zach Puetz (5-11, 195) and Garret Heitkamp (5-11, 190). McKay was second team all-state last year.
They could give us all kinds of problems, offered Rerick. How well the Burros contain the Warrior running game will be a huge factor in who wins the game.
Rerick would prefer his defense dictate the tempo of the game.
“We have to avoid a shoot out with them because they can put a ton of points on the board.”
Hillsboro and Wyndmere-Lidgerwood are two playoff caliber teams, according to the Hillsboro coach.
The Warriors reached the semi-finals of the 11-man playoffs last year.

The defending state volleyball champions are 1-1 after the first week of the 2007 season.
Hillsboro, after dropping a 3-1 match at Northern Cass Aug. 30, beat Larimore, 3-0, Tuesday night.
The Burros, who played MayPort-CG in Hillsboro last night, will participate in the annual Central Cass tournament Saturday at Casselton. Hillsboro went 5-1 in the Volley in the Valley tourney last year.
The Burros had little trouble in dispatching Larimore Tuesday. Scores of the match were 25-7, 25-19 and 25-21. The three-game match was played in an hour.
Jamie Rerick, a first-year coach in Hillsboro’s 2006 title year and coaching the Burros against this year, saw an improved team beat the Polar Bears. (more…)

Hillsboro won its third straight football game last Friday, defeating Richland, 35-8, at Colfax.
Continuing to play better each week, the 3-0 Burros controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage in dominating the tradition-rich Colts.
The Burros on offense racked up 368 total yards. On defense, Hillsboro limited the Colts to just 126 yards.
“We did a nice job winning field position and controlling the clock,” said Mark Rerick, Hillsboro coach.
Overall, he said, the Burros played fairly well.
The Burros produced a “very stereotypical option game” on offense, offered Rerick, with each of the option backs finishing with similar numbers in carries and yards gained. (more…)