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There was a Julianne Vasichek sighting in Duluth last Friday night. Vasicheck, the UMD women’s hockey equipment manager and inspirational source ever since she was an All-American on Coach Shannon Miller’s first three NCAA championships, is known as Montana to former teammates and current Bulldogs. But she was stricken with a liver ailment that knocked her out in midseason last year, and she was rushed to Mayo Clinic in Rochester where she underwent a complex liver transplant.

Bulldogs fans everywhere rallied to give her moral support, and she is part way down the long road to recovery. The only time I know of when she was able to return to Duluth was to attend the big tribute gathering for the deposed Miller, who was informed her contract was not going to be renewed after the season. Vasichek was able to come up and attend the event. After numerous emotional speeches, a woman strode on-stage with a guitar. It was Rachael Kilgour, who had become friends with Vasichek, and she performed a song she had written that Vasichek had declared was her favorite. She performed several other songs at that time, which left a lasting impression.

So last week, as fate would have it, Kilgour performed a one-woman show at the Underground, and it was to be recorded for a live CD, before a full-house of fans.

Among them, sitting in the back row, was Julianne Vasichek. She said she was able to come back to Duluth while awaiting clearance to have some final surgery in Rochester. It was her chance to see some old friends from UMD hockey, and including a talented singer-songwriter in Rachael Kilgour.

UMD, Gophers, Vikings Face Early-Season Drama

And then...there was football.

This is the week of transition, where the magnetic summertime lure of Major League Baseball stays strong for those still in the hunt for post-season play, or it weakens from fatigue – your choice. But for about a month, sports fans have been primed to turn to football, by the NFL’s ridiculous exercise of exhibition games. Those exhibitions are only useful for coaches to see rookies, newcomers and backup players in action.

And then this week comes along, and – presto! – football season is here.

Right now, Thursday of this week, might be the biggest Thursday in memory for huge football games. While Thursday may be flitting by as you get your hands on this week’s Reader, let’s pretend it’s tonight.

First up, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are at home in Minneapolis to face their first opponent. Usually, the first three or four Gophers games are pushovers against weak foes booked only to guarantee the Gophers can reach seven victories overall for the season, and thus qualify for a post-season bowl game with only four Big Ten victories.

But this season, coach Jerry Kill’s lads face, right off, Texas Christian comes to TCF Bank Stadium, carrying both the nation’s No. 2 ranking as well as a favorite’s role by something like 14 points. Huge game. Will the Gophers be ready to satisfy their long-suffering fans, or will they be overmatched, or will they play a great game that still might not be good enough to win such an explosive opponent?

Also on Thursday night, the Minnesota Vikings play at Tennessee, and are, remarkably enough, underdogs by two points against the Titans. My prediction is that once Adrian Peterson gets untracked to give quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a viable alternative to his play-calling, the Vikings are going to make a run at the Green Bay Packers in their division.

The thing that makes this game intriguing is the Titans are the team that plucked Oregon’s Marcus Mariotta out of the draft, and while he hasn’t been thoroughly dazzling so far, it will be interesting to watch this year’s Heisman Trophy winner face last year’s impressive rookie, Bridgewater. We can compare where this year’s flash is compared to one of last season’s top rookie signal-callers.

But those games aren’t even the biggest football games on the Thursday schedule. That comes down Hwy. 169 from the Twin Cities, in Mankato, where UMD takes the nation’s No. 3 rating down to face Minnesota State-Mankato’s NCAA Division II No. 1 team. Because the teams are in different divisions, both could win their division titles and advance to post-season play. But the winner of the opener becomes an instant favorite with a guaranteed top national rating, while the loser will drop a few notches and have to spend a lot of winning Saturdays trying to regain the stature unfairly stripped away by the first game.

What a way for college football to start!

Butkiewicz scores 7 TDs to Bury Hilltoppers

The high school football season in the Northland got under way in the last couple of weeks, and last week I decided to head up to Marshall, where the Hilltoppers were facing Moose Lake-Willow River.
Now, Moose Lake-Willow River seems to be a powerhouse every year, but it didn’t seem like the Rebels could possibly achieve the same heights yet again this season. And Marshall has some good players, so it was a cinch the ‘Toppers would be a gritty foe.
On a nice, sunny afternoon to sit on the hillside above the gridiron at Marshall, the pastoral setting was interrupted while ML-WR pretty much kicked Marshall’s Butkiewicz.
Junior Bryceton Butkiewicz scored on off-tackle bursts, on sweeps around end, by catching passes, by intercepting passes, and by running a few more times. He scored seven touchdowns – count ’em, 7 – that afternoon as Moose Lake-Willow River romped to a 58-20 victory.
That would indicate Moose Lake-Willow River is back. If they had ever gone anywhere. Butkiewicz, a burly running back at 6-feet and 210 pounds, scored three touchdowns in the opener against Barnum, and pretty much churned through the hopeful but remarkably slim Marshall team for six touchdowns by halftime, when Moose Lake-Willow River led 44-8.
This isn’t a Rebel team that just runs the ball around and through opposing defenses. Quarterback Connor Radel threw 13 of his 14 passes in the first half, when it mattered, but he proved he can be a capable threat complementing the running attack.
When the game started, Butkiewicz bolted 30 yards for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. But Marshall’s Cullen Mudrack countered with a 57-yard touchdown run, and also got in on the conversion for an 8-8 tie.
That apparently got the immediate attention of the Rebels, because Butkiewicz scored on runs of 3, 35, 3, 15, and on a 24-yard pass from Radel as the Rebels followed a 22-point first quarter with another 22-point second quarter. After Butkiewicz scored his seventh touchdown on a 6-yard run in the third quarter, the Rebels started playing reserves and coasted the rest of the way.
Mudrak went 25 yards for his second Hilltopper touchdown, and Carter Sullivan broke free for a 42-yard TD to close it to 50-20, but that was as close as Marshall could get.
I’m not sure what they put in the diet down Interstate 35 from Duluth, but ML-WR and neighboring Barnum always seem to come up with a load of talented players. However, Moose Lake-Willow River whacked Barnum 56-0 in their season opener when Butkiewicz scored a mere three TDs.
Three touchdowns seems like a heck of a day for a running back, but in the case of Bryceton Butkiewicz, three touchdowns seem pretty puny alongside the seven he scored at Marshall. By the way, the state record for touchdowns in a high school game is eight, but Butkiewicz took the rest of the day off after notching his seventh touchdown to open the second half.