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Articles written by george ferguson, havre daily news sports editor


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  • Aloha: Mariani shatters Pro Bowl return records

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Marc Mariani said earlier this week that Pro Bowl traditions for rookies include players who make the least amount of money pick up plenty of tabs during their stay in Hawaii. So while he may be out some bucks when he leaves Honolulu, he'll still be leaving with plenty to smile about. Although the NFC pounded Mariani's AFC squad 55-41 Sunday afternoon in Hawaii, the Tennessee Titans receiver and former Blue Pony star left his own mark on the game by returning nine kickoffs for an astounding 326 yards — both new Pro Bowl r...

  • Skylights ink Joilet standout guard

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The Frontier Conference women's basketball season has only been over for a short time, but Montana State University-Northern head coach Chris Mouat is already hard at work on the recruiting trail. Mouat recently announced the signing of Joilet High School standout Rachelle Bennett, an exciting 5-8 guard. Bennett is a star basketball player for the J-Hawks, having earned Class C All-State honors in each of the last three seasons. She's also a stellar all-around athlete, as she has earned all state in track three times and...

  • Area track stars lay it on the line

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson For the North Star girls and Chinook boys high school track teams, this weekend in Missoula is about chasing state championship dreams. For many local athletes, it will also be about getting to the top of that medal stand. Missoula is the site of the Class C state track meet today and Saturday, and while many local athletes will be in attendance, it's the Knights and Sugarbeeters who might have the most to gain. The North Star girls have been building toward this season for quite some time, and...

  • Skylights challenge Griffins, Warriors

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Emotion. In basketball, it can be a double-edged sword. Emotion can carry a team to victory, or it can hinder it's performance. However, one way or another, the next two nights at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse will be emotional. That's because the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team is playing its final two home games of the 2011 season, and that means seniors Samm Schermele and Taylor Keller are seeing their last days in a gym they've become famous for playing in over the last four years. And Northern is...

  • Lights lay it all on the line at home

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    There have been many big Frontier Conference men's basketball games at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse over the years. But none may be bigger than the next two for the Montana State University-Northern Lights. Tonight at 8, the Lights play host to No. 16 Westminster College, one of three teams the Lights are currently tied with for first place in the Frontier Conference. Northern also faces Lewis-Clark State in a regular season finale Saturday night at 8 p.m. And in those two games, all that's at stake is a possible regular...

  • Beeters back in the Northern C semis

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    GREAT FALLS — In your first game of the divisional tournament, slow starts and jangled nerves aren't uncommon. But for the first time in years, tournament experience played a key role in a Chinook boys basketball victory. The 9C champion Sugarbeeters shrugged off early shooting woes and wound up with a comfortable 59-48 Northern C opening-round win over Stanford-Geyser on Thursday afternoon at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. The Beeters used torrid shooting in the second and third quarters to win going away. But m...

  • When two worlds collide

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Montana State University-Northern senior basketball players Samm Schermele and Taylor Keller might both be from Montana, but they come from two different worlds. Schermele, a product of the bright lights of the Electric City of Great Falls, and Keller from the quiet, rural community of Custer. In basketball, the duo's world were as different as the towns they come from. Schermele was a product of Class AA Great Falls High, while Keller came from the unique world of Class C Montana girls hoops. Four years ago however, their wo...

  • Stars earn Class B All-State

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Boys basketball in the Northern B was as good as it gets this season. With yet another state champion coming out of the Northern B in Wolf Point, as well as great teams like Shelby, Rocky Boy and Cut Bank to name a few, this year was as good as ever on the Hi-Line. And this past week, several local players from the Northern B were honored for this past season. Rocky Boy seniors Lesin Oats and Garrett Lafromboise were both named Class B All-State for the 2010-11 season. The Stars were again magical, going 19-5 and finishing...

  • MSU-Northern wrestlers finish a solid second at Western Regional

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Anyone wondering if the young, but talented Montana State University-Northern wrestling team was ready for the 2011 NAIA postseason – the Lights answered those questions on Saturday. The No. 8 Lights put together an outstanding day Saturday in Prescott, Ariz., wrestling to a second-place finish at the Western regional, and almost knocking off Southern Oregon in the process. The Lights scored 135.5 points to SOU's 138 points at the regional tournament, which turned out to be great preparation for the upcoming NAIA national t...

  • 9C Girls: North Star, HLP girls battle back

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Friday afternoon was a big day for the Chinook girls basketball team. The Sugarbeeters had a chance to advance to their first 9C girls championship, and they took full advantage, beating the Big Sandy Pioneers 38-35 in a wild semifinal game. Chinook led 8-6 after the first quarter and the game was nip and tuck throughout. Big Sandy regained the lead early in the second behind two quick buckets from Mackenzie Jenkins, but late in the half, the Beeters again forged ahead and led 16-13 at the end of a low-scoring 16 minutes....

  • 9C Girls: HLP girls finish third

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Beating the same team twice in three days is a tall order for any girls basketball program. But it's an even bigger task when success hasn't exactly come easy for during the last decade of play at the District 9C girls basketball tournament. Yet, that's exactly what the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds did. On Saturday afternoon at the Havre High gymnasium, the T-Birds bested the North Star Knights 51-47 in the 9C consolation game. The win was the second in three days fro HLP over the Knights and it was also the T-Birds best...

  • Chinook girls capture surprise 9C title

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Coming into the 2011 District 9C girls basketball tournament, there was no bigger favorite then the Box Elder Bears. After all, the Bears were the defending 9C champions and they brought a sparkling 17-1 record to Havre. However, somebody forgot to tell the Chinook Sugarbeeters about the Bears' 9C coronation. On Saturday night at the Havre High gymnasium, the upstart Beeters, led by legendary head coach Charlie Robinson, stunned the Bears and the rest of the 9C by winning the district championship 47-39. The huge upset was...

  • Final HDN Super 15

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The postseason is underway for Class B and C boys basketball teams. The Class A postseason is a week away and the Class AA's are busy sorting out seeding for the state tournament. So this week will be the final Havre Daily News Super 15 Polls. It's been fun ranking teams and now it's time to start finding out who the best of the best really is in Montana. And by the second weekend in March, we'll know. The final Super 15 girls poll has Bozeman sitting atop the standings, and six Class AA teams ranked in the top 10. Unbeaten...

  • MSU-N matmen hit the postseason

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    And just like that, the postseason is here. But this postseason is a little bit different for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team. On Saturday, the Lights will be in Prescott, Ariz., for the Western regional, the final qualifier for the NAIA national tournament, which will be in two weeks. And while the Lights might not be favored to bring home the top spot on Saturday, or a national championship, third-year head coach Tyson Thivierge's team is in a much better spot than it was last season when the Lights...

  • RMC trips MSU-Northern women at the finish line

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team suffered its share of heartache during last weekend's back-to-back home losses. And things didn't get any easier on Thursday night. In Billings Thursday night, the Skylights fell 59-58 in a thriller to Rocky Mountain College, and with the loss, all hope of playing at home in the upcoming Frontier Conference playoffs is likely gone. But as difficult and disappoint as Thursday's loss to the Bears, the bright spot was, the skylights played well, but just came up...

  • Lights crush Battlin' Bears

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Winning on the road is never easy. Winning on the road this season in the Frontier Conference, even more difficult. But the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team did just that, and in the process, exercised some demons from a year ago. Last season, it was Rocky Mountain College which beat the Lights in Havre on the last weekend of the regular season. That game likely kept the Lights out of the NAIA tourney, but on Thursday night in Billings, the Lights got a huge win on the Battling Bears home floor as...

  • George Ferguson Column: First day of the 9C was worth the wait

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    After covering the District 9C boys and girls basketball tournament since 2002, it was interesting to wait until Thursday night for this year's 9C extravaganza to begin. I was a little unsure of the new schedule, simply because the 9C tournament is so big to so many people, and besides the basketball, it's generally a week-long celebration of our area, the communities, the fans and the kids. So to wait until Thursday seemed a little odd. And, basketball at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning? Ouch! But it didn't take more than five...

  • Leader of the Lights

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Consistency. That's a word which is firmly entrenched in Montana State University-Northern head coach Shawn Huse' vocabulary. He preaches it to his players and assistant coaches. He lives by it in all things, and he means it. But over the last nine years in Havre, that word could also best describe Huse and his coaching tenure at Northern. In essence, since the day Huse arrived in Havre, almost a decade ago, the Lights, the program and everything surrounding MSU-Northern basketball has been very consistent, and that's a...

  • Bulldogs stun Skylights in Havre, again

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team had been here before. A big lead, late in the game against a dangerous UM-Western team. And like before, the Bulldogs did the unthinkable yet again. On Friday night at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs erased a 14-point second-half deficit and beat the Skylights 72-69 in the final minute of the game. Northern has lost similar games to Western in several seasons recently. "It's disappointing because we were really in control and felt like we were playing...

  • Lights get a heroic win over Western

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    If the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team had a any type of monkey on its back this season, it was the UM-Western Bulldogs. However, after a thrilling last-second victory over the 19th-ranked Bulldogs Friday night at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse, it's gone. The No. 25 Lights beat the Bulldogs on a high floating shot by Devin Jackson with just four seconds left in the Friday night's showdown between the top two teams in the league. Just before Jackson's shot, Western's Brandon Brown nailed a cold-blooded...

  • Blue Ponies lay it on the line in the pool

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The Havre High boys and girls swim teams have filled the trophy cases in the West Fourier at the HHS gymnasium over the years. Now, the blue Ponies are trying to add even more hardware to their already overfull shrine at HHS. And as the 2011 All-Class State Swim Meet gets underway today in Butte, both HHS teams have something to prove in the pool this weekend. The Havre High boys are coming off a state championship season from a year ago and the Ponies would like nothing more than to repeat. Meanwhile, the HHS girls' streak...

  • Four Lights earn Frontier honors

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    Tuesday night saw plenty to celebrate when it comes to the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team. And while it wasn't something on the Lights' minds at the time, the Frontier Conference also announced it men's Frontier All-Conference selections and season awards while the Lights were winning the Frontier Conference championship at Carroll College. Northern saw four players earn all-conference for the 2010-11 season, with sophomore Devin Jackson and junior Joe Simpson both being selected Frontier First Team...

  • Lights draw California's Biola

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    When it comes to the NAIA national men's basketball tournament, teams have to go in blind most times. First-round opponents are generally very unfamiliar with each other. Luckily for the 19th-ranked Montana State University-Northern Lights, that's been the case almost all season long, so the Lights first-round game with 13th-ranked Biola University next Thursday night in Kansas City won't be all that different to what the Frontier Conference champion Lights have been facing all year. With so many new Lights, this season has...

  • MSU-N's Schermele, Schwenke honored

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    After a brilliant four-year career at Montana State University-Northern, senior basketball Samm Schermele received one last Frontier Conference honor on Monday night. Schermele earned Frontier First Team All-Conference for 2010-11, the third straight year in which the Great Falls High standout has earned that distinction. The Frontier released its women's postseason awards on Monday night, and Northern junior guard Laramie Schwenke joined Schermele on the all-conference lost. Schwenke, who averaged 11 points, six rebounds,...

  • Lights chase hoop history tonight in Helena

    George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

    The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team might have already locked up a berth to the 2011 NAIA national tournament in two weeks in Kansas City. However, the Lights would like nothing more than to take the mystery out of their postseason fate. And they can do that and so much more tonight when they take on No. 19 Carroll College in the Frontier Conference championship game in Helena. The winner of tonight's game, which gets underway at 7 gets the Frontier's automatic bid to the national tournament, while...

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