The Ticker: Football, Oct. 16 Games

Esko-33

Crosby-Ironton-0

Playing at home on Senior Night, the Eskomos mauled the Crosby-Ironton Rangers and in doing so solidified their top seed in the Section 7AAA playoffs and picking up a first round bye. The Eskomos got a pair of touchdowns from Dylan Vinje and one each from Eli Blue, Nolan Witt and Brock House. Esko led 13-0 after one quarter and 19-0 at the half as they pulled away to the easy win.

The school honored the late Jackson Pfister, a sophomore at Esko who died of heart failure after the Aitkin game, with remembrances, a moment of silence before Wednesday's game and by incorporating Pfister's No. 15 into their uniforms and face paint.

The team entered Esko Stadium for its game against Crosby-Ironton led by senior Lincoln Severson carrying the Eskomo football flag and followed by sophomore Kade Gonsorowski bearing a flag with Jackson's No. 15 emblazoned on it.

A somber crowd gathered at stadium. On hand were flags and shirts honoring Jackson. A memorial with flowers and pictures of him with family and friends, and signed footballs, sat just next to the entrance to the stands.

He is missed very much, said his coaches.

"They are still devastated, but the team has showed a solidarity to move forward this season, knowing that's what Jackson would want us to do as a team," one of the coaches told the Pine Knot News last week.

Cloquet-34

Duluth East-19

Two quick touchdowns to start the second half helped to propel the Cloquet Lumberjacks to their seventh victory of the season last Wednesday, over the Duluth East Greyhounds. Leading 20-7 to start the third quarter, the 'Jacks' Cole Ketola took the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, pushing the lead to 26-7. Exactly a minute later it was Cal Pertler stepping in front of an East pass and racing in for the score, making it 34-7 following a two-point conversion run by Marcus Pokornowski. East scored two late touchdowns to make the score look closer than it really was. The win improved Cloquet's record to 7-1, giving them the top seed in Section 7AAAA. Pokornowski had 127 yards rushing for Cloquet and Ketola added another 87 yards on the ground.

Carlton-Wrenshall-55

Northeast Range-0

The Raptors completed an undefeated regular season by gaining nearly 300 yards on the ground. Kyle Sitter ran for 74 yards in leading the rushing attack that featured six backs rushing for at least 40 yards. Isaiah Johnson added a pair of touchdowns and 58 rushing yards for the victors. Quarterback Ryan Gray also had a big night by going 7-for-8 in the passing department good for 91-yards through the air. Matt Santkuyl had an impressive overall night by picking up 63 yards through the air and 43-yards on the ground. The undefeated Raptors, who played a nine-man schedule because of the late decision to form a cooperative team, moved up to play in the section 7A tournament as the No. 5 seed against the No. 4 seeded North Woods Grizzlies.

Hinckley-Finlayson-30

Barnum-12

Barnum grabbed a 6-0 lead in the second quarter when Reed Kornivich rambled in from 4 yards out. However, the Jaguars got a 7-yard touchdown reception from Jacob Perrotti along with an Ashton Holder two-point conversion run, making it 8-6 at halftime. Early in the third quarter the Jaguars got a 5-yard touchdown run from Holter and a two-point conversion pass, making it 16-6. Early in the fourth quarter the Bombers cut the lead to 16-12 when Braden Davis caught a 9-yard pass from Blaze Hurts, but Barnum couldn't convert the two-point conversion run. Hinckley-Finlayson added two late touchdowns by Holter and Perrotti to pull away for the win. Barnum was seeded No. 7 in the Section 7A tournament and was set to play at No. 2 Braham on Tuesday night.

Kelliher-Northome-44

South Ridge-18

The once-beaten South Ridge Panthers fell behind 38-0 to the unbeaten Mustangs by halftime and never recovered in picking up just their second loss of the season. Aaron Bennett, Connor Bushbaum and Ferdinand Keune scored for the Panthers who finished the regular season at 6-2. Despite the loss, South Ridge gained the No. 1 seed in the Section 5 nine-man playoffs and will play host to the Cromwell-Wright vs. Hill City/Northland winner.

Moose Lake-Willow River-22

Pine City-6

The Rebels held the Dragons' offense to just 55 rushing yards as they cruised to the win on Wednesday night in Willow River. An early safety gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead in the first quarter and that's how the score stood at halftime. Blake Juhl scored back-to-back touchdowns at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter on runs of 1 and 2 two yards respectively to push the lead to 14-0, including a Logan Overdahl two-point conversion run. Konnor Jusczak scored a touchdown for the Dragons midway through the final stanza, but Jordan Fjosne scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge to secure the final score of 22-16 for the Rebels. The Rebels are the No. 1 seed in the Section 7AA playoffs and will play the winner of Eveleth-Gilbert and Royalton.

Cook County-18

Cromwell-Wright-8

The Cardinals scored first, but the Vikings fought back with three unanswered touchdowns and took the road win in Cromwell. With the loss, the Cards finish the regular season with a 3-5 record and garnered the fifth seed in the Section 5 nine-man playoffs where they played fourth-seeded Hill City/Northland, who also finished at 3-5.