By: Canaan Nonnemacher
Whispers of the Game
Category Archives: Sports
Highland Volleyball 2025 season
By: Siri David
Photo: Joe Flynn photography
This season the Highland Park Volleyball varsity team ended with a record of 16 wins and 10 losses. It was a really good season with two big sweeps over Central and being conference champs.
This season we had five seniors including our manager Analiese. There is Scarlett who is a 6 rotation outside, James who is a 6 rotation setter, and then Linnea and Nica who are both defense specialists. The seniors were all captains who helped lead the team to having a successful season, and we would not have been as successful without them. Analiese is the last senior and she is the team manager. She played a key role in the team, and did a lot for the coaches and players.
For our coaching staff we had three coaches. Our head coach was Emily Aune who is a Highland Park alumni and coached B-squad for three years. This was her first year as head coach and she did an amazing job at helping her players on the court but even more off the court. Emily was a really good at helping players grow mentally.
The first assistant coach is Ameilia who is also a Highland Alumni and she has been an assistant coach for around three years. She is a core part of the team and holds a lot of volleyball knowledge. We would not be as successful without her. The last assistant coach is Mark Steinbach. Mark has been coaching volleyball for 30 years and is highly educated and respected in the world of volleyball. He would plan all of our practices and is the core reason for our success this year. Overall, each coach brings something different to the team but they are all very much respected and needed for the teams success.
Every player on the team put their all into this season and showed up everyday giving the best they could. We ended the season in section semi-finals against De La Salle. It was a five set game with the last set having a two point differential. We wanted to win that game so badly and it would have been a big win for us, but either way we are all grateful to have had such a good season.
This season we had such a special team bond and all cared for each other so much, on and off the court. The season didn’t necessarily end how we wanted it to but we are all still so proud of how this season went, and thankful for the many opportunities we got.
Caleb Williams vs Jayden Daniels
By: Treshawn Ross
A rivalry that could shape the future of the NFL
The Draft
In the 2024 NFL draft Caleb Williams was drafted first overall by the Chicago Bears. He was drafted this high because of his miraculous college career, which included a 2022 Heisman Trophy (the highest honor in college football). In this same draft, Jayden Daniels was taken second overall by the Washington Commanders. Jayden Daniels is also a Heisman Trophy winner, but critics often speculated if his play style and more slender size would translate to the NFL.
The start of the 2024 season
Caleb Williams started the season with 9 touchdowns and 1300 passing yards before week 8. Jayden Daniels had similar stats with 7 touchdowns and 1400 passing yards. Both had decent starts but Jayden Daniels was more consistent than Caleb Williams in terms of yards. The two stars were set to play each other in week 8 of the 2024 season. A game which would become an instant classic.
Context before the game
The Bears record going into this game was 4-2, they were coming off a bye week, which in theory, would give the team more time to prepare for the Commanders. The Commanders record going into the game was 5-2 and Jayden Daniels was coming off a rib injury to play in week 8 against the Bears.
Week 8-Bears vs Commanders 2024
This was a very low scoring and grueling game for both teams. The Bears couldn’t move the football well and as a result had to punt 2 times in the first quarter. The Commanders did slightly better, gaining the lead with three field goals in the first half.
The 3rd quarter continued in a similar fashion. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Bears finally scored the first touchdown of the game, a 59 yard touchdown run by D’Andre Swift.
The 4th quarter was extremely sloppy by both teams with a fumble and missed field goal by both teams. Caleb Williams then led a potential game winning drive and the Bears scored to make the score 15-12. There was still 25 seconds left in the game, and Jayden Daniels led his team to the 48 yard line with 6 seconds left. He threw a Hail Mary pass which was miraculously caught by Noah Brown, his wide receiver.
The second half of the 2024 season
After this game Caleb Williams and the Bears suffered 10 straight losses, tying the longest losing streak in Bears history. Even though Caleb led many potential game winning drives he couldn’t overcome the terrible coaching that put the team in desperate situations the entire season. Caleb ended the season with 3,500 yards passing, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.
Alongside these stats was a detrimental one, 68 sacks taken over the course of the season, which led the league. In contrast Jayden Daniels led his team to the playoffs with 3,500 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
2025 season
The Bears have a 5-3 record now with a couple of devastating losses to division rivals, but Caleb Williams is improving with his new coach Ben Johnson. Jayden Daniels is having a rough season but it isn’t fair to call it a “sophomore slump” because he was injured for 3 or 4 of his games this season.
The Bears and Commanders played again this season which proved to be another thriller, ending in a game winning drive by Caleb Williams which led to a walk off field goal by Jake Moody. 24-25 was the score.
Future
If these two young quarterbacks continue playing well and stay healthy, this rivalry could become a new golden age for young QB play.
Update
Unfortunately, Jayden Daniels suffered a left arm injury this past weekend, which will sideline him for at least a few weeks.
Sports schedule for: Nov 3-8
| ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE NOVEMBER 3 – NOVEMBER 8 | |||
| MONDAY | NOVEMBER 3 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 4 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 5 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 6 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| Diving: 12:00pm Prelims: 6:00pm | 3:30pm | 9:00pm | Girls Swimming and Diving Sections | Richfield Middle School |
| FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 7 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 8 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 12:00pm | 9:30am | 3:00pm | Girls Swimming Section Finals | Richfield Middle School |
Push Ups
By: Elijah Davis & Dalton Haas
Sports schedule for: Oct 27-Nov 1
| ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE OCTOBER 27 – NOVEMBER 1 | |||
| MONDAY | OCTOBER 27 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| TUESDAY | OCTOBER 28 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 4:30pm | Adapted Soccer vs. Dakota United | Hope Fieldhouse | |
| WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 29 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| THURSDAY | OCTOBER 30 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| FRIDAY | OCTOBER 31 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 1 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| Boys: 2:30pm Girls: 3:15pm | 12:00pm | 4:15pm | Cross Country State Championships | Les Bolstad Golf Course |
Sports schedule for: Oct 20-25
| ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE OCTOBER 20 – OCTOBER 25 | |||
| MONDAY | OCTOBER 20 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 5:00pm | 3:30pm | 6:30pm | B-Squad Football vs. Southwest | Southwest High School |
| TUESDAY | OCTOBER 21 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 4:30pm | Adapted Soccer vs. Anoka-Hennepin | Humboldt High School | |
| 5:00pm | Football Sections vs. Central | HOME – HP Stadium | |
| 7:00pm | Girls Volleyball Sections vs. South St. Paul | HOME | |
| WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 22 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| Girls: 10:40am Boys: 11:30am | Cross Country Section Championships | Highland 9 | |
| 5:00pm | Girls Swimming Conference Diving | Humboldt High School | |
| THURSDAY | OCTOBER 23 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| FRIDAY | OCTOBER 24 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| TBD | Volleyball Sections | TBD | |
| 7:00pm | Girls Swimming Conference Meet | St. Catherine University | |
| SATURDAY | OCTOBER 25 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| TBD | Football Sections | TBD | |
Nebraska volleyball 2025 season
By: Siri David
This season at Nebraska there is a new head coach. Her name is Dani Busboom Kelly. She is an alumni of Nebraska and played there as a libero and setter in the past from 2003 to 2006. She then coached at Louisville from 2017 to the winter of 2025 where she then stepped down, and decided to coach at Nebraska.
This is a huge deal because the Nebraska coach at the time, John Cook, was retiring and he played a huge role in the whole organization of volleyball at Nebraska. He coached at Nebraska for 25 years, and made an incredible impact.
He coached Dani throughout all of her years at Nebraska, and the loss of him retiring affected everyone. John made a strong impact on the outside hitter Harper Murray. Harper struggled with her mental health a lot in her freshman year and made a lot of mistakes, but John never stopped supporting her and helping her even when she couldn’t help herself. Before John told anyone else on the team he sat down with Harper and talked to her because of how important their bond was.
Dani coming to Nebraska caused a lot of different reactions both negative and positive. For the team though everyone was excited, and they all knew that she was a great coach because of how successful she was at Louisville. She also went to Nebraska so she knows how the atmosphere is and how to help them continue to be a successful team and organization.
Along with that she is also one of the only females to ever coach at Nebraska, and is taking major strides to help female leadership roles become more common. She took Louisville to the national championship against Penn state where both head coaches were female which has never happened in NCAA volleyball history.
Overall, Dani coming to Nebraska has caused a lot of changes but a lot of good changes. The Huskers are currently undefeated and are ranked number one. A lot of people are saying that they will go to the national championship and win it all. The players at Nebraska have vocalized that they do miss John but that they love Dani a lot and that she is doing a lot of good for the team and they have a lot of trust in her. There obviously have been a lot of things to adjust to but the team is handling it all really well.
Sports schedule for: Oct 13-18
| ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE OCTOBER 13 – OCTOBER 18 | |||
| MONDAY | OCTOBER 13 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| B: 4:15pm JV: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm | 3:15pm | 8:30pm | Girls Volleyball vs. Washburn | Washburn High School |
| TUESDAY | OCTOBER 14 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| Boys Race: 3:30pm Girls Race: 4:10pm | Cross Country STP City Conference Championships | Highland 9 | |
| JV & B: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm | Girls Volleyball vs. Central | HOME | |
| WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 15 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 6:00pm | Varsity Football vs. Southwest | HOME – HP Stadium | |
| THURSDAY | OCTOBER 16 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 11:00am | JV Football vs. Sartell | HOME – HP Stadium | |
| FRIDAY | OCTOBER 17 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| SATURDAY | OCTOBER 18 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
The start of Saint Paul hockey
By: Canaan Nonnemacher
The Saint Paul hockey team is a cooperative high school team for Highland Park, Central, Como, and Johnson. This unified team was formed in 2025 because there weren’t enough players for each school to have its own team. By combining, the students could continue to play hockey.
About the Scots
The Highland Park Scots hockey program has a history that includes a significant “comeback.”
After the varsity team merged with Central in 1987, it didn’t exist for over two decades. The comeback began in 2008 with a junior varsity team, and the Scots played their first varsity season in 23 years in 2010.
The Scots won their only St. Paul City Conference title in the 1975-76 season, a year in which they also had their best record with 19 wins.
In recent years, they have been very successful, including one of their best seasons recently when they reached the section semifinals for the first time since 1976. This was a huge accomplishment for the team and shows how hard they have worked.
About the Governors
Before the merge, the Johnson Governors were a historic program dating back more than 100 years. The Governors were known for their success on the ice, winning four state championships and producing good players, including Herb Brooks, the coach of the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. Olympic team.
The end of the Governors as a stand-alone team was a sad moment for the community, but their team lives on as part of the combined Saint Paul hockey program. The history and tradition of the Governors are now a big part of the combined team’s identity.
By joining together, the Saint Paul hockey team is a powerful combination of tradition and a fresh start. The team not only preserves the history of programs like the Scots and the Governors but also builds a strong, unified identity. This collaboration lets student athletes keep playing.
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 