Prep report: Esko football finishes unbeaten again
Oct. 18—Esko completed a third straight unbeaten season with ease on Wednesday, Oct. 18, routing Pine City 61-0 at home to go into the playoffs 8-0.
That makes 25 consecutive regular-season victories dating back to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Wednesday's rout of the winless Dragons makes Esko's tally 459-30 for the season. That point total is seventh in single-season state annals (which includes postseason).
Esko will begin its postseason quest on Saturday, Oct. 28 after a bye through the first round of the Section 7AAA tournament on Tuesday.
The defending state champions in the IX-Player class capped off another unbeaten season by routing Bigford on Wednesday night.
The Rangers have now won 21 consecutive games dating back to the 2021 state tournament.
The Giants' defense put the finishing touches on an excellent regular season, forcing six turnovers in a road win at Aitkin to finish the regular season 7-1.
The most exciting of the four interceptions and two fumble recoveries was a 74-yard scoop-and-score from Carter Steele in the third quarter, which allowed the Giants to expand their lead to 14-6.
Ethan Murray (his second of the night) and Ryder Gerulli had fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns to ice it. Murray ran for 79 yards on 15 carries for Mesabi East.
Anna Beaudette and Julia Lindseth found a familiar pair of faces on the opposite side of the net on Tuesday and defeated them, overcoming Rock Ridge teammates Alli Fink and Mayme Scott in the Section 7AA doubles championship during individual play in Virginia.
Beaudette and Lindseth, seeded third overall, were 6-2, 6-2 winners and earned a berth in next week's state meet in Minneapolis.
Fink and Scott, the second seeds, had to contest a "true second-place" match for the other state berth and dropped a close contest to Leah Skogquist-Berg and Lauren Lee of Elk River, 7-6 (13-11), 6-4.
In the singles, two Duluth East players fell one hurdle short of state competition, as Isla Pepelnjak and Anna Koski were both defeated in the semifinals.
The Superior boys soccer team held out for a while but not long enough, as host DC Everest scored all its goals in the second half of a 3-0 Division 1 regional opener in Schofield, Wisconsin on Tuesday night.
Hezekiah Mletzko, Brian Lorge and Jacob Gisell found the back of the net for the third-seeded Evergreens, while goalkeeper Aissen Witter repelled all five Superior shots he faced.
Superior, which entered the match seeded sixth, finishes its season 8-7-4.
Moose Lake/Willow River 56, Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 7
