Local and National Sports for 9-8-2025
It was a busy day on the court for the International Falls Bronco varsity volleyball team at the Greenway Tournament. The Broncos opened play with a tough loss to Cherry in straight sets, 25-22 and 25-15. But the girls bounced back in their second match, taking down Northeast Range in two sets, 25-18 and 25-13.
From there, the competition stiffened. The Broncos fell in two to North Woods, 25-11 and 25-21. And in a hard-fought battle with Mesabi East, the Broncos pushed it to three sets, winning the second 25-8, but ultimately dropping the match 22-25, 25-8, and 13-15. Next for the Broncos they’ll be back in action Thursday September 11th at Rock Ridge.
The Broncos Cross Country team will head to Warroad today to race at 4pm. The Broncos Girls Swim & Dive team jumps in tomorrow in their home pool for a 4:30pm meet against Chisholm.
Last Friday was Friday Night Lights in International Falls as the Broncos Football team hosted the Ely/Northeast Range Timberwolves. The home team would smash Ely 59-8 thanks to Senior Quarterback Hayden Swenson throwing 10/11 for 274 yards and 6 touchdowns. >>99131<< Connecting with Carter Line, Nic Schultz, and Carson Crandall who also ran for a touchdown with 99 yards in rushing. Swenson would also connect with Kane Thompson twice for scores, one of them an 82 yard screen pass to Thompson. >>99132<< Thompson also was one of the defensive leaders with five tackles and a fumble recovery. Next the Broncos will hit the road to take on Rush City for another 7pm kickoff under the Friday Night Lights.
The Littlefork-Big Falls went on the road for their own Friday Night Lights last Friday, facing Kelliher/Northome for the Stars Helmet Trophy. They would get the win and keep the helmet with the final score of 40-6. The game opened with Emet Erickson running in a 60 yard touchdown and finishing with 250 all-purpose and two touchdowns total. The Vikings will return next Friday at home for the Battle for the Paddle against Bigfork at 7pm.
Back on the volleyball court, the Vikings return home to face LaPorte in the LBF Gymnasium. First serve is set for 7pm.
The Rainy River Voyageurs Volleyball team kept their hot start rolling with a pair of road wins over the weekend.
On Friday night, the Voyageurs traveled to Grand Rapids to take on MNC–Itasca. They came away with a 3–1 victory, taking sets by scores of 25–16, 25–20, 20–25, and 25–20. Janne Ramakers led the way with 8 kills and a .471 hitting percentage, while Ninette Romero chipped in 9 kills and 4 service aces. Madison McClain was steady at the net with 9 kills of her own, helping Rainy River secure the win.
Then on Saturday, the Voyageurs swept Central Lakes on their home floor in Brainerd, 25–23, 25–22, and 25–22. McClain dominated again, hitting .458 with 11 kills, while Romero added 12 more kills and 13 digs. Evelyn Perkins set the tempo with 18 assists and 2 aces, and the Voyageurs defense tallied 63 digs as a team to close out the sweep.
After improving to 5–3 on the season, the Voyageurs will finally play in front of their home fans this Wednesday night. They host MNC–Mesabi Range at 6:30 in the Rainy River College Gymnasium.
Friday at Muskie Field a large crowd braved chilly temperatures and brisk winds to cheer on the FFHS Muskies as they opened their 76th season with a dominating 45 – 0 win over the Daniel McIntyre Maroons from Winnipeg.
The Muskies scored early and often against the undermanned Maroons to lead 35 – nothing at halftime. Fullback Landon Medwechuk opened the scoring rumbling in from 20 yards. Trent Friesen who successfully booted the convert on all 5 Muskie touchdowns made the score 7 – 0.
On the Muskies next possession, quarterback Milo Stafford threw a short pass to his brother Liam who ran 28 yards to untouched. With the convert the Muskies lead was 14 – nothing.
The Muskies also got touchdowns from Trent Friesen on runs of 10 and 2 yards and Conner Small who scampered in from 33 yards. In the third quarter, Liam Stafford closed out the scoring when he intercepted a Maroon pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.
The Muskies play their next 2 games at home before a stretch of 4 road games. Next Friday September 12th at 3:00 PM the Muskies host the Dryden Eagles who opened their season with a convincing 33 – 14 win in Kenora against the Broncos. Homecoming is Friday September 19th at 3:00 PM against Kenora.
The Fort Frances Lakers opened their preseason on the road with a nail-biter against the Thunder Bay North Stars, falling 3–2 in a shootout.
Back on home ice Saturday night, the Lakers battled hard but came up just short again, dropping a 6–5 decision in another close contest against the North Stars. Fans packed the Ice for Kids Arena for the game, with admission by donation to the UNFC Food Bank.
The Lakers will now turn their attention to Friday, September 12th, when they host the Winnipeg Monarchs in their final preseason matchup. >>99133<< or >>99134<<
The Fort Frances Lakers have acquired Carter Peters from the Amherst Ramblers in exchange for a Player Development Fee. The forward from Kenora led the Kenora Thistles U18AAA in scoring last season with 45 points in 38 games. “Carter is a player we’ve followed closely for the past few seasons,” said Lakers GM, Luke Judson. “He has great offensive instincts, and was impressive in the games he played in the SIJHL last year. When we heard he might be available, it was something we pursued immediately.” Judson continued. “The Thistles program has been a great pipeline for us, Carter will join his old teammates Brady Cates, Wyatt Greer, and Alex Booth on the Lakers.”
The Minnesota Twins salvaged their series against the Kansas City Royals with a 5-1 win at Kauffman Stadium yesterday. Byron Buxton led off the game with a solo home run, while Kody Clemens also went deep in the victory. Buxton’s 30th homer of the year put him in the “50-20” clubs, meaning he has 30 homers and 20 stolen bases. Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett is the only other Minnesota Twin to register a 30-20 season. Bailey Ober earned his fifth win by holding the Royals to one run on four hits in five-and-a-third innings. The Twins snapped a six-game losing streak and are in fourth place in the A-L Central at 63-80. Michael Lorenzen was charged with his tenth loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits in five-and-a-third frames. The Royals are two games out of the final A-L Wild Card spot. Minnesota will visit Anaheim to take on the Angels tonight at 8:38 P-M.
The sister of Minnesota Timberwolves player Naz Reid was shot and killed in New Jersey. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said Toraya Reid, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds near the exit of an apartment building in Jackson Township. Jackson Township police officers responded to calls reporting shots fired and a 29-year-old man, Shaquille Green, was taken into custody. The prosecutor’s office said, investigators determined that Green was in a romantic relationship with Reid. The prosecutor’s office announced Saturday that Green faces charges, including murder and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The Minnesota Lynx had a big third quarter during a 78-72 win over the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center on Saturday. The Lynx trailed by five at halftime before outscoring Golden State 30-16 in the third. Natisha Hiedeman poured in 24 points off the bench, while Napheesa Collier finished with 20. Minnesota remains in first place in the W-N-B-A with a 33-9 record. The Lynx visit the Fever tomorrow night.
The Class of 2025 was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Among the inductees was former Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore, who won four W-N-B-A titles. Other inductees were longtime N-B-A All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Anthony and Howard were also inducted as members of the gold-medal-winning 2008 Team U-S-A men’s basketball team. The squad that came to be known as the “Redeem Team” also included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant.
Week One of the N-F-L season wraps up tonight with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the rival Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Vikings quarterback J-J McCarthy will be making his first career regular season start and will have several weapons to throw to, including Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and T-J Hockenson. Chicago’s Ben Johnson will be making his head coaching debut after being hired by the Bears in the offseason. Johnson hopes to connect with former first overall pick Caleb Williams, who was sacked 68 times as a rookie last season. Chicago was 5-12 a season ago. The Vikings finished second in the N-F-C North at 14-3 before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. Minnesota will be without veteran safety Harrison Smith, who will miss the game due to what a team announcement said was an “illness.” Kickoff tonight is set for 7:15 P-M.
N-F-L Hall of Famer and E-S-P-N studio Analyst Randy Moss returned to the network’s Sunday N-F-L Countdown after completing his cancer treatment. Moss celebrated the occasion yesterday with his colleagues saying, “Now all my treatment is over, ringing the bell, now I’m back with the family, man.” When publicly announcing his diagnosis back in December, Moss promised he would return to commentating duties: “As soon as I get healthy to get back out there with you guys, I promise you, I will be on set.” Moss had two stints with the Vikings over his career.
The University of Minnesota football team raced to a 59-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a 66-0, rain-shorted win over Northwestern State (LA) on Saturday in Minneapolis. The 2-0 Golden Gophers scored nine touchdowns with nine different players crossing the goal line. Minnesota allowed only 42 yards of total offense and two total first downs from the visiting Demons, who were outmatched. The Gophers scored two defensive touchdowns, including on the first play of the game when defensive back John Nestor returned an interception for a touchdown. The game was called official with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter when lightning was detected in the area. Instead of waiting out any type of delay, the two teams mutually agreed to end the game at that point. The Gophers will visit Cal this Saturday night at 9:30 A-M in a Big Ten/A-C-C matchup. Here is the 2025 University of Minnesota football schedule, with results to date:
Thursday, August 28th: Gophers 23, Buffalo 10 (final)
Saturday, September 6th: Gophers 66, Northwestern State 0 (final)
Saturday, September 13th: at California, 9:30 P-M
Saturday, September 20th: BYE WEEK
Saturday, September 27th: vs. Rutgers, TBD
Saturday, October 4th: at Ohio State, TBD
Saturday, October 11th: vs. Purdue (homecoming), 6 P-M or 6:30 P-M
Friday, October 17th: vs. Nebraska, 7 P-M
Saturday, October 25th: at Iowa, TBD
Saturday, November 1st: vs. Michigan State, TBD
Saturday, November 8th: BYE WEEK
Friday, November 14th: at Oregon, 8 P-M
Saturday, November 22nd: at Northwestern (at Wrigley Field), TBD
Saturday, November 29th: vs. Wisconsin, TBD