Benning Printing & Publishing

by Coach Mike Mahlen The Verndale Pirates defeated Bertha-Hewitt 30-0 Friday, Sept. 18, at Bertha. Verndale took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter when Joe Elfstrum scored on a 53-yard run. Elfstrum added the extra points. In the second quarter, Elfstrum caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Owen Weiher. Elfstrum again added the extra point, giving the Pirates a 16-0 halftime lead. Elfstrum scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter. The extra-point attempt failed, making

by Coach Heidi Brandsma On Tuesday, September 15, the Verndale Pirates cross country team participated in the Long Prairie Invitational. The meet was originally scheduled for Monday, September 14, but was rescheduled due to the weather. The Long Prairie golf course has its own challenges with plenty of rolling hills and, with the recent rain, some ‘extra’ water features. The extra day of preparation paid off for the team, with several athletes setting new personal bests f

Pirates Take Pine River-Backus five-sets in Nailbiter Loss The Verndale volleyball team battled through five long sets, but weren’t able to overcome the Pine River-Backus Tigers in an exciting match on Tuesday, September 8. The Pirates started the night slowly, unable to find their groove, dropping the first two sets 25-14 and 25-17. Unwilling to give up, the Pirates came into the third set with a spark, igniting a two set comeback and forcing a decisive fifth set, taking s

Matt Allen completed the varsity boys 3.1 mile race in 34 minutes, 5 seconds. by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Cross Country team participated in the Johanna Olson Invitational held at the Whitetail Run Golf course in Wadena on Tuesday September 8th. It was a challenging day for the team, with temperatures in the 80s and humidity that made running more difficult. The team rallied and finished strong. New for the team, we also had four elementary students who are pa

by Coach Mike Mahlen The Verndale Pirates played South Ridge on Friday, Sept. 4, falling 14-12 in overtime. Verndale scored first in the opening quarter on a six-yard touchdown run by Joe Elfstrum. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, giving the Pirates a 6-0 lead. South Ridge tied the game in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Kingsley Archambault. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the score tied 6-6. In overtime, Verndale scored on a two-yard to

by Haley Youngbauer The Verndale Pirates Volleyball team opened their season with two hard fought matches last week, falling 1-3 to Staples-Motley on Tuesday and 0-3 to Parkers Prairie on Thursday. The Pirates started the week on the road to battle the Staples-Motley Cardinals. After a long back and forth first set, the Pirates dug deep and came out victorious with a score of 28-26. The Pirates kept up the fight to keep each set close, but despite their best efforts, the

by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Cross Country team has had a busy beginning of the season. The first meet we participated in was the Brave Like Gabe meet hosted by Perham. This meet took place on Saturday, August 29th at The Pioneer Village in Perham. There were 40 teams competing at this meet, split by school size into two different groups. Running for the Junior High girls’ team was Elliana Mathison, who finished the two-mile course in 19 min. 51 sec. Running for

Subscribe to get more of your school sports news!

by Coach Greg Johnson Verndale 62, Laporte 42 On Monday, March 2, the Boys Basketball team began Section 5A playoff action by hosting the Laporte Wildcats. The Pirates were able to come away with a first-round win by the score of 62-42. Braylin Deleon led the way in scoring with 26 points. Bryce Pickar had 9 points and 7 rebounds, while Chase Jenson had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Stats: Zain Waldahl 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals,6 points. Joe Elfstrum 5 rebounds, 1 assist,

by Coach Greg Johnson Verndale 84, Swanville 70 On Monday, February 23, the Boys Basketball team hosted the Swanville Bulldogs and won by a score of 84-70. Braylin Deleon led the Pirates in scoring with 30 points to go along with 5 assists and 5 steals on the night. Joe Elfstrum led the way on the glass with 10 rebounds as well as a team high 6 assists. Chase Jensen chipped in 19 points while Bryce Pickar had 12 points and 4 blocked shots. Stats: Waldahl 2 rebounds, 4 assis