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
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A slow start for the Cloquet football team proved costly against Denfeld in Proctor Friday, during Cloquet's homecoming-away-from-home game. Denfeld raced out to a 20-0 first-quarter lead and by halftime they were up 34-8 on their way to a 40-16 win. "They're an explosive and fast team," said Cloquet head coach Jeff Ojanen. "You can't give them back-to-back possessions on a short field, and that is exactly what we did." Denfeld took the opening kickoff and returned it to the Lumberjacks 48-yard...
The team portion of the season ended for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team last week when the Lumberjacks fell to Cambridge in the opening round of the Section 7AA tennis tournament. CEC came in as the No. 12 seed and were playing the No. 5 seeded Blue Jackets. The 'Jacks fought hard but came up short in the 5-2 loss Tuesday, Oct. 3. Lumberjacks got a win at No. 2 singles from Addison Ranta, who defeated Isabelle Sullivan by a score of 3-6, 6-3 and 10-4. "Addison started slow, but got...
After many years of dominating the Section 7AA girls soccer tournament, the Cloquet/Carlton Lumberjacks are once again one of the teams to beat. "I really think we're on the cusp of some good things," said coach Dustin Randall. "We have only two seniors, so we will need the younger players to step up and continue to improve, and so far we've been seeing that." The Lumberjacks' lone two seniors are Madison Frederickson and Kiley Issendorf. Frederickson is a defender and Issendorf a forward in...
After opening the season by losing two of their first three games, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys' soccer team has reeled off 12 straight wins and is the prohibitive favorite in the looming Section 7AA playoffs again. Last Saturday, the Lumberjacks throttled Hermantown, 4-0, and on Tuesday they downed North Branch, 7-0. Against Hermantown the 'Jacks recorded the first goal of the game at the 10-minute mark when Logan Kunze rammed home a ball off a corner kick by Anders Gunnelson. "It's nice and i...
While the fall football and soccer seasons are starting to reach the end of their regular seasons, boys and girls in cross country still have about a month of running ahead of them. That time will be used to make sure teams are continuing to train as they try to lop time off their runs in hopes of winning a section title. "I'm happy with how hard our kids are working," said Cloquet boys and girls cross country coach Chandra Allen. The Cloquet boys team has made continuous improvements and has...
Esko played what most folks predicted would be the football team's most competitive game of the regular season against Pequot Lakes Friday night. They crushed the Patriots at home. Esko won 60-0 and sent notice to the rest of the state that they are the team to beat in Class AAA, with talent to spare. The two teams met in last year's section final, with Esko escaping and going to state. The Patriots came in ranked as the No. 5 team in the state. Esko came in ranked at No. 3. Esko has scored at...
After opening the season with two straight losses, the Cloquet football team picked up their second win in a row Friday with a 38-12 win over Rock Ridge. The home game was played at Proctor's Egerdahl Field because Cloquet's home field is still not ready for play after getting turf this summer. The game was played in a dense fog where at times the fans could not see the opposite side of the field. "We just don't see fog like that when we play at our field in Cloquet," said Cloquet coach Jeff...
When Cromwell-Wright and Carlton/Wrenshall took the field on Friday night, both teams knew the Cardinals were the heavy favorite. The Raptors are trying to meld a program together, while the Cards are one of the top nine-man teams each year in northern Minnesota. When the dust cleared, the Cards had won 76-0, but the Raptors had earned the respect of the opposition. "Brent had his kids playing hard and excited to play football," said Cardinals coach Jeff Gronner. "For us, our kids have never...
Two of the top teams in northeastern Minnesota did battle at Cloquet Middle School Tuesday, when Cloquet defeated Esko 3-0. "It's always fun to play Esko," said Cloquet coach Heidi Anderson. "They have a talented team and they make you work for everything." The Lumberjacks came in fresh off winning the Duluth East tournament championship over the weekend. The talented team showed just how tough they are by dominating at the net and controlling play as they moved their record to 16-1 on the seaso...
Optimism is running high for the Lumberjacks boys soccer team. Heading into Tuesday night's game against Superior, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton had reeled off six straight wins and improved its record to 7-2. "Our two losses were to a Top 10 team in Class AAA and the top-ranked team in Class AA," said CEC head coach John Sundquist. "We feel that we have all the pieces to make another strong run at the end of the season." CEC finished third at the Class AA state tournament last year and they are loaded...
Esko and Barnum met in girls volleyball Thursday with Esko dominating its southern neighbor, and improving their record to 11-3 with the win. "So far so good," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. "We lost to Hermantown in the second week of the season - a game I thought we should have won - but since then we've been playing well, although I'd like to see some more consistency." While Esko has a deep team, the Bombers are entering a new era with a new coach. Amanda Nordstrom has taken over the program...
A young Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swim team had the dubious honor of having to open the season against the three toughest teams in Section 7 this season. Starting with Grand Rapids, Proctor-Hermantown and Hibbing was tough, but the Lumberjacks' young swimmers continue to show improvement this season. "It's been a rebuilding year for us," said CEC coach Rachel Peterson. "We have a lot of young swimmers. It will take a while, but the girls are working hard and doing what they need to do to...
It's still sinking in for Cloquet native Jamie Langenbrunner. Already a revered hockey player from the high school, professional and national team ranks, he will become a hall of fame inductee in December. "I was up playing golf at Giants Ridge a week ago and, when we drove by the (United States) Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, it kind of hit me that this time next year I will be there," Langenbrunner said from his home in the Twin Cities area. Langenbrunner has known since July that he will be...
When does a high school home opening football game not feel like a home game? When your home game is played 12 miles away in another town, that's when. Such was the case last Friday night when Cloquet opened its home season at Proctor playing against the Hermantown Hawks. The game was moved because the new Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium is not quite ready for a home game. "Anytime you get to play football under the lights on a Friday night is special," said Lumberjacks head coach Jeff...
Local football fans got a treat Friday when Barnum defeated Moose Lake/Willow River for the first time since 1998. It wasn't easy, but the Barnum defense got it done during a second overtime, stopping the Rebels at the 5-yard line to pull out a 28-22 victory. The brown jug finally made its way back to Barnum. "It was a lot of fun and a good game between two good teams," said Barnum coach Rob Minkkinen. "I was proud of how resilient our team was all game long. There were a few times where they...
One team is learning to play together for the first time while the other school returns six players who either started full- or part-time last season. Such was the case when Carlton/Wrenshall hosted the first home game in their cooperative's history Aug. 31 against an experienced Cromwell-Wright team. Cromwell/Wright swept the match by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-17. "Right now, we are just trying to figure things out," said Raptors coach Barb Soukkala. "We have to be patient and try to fit...
Esko fans have been anticipating the high school football season ever since the team lost in the state quarterfinals last year. On Aug. 31, Esko showed its optimism was warranted, demolishing Duluth East on the road, 63-6. "I knew we had a lot of pieces on both sides of the ball," said Esko coach Scott Arntson. "I knew we'd be good, but you still have to get on the field and prove it." Esko has team speed to burn and plenty of big strong athletes. They were so overwhelming that by the end of the...
It's been an interesting year for the 43-member Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team. With construction of the new $4.7 million Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium complex going on, the 'Jacks have played all their matches so far on the road, and at this point they are not scheduled to have a home game this season. "That's been tough, especially because we have 13 seniors who would like a chance to play at home," said head coach Derek Johnson. "There is excitement for what the future hold...
It's nice to open a football season at home. What wasn't so nice for Cromwell-Wright last Thursday was its opponent, defending Section 5 nine-man champion Ogilvie. While the Cardinals played tough, the Lions pushed through for a 42-21 win. "They returned eight of nine starters on defense and seven starters on offense," said Cardinals coach Jeff Gronner. "They are big and physical and we knew they'd be tough." Cromwell-Wright gave the Lions everything they could handle and then some as they...
When the Cloquet/Carlton and Esko girls soccer teams met Tuesday night, the game featured the Class AA and Class A Section 7 champions from last year. It also featured quality defensive efforts by both teams, ending in a 1-1 tie. Esko evened up the score in the last 53 seconds on a goal by Kaitlyn McConnell. "We haven't had a lot of time to practice set pieces," said Esko coach Sharon Lahti, referring to things like free kicks and corner kicks. "What we tell the girls is just get a body part on...
Local high school cross country runners got a chance to shake off the rust last Thursday with the annual Chub Lake meet, which is all about having fun and getting a chance to run. "This is not your typical meet," said meet organizer Jerimy Hallsten of Esko. "I inherited the meet from Jerry Zimney, Mike Bushey and Tim Lindquist and I am sure they inherited running the meet from others before them, but regardless, it is a relaxed event for everyone." Each coach times their own runners and there is...
Formed in 2021, next weekend will mark the second year Esko has had anglers in the state championships. It's quite an accomplishment for the startup program. "It all started a few years ago with my son Noah, who found out about this being a sport," said Esko coach Bill Wells. "He approached the school board and then he started out trying to find kids who wanted to do the same thing, and now we are a medium-sized team." The sport is not sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. It is...
It will be an interesting slate of games for the Cloquet Lumberjacks football team this season as most, if not all, games will be on the road. Home games will be played at Egerdahl Field in Proctor while work continues on the Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium in Cloquet. "We see the progress they are making every day we are at practice," said second-year Cloquet coach Jeff Ojanen. "We are excited about the new field and we are hoping we get to play our last home game there, and maybe a...
A year ago, the Esko football team was an offensive juggernaut that finished 11-1 with their only loss coming against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the quarterfinals of the State Class AAA Football Tournament. There were 13 seniors on the 2022 roster, including six who will be playing college football this fall. Esko will look to reload and make another run to the state tournament. "We have 18 seniors, which is the most seniors we've had since I've been coach," said Esko head coach Scott Arntson....
If there is another high school football team more excited about the upcoming season than Carlton/Wrenshall you'd be hard pressed to find them. After taking a year off from varsity play due to low participation numbers, playing just a junior varsity schedule, the Raptors will once again hit the field as a varsity nine-man program. "Everything came together last year just fine," said Raptors coach Brent Pokornowski. "The whole program is excited about the upcoming season and the guys are working...
