County teams optimistic about chances

Boys basketball season kicks off in earnest this week with most teams getting their first games of the season under their belt. The following is a short preview of three of our local teams; Esko, Carlton and Wrenshall.

ESKO: Longtime coach Mike Devney has moved on and the Eskomos now face a the task of learning new systems under first-year coach Derek Anderson. Anderson played college basketball at St. Scholastica and has been involved in the Esko program for the past four years; the past two years he coached the junior varsity.

A year ago the Eskomos rolled to a 26-4 regular season record and then fell in the first round of the state tournament to St. Cloud Cathedral, a team that Esko had beaten a week or two prior to the state tournament. Esko bounced back in the state tournament to beat Jordan and Breckenridge to win the Class AA State Consolation Championship.

Among the top returning players for Esko is senior Cameron Berger, the teams point guard. Berger will be joined by juniors Payton Wefel and Trevor Spindler as well as sophomore Riley Fischer.

“Our goal is to improve every game and make it back to state,” said Anderson earlier this week.

WRENSHALL: The Wrenshall Wrens were as exciting a team as you could find in the Northland last season. The Wrens featured quickness and skill and were a difficult team to play against. The proof is in their 25-3 record. However, the Wrens were bounced out of the section playoffs by the Ely Timberwolves and will also need to overcome the loss of two quality players who graduated in Tyler Kelley and Nick Mattson.

“We have high expectations, and it is a much tougher schedule than we had last year,” said Wrens fourth-year coach Jon Bartczak. “The idea is to have a tougher schedule so we can prepare for the playoffs. We think we have all the pieces to make a deep run in Section 7.”

Those pieces include the return of Jared Kelley at point guard, shooting guard Eli Krisak and shooting forward Randy Wimmer. The Wrens also add senior William Bird to their mix and that may make them a tough draw come tournament time.

Expect the Wrens to get an early test next week when they take on Cromwell-Wright Dec. 14. Beyond that, Wrenshall will see Northwoods — last year’s runner-up in the Class A state tournament — on Feb. 5. Last season the Grizzlies lost a heartbreaker 59-55 to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the state championship game. Northwoods features 10 seniors including one of the best players in the state, Cade Goggleye.

CARLTON: A year ago, the Carlton Bulldogs finished the season at 15-13 and lost in the second round of the sectional playoffs to Wrenshall 67-61. Despite having lost 1,000- point scorer Matt Hey as well as guard Jackson Mickle and forward Chase Parker, the Bulldogs appeared primed to have a big year. That optimism could have diminished a bit when junior center Ben Soderstrom broke a leg during the Bulldog football campaign this past fall.

“The senior class were freshmen when I arrived as coach,” said fourth-year head coach Jes-wa Harris. “We hope to be competitive in preparing for the return of center Ben Soderstrom. We are small, but quick and we will play fast and aggressive.”

Returning to lead the ’Dogs will be brothers Jacob and Matt Santkuyl, senior and junior guards, respectively. Another brother tandem, senior guard Scott Rousseau and sophomore guard Spencer Rousseau, will also be key contributors.

“With Ben’s injury, we have underclassmen who will step up in his place, including sophomore forward Trevor Ojibway,” Harris said. “We also are looking for contributions from junior forward Ryan Gray.”

The Bulldogs opened on the road against East Central and face a big challenge when they take on Wrenshall this Friday night in Carlton.