A year ago this month, the Canyon Lake Little League All-Stars gave Rapid City sports fans an August to remember by becoming the first South Dakota team in the 62-year history of Little League baseball to earn a trip to the Little League World Series.

The team's magical month concluded with a parade through the streets of downtown Rapid City after its triumphant return from Williamsport, Pa.

The Harney Little League All-Stars would like nothing better than to make that parade a yearly tradition.

At 12:30 p.m. MDT on Friday afternoon, Harney will begin its quest for a trip to Little League World Series at the Midwest Regional at the Ruben F. Glick Little League Baseball Center in Indianapolis, playing its first game against Blair, Neb.

The tournament, which begins today and concludes with the championship game on

Aug. 15, features teams from Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri.

Harney head coach Raye Bledsoe, still celebrating the high of watching his son Donte, a starting shortstop on Rapid City Post 22, win a South Dakota State American Legion Tournament, thinks this year's Harney squad - and younger son Dmitri - has all of the elements necessary to replicate Canyon Lake's magical run.

"The potential is definitely there for this team to do very well," Bledsoe said. "Canyon Lake set a standard of excellence for us to shoot at, and we just have to go there and play like we are capable of playing. If we do that I think we'll be just fine."

While the 2009 Harney League squad has big shoes to fill, Steve Nolan, a coach on last year's Canyon Lake squad as well as this year's team that lost to Harney 4-3 in the district championship game last week, believes Harney has the talent and coaching to do just that.

"The Harney kids seem to have the same ingredient that made us so successful," Nolan said. "They appear to get along very well on and off the field, and because of that, have gelled as a team rather than simply a group of individuals.

"Last year, we had a group of kids that enjoyed playing the game of baseball and were very dedicated and focused on doing the very best they could do. If Harney does that, I like their chances in Indianapolis. They have a good nucleus of offense and defense, and they have solid pitching with Cody Carlson, Tucker Berg and Dmitri Bledsoe."

Another factor working to Harney's advantage at this year's Midwest Region may simply be the luck of the draw in the brackets.

Following the first round game against Nebraska - a state that historically has not fared well in Indianapolis - Harney will play a Cherokee, Kan., team that went 1-3 in 2008 bracket play, including a 15-3 shellacking at the hands of Canyon Lake.

Picking a favorite is a dicey proposition given that all six teams will have talented players, excellent coaches and passion and desire aplenty.