The miles? Yes, the miles add up on this job. I have been an MSHSL staffer through two full school years now and have driven more than 20,000 miles around Minnesota in pursuit of great stories, new friendships and the occasional concession-stand meal.

The miles come and go, but the memories are forever. And 2011-12 was a remarkable stretch of events and people. There were stories of coaches inspiring their athletes, celebrating success and weeping when the end – of the season or their career – finally arrived. Memories of remarkable athletes like Carlie Wagner and Grant Besse doing remarkable things. Memories of young people fighting through adversity, whether it be Beth Broschofsky returning to running or Hanna Hughes supporting her teammates from a wheelchair.

Let’s look back at 2011-12 …

Best Individual Effort/Postgame Scene: Grant Besse scored five goals, three of them shorthanded, in Benilde-St. Margaret’s 5-1 victory over Hill-Murray in the Class 2A boys hockey state championship game. As the victorious Red Knights left the ice, the wheelchair-bound Jack Jablonski was waiting in the locker room. Jake Horton, who was carrying the first-place trophy, yelled, “Hey Jabbers, I’ve got somethin' for you!” The last person off the ice was coach Ken Pauly, who yelled, “Jabby! Jabby baby! How ya doin’ 13?!” And then the locker room doors were closed and the Red Knights had some special time to themselves.

Best Halftime Conversation: Teen Girl A: "Is the game over?" Teen Girl B: "No, it's halftime." Teen Girl A: "I don't understand football."

Best American Story: Adalberto Villalobos is a respected soccer official who grew up in Costa Rica but has lived in the St. Cloud area for years. After becoming a U.S. citizen last year, here’s how he described hearing the anthem at his first soccer game last fall: “A young lady sang it beautifully, and I found myself turning so the other officials wouldn’t see me getting teary-eyed. Emotions took over and it hit home; it’s for real, I’m here, I’m part of it.”

Nicest Peace Officer: After watching a volleyball match between Lake Park-Audubon and Climax/Fisher in the Climax gym (where the North Dakota flag hangs alongside the Minnesota flag), I was driving to Thief River Falls. I just may have been exceeding the speed limit by a tiny bit, but the fellow who pulled me over in Red Lake Falls was as friendly as they come. Thanks for the warning, officer!

Best Musical Insight: (Overheard at halftime of a football game while Michael Jackson’s 1972 version of “Rockin’ Robin” was played on the sound system): “This is old music. But I’m only 12 and a half.”

Best Teamwork By Two Teams: In memory of Wabasha-Kellogg’s Cole Younker, who had died in a traffic accident, the football teams from Wabasha-Kellogg and Southland stood together as their captains planted a tree (pictured) in Cole’s memory just prior to kickoff in the season opener.

Eater’s Choice Award (Single Item): The pregame goodies on a football Friday at Minneota included a rare find … the greatest roast beef sandwich I have eaten anywhere.

Best Early Morning Question: It was 6:58 a.m. and I was entering the Metrodome for a day of football playoff games. A security guard, seeing me with two backpacks full of essential journalism gear -- and a big bag of candy for my press box colleagues – asked, “Did you run away from home?”

Best Debut on the Big Stage: In January I watched sophomore Carlie Wagner of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva score 39 points in a basketball win over Goodhue, after which Goodhue coach Josh Weime said, “She does things that we never see.” When NRHEG got to the state tournament, everybody saw what Wagner can do. She set a state tournament single-game scoring record with 48 points in the third-place game and also set a three-game tournament record with 112 points.

Best Tribute to a Coach/Choir Director: From 1952 until 1992, John Hansen was the head football coach and choir director at Osseo High School. When the Osseo football stadium was renamed in his honor, former players as well as singers gathered in his honor. The national anthem never sounded better.

Best Homecoming Parade: The Red Rock Central parade (left) wound through the village of Lamberton as citizens and pupils watched and cheered. A couple firetrucks, the football team, cheerleaders, faculty and a beautiful fall day in a small town … it didn’t last very long but it was as much fun as I had all year.

My Favorite Runner: Pierz junior Beth Broschofsky was all smiles when we chatted after a cross-country race in Royalton. After surviving cancer and having a metal rod replace the humerus in her right upper arm, Beth was running again. She has a beautiful smile.

Best Rivalry Renewal: When the teams from St. Paul Academy and Blake met on the football field, it was the latest chapter in a series that began 100 years earlier.

Most Inspirational Athlete: When Hannah Hughes of Rochester Lourdes was going through treatment for bone cancer, her friends and soccer teammates remained at her side. And Hannah was at their side when the Eagles played in the state semifinals. It didn’t matter that her right leg and pelvic area had been amputated … she was still part of the team. “I have never seen Hanna with a frown on her face,” said teammate Rachel Saltness. “Every day she has a smile on her face and she makes the best of every situation.”

Eater’s Choice Award (Multiple Items): Fulda boosters served a terrific meal, with your choice of a burger or brat with chips, drink and a homemade cookie or bar for six bucks. Best deal in town.

Most Focused Athlete: Little Falls’ Ben Newman excels in football as well as hockey despite having vision in just one eye. He lost the vision in his right eye as the result of an accident when he was eight months old, but “I don’t notice it at all,” he said. “It’s just like nothing’s wrong.”

Toughest Rivalry: When Lakeville South High School opened in 2005, some of the coaches from Lakeville High (which became Lakeville North) moved to the new school and some stayed put. After North and South met on the football field last fall, North assistant coach Bob Kovich looked toward the coaches from South and said, “Those guys are my best friends. I hate this week.”

Best Tribute to a Friend: At the girls state tennis tournament, the team from Waseca wore matching pink ribbons in their hair and pink T-shirts (pictured) that had “Play Like a Princess” printed on the back. On the left sleeve was printed the word “Ab-dub” and a little crown. It was all in honor of Abigail “Abby” “Ab-dub” Claire Wendland, 16, who had died recently in an automobile accident. Abigail’s favorite color was pink and her nickname was Princess.

Best Coin Toss: Prior to a football game between Edina and Minnetonka, referee Pat Whalen said to the team captains, “Fellas, I’m going to show you all the athletic ability I have left in this body and catch this coin. If I drop it, we’re going to do it again.” He nailed it on the very first try.

Best Final Interview: When Bob Brink retired after 51 years of coaching boys basketball (the last 42 at Rocori), the end came in the state quarterfinals. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought about his players. “They wanted to win it for…” He was unable to say the word “me” because … well, because it was never about him.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 720
*Miles John has driven: 9,235
(*During the 2011-12 school year)

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter @MSHSLjohn

ST. CLOUD -- Bill Ihrke and his son Jack come from a football family. The Ihrkes of Plainview-Elgin-Millville – Bill and Liz and their kids Jack and Dean – are as familiar with football as they are with winning, and Saturday’s 39th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game at St. Cloud State capped a marvelous run for Bill and Jack.

Bill is the coach at Plainview-Elgin-Millville and Jack graduated a few weeks ago. During Saturday’s all-star game, Bill was the head coach of the South team and Jack was a defensive back for the South, which recorded a 33-21 victory over the North. Jack will play football at Winona State beginning in the fall; that’s also where his dad played college football.

During Jack Ihrke’s high school career, Plainview-Elgin-Millville won four Three Rivers Conference North titles, went 30-2 in the regular season and 38-6 overall. Jack (pictured) was an all-conference baseball player, went to the state wrestling tournament twice and was an all-state honorable mention football player. Last fall, the Bulldogs were undefeated in the regular season and won three games to capture the Class 3A Section 1 title before losing to eventual state champion St. Croix Lutheran in the state quarterfinals.

After Saturday’s game at hot and steamy Husky Stadium, Jack was thrilled to end his high school career with a victory … and with his father.

“We ended the season with a loss but now I’ve ended my high school career on a win with my dad,” he said. “It was really fun.”

The all-star players and coaches had spent the previous week at St. John’s University in Collegeville, practicing and bonding with each other. Jack admitted that he didn’t see a lot of his dad during the week.

“We never really got any time to talk because I was always running around with the guys,” he said, smiling. “But before the game we we were talking to each other about how cool this is and how we’ll never forget this.”

Bill Ihrke has been the head football coach at Plainview-Elgin-Millville for 15 years with a record of 125-37, eight conference championships, four trips to state and a state championship in 2002. He had been an assistant coach in the 2003 all-star game, and this year’s experience was a double bonus: being named the head coach of the South and having his oldest son on the team.

“It was kind of surreal,” Bill said. “I just didn’t think it would finish that way. I had coached in it but I never expected to coach in it again. We knew (Jack) would be nominated. It’s almost unreal. We’re very thankful for the opportunity.”

With his prior all-star experience, Bill (pictured) knew what needed to be done during the week before the game: work fast, study hard, come together.

“It’s eat, sleep and do everything football,” he said. “In the beginning it’s trying to get to know each other. And the terminology is different from all the different programs. Probably the first two or three days we were just trying to get the same language down, and then get the reps down. These kids pick up things so quick; we got a lot in, right down to the two-minute drill and all the unique situations.

“Coaching-wise it’s like a football clinic; you’re with some of the best coaches and you’re picking each other’s brains. It’s awesome. We learned a lot from the kids and hopefully they learned a little bit from us. We had a great time doing it.”

For Jack Ihrke – whose brother Dean will be a junior in the fall – the week was “amazing.”

“We met on Sunday night and by Monday night it was like a family. It was like we’d known each other for years and years. I met a lot of cool guys. Kids I played against in high school, rivals, and getting to know them on a personal level has been a really fun experience.”

A great week … new friends … long-lasting memories, what could be better than that? Yes, having your dad there, too.

“It just makes everything closer,” Jack said. “It brings us together more. Him being my coach, we’ve experienced a lot more than the normal father and son have.”

ALL-STAR TIDBITS

--Each team consisted of 44 players. Of the 88 players involved in the game, 35 were from Class 5A schools, 21 from 4A, 10 from 3A, seven from 2A, 11 from 1A and four from Nine-Man.

--Two assistant coaches in Saturday’s game had also played in the game during their own high school careers. South assistant Ken Helland (the head coach at Le Center) played in the game for Emmons in 1976, and North assistant Jeff Moritko (an assistant coach at Totino-Grace) played in the game for Minneapolis Edison in 1980. Moritko’s son Andy, a linebacker from Totino-Grace, played in Saturday’s game.

--The game format has changed several times from an Outstate vs. Metro format to South vs. North. Saturday’s victory by the South’s evened the North-South series at 9-9-1.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 720
*Miles John has driven: 9,235
(*During the 2011-12 school year)

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter @MSHSLjohn

The 39th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be held Saturday at Husky Stadium on the campus of St. Cloud State University. The kick-off will be at 1 p.m., making this the first afternoon All-Star Football Game since 2004.

The game will showcase outstanding senior players from the 2011 football season. Players and coaches representing 78 schools and 31 conferences will participate in this year’s game. They were selected by members of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. The 88 players and 14 coaches are spending this week at St. John’s University, the site of training camp for the game, which will pit teams from the North and South.

I’ve been spending time this week compiling my annual “Best Of” column, highlighting some of my favorite moments from 2011-12. This popular tradition began years ago when I was working at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and I’m happy to continue it with the MSHSL (that column will be posted next week).

With football in the air this week, I’m providing a preview of the “Best Of” column, with three football-related items from last season. Each item is from the football playoffs and all three vignettes come from the postgame words of coaches, speaking either to their players or to the media.

While all three items are football-related, they also are great examples of the types of people who coach our state’s young people in all sports and activities. You can tell by these coaches’ words that they care deeply about their athletes, now and in the future…

Best Postgame Words (Part I): After Eden Prairie defeated Wayzata in the Class 5A football championship game, Wayzata coach Brad Anderson (pictured) spoke to his players, who were tearfully gathered around him on one knee. His words were simple yet powerful.

“It hurts because it means something to you,” he told the boys. “And I'm proud of every one of you.”

Best Postgame Words (Part II): After Fairmont was defeated in the Prep Bowl, I asked coach Mat Mahoney what he had said to his players.

“I told them that I loved them,” he said. “I told them that this season they became better people, they became better teammates, they became better football players. We grew as a team as the season went on.

“These boys have done everything that we’ve asked them to do, and to be able to make a run like this is very special for our community. Just look at all the fans we had in the stands today; that’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day, football’s only a game. The support we saw out there with our crowd, our community was just phenomenal.”

Best Postgame Words (Part III): Brooks Bollinger, a former University of Wisconsin and NFL quarterback, had just finished his first year as head coach at Hill-Murray with a narrow loss in the state semifinals.

After leaving the locker room with moist eyes, he said, “I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms, and that was just a special one. I’m fortunate to be a part of it. It’s pretty emotional. We have a great group of seniors. It’s one of the reasons I love being a high school coach; what makes it great also hurts you so much when it ends; just being a part of these kids’ lives and getting so attached to them.

“We were so lucky to get the experience we did and have some success. It hurts when you get that close and don’t get it done, but my message to them was we lost today, but we won, I won, to be able to be part of something like this.”

A few months later, Bollinger left Hill-Murray to become an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 690
*Miles John has driven: 9,119
(*During the 2011-12 school year)

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter @MSHSLjohn

Ten days ago, I wrote about Worthington High School golfer Kate Lesnar and the project she started two years to raise money for children and their school at a village in Rwanda. The effort, called All Day Fore Africa, is a simple thought that goes a long ways … 8,000 miles, in fact, from Minnesota to Rwanda.

The third annual All Day Fore Africa golf outing was held Wednesday at Worthington Country Club. I drove to Worthington and spent part of the day with the golfers. The weather was a bit cool and rainy, but the enthusiasm by participants of all ages was unchecked and smiles were abundant.

Sports editor Chris Murphy of the Worthington Daily Globe wrote about Wednesday’s event, and I’m happy to reprint his story here (along with some photos I shot; a full photo gallery from the day is posted on the MSHSL Facebook page). Congrats to everybody associated with All Day Fore Africa!

Going for the green for Africa: WHS’s Lesnar combines her 2 loves to connect with Rwanda

By Chris Murphy, Worthington Daily Globe

WORTHINGTON — The eyes of a golfer are always targeted on the green. Worthington’s Kate Lesnar is no different, seeing as she finished 14th in the state in her second career trip to Jordan.

A deeper look into Lesnar’s eyes, however, reveal the undoubtable need to make a difference.

Lesnar was eyeing the green Wednesday at the Worthington Country Club, but it wasn’t for her score. It was for Africa at the third annual “All Day Fore Africa” (ADFA) golf tournament.

The tournament, along with a speech from Immaculee Ilibagiza in Sioux Falls, S.D., Monday, a musical performance from Kate’s sister, Annie, and Kailey Wendland Tuesday in Worthington and a golf tournament in California later this week, have raised more than $25,000. The funds will go toward building housing for teachers and a medical center in the Rwandan town of Kibeho.

“It’s what the community needs,” Kate said. “People would get a simple cut and some would end up dying because the nearest place to go is hours away and they have to get a stretcher or walk.

“It was amazing that they could get a little cut and end up dying from it. It makes me remember that we have a lot in the United States.”

What began as Kate playing 100 holes of golf by herself with the idea of raising $1,000 for a town she was about to visit, but had never seen two years ago, has grown into events across the country raising an amount 25 times that much.

“I never thought it would grow this much,” Kate said. “It’s so cool to think that we can all make a difference together and all work for the same cause.”

Kate raised $10,380 the first year, $21,800 the second year and is still counting this year.

“We are definitely over $25,000, but I’m hoping for $30,000,” said Kathy Lesnar, Kate’s mother, whose pictures from her trips to Kibeho inspired Kate. “When I see all these kids helping, I see the benefit it brings them.

“It makes them realize they can make a difference in the world, rather than focusing on if they have the right shoes or what’s on Facebook. We all want to make a difference. If you know you were created to make a difference and you fulfill that, that’s the benefit.”

The want to make a difference is nothing new to Kate. Counting the $1,500 Kate raised in third grade as part of the band “The Almighty Kids” for Haiti, Kate has raised over $60,000 for people other than herself. And that’s not including the lemonade stand she had when she was little in which the proceeds went to World Vision — an African child sponsorship program.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Kathy said.

For Kate, even with school out and storm clouds looming over the golf course, there’s no place she’d rather be.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do than help people and play golf,” Kate Lesnar said.

A golf ball Lesnar brought is cemented in a wall in Kibeho and the people there touch and rub it. Golf has never meant more to people who have never picked up a golf club.

“To them, golf means water,” Kathy Lesnar said.

For Kate’s dad, Jim Lesnar, golf means opening up the wallet. For the fundraiser, Kate golfs until the sun sets or until she golfs 100 holes. For dad, it’s $50 per eagle, $10 per birdie, $2 per par, 50 cents per bogey and, of course, $500 per hole-in-one to Africa.

“We thought we’d be forking over $800 the first year when Kate wanted to raise $1,000, so it’s come a long way,” Jim said. “It’s really cool to see her use her passion to help others.

“I think it’s so amazing that a high school kid can think outside the box and our little world here. I’m going to owe a lot, but I’m hoping for the hole-in-one.”

On a day when everyone wins, Kate has a reason to keep score.

“My dad actually said he was going to charge me for bogeys,” Kate said.

It’s all money well spent.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 690
*Miles John has driven: 9,119
(*During the 2011-12 school year)

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter @MSHSLjohn

The Aggies of St. Agnes in St. Paul finished off an impressive Class 1A state tournament run today at Target Field, defeating Lac qui Parle Valley 6-0 in the title game at Target Field.

The Aggies did not give up a run in the tournament, defeating New York Mills 1-0 and Blackduck 7-0 in the previous two rounds.

St. Agnes finished the season with a record of 23-6 and the Eagles finished at 18-10.

The rest of today's schedule looks like this...

Class 2A at 3 p.m.: Holy Family (24-4) vs. St. Cloud Cathedral (24-5)

Class 3A at 6 p.m.: Bemidji (25-2) vs. Eastview (22-4)