The Minnesota State High School football playoffs came to a conclusion on Saturday, Nov. 23 with the playing of the Class AAAAA championship game between Alexandria Area and Elk River. Meanwhile, the winter sports season for high schools in Minnesota, including Blue Earth Area and United South Central, began on Nov. 11.

For BEA and USC, girls basketball practices started that day. The Bucs’ gymnastics team also began preparing for their season on Nov. 11. The Buccaneer and Rebel wrestling and boys basketball teams began practicing one week later, on Nov. 18.

The change in weather this past week certainly made it seem like it was time for winter sports, and we won’t have to wait long.

In fact, the BEA and USC girls basketball teams already got together for a scrimmage on Wednesday, Nov. 21 and the boys basketball teams also have some scrimmages planned.

The BEA girls and boys basketball teams were scheduled to host Jackson County Central in a doubleheader on Tuesday Dec. 3, in Blue Earth. However, because the Huskies’ football team made it to the Class AA Championship on Nov. 22, the boys half of the doubleheader has been rescheduled and will now be played in Blue Earth on Dec. 12.

The Buccaneer wrestling team sees their first action on Thursday, Dec. 5, when they compete in a triangular meet against JCC and Pipestone at Jackson. Two days later, on Dec. 7, BEA will host the annual Maher Tournament with a total of nine teams competing this year.

BEA gymnasts also have their first meet on Dec. 5 when they travel to Luverne to face the Cardinals.

Luverne is also the site of USC’s first girls basketball game of the season. The Rebels make the trip down Interstate 90 on Nov. 23 for their opening game of the season.

The Rebel boys basketball team open their season with a home game on Monday, Dec. 2, when they host the Martin County Mavericks.

Wrestling gets underway with the Maple River/USC Longhorns hosting the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Panthers at USC on Thursday, Dec. 5.

That is a brief summary of some of the early-season contests the two county public schools will be participating in.

To learn more about each individual team and who some of the key athletes are for each squad, be sure to check next week’s edition of the Faribault County Register which will have our winter sports preview.

Learn more about some of the players and who the coaches feel some of the contending teams will be so you will be prepared to enjoy the winter season of high school sports.