A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 131
All season long, the Moose Lake/Willow River defense has played like a unit possessed by protecting the endzone. The Rebels entered the playoffs allowing an average of a little over 8 points per game defensively with most opponents scoring late in games when the Rebels' second or third units were on the field. The Rebels defense played a starring role in the 13-0 win over Barnum Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Section 7AA championship game at Esko. "All season long the defense played so well, this is... Full story
For the third consecutive season, Rush City ended the Esko girls volleyball season in the 7AA playoffs. Last year, a late comeback by Esko in the section final forced a deciding fifth set for the Tigers before 700 fans. In 2021, the Tigers ended the Esko season in the section quarterfinals. On Saturday, Rush City swept Esko 3-0 to advance back to the state girls volleyball tournament this week in St. Paul. "They are a very good team with so many great players," said Esko head coach Pete Stasiuk.... Full story
When they met for the season opener, Barnum's first victory over Moose Lake/Willow River came only after two overtimes. This week, the neighboring football teams will play again, with the Section 7AA title and a trip to State on the line. The Bombers remain undefeated after overwhelming the Aitkin Gobblers, 41-0, in one section semifinal at Barnum Saturday, while the Rebels topped Mesabi East, 28-14, in Willow River Saturday to advance to the section championship contest Thursday night in Esko.... Full story
In the Section 7A championship game on Tuesday, Esko scored early and often for a decisive 4-0 victory over Marshall, eclipsing a September tie between the teams and sending Esko to state. Esko's Britta Koski scored on a penalty kick just 1 minute, 51 seconds into the match. The goal by Koski set the mood and momentum for Esko. Koski scored again in the eighth minute when a brilliant pass from Gwen Lilly allowed Koski to split two defenders and beat Hilltoppers goalkeeper Seva Gustafson. "We... Full story
The Cloquet volleyball team raced to a fast start this season, a trend that continued with a sweep of Moose Lake/Willow River on Tuesday at Moose Lake Area School. Cloquet won the first set 25-15, and the second set 25-16. Each of those sets were tight battles in the early going, but the Lumberjacks took control and distanced themselves from ML/WR in both games, thanks to timely kills from Ava Carlson, who finished with 22 kills on the night. The Rebels were unwilling to quit in an extended... Full story
The Section 7A softball tournament has found its way to the final two teams as tournament action continued Tuesday at Braun Park in Cloquet. Defending section 7A champion Cherry will face Moose Lake/Willow River Thursday with a trip on the line to Caswell Park in North Mankato next week. Thursday, May 26, the double-elimination portion of the Section 7A playoffs began in Grand Rapids. Four Polar League schools opened play: Carlton/Wrenshall (No. 5) versus Barnum (No. 4), and South Ridge (No. 9)... Full story
Esko opened up section 7AA baseball action with a pair of victories Tuesday afternoon and evening. The top-seeded team was scheduled to face Rock Ridge at 2 p.m. Thursday at Superior High School after this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. The Eskomos opened 7AA play with a 9-1 victory over Crosby-Ironton. Esko scored in each of the first five innings and built up an 8-0 lead before the Rangers scored their first run of the contest. Esko scored single runs in the first and second... Full story
The Barnum boys basketball season came to an end Friday night as a state-ranked Nevis team defeated the Bombers 67-37 in the section 5A finals in Foley. Barnum - the top seed out of the eastern half of the subsection - met up with the western half's top seed in front of a large and very loud crowd in Foley. The defending section 5A champion Tigers were seeking their fourth trip to the state tournament while Barnum was seeking its third state appearance, and first since 2007. Things got off to a... Full story
The South Ridge boys basketball season came to an end Saturday at UMD in a hard-fought game against the No. 1 seeded Cherry Tigers. After falling to Cherry by 43 points in December, the Panthers battled the Tigers until the very end of the Section 7A quarterfinal game, eventually falling by 6 points with the final score at 67-61. South Ridge was the last local school left in the boys 7A sectional tournament. Austin Josephson led the Panthers with 26 points in the loss, including hitting 9 of 10... Full story
Evan Gustafson and Joe Peterson each scored 18 points as Barnum topped Cromwell-Wright 57-39 to capture the 5A east subsection championship Tuesday night in Hinckley. Gustafson, who hit three of Barnum's nine 3-pointers, helped Barnum to a 28-17 lead at half time, and Peterson paced the Bombers in the second half as Barnum rolled the 18-point victory. "These kids had been together since kindergarten and have put a lot of time, work and effort into the program," said Bombers head coach Richard... Full story
Barnum junior Rayna Klejeski had a big night last Thursday in the section 5A playoffs: not only did she score the 1,000th point of her career, she also hit the game-winning basket as the Bombers defeated Upsala 53-51 to advance to the sectional quarterfinals. "It was so exciting to hit the thousand-point mark," Klejeski said. "I look up in the gym and see all the 1,000-point scorers for Barnum over the years and now I get my name there as well. It's an awesome feeling." Klejeski hit 1,000 right... Full story
The South Ridge girls basketball remained unbeaten with an impressive 68-24 victory Thursday at home over Barnum in a Polar League Conference matchup. The Panthers used defense and solid shot selections and were able to build up a huge lead in the first half, taking a 30-13 lead at the break. Adella Olesiak and Rylee Young each had eight points in the first half for South Ridge, but were 0-5 from the free throw line. Panthers head coach Brad Olesiak said his team improved defensively Thursday.... Full story
Prior to the Lumberjacks first game of the season Tuesday, head coach Heather Young said "the first game of the season we normally feel rushed and ready to go, but tonight I think we are set." This was a prophetic statement. Cloquet came out in mid-season form to beat the Eskomos for the first time in eight years with a 68-54 victory in Esko. The Lumberjacks jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Dominant play from Maddie Young and Alexa Snesrud proved to be the big difference in... Full story
The Eskomos' hopes of moving into the state Class AAA championship next week dwindled away down the stretch of the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon. That's when Dassel-Cokato came from behind and defeated Esko 21-14 in the State Class AAA semifinals. Esko knew they would need to come out ready to play against the top-ranked team, and that is exactly what happened as the Eskomos exchanged punches with the Chargers and never backed down. They earned a lot of respect from... Full story
Longtime Carlton volleyball coach Barb Soukkala sent a note to Brad Olesiak following the Panthers victory over Northeast Range in the section finals. “Congratulations,” it read, “remember to sit back and enjoy and don’t forget to take in the whole experience.” That advice is what coach Olesiak gave his players, who were the first South Ridge volleyball team to make it to the state tournament. “We are there to compete and play well and hope we can win, but remember to look around and feel th... Full story
The Cloquet girls soccer team ended its state run last week with two losses and a fourth place in Class AA. The Lumberjacks took to the big stage at U.S. Bank Stadium Thursday afternoon in a semifinal game against top-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret's. It was the Red Knights who defeated Cloquet-Carlton 3-0 and advanced into the state finals, while Cloquet faced Holy Angels in Friday's third-place contest, a 6-1 loss. Sadie Senich said the team had waited for this trip to state for a long time,... Full story
South Ridge earned its first ever state volleyball appearance Saturday by defeating Northeast Range 3-1 in front of a large crowd at the Lincoln Elementary School in Hibbing. After coming from behind Wednesday against Ely, the Panthers used that momentum to advance to the state girls state volleyball tournament this week at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Panthers came out a little slow Saturday, falling behind 9-2 to the Nighthawks in the very first set, but a timeout by head coach... Full story
The Lumberjacks were hoping for the No. 5 seed in the Minnesota Class AA state tournament, knowing they would have a rematch with St. Francis, which defeated Cloquet in the first match of the season. They got their wish, and ultimately defeated the Saints by a score of 1-0 last Wednesday night at Irondale High School. "We knew this was a team that we could defeat heading into the state tournament," said head coach Dustin Randall. "They whooped up on us in the first game of the season. We... Full story
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer season didn't end the way they were hoping, but with the thrilling 2-1 double overtime loss to Mahtomedi, the Lumberjacks showed many why they are one of the best teams in the state and deserved to play in the state tournament. The Zephyrs and the Lumberjacks were very similarly matched heading into the state quarterfinal matchup at Irondale High School in New Brighton. Each of the two teams entered the tournament averaging a little over three goals per... Full story
Brothers Jordan Aultman scored twice and Elijah Aultman once as the Lumberjacks defeated top-seeded Denfeld 3-2 in the Section 7AA championship Tuesday night. Winning was sweet revenge for No. 3 seed Cloquet-Esko-Carlton because Denfeld had knocked last year's undefeated 'Jacks team out during the Section 7A quarterfinals after Cloquet had beaten them 11-0 a month before. This CEC team entered the championship game with five straight wins and few multi-year starters. "I'm really proud of the... Full story
When the Lumberjacks won their second straight Section 7A title a year ago, it was bittersweet. Thanks to Covid-19 guidelines, there was no state tournament, so the victory left the Cloquet players with that taste of not finishing something they had started. With the Minnesota State High School League adding another class to soccer this season, the Lumberjacks took that challenge to heart. With hard work and determination, the Cloquet girls soccer team shut out North Branch 3-0 Tuesday night at... Full story
The Cloquet varsity volleyball team continued on a great start to the 2021 season with a three- set sweep over Carlton Tuesday. The Lumberjacks - who are now 3- 0 on the season - have not lost a set this season. They won 25-12, 25-18 and 25-15 in front of a spirited crowd at the Cloquet Middle School. The 'Jacks took an early lead and never trailed in the first set of the match. Cloquet used timely placing, finding a weak spot in the Bulldogs defense, and several unforced errors from Carlton... Full story
After a long and uncertain 2020-2021 season, the Minnesota Wilderness saw their season and hopes of a second Robertson Cup championship end Tuesday night as the Wilderness fell in the Central Division opening round playoffs. With the 5-4 win Tuesday at Northwoods Credit Union Arena, the Bismarck Bobcats swept the Wilderness three games to none and advanced to face either Aberdeen or Minot in the Central Division finals. After dropping two games to the Bobcats over the weekend in Bismarck, the... Full story
Instead of playing their home opener on Saturday night, the Minnesota Wilderness will now put a hold on hockey operations until at least late December. Following the latest executive order put out by the state of Minnesota, the local junior hockey team will be pausing its season until at least Dec. 26, general manager Dave Boitz stated in a press release. "Our players and coaches have done an outstanding job of mitigating risk and responding quickly to keep our players as healthy as possible,"... Full story
On what Rebels head cross country coach Adam Whealan called a "perfect day for running," the collaborative Moose Lake/Willow River/Barnum team won the boys varsity race last Thursday at Carlton's Chub Lake. The Rebels finished with a team total of 33 in the boys race, while South Ridge took second at 39 points and Carlton/Wrenshall came in third place with 60 points in the Raptors home meet. "The weather was beautiful and the course was in awesome shape," Whealan said. "It was just an... Full story
