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Fear the Beard!

16 Mar

Beard closeupWhen Austin High School Senior Tommy Olmsted decided to participate in “No-Shave November” he had no idea of where it would lead. The idea is to see how much facial hair contestants can grow in a month.

But as Tommy, a reserve guard for the Packer basketball team, was discussing it with his teammates, somehow the decision was made that he couldn’t shave until after an Austin loss.

Thus was born “Fear the Beard!” And since Austin is now 28-0, Tommy’s beard has had a lot of time to grow.

Tommy profile

James Harden has nothing on Tommy…at least in beard-growing ability.

When the Packers all agreed to shave their heads before the January 17 “Hoops for Hope” game in honor of Samantha Gasner, a teammates mom who is fighting cancer, it made for a contrast that was interesting to say the least. Here Tommy is pictured with Joe Aase just after both had their haircuts:

Tommy and Joe

Tommy has made it clear that when the season is over, the beard will be gone, too.

Now the goal for the Packers is to make sure he doesn’t get to shave until Sunday morning.

Fear the Beard!

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Packer Paraphernalia

16 Mar

As the Packers get ready for their second straight trip to the State Basketball Tournament, they’ll be counting on continued great community support to cheer them on, and Games People Play in Austin is your source for clothing and accessories you need to help us

Paint “The Barn” Red!

State Bound Back2Back Pack section champion T-shirts are available for $12 each. See pictures below for the designs (click to enlarge):

Section Champs T-ShirtsBack to Back

Games People Play also will have Go Packers towels for $5 each:

Packer Towels

Shirts and towels will be available starting Monday, but you can call Games People Play at  507/433-7593 to place your order for pick-up.

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Packers to Face Blake at State

16 Mar

The Austin Packers earned the #2 seed as expected, and drew #7-ranked Blake from the unseeded pool for their quarterfinal match-up in the Minnesota State High School League Class AAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

The Packers face the Bears at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

Here is the complete bracket:

AAA Bracket

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Packers Claim Section Crown with 52-43 OT Win

16 Mar

The Austin Packers earned their second straight state tournament trip Friday night with a 52-43 overtime win over Red Wing in the Section 1AAA title game.

The Packers built an early 12-5 lead before an extended scoring drought allowed the Wingers to close the gap and take a 14-12 lead. It was a four-point Packer lead at halftime, and the Packers maintained a slight edge for virtually all of the game, but a Red Wing put-back with five seconds left in regulation tied the score at 40. A Red Wing free throw gave them a one-point lead early in the four-minute extra period, but the Packers closed on 13-2 run for the win.

Zach Wessels led the Packer scoring with 19 points, while Joe Aase scored 18, Tom Aase 7, Ajuda Nywesh 4, Collin Weisert 3 and Bret Lukes 1.

See the stories in the Austin Daily Herald, Rochester Post-Bulletin, Red Wing Republican-Eagle and TV coverage on KAAL and KTTC. It was the 300th career win for Packer Coach Kris Fadness.

Here are the highlights:

The Packers begin MSHSL State Tournament play Wednesday at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. The top five teams will be seeded, with #4 and #5 facing each other and the top three seeds drawing one of the other teams at random. The bracket will be filled in later today.

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Updating Packer History

13 Mar

Thanks to Austin alumnus Chris Harder and his collection of State Tournament programs dating back about half a century, we’ve updated our Packer History page with some interesting information, including the fact that Austin has won more Big 9 titles than any other school.

We’re missing data from 2001-2005, so if you can help fill in the gaps, we would appreciate your help. Check it out!

Meanwhile, lest anyone feel anything other than relief at the Packers’ dodging a bullet on Saturday night against Winona, it’s helpful to remember that the last three Packer state tournament teams had at least one close call on the way to the tournament:

The point? Winning streaks are nice, but they don’t matter right now. Neither does the last game. All that counts is the next one.

Almost every good team that ends up making a tournament run needs to win a close game along the way to stay alive.

The Packers did just that on Saturday.

On Friday night they can claim a return trip to Williams Arena. Plan to go to the game and invite your friends!

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