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The "Big Sandy" part of Big Sandy Pioneers volleyball finally rang true in a long-awaited homestand that included the girls' first league win. The victory came in a 3-0 sweep Friday of Hays-Lodgepole, the first 6C East team to visit the Big Sandy gym this season. The Pioneers racked up a 25-18, 25-14, 25-11 defeat of the Thunderbirds. On the road for their first five matches and a pair of tournaments, the Pioneer netters finally played their home opener Thursday. It came nearly four weeks after...
Big Sandy running back Kade Strutz scores a lot of touchdowns but not all are created equal. Already ahead 32-0 with less than a minute to play in the first half, coach Larry Jappe urged the Pioneers he wanted "one more" before the half. Strutz appeared to have gotten it with 90 seconds on the clock but a holding penalty negated it. Backed up 10 yards to the visiting White Sulphur Springs Hornets' 29-yard line, Big Sandy collectively shrugged and called Strutz's no. 33 again. Reversing field...
GILFORD -The Big Sandy Pioneer netters are sick of the bus. A duo of difficult defeats last week on the Hi-Line left the Lady Pioneer volleyball squad eager to hit the gym for a back-to-back-to-back series this week. Their own gym. For the first time this season. At long last. "The girls and myself are so excited," Pioneers coach Brittany McKenney said. "It is time for a home game. We have been on the road a lot." The Pioneers fell to 1-4 on the season, including an 0-4 mark in the District 6C...
My, how a soccer program for little people has grown quite big. About two-thirds of the children eligible are suiting up for Big Sandy Soccer this year. "I had to order a bunch more stuff," said co-director Rachel Baumgarn, sorting through a bevy of equipment before Thursday's after-school practice. A record 80 players have formed three U6 (ages 6 and younger) teams, coached by the tandems of Kelly McGrath and Brandy Terry; Katie Heppner and brother Riley Kurtz; and Jessica Butler and Heather...
l to r: Carissa Ray, Rebecca Wiehe, Bailey Gasvoda, Gwen Ophus, and Renee Leader, headed to Billings for the Festivus Games a CrossFit competition. They are all members of the LIFT gym in Big Sandy. Way to go Ladies!...
What a difference a year makes. The Big Sandy Pioneers exorcised any residual demons of its last matchup with the MonDak Thunder in a convincing 60-14 win Friday at Grenora, North Dakota. The Thunder, a co-op between Grenora and Westby, Montana high schools, included in their defense of a 2017 Montana 6-man football state championship, a 2018 come-from-behind win at Big Sandy. The Pioneers evened the home-and-home series with a foe 371 highway miles away by keeping their collective foot on the gas. Big Sandy scored early and often. “We were tou...
The Lady Pioneers came agonizing close to their first league win Tuesday, Sept. 10, in Box Elder with a narrow fifth-set loss. The host Bears edged Big Sandy 25-23, (19-25), 25-(score unreported), (23-25) and 15-11, as the Pioneers fell to 0-2 in the 6C East (1-2 overall). Box Elder improved to 2-0 in league and overall play. Amiya Griffith and Stacey Allderdice led Big Sandy with 3 kills each. Alicia Bjornestad and Amanda Cline tied for a team-high 3 digs. Allderdice led the team with 3...
If North Star could have been a trap game for Big Sandy, the Pioneer football team did not take the bait. In fact, the purple-and-gold ran left, right, around and through the Knights in a 51-6 Friday night romp. Five different Pioneers scored touchdowns. Only a day's worth of accumulated rain seemed to slow Big Sandy. "The wet field kind of prevented us from running more of our stuff (offensively)," coach Larry Jappe said. "We just pounded the ball and scored a lot of points." Big Sandy (2-0)...
The Big Sandy Lady Pioneers have had their ups and downs in the early going this fall. The Pioneer varsity finished in a fifth-place tie at the Cascade Invitational during the weekend after purple-and-gold squads at each level struggled Thursday against perennial league powerhouse Chinook. In pool play Friday, the Pioneer varsity took the first set 21-20 against the hosts but fell 21-15 in the second set. They lost 21-15, 21-12 to cross-county rival Fort Benton before downing Centerville 21-20,...
The number one Jordan Mustangs came to town to face the number two Big Sandy Pioneers. The anticipation was building all week. You could see the look of determination on the faces of the Pioneers as they walked out with Pioneer flags, with the song Knock Out blaring on the brand-new speakers the Booster Club purchased. The speakers added to the enjoyment of the warm-up and the game since you could hear so much better. The Jordan Mustangs won the coin toss and deferred to the Pioneers who got...
The Lady Pioneers opened their 2019 season by traveling to Centerville on Friday, to take on the Miners. They hit the court with new coach, Brittney McKenney and the confidence of five seniors, Amanda Cline, Lainey Gregory, Seanna Demontiney, Stacey Allderdice, and hope Gasvoda. The anticipation of the opening game is always a nervous celebration. They stepped on the court with their game faces on and ready to put all the hard practices to work. The Lady Pioneers played hard and kept up the conf...
For the second year in a row, Big Sandy will lead in Pioneer spirit by Big Sandy Cheerleaders. There are four cheerleaders for the football and volleyball games and eight to 10 cheerleaders for the basketballs games. It is crucial to realize cheerleaders must, by rule, cheer equally at both the football and the volleyball games. The school doesn't want them to travel to far away with the football team, so even though the volleyball games are closer or more at home, they will not be cheering...
Big Sandy junior high football players may dream of the day they suit up under the lights for the varsity but their 2019 schedule might make their senior counterparts jealous. The younger Pioneers host nearby rivals Box Elder and Highwood amidst a five-game homestand to begin this season. Meanwhile, the senior high team buses as far as Grenora, North Dakota, for a September contest and will not face any Golden Triangle foes until the playoffs, if at all. "I'm sure these guys will be pretty...
Call it an embarrassment of riches for the Big Sandy junior high volleyball squad this year. Nineteen girls will play for the Pioneers under the tutelage of Shersteen Cline, who coached the high school varsity last season. "They like being a part of something. They like being with their friends," Cline said, considering the reasons for the turnout. "They get to burn off some of that energy before they go home." Cline did not initially plan to coach, having had a baby in June, but when the...
Visions of a state championship in 6-man football can only be realized in Big Sandy if the Pioneers are well-balanced this season. Not necessarily in their mix of the running and passing game. It should come as no surprise to fans or foes alike to see the purple and gold rely on heavy doses of standout junior rusher Kade Strutz carrying the ball. Instead, the Pioneers as a unit will have to find and maintain a sweet spot. They need to confidently play up to their lofty potential without getting...
A newly minted coach mentored by a Montana preps legend will lead the Big Sandy Pioneers volleyball squad on the court this season. First-year head coach Brittany McKenney played on back-to-back Class B state champion outfits in 2009 and 2010 at Huntley Project under the tutelage of Iona Stookey. Stookey manufactured a perennial power at the Yellowstone County school, leading the Red Devils to their 11th state title in the past 15 years last season. She entered the Montana Coaches Association...
The Montana High School Association (MHSA) is the governing body for all high school athletics, music and speech and drama in Montana. It sets rules in regards to participation eligibility, coaching expectations, contest administration and many other aspects of competition regulation. One of these areas that has come under increased scrutiny in the last several years is the rules governing how booster clubs are allowed to support athletes and their programs. According to the Fundamentals of MHSA Athletic Regulations, “Boosters and booster clubs...
The end of the swim year for the Big Sandy Barracudas was held on August 8th with a dessert buffet, presentation of awards, slide show of the year, and team swim. It's been a long season with everyone improving. Rookie of the year award went to Cassia Butler. Most time cut award went to Dorothea Merrill. Travis discussed how every year the most time cut during the year would be given to a bantam swimmer. They put it all together at the end of the season where they can easily take off numerous se...
As the summer moves along, the boys and girls basketball players have been getting into the gym. Just like the volleyball girls, the basketball players get scheduled time to be supervised in the gym twice a week. The players go in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All the players are grateful for these great opportunities the gym opens up for them. Working on sports during the off season helps teams bond and perform better during their season. Basketball is a sport that needs hard work and dedication. All of the players enjoy the game and being able...
The Big Sandy Swim Team ended their season with a 4th place finish in the Class A division at the Montana Federation State Swim Meet. The Chinook Lions, who are traditionally a Class AA team, took first place honors, followed by Glendive and Conrad. According to coach Travis Baumann, it all came down to numbers and big performances. The Barracudas were the smallest team in Class A and some rival swimmers posted huge gains in the pool. While the team did not bring home a trophy this year,...
The Big Sandy Swim Team placed third at the Western Divisional Swim Meet held in Cut Bank this weekend. Twenty- seven swimmers qualified for the state meet next week in Sidney. Earning high point honors for the Barracudas were Astrid Ketchum- 6th (8-Under girls), Henry Merrill 4th (8-Under boys), Ryder Oats and Darrell SunChild- tie 6th place (11/12 boys), Lane Demontiney -1st (11/12 boys), Daisy LaBuda - 3rd (13/14 girls), Kody Strutz - 4th (13/14 boys), Dillin Geyer - 6th (15-19 boys), Cam...
The Big Sandy Swim Team competed in their last regular season meet of the year this weekend in Chester. They scored 622 points to finish third behind Bitterroot (833) and Columbia Falls (634). Earning high point honors this weekend were Astrid Ketchum (2nd, 8-U girls), Henry Merrill (3rd, 8-U boys), Kade Strutz (2nd, 15-19 boys) and Brady Pleninger (1st – 15-19 boys). The team also set four new pool records; Brady Pleninger – 50 free and 100 free and the 15-19 relay team (Pleninger, Strutz, Cam...
This summer, the Big Sandy volleyball team has been working hard in the gym. A schedule for different sports has been organized to allow every sports team to get time in the gym during the summer. The volleyball girls go in the evening, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The organization for open gym has been helpful for these girls in many ways. For the gym to be available there needs to be at least one adult with the team. Sheri Roth and maybe our future volleyball coach Brittany, have volunteered...
Barracuda swimmers have taught me once again the real value of a sport. This last weekend I attended the swim meet at Conrad both Saturday and Sunday. I was going to interview the kids, but to be honest they couldn't give me a complete story to write about because they all said the same thing. "The best part of swimming is meeting new friends." That sentence doesn't say it all. Maybe because they wouldn't express it the way I write it. Meeting new friends means so much more and they have fun for...
What defines a small town? Population, number of thriving businesses, or school enrollment? Perhaps a driver passing through would only see the superficial aspect: a town with little more than a main street surrounded by agriculture. However, at the Pioneer Little League games and end of season barbecue, they would have been able to see the small town heart that has truly created this team. Despite personal or business worries, people of this community donated financially or with their own...