And I'm Ben Lickteig! Welcome once again to the "Bear Facts," your weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Music is the highlight of our show this week--with the focus on marching band. Today is Algona Band Day, and next weekend the band will be competing at the state marching band contest. The Solid Gold Marching Band looks better and sounds better than they have in years. They've been working hard throughout the fall to get they're show just right.
The 2000 competition show is called "Rockin' '60s". The show opens with "Devil with a Blue Dress", followed by "Five O'Clock World". Something new for this year is a percussion feature entitled "Jump Street", and the performance closes with "A Little Bit of Soul". Andi Kramer and Lynn Kohlhaas have solos in the band's competition show, and Amanda Freking and Rebecca McGuire serve as field commanders.
You can see the Garrigan band this afternoon in the Algona Band Day parade, which will run down State Street beginning at 1pm. The field competition will start at 6:30 tonight on the Algona High football field. The Garrigan Solid Gold Band is scheduled to perform at 7:30pm, and the awards ceremony will be at 9:45 this evening. Good luck to Directors Dennis Freking, John Mallett, and Greg Ahlers--and the whole BGHS band!
Once Band Day is over, it's the choir's turn to take the spotlight. On Wednesday, October 4, BGHS will host the 18th Annual Sioux City Diocese Catholic Choral Festival. Over 400 choir students will be at Garrigan next Wednesday, representing all the Catholic high schools around the Sioux City Diocese.
A special choir director from Omaha, Cheri Helmer-Reinshe, will be on hand to direct the students. They'll rehearse all day, and then at 7pm they'll all perform a special festival concert in Friedmann Auditorium. Admission for the concert is $2 for adults and $1 for children, with a maximum of $5 per family. We invite everyone to come and enjoy a special evening of music as Garrigan hosts the Catholic Choral Festival.
Again this year, Golden Bear football is on a roll. While most experts felt that Garrigan's district would be a little tougher than last year, so far the Bears have easily raced past their opponents. Among the stand-outs so far this season have been running-back Hank Greer and kicker Chad Mescher. As always, though, defense has been the Bears' true strength. The Bears' first team defense has held their opponents to less than one touchdown per game throughout the season.
The biggest game of the regular season will come next Friday, when Garrigan takes on the other district powerhouse, the Mustangs from Southern Cal. Last year the Mustangs beat Garrigan on a stormy night at the end of the regular season, but the Bears turned around and beat Southern Cal when it really counted--in the UNI-Dome. Almost every poll ranks both Garrigan and Southern Cal near the top of the 1-A ratings, and next week's game will be one of the biggest match-ups in Iowa. We encourage all of you to come out to Conway Field next Friday to cheer on the Bears.
This week's Senior Spotlight shines on two of our football players: Paul Loebach and Hank Greer. Here to tell you about them is Brad Nelson.
Paul Loebach comes to Garrigan from the Whittemore area. He's a lineman in football who stops the opposing teams and makes holes for the Bears' offensive plays. In addition to football, Paul is also active in quiz bowl and intramurals. He's looking at either UNI or Iowa for college, and we wish him all the best.
Henry L. Greer III is an Algona native who is one of the school's top athletes. Hank is a football captain who has won all-district and all-state honors. He was last year's defensive MVP in basketball, and he holds two school records in track. Away from Garrigan, you might see Hank working at Sister Sarah's Restaurant. We wish Hank goof luck both this year and in the future.
Thanks, Brad! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, today is Algona Band Day. The parade is at 1:00, and Garrigan will be performing in the field competition at 7:30 tonight.
Monday ITEDs continue at Garrigan, with the science tests. The volleyball team travels to Clear Lake Monday night, and there's freshman football at Humboldt.
Tuesday we'll finish up ITEDs, with the "Sources of Information" test. The cross-country team will run at Eagle Grove that night, and there's freshman and JV volleyball versus Forest Ridge Academy.
Wednesday is Catholic Choral Day. The choral concert will be at 7pm in Friedmann Auditorium. That morning the student council will be in Sexton for their Adopt-a-Highway project.
Next Friday we'll have First Friday adoration in the Garrigan chapel. That night the Golden Bear football team welcomes Southern Cal. The middle school band will march at halftime, and the baseball team will hold a chili supper before the game.
That's the "Bear Facts" for September. Thanks for listening, and be sure to catch us again next week to hear all the latest news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
