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Nevis and Cass Lake-Bena – top ten Class A teams – split the Northland Conference last year. We explore the 2021-22 season now. Another split? Who is the favorite? Conference Commentary Top Ten: Cass Lake-Bena, Nevis Picking between the…
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Continue ReadingNevis and Cass Lake-Bena – top ten Class A teams – split the Northland Conference last year. We explore the 2021-22 season now. Another split? Who is the favorite?
Conference Commentary
Top Ten: Cass Lake-Bena, Nevis
Picking between the Panthers and Tigers is tough. We give the slight edge to Cass Lake-Bena because they one the second of the games last year. Both teams lost a couple all league pieces but I think the loss of Derek Lindow is pry the biggest of either teams so that hurts Nevis a bit more. These teams will still be neck and neck in the league, they will both compete for the section title (5A and 8A respectively), and both are gunning for a state title with the tools to do so.
Compete with Most: Red Lake, Blackduck, Pine River-Backus, Northome/Kelliher
Red Lake is going to look a bit different. They lost the best player in the league as well as another all conference player from a 12-8 team. Not to mention, graduation took a lot of their size away (and a player just transferred to Deer River, as did a big from Cass Lake-Bena). They still have talent but they are likely in that group behind the leaders. Can Blackduck match last year’s two games over .500 season? I think so. I think they have some good young players and enough talent to stay upper half of the league. Pine River-Backus will take a step forward, maybe a big step forward. They have most of their talent back and should give everybody a tough game. Northome/Kelliher isn’t to the level of some of these others but they have enough back to give teams games. They seem kind of stuck in the same spot.
Rebuilding: Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Laporte
WHA lost their best player from a 3-16 team. The rebuild continues. They could surprise people here and there but still an uphill battle. Laporte was winless in the league last season so it’s a start over, rebuild again this year.
21-22 Conference Predictions
- Cass Lake-Bena
- Nevis
- Red Lake
- Pine River-Backus
- Blackduck
- Northome/Kelliher
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
- Laporte
Preseason All Northland Conference
First Team
Leroy Fairbanks IV Leroy Fairbanks IV 6'4" | SF Cass Lake-Bena | 2022 State MN of Cass Lake-Bena (sr)
Eddie Kramer Eddie Kramer 6'4" | SF Nevis | 2022 State MN of Nevis (sr)
Dominic Fairbanks Dominic Fairbanks 5'10" | PG Cass Lake-Bena | 2024 State MN of Cass Lake-Bena (so)
Mathias Warrington of Nevis (sr)
Kaydin Lee Kaydin Lee 5'10" | SG Cass Lake-Bena | 2024 MN of Cass Lake-Bena (so)
Second Team
Gerald Kingbird Jr Gerald Kingbird Jr 5'9" | PG Red Lake | 2024 State MN of Red Lake (so)
Oliver Stroeing of Blackduck (jr)
Joe Houchin Joe Houchin 5'10" | PG Nevis | 2024 State MN of Nevis (so)
Brady Bristow of Pine River-Backus (sr)
Ben Reiger of Northome/Kelliher (sr)
Third Team
John Paul Benson John Paul Benson 6'2" | SF Nevis | 2024 State MN of Nevis (so)
Joshua Graves of Red Lake (jr)
Jared Hamilton of Pine River-Backus (jr)
Kainen Arp of Blackduck (jr)
Cain Mitchell of Nevis (sr)
Rian Struss Rian Struss 6'2" | PF Pine River-Backus | 2023 MN of Pine River-Backus (jr)
Fourth Team
Trayvaughn Lee of Cass Lake-Bena (jr)
Leo Kingbird of Blackduck (jr)
Carson Travis of Pine River-Backus (jr)
Landan Charnoski of Northome/Kelliher (sr)
Carson Strosahl of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (sr)
Caine Richardson of Laporte (sr)