The coaches will tell you that it’s a long season and one game does not a season make. But Belle Plaine football fans still had plenty to be pleased with as they saw their Plainsman football squad roll to a 36-15 victory over Don Bosco Friday at Waterloo’s Sloan-Wallace Stadium.

The Plainsmen lost several talented players to graduation after last season and several of the players back for this season were called on to take on different or additional duties from in the past. But plenty of them were called on to show what they could do with positive results. Eight Plainsmen carried the ball and two rushed for over 100 yards each. They scored on the ground, through the air and via the field goal. Nineteen players recorded tackles, four were in on quarterback sacks and Belle Plaine had one interception and two fumble recoveries.

Coach Todd Bohlen was happy with the fact that a lot of different players had plenty of playing opportunities. The Plainsmen have introduced a new defense this year and the players seemed to grasp it well, with junior Cody Chekal leading the team in tackles and freshman Nick Pippert finishing with five tackles, including two for loss and one sack.

The coach said that the first Don Bosco score came against several defensive reserves and there were several freshmen and sophomores on the field for Belle Plaine on a Don Bosco kickoff return that went for another score.

The first score of the year came with 9:47 left in the first quarter when Cooper Northrop capped the opening drive with a 27-yard field goal to give the Plainsmen a 3-0 lead. After the kickoff, the Plainsmen recovered a Don Bosco fumble on their first play from scrimmage and Northrop went in from nine yards on the next play, then kicked the extra point for a quick 10-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, the Plainsmen added another score after a 10-play, 89 yard drive when Devon Parr scored from a yard out. The kick made it 17-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The only score of the second quarter came with 2:01 remaining in the half on a nifty 41-yard pass play from Logan Baburek to Northrop. The two point conversion try failed, but the Plainsmen had a 23-0 advantage at the half.

After the Dons were unable to sustain a drive at the start of the second half, the Plainsmen added another score with 8:23 left in the third on a 29-yard pass from Baburek to Brayden Morrow. Northrop’s kick made it 30-0.

Don Bosco finally got on the scoreboard on its next possession when with 6:26 left in the quarter, Jake Hogan scored on a 22-yard run. Tony Becker’s kick made it 30-7.

Early in the fourth quarter, Northrop intercepted a Don Bosco pass and three plays later, raced 62 yards for the last Plainsman touchdown of the night. The two point attempt failed. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Austin Schmitt raced 88 yards for the Dons’ final score. He also ran in with the two-point conversion for the final margin.

Northrop had just six carries but picked up 135 yards. He also caught three passes for 68 yards, finishing with three touchdowns, one field goal and three extra point kicks. Kyle Janss finished with 18 carries for 115 yards. Lance Hinschberger had one carry for three yards, Brett Hampton had two for one yard, Parr had 10 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown, Ben Ehlen had one for 11 yards, Dustin Drexler had one for two yards and Baburek had one carry for minus nine yards. Morrow had one catch for 29 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Cody Chekal had 10 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Barr had nine tackles and half a sack. Reed Petersen had three tackles, inclduing 1.5 for loss. Zach Snyder had five tackles, Hinschberger finished with four and a half tackle for loss and half sack. Devon Conway had eight tackles, Janss had one, Drexler had three, Hampton finished with five, Northrop had two and an interception, Tyler Williams had one, Chad Olson had four with a fumble recovery, Blake Chekal had five, James Johnson had two with a half tackle for loss and half sack, Brent Stull had three tackles, Nick Pippert had five with two for loss and one sack, Ryan DeRycke and Reece Kimm each had one and Ehlen had one with a half tackle for loss.

The Plainsmen open their home season Friday night against Lone Tree for Parents’ Night. Lone Tree has some good athletes, Bohlen said. They lost to Highland Riverside in their opener, 26-13, but finished with 200 yards in rushing, led by Levi Rietzler’s 15 carries for 140 yards.

Belle Plaine                17              6                7                  6            -                    36

Don Bosco                     0             0                7                  8            -                    15

BP                     DB

First downs                                              14                        12

Rushing                                                     40-331              46-149

Passes                                                        4-8-0                  0-3-1

Pass yds.                                                    97                         0

Punts                                                           1-40                     5-29

Fumbles                                                     3-2                        3-2

Penalties                                                    5-55                      9-59

It’s an old sports cliché, but in many aspects this is the beginning of a new era for the Belle Plaine football program. The Plainsmen enter the 2010 campaign this week in a new district, in a new division, facing seven new opponents. If not already, very soon even their locker room will be new as remodeling at the junior-senior high school is nearing completion.

Coach Todd Bohlen’s squad has been assigned to Class A this season. Last year, the Plainsmen were a Class 1A team. Gone are recent opponents like West Branch, Pekin and Eddyville-Blakesburg. But the other six teams in the Plainsman district are old friends and old rivals, as all seven teams in the district are also members of the SICL Conference.

It’s also a new era as the Plainsmen must replace much of their skill positions on the offensive side of the ball. The starting quarterback and leading receivers and ball carriers were seniors last year. But several of the players who will be called on to step up and fill those positions this season are very familiar with the system. And Bohlen says there are several veteran linemen who will help build a strong foundation on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Seniors Zach Snyder and Reed Petersen will provide a lot of bulk and experience on the line. Logan Baburek will get the call at quarterback, Devon Parr is at fullback, Cooper Northrop could be a prime receiver and Kyle Janss, who saw some action in the latter stages of several games last season, will get a more prominent role in the offensive backfield this season, the coach said.

This year’s team is down a bit in numbers, with 12 seniors, eight juniors, 11 sophomores and 11 freshmen and the coach said some freshmen and sophomores have a good chance to see some varsity playing time, including sophomores Lance Hinschberger, Brent Stull and Ryan DeRycke and freshman Nick Pippert. Juniors Brett Hampton and Dustin Drexler will also have a chance to see more action this season.

The injury bug has hit the Plainsman camp already this season, with Keegan DeMeulenaere going down with a knee injury on the first play of last week’s scrimmage and Brayden Morrow nursing a bad shoulder. Both players will be out an indeterminate length of time, the coach said.

There will also be a bit of a change in the coaching ranks this season. Assistants Justin Northrop and Ryan Ridout return, joined by for Plainsman and Hawkeye Kyle Spading. He replaces longtime assistant Dennis Kurriger, who retired from coaching after last season.

This year’s schedule has some competitive balance, as there are four teams who finished below the .500 mark last season, but two teams who are rated in the preseason rankings. With just seven teams in District Six, the Plainsmen start the season with three non-district games. Friday night, they travel to Waterloo’s Sloan-Wallace Stadium to face Don Bosco. The Dons finished 1-6 in their district last year, 1-8 overall. Bohlen says they have just 31 players on their roster.

Their home opener is next week when they host a Lone Tree team that had a 2-4 district record and a 3-6 overall mark. The third week, they travel to Lisbon, 4-3 and 5-4 last year. Their first two district games are against two teams they faced (and beat) last year, Iowa Valley, which finished at 1-6 and 1-8 and HLV, 3-3 and 5-4 a year ago.

In the sixth week, the Plainsmen host Lynnville-Sully for homecoming. The Hawks were 0-6 and 1-8 a year ago. The next two games are on the road against rated opponents. BGM, 5-1 and 8-1 last year, is rated fifth in one preseason poll. North Mahaska was 4-2 and 7-2 a year ago and is rated 11^th this season. The regular season ends the next week with a home game against Montezuma. A school the Plainsmen have played several years ago in football.

The Plainsmen will be seeking their third straight trip to the playoffs after finishing last year with a 7-3 overall record, 5-2 in the district. One preseason poll has the Plainsmen rated seventh in Class A. Of course, like most coaches, Bohlen doesn’t put a lot of stock in preseason polls, waiting to see how his squad will perform beginning Friday night.

Kirkwood Community College recently held a volleyball camp in Belle Plaine for girls in grades 2 – 4 and 5 – 8.

Coach Trena Dodd’s comments on the camp: “During camp the girls learned about passing, setting and serving. They all did a really nice job during the week.  It was fun seeing them improve in those few days.  I look forward to watching them compete in the future!



Those attending the camp included, front row, from left: Carly Varo, Macy Dodd, Hannah Eichhorn, Blake Weber. Second row: Kailyn Pettitt, Danielle Montgomery, Kendra Alcott, Shaylee Dodd, Hope Brecht, Kenzie Mantz, Rhylee Stone. Back row: Trena Dodd, Coach, Kayla Chizek, Bailey Kuba, Katherine Andersen, Alexa Stull, Rachel Montgomery, Shannon Murray, Shiloh Murray, Jill Alcott, Volunteer Coach. Not shown: Hannah McLennan.

Melissa Janss fires to first base Thursday in the regional opener at Belle Plaine.

Belle Plaine’s softball season came to a halt Thursday night, as Iowa Valley sidelined the Plainsmen, 13-2 in a six-inning regional opener at Belle Plaine.

The Tigers scored five runs in the second, five more in the third, one in the fifth and two in the top of the sixth. The Plainsmen scored their two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Belle Plaine, which was riding a six-game winning streak, ends the season with a 10-13 record. Iowa Valley moved to 22-9 overall, after tying Lynnville-Sully for the SICL Conference title with an 18-2 record.

As they enter the final stages of the regular season, it’s been a rough go for the Belle Plaine varsity softball squad so far. Through Wednesday night, the Plainsmen are 5-13 on the season, according to QuikStats.

Fans of offense have not been disappointed so far, as one team or the other has scored at least 10 runs in 10 of those 18 games. The offensive highlight for the Plainsmen so far was a 12-2 win over Montezuma. They have been shut out just three times this season, but North Mahaska put 22 runs on the board earlier in a 22-4 decision.

In most recent action, the Plainsmen stopped a five-game losing string with an 8-3 win over Sigourney. Junior Joy Cronbaugh has pitched 85 innings in 12 appearances this season. She has 55 strikeouts and 22 walks and a 2.96 earned run average.

Through the first 16 games, Melissa Janss led the team with a .375 batting average. Brenna Ford was hitting .356.

Regional play begins Thursday, July 8, when the Plainsmen host Iowa Valley at 7 p.m. The winner moves on the next night to face either North Linn or Iowa City Regina at Regina at 7 p.m.

By: Brad Cook

A young squad of Belle Plaine girls traveled to Tama on Saturday June 26^th to compete in a 12 and under softball tournament. Facing some of the top softball programs in the state the Plainsmen girls battled older more experienced teams while gaining valuable experience for the future.

Game one pitted the Plainsmen against the sterling pitching of BCLUW.  Savannah Meeks pitched in a losing effort against the Cobras of BCLUW. Kylie Hegwood had the only hit for Belle Plaine as the girls fell 9-0.

Game two saw the Plainsman bats start to heat up against a tough East Marshall girl’s team. Kalli Grieder began the game pitching giving way to Madison McIntire after suffering an injury. Kalli Grieder, Savannah Meeks, and Shaylee Stanerson all had hits for the Plainsman in a 17-4 loss.

Fighting a 100 degree heat index the girls left it all on the field against South Tama in a hard-fought 10-9 loss. Savannah Meeks returned to the mound and the Plainsmen capitalized on numerous bases on balls given up by the Trojan pitching staff. Leading 9-8 going into the bottom of the last inning the Trojans manufactured two runs to get the win. Scoring runs for the Plainsmen in the finale were Savannah Meeks, Kylie, Shaylee Dodd, Shannon Murray, Madison McIntire, Amanda Cook, Dawn Toney, and Shaylee Stanerson.

Also competing for the Plainsman were Lakota Stanerson, Ashton Bohlen, Kendra Alcott, Lilly Papesh, and Kaitlyn Plumb. Phillip Stanerson and Megan Ehlen coached the team with Todd Bohlen helping and umpiring.

The summer parks and recreation season comes to an end next week with the Benton County League tournament taking place Monday through Friday at sites to be determined.

Players huddle with coach Stanerson between innings.

Belle Plaine City League

Red Wheel Red Sox 8 Grieder Standard Magic 2

Brodie Bohlen had a single and a homerun for the Magic.  Cole Hamilton also had a single for the Magic.  For the Red Sox’s Tanner Meeks had a double and a single, while Jordan Reineke had 2 singles and 2 RBI’s.  Keegan White pitched 5 strikeouts for the Red Sox’s while Magic pitcher Pierce DeJoode had 4.

Midwest One Mets 7 Ehlen Plumbing and Heating Phillies 3

Will Mengler led the Mets going 3-3 with 3 singles.  Brandon Zumbach went 2-3 with a double and an RBI.  Wyatt Parizek went 3-3 with a homerun and had a great game in the field.  The Phillies leading hitters were Zac Slaymaker who went 2-2 with 2 singles and Jon Stone who had a homerun and 2 RBI’s.

Grieders Standard Magic 7 Midwest One Mets 6

For the Magic, Brant DeMeuleaneare went 2-3 with a single.  Wes Pippert also went 2-3 with a single and a RBI.  Brodie Bohlen went 2-2 with 2 RBI’s and 2 singles. For the Mets it was Brandon Mantz who had a big day at the plate going 2-2 with a triple and 3 RBI’s.

Red Wheel Red Sox 11 Midwes One Mets 6

Tyler Arens led the Mets at the plate with a homerun.  Brandon Mantz followed going 2-3 with 2 singles.  For the Red Sox it was Tristen Checak who had a big game with 2 homeruns.  Dylan Fry also went 3-3 at the plate.

Ehlen Plumbing and Heating Phillies7 Grieder Standard Magic 5

Braden Parr went 2-3 for the Phillies with a triple and a single.  Jacob Ehlen went 3-3 with 2 singles and a homerun.  For the Magic, John Reekers went 1-2 with and RBI single and Pierce DeJoode went 2-2 with 2 singles and an RBI.

Grieder Standard Magic 5 Midwest One Mets 5

Wyatt Parizek had a big game for the Mets going 2-2 with a double and a 3 run homerun.  Brandon Zumbach had a good game on the mound pitching 3 inngs striking out 6.  Cole Benton led the Magic going 2-3 with a single and homerun.  He also had 3 RBI’s.

Red Wheel Red Sox 6 Grieder Standard Magic 5

Wes Pippert led the Magic with 2 doubles and a single while Dakota Henry had 2 singles and an RBI.  Jakob Longnecker had 2 sinlges for the Red Sox, as well as Tristan Cecak.

Red Wheel Red Sox 16 Ehlen Plumbing and Heating Phillies 4

Trey Alcott had 2 triples and a single, while Dylan Fry had a homerun and a double for the Red Sox.  Zac Slaymaker had a homerun for the Phillies while Brandon Van Nevel had 2 singles.  Keegan White pitched 5 strikeouts for the Red Sox while Jon Stone had 5 for the Phillies.

Belle Plaine Traveling Team

Belle Plaine 12 HLV team one 2

Cody Northrup had a big day going 3-3 with 2 singles and a double.  Try Alcott also went 3-3 with 3 singles and 2 RBI’s.  Brandon Zumbach had a great day pitching striking out 8.  Zac Slaymaker went 2-2 with 2 singles and had 2 RBI’s.

Belle Plaine 9 HLV team two 5

Jon Stone led the Plainsmen going 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI’s.  Jordan Rieneke pitched great throwing 4 inngs while striking out 9.  Chance Baburek went 2-2 with 2 singles and Brodie Bohlen went 2-3 with 2 singles as well.

Williamsburg 15 Belle Plaine 1

Jordan Reineke was one hit shy of the cycle.  He went 3-3 with a triple, a double and a single.  Will Mengler went 2-3 with 2 singles.

Girls Softball

Belle Plaine 15 Van Horne 1

Ashton Bohlen had 3 runs, 2 RBI’s and 3 hits.  While Shaylee Dodd had 3 RBI’s on 3 hits.  Cassidy Mumby had an RBI.  Lakota Stanerson had 4 RBI’s on only 3 hits.  Mackenzie O’brien pitched great striking out 6 and only allowing 1 run.

Belle Plaine 5 Atkins 4

Mackenzie O’brien had 2 hits with one being a homerun.  Lakota Stanerson had 3 RBI’s on 2 hits.  O’brien pitched great again for Belle Plaine striking out 6.  Kenzie Mantz had the game winning hit.

Atkins 3 Belle Plaine 2

Shaylee Stanerson had a hit and a run.  Kalli Grieder had a double and an RBI.  She also pitched well striking out 8.  Emily Thill also scored a run and had a hit.

Two members of the 2009-10 Belle Plaine High School wrestling squad have been selected to the National High School Coaches Association Academic All-America Team. Recent grads Jack O’Brien and Zakk Buch were the only Iowans from the class of 2010 and took two of the 64 spots for the team that represented 39 states.

O’Brien finished 42-5 and fifth in Class A state tournament at 125 pounds for Coach Bob Yilek at Belle Plaine High School; three-time state placewinner; career record 155-31. Earned 3.8 GPA, scored 28 on the ACT and ranks No. 10 in a class of 68; will attend Coe College.

Buch finished 32-6 and seventh in Class A state tournament at 103 pounds two-time state placewinner; career record 107-21. Earned 3.5 GPA and scored 25 on the ACT; will attend Coe College.

It’s been a rough start for the Belle Plaine baseball squad and their first year head coach, Scott Janss. The Plainsmen have a 1-6 record so far against a conference slate that the coach says should be pretty balanced this year.

After a 4-2 loss in the season opener to Keota, the Plainsmen dropped a 12-5 decision to Tri-County, a 16-6 loss to Iowa Valley and a 7-6 loss to HLV. Then came the offensive highlight of the season as the Plainsmen pounded out 17 hits in an 18-14 decision over North Mahaska.

Dustin Drexler had three hits, including a homer and drove in three runs. Devon Parr also had three hits with four rbis and a double. Cooper Northrop drove in two with a homer. Lance Hinschberger had three rbis and Scott Wheeler doubled and drove in two.

Two days later, BGM handed the Plainsmen an 11-0 defeat and then Sigourney also prevailed, 8-5.

Janss, who spent the last five years as the assistant coach, says he has always wanted to have a shot at the head baseball coaching position. He said he would have taken the job even if his kids weren’t playing. But it is a real family affair, as graduated senior Chris Janss is the ace on the mound and his older brother, Brandon, a Coe College student and Plainsman grad, is the assistant coach.

There is a lot of experience on this team, as 11 of the 22 men on the roster are returning lettermen. But the coach says he realizes that a good program is built on nurturing younger talent. The Belle Plaine junior varsity has had a winning record for the last six years. He says positive attitudes and supportive parents are key to bringing success to the Plainsman program.

This year, the SICL could be a very balanced league. Currently, Sigourney and BGM sit atop the conference with seven wins each. Two other teams have five wins and three have just one win each.

If the Plainsmen are able to turn it around in the next three weeks, they could have some success in the postseason. In the last two years, in district action they have had to face Solon on the Spartans’ field. Each year, Solon went on to advance to the state tournament. This year, the Plainsmen will travel to Brooklyn on July 10 to face East Marshall in the first round of district action.

Members of the 2010 Belle Plaine girls’ track squad met one more time last weekend to receive their season awards after a spectacular season. They took six events to the state meet including Megan Abernathy in the 100 meter dash, Dani Coover in the 200 dash and the 100 meter hurdles, Taylor Schafbuch in the 400 meter hurdles and the shuttle hurdle and 4 x 100 meter relay teams.

Coover and Schafbuch were co-winners of the Most Valuable Player Award. Abernathy and Melissa Janss were Coaches Award winners, Sarah Hafner was the Most Versatile Award winner, Jamie Rich received the Guts Award, Julie Long was the Most Improved Award winner and Darian Griffith received the Rookie of the Year Award.

Belle Plaine girls’ track award winners included, front row, from left: Megan Abernathy, Coaches Award, Sarah Hafner, Most Versatile and Taylor Schafbuch, Most Valuable. Back row, from left: Melissa Janss, Coaches’ Award, Jamie Rich, Guts Award, Julie Long, Most Improved, Darian Griffith, Rookie of the Year and Dani Coover, Most Valuable.