There are small Minnesota high schools and then there's Ellsworth, a mile from the Iowa border in Nobles County. The village retains its high school, even with 10 seniors and a total enrollment of 58 in grades 7 through 12.
"There are more on the way," Curt Schilling said. "I have kids. We're going to do our part to keep Ellsworth going."
It's hard to find a more amazing story in Minnesota high school athletics in this century than the Schilling brothers — Curt, Cody and Casey, all in the 6-5, -6 range — leading Ellsworth to five appearances in the Class 1A basketball title game in seven seasons from 2003 to 2009.
Ellsworth lost to Mankato Loyola in 2003; lost to Rushford-Peterson in 2006; defeated Cass Lake-Bena in 2007; defeated Minnesota Transitions in 2008; and lost to Granada-Huntley-East Chain in 2009.
There was some pairing of athletic teams in other sports, but it was strictly Ellsworth — and especially the Schilling farm — providing the talent for that historic run from a tiny town.
Ellsworth finally had to concede to its minuscule numbers two years ago and pair all of its athletic teams with Adrian.
The Schillings became terrific collegiate players: Curt at Northwestern, an NAIA school in Orange, Iowa; Cody and Casey at Augustana in Sioux Falls. Casey was a star on the Vikings' 2016 NCAA Division II champions.
Curt and Casey are working with their father in running a 2,000-acre farm near Ellsworth, with 18,000 hogs. Cody is working in Waco, Texas, in the business world. His wife, Erica, is the senior associate athletic director at Texas A&M-Commerce.
