PREFACE: Kitty Mayo and the Lake County Press
This story wouldn’t have been written if not for Kitty Mayo and the Lake County Press. Kitty has been undergoing treatment for a serious medical condition. She recently asked community members to help keep the local newspaper running while she temporarily ramps-down her workload. Unfortunately, this was a last minute idea and last Sunday’s deadline was missed. In the spirit of turning a negative into a positive, missing the print deadline allowed for two additional short stories to be written and presented in this digital format. They follow the game story.
This story will not appear in today’s version of the LCP. Therefore, I’m sharing it via my website.
One way you can support Kitty is to buy a copy–or two, three, or five—of the Lake County Press during forthcoming weeks. Meanwhile, I’ll submit stories each week.
Details can be found via her CaringBridge site—link is: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/c17beb15-4ae6-11f1-9f21-cb7a71ec20c9
You can also support Kitty by subscribing to the Lake County Press, buying copies of the newspaper in the coming weeks.
Agates Defeat Denfeld - Move to 2-0
Photo Courtesy of Deanna Larson
Midway through the third quarter, Ziggy Hietala intercepted a Denfeld pass on the Two Harbors 15-yard line, then scored the game-winning touchdown minutes later on a 30-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Isaac Imholte to lead the Agates to a 28-20 victory at Halsted Field.
Hietala’s touchdown came moments after a touchdown-saving tackle by Axel Morsette, who also scored on an 18-yard run, converted a pair of two-point conversions, and sealed the game with a midfield interception with 33 seconds remaining.
After allowing 20 first-half points, the Agates defense shut out the Hunters in the second half. Beau Lampela, Junior Lucero, and Silas Fournier led the Agates with 21 combined tackles. Brody Fellerson forced a fumble.
Offensively, the Agates averaged 5.6 yards per carry while totaling 288 total rushing yards. Four players topped 50 yards rushing in the game—Zeke Gomez 70, Cameron Poe-Johnson 69, Junior Lucero 56 and Haydn Stahl 55. Stahl and Gomez added touchdown runs of four and nine yards, respectively.
Coach Tom Nelson is liking what he’s seeing from this relatively young roster: “This is a gritty group of boys. They have pulled out two tough wins. They could have easily rolled over and given up, but they didn’t. We are a work in progress—we have a long way to go—but we have done some really good things to start the year. This is a great group of young men to coach!”
The Agates, with only three Seniors on the roster, have started the season with a pair of 28-20 wins over schools—North Branch and Denfeld—with more than double their Grades 9-12 enrollment. Two Harbors will host Mora (1-1) on Friday night at Halsted Field.
1st Quarter
(10:34) DD- Keelijah Thomas 34-yard pass from Kaleb Lundberg (Dom Assad kick)
(6:31) TH- Axel Morsette 18-yard run (Junior Lucero pass from Morsette)
(1:41) DD- Ethan Jeanette 3-yard run (Assad kick)
2nd Quarter
(3:20) TH- Haydn Stahl 4-yard run (Morsette run)
(0:26) DD- Keeovion Thomas 10-yard pass from Lundberg (pass failed)
3rd Quarter
(6:51) TH- Ziggy Hietala 30-yard pass from Isaac Imholte (run failed)
4th Quarter
(8:36) TH- Zeke Gomez 9-yard run (pass failed)
Game stats compiled by Agates coach Ryan McIntyre
BEYOND THE SCOREBOARD
The Two Harbors Agates played their first home football game on Friday, September 11. A couple of hours after the game ended, the calendar would flip to one of those seismic dates that once shook a community—one when something so significant happened that those tremors continue to be felt years later. “September 12” is one of those dates in Two Harbors.
September 12 was the date on the calendar when, back in 2022, Chloe Hietala—a former student-athlete at Two Harbors High School—died tragically in a car accident in South Carolina.
Early on Friday, Chloe’s dad, Derrick Hietala, wrote a moving tribute to Chloe on Facebook. That led me to find and read Chloe’s obituary. The words I read described the extraordinary impact her life had on Chloe’s family, friends in Two Harbors, and beyond. Chloe’s was a special life. One that ended too soon yet, in that most spiritual of ways, continues to persist for all who knew her.
The obituary included the following reference in the traditional list of people Chloe is “survived by”:
“…a special aunt and uncle April and Kyle Imholte (April was her kindred spirit and second mom).”
Obviously, there’s a special connection between the Hietala and Imholte families. I don’t personally know any of these folks. On the day of the game, I read a Facebook post. I saw a video stream of a touchdown. I connected a few dots and thought:
“You have got to be kidding me! Did that really just happen?”
Some stories write themselves. Others are too unlikely to believe. The circumstances surrounding the game-winning touchdown during Friday night’s game were both.
I hesitantly contacted Kyle Imholte on Tuesday afternoon. Kyle is April’s husband and an assistant coach on the Agates football team. My intention was to ask a highly personal question—one of those, this-is-none-of-my-business questions—but I asked it anyway:
“How did you feel at that moment? Did your thoughts drift towards Chloe?”
I would have completely understood if they chose not to answer. A couple of hours later, I received a text from April.
We can sit next to each other at a sporting event, watch exactly the same thing and have different reactions. The person to your left might casually say, “That was a good pass and a nice touchdown.” The person on your right might have an unfathomable reaction. It all depends on what we brought into that stadium with us–those life experiences, memories, celebrations, and traumas.
The stick-to-the-facts, objective newspaper story describes the touchdown like this:
3rd Quarter:
(6:51) TH- Ziggy Hietala 30-yard pass from Isaac Imholte (run failed)
April Imholte, who brought memories of countless FAMILY experiences into Halsted Field, described that same touchdown like this:
“There isn’t a moment, a day, that goes by where we don’t think about and miss Chloe’s presence here with us. Grief isn’t something that goes away; it simply evolves over time as you learn to carry on with a life that will never once again be the same. There can be so many beautiful moments within grief, if you remind yourself to look for them. Last Friday was one of those special moments. Just one day before the 4th anniversary of when Chloe left us to be with Jesus, her cousin threw his first Varsity touchdown pass to her youngest brother, which also happened to be his first Varsity TD. To everyone else there, it was just a really great play. But to us, it was one of those “God nods” reminding us that although her physical presence is missing, she is still very much with us. Watching from above, and no doubt, cheering as loud as possible. Family was everything to Chloe. She never missed those important moments, and I know she would be so proud of the boys. Not only for their athletic talents, but for the closeness they share on and off the field. What we wouldn’t give to see her cheering loudly from the stands, supporting her Agate family. And yet, I know she still is. From her sacred place in the sky.”
Derrick Hietala's Reaction
“My initial reaction was happiness for Ziggy. He dropped a touchdown catch in the first game and he was pretty hard on himself about it. My next thought was God is great. Kyle (Imholte) gave me a high-five on the sidelines as we both were smiling. Kyle and April’s family, as well as the rest of Chloe’s other side of the family, are very special people. They were always there for Chloe when she was down here, and they continue to be there for everybody who’s ever loved Chloe now that she’s in Heaven. A few years ago, Jesus showed up for me when I needed him most, and it was beautiful to see him show up at an Agates football game on a Friday night. Thank you Jesus.”
Two days after the game, Derrick posted the following on Facebook:
“Thank you everybody for all of the extra prayers for me and my family yesterday. We sure could feel them. There’s not a moment that goes by when I don’t miss our Chloe. Most moments are harder than others. Another year has passed since I’ve seen her beautiful smile, but I figure at least it’s another year closer to seeing her again. Thank you Jesus for blessing me with all the time that I had with her. Let her know that she’s still doing amazing things down here for others through the people that loved her, and the people who love you. Despite the hard week, it was filled with little blessings. Chloe’s brother got to experience his first win as a football coach while coaching his and Chloe’s cousin (who played a fantastic game). The Agate varsity team got another nice win. Chloe’s other brother got his first varsity interception and his first touchdown catch. And wouldn’t you know it, the young man who threw him that touchdown was Chloe’s other cousin, who had a wonderful game. All of this while her sister was cheering them on as a senior Agate cheerleader. And many family members were at these sporting events cheering them all on.”
The touchdown pass thrown at the 6:51 mark of the 3rd Quarter may have been as meaningful as any in Two Harbors High School history.
Go ahead.
Try to convince me that Chloe wasn’t there.
A Daughter Returns Home—Along with Special Guests
Melanie Ross has been the Cheer Coach at Two Harbors High School for 17 years. That’s a long time—long enough for a youngster to depart Kindergarten before arriving for her Senior year of high school. Long enough for girls and even boys—thanks to Maxx—to regularly attend games on Friday nights thinking, “I want to do that someday.” Then they do it, graduate, and move on with life. On Friday night, two of those women who years earlier fulfilled those ‘I want to do that someday dreams,’ returned to Halsted Field in a different, special role—one that honors the woman who served them as a mentor, coach, friend, and for one of them—that person who has the ultra-special title of “Mom.”
Sydney Ross and Halina Mojkowski were cheerleaders for the Agates, then the UMD Bulldogs, and now returned to Halsted Field as the Cheer Coaches for the Denfeld Hunters. In a “this doesn’t happen every day kind of moment,” Melanie Ross was stationed on the Agates’ side of the bleachers. Sydney and Halina were over on the Denfeld side.
Let’s not pretend they didn’t cross over to the other side a few times before, during, and after the game. How did they feel about this special night?
Melanie Ross:
“Honestly, it was a wonderful full-circle moment. It is really awesome to see her interacting and working with her team; I am so proud of her. Seeing her on the other side made me smile, plus we met in the middle several times.”
“It’s pretty cool that Sydney’s assistant coach was also one of my cheerleaders. She never cheered with Syd. They are 5 years apart, but they both went on to cheer at UMD. I’m proud that athletes from our program love cheer so much that they want to coach.
Sydney Ross:
“Being back on the track was full-circle and extremely nostalgic for me! Agate Cheer shaped much of who I am as a cheerleader and coach, and sharing that sideline again with my mom made it even more special. It was really cool to get our teams together. I’ll always have so much love for Two Harbors and the memories I made while cheering there. I’m also incredibly proud to support Denfeld and our amazing community!”
“My assistant coach Halina Mojkowski, also an Agate Cheer alum, and I had a lot of fun hearing them do old cheers we used to do when we were in high school. And we still remembered several of them!”
Halina Mojkowski
“It was really fun being back at Two Harbors. Seeing old coaches and still remembering all the cheers felt so nostalgic. I’m very grateful to be able to step back onto that track even as a coach for a different team.”
One more thing: Sydney brought along a special guest—her son, Maddax. The little guy wandered the sideline—from the Hunters side to the Agates side with Grandpa Scott.
Sydney made the proper decision to adorn Maddax with an Agates—not Hunters— sweatshirt.
Grandma Mel, had a special night.
We’ve all walked that beautiful path from the parking lot to Halsted Field. We go there to see a football game, but it’s always more than that—more than just a game. Everyone brings their own stories to that field—their memories, their thoughts, those things the rest of us don’t see or aren’t aware of.
Last Friday, a lot of that stuff was going on.
Oh—and Two Harbors won a football game.
You can support Kitty Mayo by subscribing to the Lake County Press, buying copies of the newspaper in the coming weeks, and/or by visiting her CaringBridge site.
