THE BEAR FACTS
November 4, 2023


Good morning! I’m Violet Bode!

I’m Ella Schaaf!

And I’m Ava Hough! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.

We’ve talked about football almost every week this fall on the “Bear Facts”. That’s because this has been the most exciting year the Golden Bears have had in a long time. After a narrow loss in their opening game of the season the Bears have strung together win after win after win. They were the underdogs in many of those games, but they did what it took to get a victory. The Bears went undefeated in their district and went on to host three straight rounds of playoffs.

Last week the Bears took on the defending state champions, Remsen St. Mary’s, in the second round of playoffs. St. Mary’s hadn’t lost in two years—that is, until they came to Conway Field in Algona. The Bears matched the Hawks touchdown for touchdown, but we made an extra point and a two-point conversion, while St. Mary’s failed on all of their conversion attempts. It was Garrigan’s closest game of the year, but we came out on top 21 – 18.



The most exciting play of last weeks’ game came when quarterback Tate Foertsch pitched the ball to Justin Bauer. It looked like Justin would run the ball, but instead he threw a long pass to Sam Plathe for the touchdown that would seal the game. Caden Roethler had a huge night rushing, racking up the Bears’ other two scores.

The Golden Bear lineman came up especially strong in this game. Center Logan Nemmers played through an injury, and a lot of the Bears’ rushing depended on his blocks. Keaton Helleseth, Carter Schwab, and Brody Ludwig also were key up front, while Ethan Marso, Benjy Trainer, and Andrew Lichter made big plays further back, and Drew Lappe kicked the crucial extra point.

Beating the state champions meant the Golden Bears were the last team standing in Kossuth County, and it advanced them to the state quarterfinals this past Thursday night. They were the underdogs yet again when they faced CAM of Anita. Since there was no school Friday, we had to record this week’s show before that game was played. We know the Bears gave it everything they had, though, and we’re crossing our fingers that the effort was enough to move forward.

The football players weren’t the only people with big success last week. Senior Ella Schaaf went down to Nevada to compete at state solo dance qualification. Garrigan competes in Class I, and more than half of the dancers in that class received division two ratings. Ella, however, was one of the top ten competitors and was named a Class I finalist. This advances her to the final solo dance competition, which will be November 29 through December 1 in Des Moines. Congratulations on another great dance performance, Ella!

The whole Garrigan danz squad was honored at the solo dance qualifiers last weekend. The Bears won the distinguished academic award, which honors teams with the top average grade points. In addition to a trophy, the girls also received packs of Smarties. We’re proud that Garrigan consistently wins academic awards in every activity.

Tonight is your last chance to see the Bishop Garrigan fall musical, Singin’ in the Rain. The final performance starts at 7:00 tonight in Friedmann Auditorium. Tickets are just $7 for floor seats and $5 for bleachers, and as always both Garrigan students and patrons of the DARTS organization get in free. Be sure to show up tonight to see Singin’ in the Rain.

At our All Saints Mass last Wednesday thirteen Bishop Garrigan seniors were commissioned to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Ethan Kuper, Violet Bode, Ava Hough, Benjy Trainer, Lauren Swift, Avery Lichter, Abbie Capesius, Madelyn Bronk, Reagan Murphy, Ella Schaaf, Kyra Deike, Alaina Casey, and Brendah Plathe were commissioned and will now distribute the Eucharist at both school and parish masses.

Today is a big day for Garrigan junior Brooke Ludwig. Brooke has been an important part of the Algona swim team throughout the fall, competing both individually and as part of relays. The regional swim meet is happening today in Mason City, and we wish Brooke and all the swim team good luck in competition.

This week our Senior Spotlight shines on Benjy Trainer. Here to tell you about him is Abbie Capesius.

If you listen to the “Bear Facts” regularly, you’ve almost certainly heard Benjy Trainer announcing on our show. Benjy has been in football all through school, and this year he’s been one of the Bears’ top receivers and defensive backs. Benjy is also in Singin’ in the Rain, and he recently qualified for All-State Choir for the third straight year. Benjy has also been successful at many other activities—including baseball, track, speech, drama, and band—and this week he was installed as a Eucharistic minister. Benjy will be off to college next year, and we know he’ll do well in the future.

Thanks, Abbie. On our Golden Bear calendar this week, the regional swim meet is being held today in Mason City. Today is also state cheer at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Then at 7:00 tonight there’s the final performance of Singin’ in the Rain.

We’ll set our clocks back tonight for standard time. The regional DECA leadership conference is tomorrow and Monday. Girls basketball practice begins on Monday, and there’s a junior high honor choir that day.

We’ll have a school mass next Tuesday morning. As a special feature of that mass we’ll be honoring area veterans, and there will be a special reception for veterans following the service.

The state football semifinals will be Wednesday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The state girls swim meet is on Friday, and next Saturday Garrigan will host the Top of Iowa Conference quiz bowl tournament.

That’s the “Bear Facts” for another week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to catch the show next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.