2011 MAC Basketball Tournament

This year's Minuteman Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament had a little bit of everything for the high school basketball fan... a stage-like setting at the Cabelas sports complex, high-speed action, close games and a record blowout, amazing comebacks, surprising upsets of both #1 seeds and 3 Overtime games!

The tourney began on Monday with the girls action.  Banner County flew past the Garden County Eagles 59-38 while the Blue Knights of South Platte quieted the Storm from Creek Valley 50-39 and record deficits were being set as Minatare fell to Leyton, 61-9.  Top seeded Potter-Dix received the customary first round bye.

The boys bracket tipped off on Tuesday with Leyton defeating Banner County 50-39, Minatare reversing South Platte 52-25 and Garden County sneaking past Potter Dix, 53-46.  The #1 Creek Valley Storm, with their tournament bye, awaited the winner of Garden County vs. Potter-Dix.

Round two of the MAC Tournament on Thursday spelled demise for both top seeded teams in the boys and girls brackets as the Banner County girls skated past #1 Potter-Dix, 55-42 and the Garden County boys surprised the #1 Creek Valley Storm, 39-37 in Overtime.  The other two semi-finals pitted the Leyton girls against South Platte with Leyton winning easily 43-25 and the surging Minatare Indian boys over Leyton, 62-53.

In that late Thursday semifinal, Minatare jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Warriors settled down and played the Indians even the rest of the way.  The Indians never trailed by less than their initial lead until the Warriors made it interesting cutting it to 58-53 with 32 seconds to go with a flurry of last minute buckets of their own.  Minatare's Wojo hit several key free throws going 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter to secure the win while Dakin Rummel shot lights-out hitting 6 three-pointers en route to his game high 28 points advancing them to the MAC Championship on Saturday.   Minatare improved to 8-3 on the season while Leyton dropped to 8-4.

In Saturday's first consolation game, the Potter-Dix Coyote girls found some redemption, earning third place in the tourney by upending the South Platte Blue Knights, 55-37.  The second game of the night was the first of our two back-to-back OT games which proved to be an exciting comeback for the Leyton boys.  The Warriors had to chisel away at an early Creek Valley lead to eventually tie it up at the end of regulation.  Then, the Warriors continued their late momuntum by blanking the Storm 8-0 in the final stanza, winning the third place finish by the score of Leyton 54  Creek Valley 46.

The second exciting overtime game immediately followed when the Banner County girls, defending their MAC title, took on the Lady Warriors of Leyton in the final matchup.  The Wildcats ran up a 27-13 halftime lead which should have put them in good shape.  However, the scorebook was showing several key BC girls already in foul trouble... and it almost made the difference.  The Lady Warriors came out on the warpath in the second half, erasing the Wildcat lead by outscoring them 30-16 to tie it up at 43-43 with 15 seconds left in regulation.  Despite the fact that Banner County never trailed and the only time the game was tied was at 0-0 and 43-43... all the momentum had shifted to the Lady Warriors. The Lady Wildcats held on to win in OT 49-45 to claim their second consecutive MAC Championship.

The Lady Wildcats are led by Coach Brittany Cooper who gave credit to how the girls stuck together with  key starters out.  Assistant Coach Ms. Covell had this to say, "The second half was nerve racking with Leyton catching up quickly with a tie of 43-43. We lost Lindsey Soule 3rd quarter and Kaylea Stoddard 4th quarter from fouling out. With Brooke Wyatt having four fouls herself, the girls were at a tough spot, but Cody Muhr and Amanda Harrison managed to keep up. With the girls going to overtime, the girls fought hard and managed to win the game. Jessica Bruce, Brooke Wyatt and Ashley Harrison scored points during overtime. It was a great game!!"

The final game of the tournament ended up being a rematch from earlier this month in Minatare when the Indians defeated the Garden County Eagles in a low scoring affair at home, 32-28.  At Minatare, the Indians found a way to claw back after being down by 7 late in the game to win by 4. This time, it was to be much different.  It was the Eagles turn to play catch up, and they did.


Minatare was on fire early as Xavier Longoria and company hit several key shots off some really pretty passing from the Indians.  Minatare took a 5 point lead into half 26-21, but it already felt as if the game was slipping away.  It didn't take the Eagles long in the third quarter to erase the Minatare lead and secure a 10 point lead of their own at 35-25. Things seemed to be spinning out of control for Minatare when their sharpshooter was whistled for a technical foul.  Minatare has scored over 70 multiple times this year, but in the second half of this one the Indians just couldn't hit any of their shots.  One thing is for sure.  When the Indians are hot, they're hot!... and when they're not, they're not. 

The Garden County Eagles, behind solid inside play and hustle in the backcourt spoiled Minatare's hopes for a 2011 MAC Championship, 44-36 Saturday night in Sidney.

Minatare vs Leyton

There's quite a shake up going on in the Minuteman Athletic Conference this year.  At least there was Thursday night as the top seeded teams on both sides of the brackets in the boys and girls all exited early, creating some new matchups for our title games on Saturday.

Banner County toppled the Potter-Dix Girls 55-42 and the #1 seed Creek Valley Boys fell to Garden County 39-37.  The Leyton Girls defeated South Platte to earn the right to face Banner County and the Minatare boys shot past the Warriors of Dalton/Gurley 62-53.  This twist of fate creates a rematch of last weeks game at Minatare where the Indians defeated the Eagles in a nail biter 42-38.

In Thursdays semi-final, Minatare jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Warriors settled down and played the Indians even the rest of the way.  The warriors tried to make it interesting by cutting it to 58-53 with 32 seconds to go with a flurry of last minute buckets, but Wojo hit several key free throws to secure the win, going 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter.  Dakin Rummel shot lights out hitting 6 three-pointers en route to his game high 28 points advancing them to the MAC Championship on Saturday.

Minatare improves to 8-3 on the season while Leyton drops to 8-4. 

Location : 2013 Broadway, Scottsbluff, NE 69361,
Posted via Blogaway on Android

Wildcats Surprise Minatare Boys

It was a tale of two quarters... and two halves.

The 3 pointers started raining early in Harrisburg saturday night as the Banner County Wildcats at 1-9 on the year played host to the 6-2 Minatare Indians.  The Wildcats took an early 7-0 advantage before Minatare's Nate Garcia hit a 3 pointer to get the Indians on the board before the Wildcats reeled off 5 more points to increase their lead to 12-3 after one quarter of play.  One quarter down, three 3 pointers in the books.

In the second quarter the Minatare boys fought back to record a 13-4 advantage of their own to take the lead for the first time at 2:30 left in the half.  Our halftime score ended up locked at 16-16. 

The second half was a lot faster as both teams scored more points in the third quarter than they did together in the whole first half.  Banner County held on to a 33-31 advantage after 3 quarters of nearly foul-free play as both teams to this point had only recorded a total of 5 fouls through 3 quarters.  A tribute to the referees, the coaches and the players.

The fourth quarter saw several ties and lead changes.  Minatare held the advantage late into the fourth quarter until just under a minute to play when Banner County took the lead 47-46.  After several missed shots and late fouls by the Indians, the Wildcats added a late free throw to get the win 48-46 over the Minatare Indians who fall to 6-3 on the year.  The Wildcats improve to 2-9 behind their seven 3 point buckets.

Miss America's Reason for Competing

 Teresa's own words (from her blog at www.teresascanlan.net)

"Over the years, my parents have had two main reasons they supported my involvement in this organization. 

One was of course, the scholarship money. The Miss America Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for women in the world, and because I’m planning on attending law school, we’re looking at seven years of college; so scholarships are very important! The second had to do with the rules of the competition. In order to compete in the Miss America system, you must be between the ages of 17 and 24… and you cannot be married. When they saw that I had my heart set on competing as long as I could, possibly until age 24, they found that as their security that I would not get married until I was at least 25. I guess I ruined that plan by winning at 17. Oops!

As I continued my involvement in pageants however, I found my own reasons for competing. For years, I had been searching for a place where I excelled; a place where I felt I belonged or was meant to be. As a dancer, singer, pianist, guitarist, gymnast, speaker, and actress, I found that although I did well in each area, I wasn’t willing to completely dedicate myself to any one area as many others were. When I found pageantry, I realized that God had prepared me for this competition by creating me to love diversity, and here was the place I could use the talents He had given me.

During Miss Nebraska week in North Platte, I began a journal in which I recorded not only the events of each day, but also a passage of Scripture and my thoughts and prayers. At the end of the week, on June 5th, 2010, just hours before the final competition, I was reading 2 Timothy and chose chapter 2, verse 15 as particularly applicable to me. It reads: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” As I thought about that verse and how it applied to me, I wrote the following prayer:

Dear God, please help me to be a diligent servant not only today but from here on out. Give me the strength and wisdom to accurately handle your word of truth and the diligence and perseverance necessary to be a worker who is not ashamed. I wish to be a shining light for you, a glowing example of who you are, and a grain of salt in a tasteless world. Whether or not this is achieved through a position, crown, title, or job, please place me exactly where you need me to be an effective ambassador for you. I am clay in your hands, your humble servant, willing to do whatever you wish for me in your perfect plan. I love you so much and thank you for blessing me so tremendously and bestowing such outstanding opportunity on me. My greatest wish is to exemplify your love through my words and actions in order to bring others to you.

Your Loving Daughter, Teresa

That night I won the title of Miss Nebraska. From that, I know that this is exactly where God wants me to be, and He has a plan for each and every day of my life, not only this year, but every year. That was my prayer then; it has been my prayer these six months; it will be my prayer these next weeks at Miss America; and it will continue to be my prayer for the rest of my life. If I win the title of Miss America, I will know it is His will. If I do not win, and continue the next six months as Miss Nebraska, I will know it is His will. How incredibly calming it is to know that my life is in His hands!

No matter what happens, my prayer continues to be simply that I will fulfill His purpose in everything that I do. If you had not previously known my reasons and purpose behind why I do what I do, I hope you now understand what I believe my calling to be. Why am I competing in the Miss America competition over the next ten days? Because God has placed me in this position to show His love. Please pray that I might be able to accomplish this, and as always, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments as to how I might better achieve these things."



We can all learn something from this young lady.  How incredibly calming IT IS to know that our lives are in His hands. Thank you for these precious words Teresa.  From all of us in Gering, Scottsbluff and the state of Nebraska... CONGRATULATIONS and enjoy your walk with Him!

2011 Miss America - Teresa Scanlan

Gering's own Teresa Scanlan has been crowned Miss America in the 2011 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas.


Scanlan, 17, was crowned moments ago in the final stage of the pageant at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
The daughter of Dr. Mark and Janie Scanlan of Gering, Scanlan was the youngest contestant in this year's Miss America Pageant. She was named Thursday night's preliminary talent winner for her piano performance of "White Water Chopped Sticks" during the third night of competition.

Scanlan will receive a $50,000 scholarship for winning the title of Miss America, in addition to a $2,000 scholarship for winning the talent competition and other prizes and benefits.

Article used by permission : The Gering Citizen http://www.geringcitizen.com/

Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan in the Oregon Trail Days Parade in Gering, Nebraska.

 Photo by Brian Hale, Hale Multimedia LLC

Photos below are from the Scotts Bluff County Fair website by Hale Multimedia.  These pictures show Teresa in her preliminary steps to eventually achieving the Title of 2011 Miss America!  For more information on the wonderful program Teresa came up through, visit http://www.scottsbluffcountyfair.net/

How Much Does a Franchise Cost? | Franchises from AllBusiness.com

We are considering franchising several of our ideas. Here is a great article on franchising...

How Much Does a Franchise Cost? | Franchises from AllBusiness.com