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CANNON FALLS — The Pequot Lakes players might as well have thrown their hands in the air or grabbed a white flag and started waving it.

It was Cannon Falls’ Madison Burr who above all had them feeling so helpless. Burr, a 6-foot-1 wiry and long-armed bundle of strength, explosion, passion and smarts, had that effect on almost all teams a year ago en route to being named first-team All-State.

But the then-junior unleashed her No. 1 performance against Pequot Lakes. It came on the biggest of stages, in the Class 2A volleyball state championship match at Xcel Energy Center, the Bombers going for their first state title in any sport.

For three years, Burr had built a reputation as a lethal hitter, mostly striking directly down on the ball, her smashed shots echoing through gymnasiums and sending shivers through opponents. There was plenty of that against Pequot Lakes. Burr finished with a thunderous 21 kills, which gave her 468 for the season and 1,003 for her career, both Cannon Falls records.

But there was also a mix of the subtle, a late add-on by Burr that made her game now complete and had the incredulous Pequot Lakes players with no idea how to defend her. Was she going to put a crease in the floor with another hammered kill, or was she going to torture the Patriots with a changeup, instead pushing the ball into vacated corners of the court for winners?

It was all too much from the two-time All-State selection, who this year is a candidate for the Miss Baden Volleyball Award, which goes to the top senior volleyball player in the state.

“I think that was the best I’ve ever played,” said Burr, whose team swept Pequot Lakes in that state final, just as it did to all three of its state opponents. “And the fact that our whole team was on made it even better. I was finding the deep corners in that match. Just being smarter rather than trying to hit the ball into the ground every time. I got a lot better at reading the court.”

That’s a reminder that no team in southeastern Minnesota — and the state, for that matter — wants to hear, that Burr has gotten even better. Burr owning a complete offensive game takes her to a level that almost nobody can match.

It’s what landed her a full scholarship to Division I program South Dakota State University. And it’s what will have opponents this season staying up late, trying to devise strategies against her.

Just what do you do against this feisty, powerful and smart redhead?

Mostly, it’s just hope for the best.

“Madison has the best all-around skills that I’ve ever coached, when you also consider her size,” said Cannon Falls 18th-year coach Melissa Huseth, who for the second straight year will also have Burr playing in the back row this season where she has also dramatically upped her game. “I think what teams fear most about her is her offense and how she attacks the ball so hard. If you don’t get a block up, it’s going to be difficult to defend her. She’s also been working on hitting her shots higher (instead of straight down). She’s worked hard on having an all-around game.”

One thing that Burr has never had to develop is passion for the game. That comes naturally. In fact, for a few, they might see it as coming a little bit too naturally.

Burr is known for celebrating with gusto her biggest and most thunderous points. Her reactions can be bellowing and with a serious strut to them. It’s likely not for everybody. But for her and her teammates, it works. It adds fire to the Bombers' attack, something that Burr is all about and keeps her coming back for more.

“I don’t see it as cockiness; I just see it as confidence,” Burr said. “When you get a big kill, the excitement that it creates for teammates is the best part. I’ve never had anyone tell me to stop (celebrating). But I have had teammates tell me to pick it up.”

Playing volleyball is a celebration, period, for Burr. Also a solid softball player and a one-time basketball player, Burr is at her happiest by far when on a volleyball court.

She’s excited when she’s playing for her travel team, Southern Minnesota Volleyball. She’ll be excited when she starts playing a year from now at South Dakota State. And she is excited now, primed for another banner season with her Cannon Falls teammates.

“All of the girls in this (Cannon Falls) program, we are super close,” Burr said. “We all go to school with each other, and pretty much all of the parents know each other. There is a bond that we have that is great.”

And the game is just as great.

“The tension that comes with volleyball, I love it,” Burr said. “It just gets me so excited. Having a long rally and then ending it with a kill, there’s just nothing like it.”

Pat has been a Post Bulletin sports reporter since 1994. He covers Rochester John Marshall football, as well as a variety of other southeastern Minnesota football teams. Among my other southeastern Minnesota high school beats are girls basketball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, high school and American Legion baseball, volleyball, University of Minnesota sports (on occasion) and the Timberwolves (on occasion). Readers can reach Pat at 507-285-7723 or [email protected].

ST. CLOUD — In time the Cannon Falls baseball team may appreciate what it was able to accomplish during the 2023 season. But right now the pain of falling short of a championship appearance stings.

Mistakes proved to be very costly for the Bombers in the Class AA state semifinals on Wednesday.

The No. 5 seed Bombers played No. 1 Esko tough with a berth in the state title game on the line. But walks and a couple of costly errors were Cannon Falls' downfall as Esko rallied to post a 7-2 victory.

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After losing the emotional contest to Esko, the Bombers had to play right away in the third-place game and they suffered an 8-6 loss to No. 2 seed Fairmont. The two losses close Cannon Falls' season at 22-7 and it places fourth in Class AA.

“It’s frustrating, but that’s just how it goes,” Cannon Falls senior Ari Wells said. “You just have to play the next pitch, one pitch at a time.”

Cannon Falls coach Bucky Lindow guided the 1997 Cannon Falls team to third place at the Class AA state tournament. This year’s Bombers squad featured three players who had fathers on that 1997 team.

“It would have been cool to have these guys do what their dads did,” Lindow said. “And they were close.”

The Bombers may have been playing for a state title if they could have made a few more plays on defense and had a couple of breaks go their way against Esko.

All seven runs scored by the Eskimos were unearned. Cannon Falls held a 2-0 lead after half an inning as Jack Meyers hit a two-run double.

Esko got a run in the third on a throwing error and wild pitch by left-hander Gavin Gray.

Cannon Falls then couldn't survive a fateful fourth inning. Esko had the bases loaded with two outs on two walks an a hit. The Bombers nearly got out of the inning, but an infield error scored two runs for a 3-2 Esko lead.

Gray raced over and almost caught a foul ball to end the inning, which just eluded him. He then walked that hitter and Isaak Sertich followed with a grand slam to break the game open at 7-2.

“It's tough but life has to move on,” Lindow said. “Did anything happen in that game we'd like to have back? Of course. There's a couple things I'd like to have back, but you can't press rewind."

The Bombers have been strong defensive all season, which made the semifinal loss even more frustrating to the team. They had just two errors, but both were costly.

“That's tournament baseball, you better go out and make a couple of defensive plays,” Lindow said.

The Eskimos won the game and scored seven runs despite getting just three hits.

Esko pitcher Finn Furcht held the Bombers to just two hits and he struck out 12 in 6 1/3 innings. Meyers had both hits for the Bombers.

"He pitched really well," Lindow said. "There was a chance earlier where if I had done something differently we maybe could have gotten some pressure on him."

Esko moves to the Class AA state championship game on Friday at CHS Field in St. Paul.

After falling to Esko, Cannon Falls was back playing Fairmont in the third-place game less than an hour later.

"It's one of the most difficult things, and something I would love to learn," Lindow said. "How to come back after a loss and play immediately."

It took the Bombers a while to get in a groove as Fairmont jumped out to an 8-1 lead after four innings. Cannon Falls scored the game's final five runs, but it wasn't enough.

“They didn’t quite get it going emotionally for a few innings, but we swung the bats well,” Lindow said. “A couple of defensive mistakes right away.”

Wells had three of the Bombers' 10 hits while seniors Elliott Nelson and Jadan Winchell added two each.

“It means a lot, just hanging out with my friends and playing ball,” Wells said of the season. “It was a great experience, glad to come here.”

The Cannon Falls team featured seven seniors, six of whom where starters.

“In a few days we’ll probably think it was really cool, it was really good,” Lindow said. “But it will take a while to get that recovery going.”

STATE SEMIFINALSEsko 7, Cannon Falls 2Cannon Falls#200#000#0#—#2#2#2Esko#001#600#x#—#7#3#1No. 5 Cannon Falls: Jack Meyers 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Ari Wells 1 R; Elliott Nelson 1 R. Pitchers: Gavin Gray (LP) 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 7 R, 0 ER, 7 BB, 7 K; Ari Wells 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.No. 4 Holy Family: Sam Haugen 1-for-3, 2 R; Isaak Sertich 1-for-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R; Bobb Thornton 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 R. Pitcher: Finn Furcht (WP) 6 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 12 K; Dylan Marciulionis 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

THIRD-PLACE GAMEFairmont 8, Cannon Falls 6Cannon Falls#001#023#0#—#6#10#1Fairmont#103#400#x#—#8#9#1No. 5 Cannon Falls: Jack Meyers 1 RBI; Jadan Winchell 2-for-4; Ari Wells 3-for-4, 1 RBI; Jon Banks 1-for-3, 1 R; Elliott Nelson 2-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI; Jackson Ekstrom 1-for-3, 1 R; Nick Barrett 1-for-2, 1 3B, 2 R. Pitchers: Ari Wells (LP) 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; Taylor Johnston 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Jadan Winchell 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.No. 2 Fairmont: Landen Meyerdirk 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R; Lincoln Becker 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R; Nate Soelter 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 R; Cooper Steuber 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R. Pitcher: Sam Haugen (WP) 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

ST. CLOUD — Jack Meyers has been money on the mound all season long for the Cannon Falls baseball team. And in the Class AA state quarterfinals on Tuesday in St. Cloud, the sophomore right-hander delivered once again.

Meyers pitched a two-hit complete game to help No. 5 seed Cannon Falls defeat No. 4 Holy Family Catholic 2-1. The victory moves the Bombers into the state semifinals against No. 1 Esko at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in St. Cloud.

“It feels really good, the first state win since 2012, I believe,” Meyers said. “So hopefully we can keep it rolling and win a couple of more.”

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Meyers allowed a triple to the first hitter he faced in the bottom of the first and Holy Family then got a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. But Meyers would not allow another run.

“I just kind of forgot about that and moved on to the next pitch,” Meyers said. “The slider had more break than normal. Elliott (Nelson) had the scouting report at catcher so I was just throwing it where he told me to.”

“They score a run and he doesn’t get phased at all,” Cannon Falls coach Bucky Lindow said. “He just goes out and wins one pitch at a time.”

That is also the mindset of the entire Cannon Falls team.

“We just play one pitch at a time and stay positive,” Lindow admitted. “It’s a good formula, a good formula for life.”

Meyers is now 10-1 this season and his ERA dips to about 1.50. He has excelled all season, but has really come up big during the postseason, first in the Section 1AA tournament and now at state.

“We always do what we need to do to win the game,” Meyers said. “I was just throwing strikes and the defense made the plays.”

Meyers struck out eight and walked just one, but he still needed just 85 pitches to record 21 outs.

After allowing the triple in the first inning, he did not issue another hit until there was one out in the seventh inning. He did leave runners stranded at second base in both the third and fifth innings.

“Jack’s been dealing all year,” Nelson said. “No matter the situation, he always throws it in the strike zone. He’s really fun to catch.”

Nelson drove in both runs for the Bombers while Jon Banks scored both runs. Banks doubled and scored on Nelson's single to right to tie the game in the top of the third.

“An inside fastball, I think I got jammed a little bit, but poked it over the first baseman’s head,” Nelson said. “And a hit's, a hit.”

In the fifth, Banks reached on an infield single, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored when Nelson dropped down a squeeze bunt for what proved to be the winning run.

“When we forced their defense to make plays, that really helped us a lot,” Nelson said.

The Bombers (22-5) have been fundamentally strong all season long, a common theme for a Lindow team over the years.

“We did some hit-and-runs, got some bunts down, got the squeeze,” Lindow said. “A fun day. Great kids and they believe in what they’re doing.”

The winner of the Cannon Falls and Esko state semifinal game will move to the Class AA state championship game on Friday at CHS Field in St. Paul. The loser will play in the third-place game later Wednesday afternoon in St. Cloud.

Cannon Falls 2, Holy Family 1Cannon Falls#001#010#0#—#2#8#2Holy Family#360#002#0#—#1#2#2No. 5 Cannon Falls: Jack Meyers 2-for-4; Jadan Winchell 1-for-3; Ari Wells 2-for-2; Jon Banks 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 R; Elliott Nelson 1-for-2, 2 RBI. Pitcher: Jack Meyers (WP) 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.No. 4 Holy Family: Nick Jorissen 1-for-3, 1 3B, 1 R; Jamison Quinn 1 RBI; Johnny Hussey 1-for-3. Pitcher: Jamison Quinn (LP) 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

ROCHESTER — To say starting pitcher Jack Meyers cruised through Cannon Falls’ games against La Crescent-Hokah for the Section 1AA baseball title is possibly the understatement of the year.

The sophomore needed only 67 pitches to lead the Bombers to a 3-1 win in Game 1 against the Lancers, which forced a winner-take-all Game 2 in the double-elimination section tournament. Forty-five minutes after recording the final out of Game 1, Meyers was back on the mound, pacing his third-seeded Bombers (21-5) to a 3-0 win and a trip to the Class AA state tournament.

“The plan was for him to throw 115 pitches, so whatever that took,” coach Bucky Lindow said. “But it's pretty incredible that he got the first game done with 67. I mean, that's just so efficient. And it also means we're playing defense because, if you're only throwing 67 pitches, that means we got to make some plays, too, and we did.”

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Meyers and the Bombers' defense allowed just one run over 14 innings. But efficiency was the name of the game for Cannon Falls. Lindow credits pitching coaches Keith Meyers and Quinton Lindow with their plan for the final games of the section tournament.

“Right when we lost the game Saturday, they said, ‘All right, here's what we need to do to win three games.’ They didn't have a plan to win the next one Saturday. It was Saturday, Tuesday, Tuesday,” Lindow said. “They said we (have) to keep all our pitchers under 75 (pitches). And we did, so that means we have everybody available today. It was a great plan by Keith and Q and gotta give them all the credit. And our pitchers all the credit for being efficient.”

The Bombers pitching and defense shined Tuesday night at Mayo Field, but so did their offense. Led in Game 2 by Jadan Winchell (2-for-3), Nick Barrett (2-for-3) and Meyers (1-for-2 with an intentional walk), Cannon Falls put up the three runs necessary to shut down the No. 4 Lancers.

Cannon Falls scored early in Game 2 off a Meyers ground-rule double that scored third baseman Winchell.

The scoring continued in the third inning, when a Winchell sacrifice fly scored Elliott Nelson, putting the Bombers up 2-0.

Meyers left the game after five innings pitched, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out five. Gavin Gray took over in relief and struck out two and walked two in the sixth.

After Winchell doubled to center to lead off the bottom of the sixth, the Lancers intentionally walked Meyers and Tyler Johnston in an effort to keep a double play in order. With the bases loaded, Barrett grounded to second baseman Mayes Boyer. Boyer threw Winchell out at home and the Lancers threw the ball to first. In a heads-up play, Meyers scored, pushing the Bombers lead to the final score of 3-0.

The win punched the Bombers' ticket to St. Cloud for the Class AA state baseball tournament, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, June 13. Cannon Falls will learn its game time and opponent later this week, once all section tournaments are complete and state-tournament seeding is finalized.

“These guys earned it by just focusing on the little things,” Lindow said. “We talk about quality at bats and extending leads and things like that. We don't ever talk about winning, but we know that if you do all the little things that leads to a win. And that's what happened today. We did it twice. Incredible pitching, great defense.”

The chance to play for a state title has Meyers excited.

“I’ve always wanted to win a state championship, so this is a step towards that,” Meyers said. “And hopefully we just keep it rolling.”

The first inning of Game 1 started with some drama: After a leadoff single from Eli McCool, starting pitcher Mayes Boyer was hit on the left side of his head by a pitch from Cannon Falls starter Meyers. A bunt from Nathan Masterson loaded the bases, but a strikeout, groundout and McCool’s baserunning error ended the inning.

In the bottom of the first, Mitchell Reining was thrown out of the game by the first base umpire and was replaced by Alex Donovan. Bombers leadoff hitter Nelson stole second base, advanced on an Ari Wells groundout and scored on Winchell’s single to right to take an early 1-0 lead.

Meyers singled to short on a ball bobbled by Kale Baker, which was scored an error. Tyler Johnston hit an RBI single to left to extend the lead to 2-0 Cannon Falls.

That lead held until the top of the sixth, when pinch runner Talan Trynowski scored on a sacrifice fly from Nathan Masterson to cut the lead to one run, 2-1.

Meyers led off the bottom of the sixth for the Bombers, and hit a solo home run over the left field fence to extend the lead to 3-1. The Lancers threatened early in the seventh after Brady Grupa hit a double to right, but Meyers sat down the next three hitters to seal the 3-1 victory.