Class A Section Darkhorses

Matt Bigelow

October 21, 2019 @ 10:02 AM

It isn’t often that the team that isn’t the favorite in its respective section doesn’t ultimately win it. But upsets at the high school level certainly can happen. Here are teams from each section that could surprise. Section 1A: Grand Meadow Favorite: Rushford-Peterson Rushford-Peterson and Hayfield will likely head into the year with high expectations as both teams were contenders last season and return significant players. But watch out for Grand Meadow. The Superlarks may have the best player in the section in junior forward Colt Landers and a solid core of returners including Ethan Lane, Ethan Gilbert and John Baldus. Section 2A: Nicollet Favorite: BOLD/WEM Section 2A is loaded again with four top-10 caliber teams and maybe seven or eight that could crank out 20 wins. BOLD and WEM are top-five teams with state title aspirations but watch out for Nicollett as a team that could pick them off in sections. The Raiders have a terrific point guard in Riley Hulke, who can dominate a game in a way few others in Class A can. Shane Stevenson is a mismatch problem up front and could be a double-double guy. Section 3A: Dawson-Boyd Favorite: Minneota Minneota was upset last year in the early rounds of the section tournament, but the Vikings will be the favorite to win the section this year again thanks to a monster duo in Jacob Hennen and Logan Sussner. But Dawson-Boyd is one of the many teams that has the potential to contend. Despite graduating a solid senior class, the Blackjacks return an all-league guard in Romell Horton. He’s joined in the backcourt by Josh Anyasike who averaged nine points per game a year ago. Zach Durfee is a physical presence up front and showed this summer that he’s capable of taking his game to another level. Section 4A: Liberty Classical Favorite: CHOF Section 4 always seems relatively wide open though CHOF was the clear dominant team last year. The Lions have been good in recent years and while they lose some great seniors, don’t expect a dropoff. Liberty Classical is a team that could sneaky contend though as the Lions have arguably the best player in the section in senior forward Thomas Conroy. He averaged more than 30 points per game a year ago. Section 5A: Nevis Favorite: Pine River-Backus Pine River-Backus returns a solid core, as does returning section champ Cromwell-Wright. But watch out for Nevis, as the Tigers return solid guards in Luke Duwulf, Derek Lindow and Eddie Kramer. If Nevis improves on the defensive end, and gets something from a young frontcourt, the Tigers could be right in the mix. Section 6A: West Central Area Favorite: Henning Henning will head into the year as an easy top-five team in Class A, but keep an eye on Mahnomen/Waubun. West Central Area returns a terrific duo in Jack VanKempen and Grand Buekens along with solid role players like Gage Staples and Tate Christenson. Section 7A: Ely Favorite: North Woods North Woods has dominated this section for years and the Panthers will be the favorites again this year by a wide margin. But Ely returns double figure scorers in Dylan Fenske and Eric Omerza plus junior guard Will Davies. They’ve got the firepower to put a scare in anybody. Section 8A: Red Lake Favorite: Ada-Borup It feels like this section will come down to Ada-Borup and Cass Lake-Bena again as both teams return a lot of talent but watch out for Red Lake. The Warriors will need to improve significantly on the defensive end of the floor but they’ve got the horses to hang with the upper-echelon teams in the section. Delwyn Holthusen is one of the better big men in the section and junior guard Andre Harrison could emerge as one of the best perimeter scorers.