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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The Esko girls made their mark in the Minnesota State Class A Soccer Tournament this past week. After winning on penalty kicks Oct. 24 over St. Cloud Cathedral in the opening round, Esko fell to top seed Southwest Christian, 2-1, in a tense semifinal game Tuesday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The first half of play was tightly played with the Esko defensive corps doing a stellar job of not allowing one of the state's best forwards, Maya Johnson, to get free as the teams went to halftime...
After two rounds of playoffs, just two local football teams remain in the hunt for that elusive state tournament berth. Both of those teams, Moose Lake/Willow River and Cromwell-Wright, are rich in postseason success and were scheduled to play for section championships Thursday night, after the Pine Knot News went to press. The stunner in the second round was top-seeded Barnum falling, 22-14, in Section 7AA, to No. 4 Mesabi East. The Giants jumped on the Bombers in the first half and held a...
Section volleyball entered the semifinal round Wednesday night with Esko and South Ridge the only two remaining local teams in action. Section 7AA Esko was set to play Crosby-Ironton in the 7AA semifinals Wednesday night after picking up a pair of wins in the past week. On Oct. 23, No. 2 Esko opened with a 3-0 win over Pine City. "It was nice to get that first match win out of the way," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. "We played well, we didn't make a whole lot of errors and we generally played a...
It was déjà vu all over again for the Cloquet/Carlton girls' soccer team at the Class AA state quarterfinal Wednesday night. After winning the Section 7AA tournament last week in a shoot-out, the Lumberjacks ended up in the exact same situation against Orono in the first game of the state tournament. The game ended tied at 1 through regulation and through overtime before Orono scored four goals to the Lumberjacks' three in the shootout to win. "I thought that after we got behind early and we mad...
It’s section playoff time for local volleyball teams and things are about to get awfully interesting. What follows is a breakdown of local teams and who and when they will be playing. Look for more information on volleyball playoffs in next week’s Pine Knot News. Section 7A Four local teams will all be vying for a place in the Section 7A championship game, but all of those teams will have a tough road ahead. No. 8 seeded Fond du Lac Ojibwe gets the tough job of opening up against No. 1 see...
Playoff football began Tuesday as a number of area teams tried to punch their ticket into the second round of sections. Class AAAA Cloquet made a valiant comeback against Duluth Denfeld in Duluth, falling short 28-20 on Tuesday. Denfeld came in as the No. 3 seed with a record of 5-3, while the Lumberjacks were the No. 6 seed with a record of 2-6. The two teams met in early October with the Hunters coming away with a 16-point win. Against Denfeld, the 'Jacks had the tall task of trying to slow...
It was a battle. After a full game and two 10-minute overtimes, the Cloquet/Carlton vs. Hermantown Section 7AA championship girls' soccer game hinged on goaltending and penalty shots. Fortunately for the Lumberjacks, they have one of the best goalies in the state in Rylee Senich. Between Senich and shooters who had ice in their veins, Cloquet/Carlton pulled out a dramatic 1-1 tie and 4-2 shootout to beat the Hawks and earn a trip to State. "It was very scary going into the shootout," Senich...
In her first season as head coach of the Lumberjacks girls tennis team, Emily Hallgren coached the team to a 12-7 regular season record. Although they fell in playoffs last week, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton had a solid first season under Hallgren. "This was a very cohesive group of girls," Hallgren said. "They had a great sense of team and you don't always get that as a coach." In team play last week, the 'Jacks fell 6-1 to No. 8 seed North Branch. The only win for the No. 9 seeded 'Jacks came from...
It came down to the goalies and just which one could make the key save in a thrilling shootout Tuesday night in the Section 7A championship between Esko and Marshall. A berth in the state tournament was on the line on the Esko pitch. Esko and Marshall are two teams that look like mirror images of each other. They have speed and scoring and solid goaltending and defensive back lines. On Tuesday night the goalies and defense stood strong as a scoreless match went to 100 minutes with double...
After suffering back-to-back losses on the road to Pequot Lakes and Two Harbors, the Esko football team bounced back last Friday night with a 35-0 homecoming win over Hibbing. Esko wasted little time as Graham Hartlieb streaked to the end zone from 28 yards out in the first quarter. That touchdown was followed up by the extra point kick by Santiago Anich, making it 7-0 for Esko. "Graham has probably gotten more carries this season than any other back we've had since I became coach," said Esko co...
The names on the back of the jerseys may be different, but the results are the same for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer team this season. The Lumberjacks garnered the No. 1 Section 7AA playoff seed last week by pounding Proctor 9-0. They finished the regular season with a gaudy 13-3 record. "We like to open the season with some games against some of the top Twin Cities schools," said CEC coach John Sundquist, explaining losses that came early. CEC started with a record of 1-3 through its fi...
Both the Esko and Cloquet/Cartlon girls soccer teams received the No. 1 seed in their respective section tournaments: Cloquet/Carlton in Section 7AA and Esko in Section 7A. Both teams also finished up the regular season in Esko last Thursday, with the hometown team edging the Lumberjacks 2-1. While Cloquet/Carlton waited until Thursday to open tournament play, Esko opened the playoffs at home Monday against Two Harbors. Two Harbors was the lone unseeded team entering the 7A tournament and...
The Cloquet football team didn't disappoint a large homecoming crowd Friday as they pounded out a 49-0 win over Proctor. "We came out and did what we were supposed to do against a team that is trying to rebuild their program," said Cloquet coach Jeff Ojanen. It took until there was 2:42 remaining in the first quarter before the 'Jacks were able to get on the scoreboard - but the 65-yard touchdown scamper by Aiden Nelson opened the floodgates. Soccer player Max Sundquist would find himself...
The Cloquet boys and girls cross country teams are slowly and quietly building towards sectionals. The Lumberjacks boys return two runners who made the state meet last season. They hope to see an even greater number make it to State this fall. "For the boys team, we return the entire team except one runner," said Cloquet coach Chandra Allen. "Andrew Shepherd and Evan Rothamel both made it to state last year for us in cross country." With 25 boys out for the team, Allen is blessed with a large...
The Esko girls soccer team is regarded as one of the top Section 7A teams every year, and this season is no exception. Esko entered Monday's game against Duluth Denfeld with a gaudy 10 wins and only three losses, at the hands of some of the top teams in the area. Esko dominated play against Denfeld, but was unable to get a ball into the net and settled for a 0-0 tie against the Hunters. "We had a ton of opportunities," said Esko coach Sharon Lahti. "We had so many shots, but their goaltender pla...
A year ago, Barnum football coach Rob Minkkinen had a feeling his Bombers would be a good football team. This year? Minkkinen knew they had some unproven talent, but after four games even he is surprised by the 4-0 squad. "We lost a big and talented group of players last year," Minkkinen said. "The group this year has waited for their chance to play and they've spent a ton of time in the weight room and in practice. They are ready to show what they can do." After picking up a close win in their...
It was senior night for CEC tennis Monday. First-year coach Emily Hallgren welcomed parents and fans of the 10 seniors who enjoyed their day in the sun in Cloquet with an impressive 5-2 win over Superior. "It was a fun night because we were able to get all 10 seniors in the matches tonight," Hallgren said. "It was so special. Each senior was introduced with parents and then we read a memory from each of them and also some advice to younger players." Following a ceremony introducing the seniors,...
The Cloquet/Carlton girls soccer team has been on an impressive run this early season. Entering Saturday's game against North Branch, the Lumberjacks had recorded eight straight shutouts and made it nine with a 3-0 win. Cloquet/Carlton topped off its week with another shutout - this time on the road at Grand Rapids for a 3-0 win Monday. Following the two wins, the 'Jacks are now 11-1 with 10 shutout victories. "We're really in rarified air," said Lumberjacks head coach Dustin Randall. "What's...
Entering Tuesday's night volleyball match, Cloquet and Esko were on opposite ends of season records. Esko entered the game with a record of 13-2 while the Lumberjacks came in with a 6-8 record and a much younger team than the team that had made it to the section title match the last few seasons. In the end, it was Esko that came away with an impressive 25-11, 25-12, 25-18 home win. "I was a little surprised at the scores, but when we are on our game we are a pretty good team," said Esko coach...
Three years ago, Carlton and Wrenshall combined for high school football and played their first season as a junior varsity team. Head coach Brent Pokornowski has been working on a five-year plan to slowly bring the Raptors football program along so that they can compete on Friday nights. "Our first year we had 22 players, and last year we had 36 players," Pokornowski said. "This season we are up to 46 athletes. We are slowly trying to build a program with numbers that can come out and compete...
Kerry Rodd [email protected] A third-quarter explosion helped lead the Cloquet football team to its first win of the season Friday on the night the new Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium was dedicated. The Lumberjacks scored 34 unanswered points - and put together a three touchdowns in the third quarter - to throttle previously unbeaten Duluth East, 47-22. "Our offensive line play was really good," said Cloquet head coach Jeff Ojanen. "The kids responded really well all week and did...
In her third season as coach of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School volleyball team, Larissa Littlewolf has a record 21 girls out for the team. She is starting to see the fruits of her labor. "It is so much fun to build a program," said Littlewolf. "I work full-time and I couldn't imagine not coaching this year and building this team. We have some ninth-graders who are growing so fast and killing it. You can just see their confidence growing every game." The Ogichidaag played their first home game of...
The official grand opening of the Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium and athletic complex was held Friday night prior to the Cloquet vs. Duluth East football game. School officials, the school board and MCCU representatives joined in a ribbing cutting ceremony before the game, and giveaways were in abundance in celebration of the occasion. A lot of work went on behind the scenes to get the project done, and as with anything of this magnitude, everything had to come together at the right...
Entering this season, the Cloquet volleyball team had three straight runs to the Section 7AAA finals, finishing as runner-up each time. If the Lumberjacks are going to the championship game this year, they will do so with a much younger and unproven line up. "We graduated five seniors from last year's team," said coach Heidi Anderson, whose team blanked Moose Lake/Willow River at home on Tuesday. All five of Cloquet's graduated seniors started for at least two seasons with Ava Carlson, one of th...
The Cromwell/Wright football team picked up its second win of the season Friday by throttling Hill City/Northland 60-8. For the second straight week the nine-man team had strong individual and team performances. "I was very happy with how we performed on both sides of the ball, but especially offensively," said Cards head coach Jeff Gronner. "Our offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and our backs were able to do a lot of damage on the edge." Cromwell/Wright led 20-0 after the first...
