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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It's a big week for high school baseball teams this week as the sectional baseball tournaments kicked off with state tournament berths at stake. With presstime on Wednesday evening, we both preview and update games this week. Section 7AA The Section 7AA tournament featured No. 1 seed Esko opening the postseason Tuesday against No. 16 Rush City and cruising to an easy 7-0 victory. Noah Furcht led the Eskomos with a three-hit night and also scored a pair of runs. No. 2 seed Aitkin opened play...
The sectional softball playoffs kicked off this week and will continue through the weekend with local teams hoping to secure a spot in the Minnesota State High School League softball tournament. Section 7AAA The Section 7AAA tournament opened Wednesday with Cloquet taking on Grand Rapids in Cloquet. The Lumberjacks are the No. 3 seed and the Thunderhawks are the No. 6 seed. Chisago Lakes, the team Cloquet defeated in the 2019 section title game, is the No. 1 seed this season and will host No. 8...
Once the Esko offense got going Friday, they made things look easy. The Eskomos rode shutout pitching from Amber Carlblom and a strong offensive output to a 13-0 win over the Bombers. The Eskomos started things off with a bang in the second inning when Lily Hanson drilled her first career home run to make it 1-0. Hanson's homer was followed by a walk from Kaitlyn Adkins and back-to-back singles from Jayden Karppinen and Maya Emanuel to make it 2-0 Esko. In the third inning, Esko added two more...
Tuesday night's Cloquet-Esko baseball game was an emotional rollercoaster that had fans on the edge of their seats. The punch-counterpunch game eventually ended with the Eskomos slipping by the Lumberjacks 8-7. "That's exactly the type of game I would expect when we play each other," said Esko coach Ben Haugen. The Eskomos pounced on the Lumberjacks with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and appeared to be well on the way to an easy win. Scoring in the inning were Cole Haugen, Tyler...
A five-run first inning helped to propel South Ridge to an impressive 8-6 road win over host Esko last Thursday night. "We knew going into the game that we had to get some runs on the board early," said first-year Panthers coach Aaron Weber. "We had a few big hits in the first inning and maybe caught them off guard a bit, which doesn't happen much to Esko." Connor Bushbaum, Jackson O'Bey, Aaron Bennett, Carter Anderson and Austin Josephson all scored in the first inning to help kickstart the...
In the spring of 1975, Esko senior discus thrower Bill Hudspith was participating in the state track meet in St. Cloud. On his final throw of his senior year, Hudspith unleashed the best throw of his career at 162 feet, 4 inches from the circle and set a school record. Little did Hudspith know his record would stand for 46 years. "I had no idea it would last that long," Hudspith said. "We've always had a strong throwing program here in Esko and I would never have thought it would last that...
Cloquet versus Hibbing. Boys basketball 1976 Region 7 finals. Showcased players in this game are future Gopher and NBA player Kevin McHale at 6-foot-10 for Hibbing and 6-foot-3 (and ½ inch) Cloquet center Jay Shogren. The Bluejackets won the game and finished second in the Minnesota boys basketball state tournament. McHale went on to be all Big Ten at the U of M, the third overall pick in the NBA draft, played on three world championship teams with the Boston Celtics and had his number...
Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer said people are "overwhelmingly glad" to be back in in-person classes at school, following an extended period of distance- and hybrid learning. Fischer shared a story about a possible snow day several weeks ago, when there was a forecast for inclement weather. "In past years the students would lobby me to close school anytime the forecast called for snow, but not this year," he said. "The students lobbied me to stay open." The return to school has come with...
It took a year, but local track teams got a chance to show their abilities last Thursday when many of the smaller county school teams participated in an early season meet hosted by the Eskomos. "We had six teams total: ourselves, Carlton, Moose Lake-Willow Ridge, South Ridge, Wrenshall and Cromwell," said Esko girls coach Matt Peterson. "It felt great to be back competing in a track meet after losing our 2019 season due to Covid. You can see it every day in practice, our kids are enjoying not...
Like the weather this spring, the first softball game of the season for Cloquet and Esko was all over the place. Initially, Esko took a 9-2 lead after two innings and looked to be cruising to an easy win. But the Lumberjacks had other ideas and rallied with four runs in the third, two in the fourth, three in the fifth and two more in the sixth inning, as they went from seven runs down to leading 13-10 after the Eskomos managed only one run in four innings. "Our girls came out swinging and...
When the pandemic canceled all spring sports in northern Minnesota last year, it also took away the chance for a repeat trip to state for three local softball teams: Cloquet, Esko and South Ridge. Last year's seniors didn't get to prove their mettle on the diamond, but there are still players on all three teams who played for those 2019 state teams. In a week that saw the first softball games postponed for weather rather than the pandemic, Pine Knot News sports writer Kerry Rodd reached out to f...
An impressive season came to an end for the top-seeded Esko girls basketball team on Friday in a loss to Duluth Marshall in the Section 7AA championship game. The Eskomos defeated Crosby-Ironton in overtime March 24 in the semifinal round. The Eskomos fell 63-52 to the No. 2 seed Marshall. The Hilltoppers feature Division 1 recruit Gianna Kneepkens, who scored 31 points and controlled the flow of the game for her squad. "We fell behind 10-1 and it just felt like we were on our heels from the sta...
The Moose Lake/Willow River boys basketball team was set to face Pequot Lakes in the Section 7AA boys basketball championship game Thursday night, after the issue of the Pine Knot News was printed. To get there, the red-hot Rebels first defeated No. 14 seed Greenway 91-54 on March 17. Scoring for the Rebels against Greenway were Logan Orvedahl 8, Phillip Sheetz 22, Sam Dewey 6, Brady Watrin 19, Landin Kurhajetz 4, Conner Welch 3, Mason Olson 19, Jimmy Walker 3, Drew Danielson 3, and Carter...
In the Section 7AA girls basketball playoffs the No. 1 seeded Eskomos, not surprisingly, are still standing and were set to play No. 4 seed Crosby-Ironton Wednesday as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. Esko beat Eveleth-Gilbert 61-31 in the quarterfinals on Saturday after getting a bye in the first round. Jayden Karppinen had a huge night for the Eskomos by scoring 30 points and nearly outscoring the Golden Bears herself. If the Eskomos won Wednesday, they were set to advance to th...
If there was any doubt that the Esko girls basketball team shouldn't be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Section 7AA playoffs, that doubt was dispelled Friday night when the Eskomos routed the Duluth East Greyhounds 46-31 at home Friday night and then were rewarded with the top seed over the weekend. Against East, Jayden Karppinen scored 24 points, Brenna Stark added 12 and Aila Gabel finished with 10 points for Esko. They were the only three Eskomos players to score. "Jayden Karppinen had a big...
"Patience, patience, patience," is what Esko boys basketball coach Derek Anderson preached to his players this week prior to their 78-47 road win over Cloquet Tuesday night. "We were patient on offense early on in the game, which opened up a lot of shots," Anderson said. "We have been playing in too much of a hurry lately, so it was nice to get back on track and work the ball around." Working the ball around paid off and the Eskomos sprinted out to a 32-18 halftime lead. They were never...
A quick start which led to an 18-point halftime lead propelled the Esko girls basketball team to an impressive 63-42 road win over a fiesty Moose Lake/Willow River squad Thursday, Jan. 21. "They are a skilled athletic team and we anticipated they would shoot a lot of 3s," said Esko coach Scott Antonutti. "Because of that, we wanted to stay close enough on the perimeter to challenge 3-point shots, but also be able to play in a way that we wouldn't need a lot of help by stopping them when they...
Cromwell-Wright Oh what could have been! Last year Cromwell-Wright was on the precipice of what could have been a state title. The Cardinals were loaded with talent and had two of the top players in the area. They advanced to the state tournament and were an odds-on favorite for the championship game. Then? The Covid pandemic hit and the Cards season ended without a chance to play in their semifinal game and move on to the championship. Gone are eight seniors, including two players who scored...
Cromwell-Wright If Cromwell-Wright is going to contend for a section championship this year, they will have to overcome the loss of five seniors who graduated from last year's state-ranked 20-5 team. After going 10-0 in the conference, the Cards were shocked in the subsection quarterfinals by Hinckley-Finlayson, but that does not diminish just how truly good that team was. Led by Polar League MVP Micah Pocernich, the Cardinals will need to find a way to replace his 25.3 points per game, along...
Jerry Anderson, the last surviving starter on the first boys basketball team from Carlton County to reach the state tournament, died Tuesday at age 83. Anderson was a star on the 1955 Esko team that won the consolation championship. The success of the Eskomos preceded runs by Cloquet and Carlton in subsequent tournaments in the late 1950s and 1960s. Pine Knot News writer Steve Korby wrote about Anderson this past October, after fellow starter Don Terwey died on Sept. 30. Anderson said he met...
Gerald K. Anderson, 83, of Esko passed away Dec. 1, 2020 at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet. He was born April 3, 1937 in Cloquet to Howard and Dorothy Anderson. Jerry graduated from Esko High School. He was the last surviving member of the starting five from the 1955 Esko state consolation championship basketball team. On Oct. 13, 1956, he married his high school sweetheart, Lois Duzan. Jerry worked at the Wood Conversion company and Elliott Meats before starting his own commercial...
Usually when a high school football team heads into the playoffs there is renewed hope of the possibility of winning a section championship. Regardless of a team's record, there is always a chance to pull off an upset or two and perhaps make a magical run. For Esko that chance was diminished greatly after they realized that much of their team would be quarantined by Covid-19 precautions as they entered the first round of the playoffs against Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin Tuesday afternoon. "We...
Covid-19 affects playoff picture Local playoff football teams have had their seasons sliced by Covid-19 and the playoffs have turned into an extension of those problems. Carlton-Wrenshall was scheduled to play at Hinckley-Finlayson on Tuesday night, but the Raptors had to forfeit due to Covid exposure of their team. South Ridge was scheduled to open the playoffs against McGregor on Friday night, but that game was also a forfeit as the Mercs are unable to field a team. That means the Panthers will move on to the second round of the Section 5...
Esko kept its undefeated volleyball record intact Friday night with a 3-1 win over Cloquet in Esko. The Eskomos took the convincing win by scores of 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13 to improve to 8-0. "We have many offensive threats and we were able to spread the ball out," said Esko coach Desi DeLeon after the game. "We have a lot of experience and leadership, and that helps." The Eskomos were led by 18 kills and 12 digs from Tayia Gregg along with seven kills and 10 digs from Jayden Karppinen....
Cromwell-Wright 33 Isle 14 Ethan Shelton and Jaegar Goranson both scored a pair of touchdowns as the Cards rebounded from last week's loss to Ogilvie. Shelton led the Cards with 118 yards rushing and Goranson was right behind with 112 yards on the ground. Goranson also added a 6-for-12 passing game good for another 122 yards. Shelton caught three passes for 62 yards and Emmett Clark caught three passes for 60 yards. Clark scored the other touchdown for the Cards on a 20-yard touchdown strike...
