Fans at Providence Academy’s homecoming Sept. 27 were asked to look to the sky before the playing of the national anthem. What they witnessed was a memorable beginning to a football game, one that ended in a 29-14 loss to Minnehaha Academy.

Three members of the Navy Seals CRW Demos Team parachuted into the stadium carrying an American flag and the game ball. The drop in was part of homecoming festivities and to kick off a capital campaign to raise money for an upgraded football/soccer/lacrosse field. The anthem was sung while the sky divers were descending.

“Overall, it went very well,” athletic director Kurt Jaeger said. “The folks in the stands had no idea what was going to happen until they looked up and spotted the plane in the sky. The precision they had was amazing, landing right on the 50-yard line. It was a pretty spectacular homecoming.”

Another upset for Lambert

Minnetonka eighth-grader Bella Lambert has made quite a splash in high school tennis this season. She defeated Mounds View’s Summer Brills, the defending Class 2A singles champion, on Sept. 7.

Last Saturday Lambert pulled off another upset, defeating Chanhassen’s Hayley Haakenstad 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the Section 2, 2A quarterfinals. Haakenstad was No. 2 in Class 2A at the time.

Evensen stands out

While host Wayzata won the girls’ Section 5, Class 2A True Team swimming and diving meet Saturday, Armstrong junior Courtney Evensen had the most impressive individual performance.

She won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:53.04 and the 500 freestyle in 5:03.17, both pool and meet records. She also swam the anchor legs of the Falcons’ runner-up 200 freestyle relay and third-place 400 freestyle relay teams.

Perkins returns

After one season as the boys’ basketball coach at Bloomington Kennedy, Reggie Perkins has returned to Minneapolis Washburn as athletic director.

Perkins, a former St. Cloud State point guard and Harlem Globetrotter, coached the Millers’ boys’ basketball team for eight years. Washburn won the Class 3A state championship in 2009.

Jim Paulsen • 612-673-7737