Three Up, Three Down: Class AAAA

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who is hot in Class AAAA right now, and who is not? Our weekly look!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Up</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bemidji</strong> (8-3). Did you know that statistically the Lumberjacks have the fourth best defense in Class AAAA only allowing 58.7 points a game? And did you know that Bemidji has won four straight games beating Sartell, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, and Big Lake... all double figure wins. Junior scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1560797' first='Jaxon' last='Boschee'] is four points off of a 30 point per game average putting up 29.6 points a game. Guard [player_tooltip player_id='1560849' first='Jeron' last='Huseby'] is scoring 11 a game and 6'5 junior [player_tooltip player_id='2175436' first='Austin' last='Riewer'] is averaging 15 plus a night. All three players are juniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blaine</strong> (8-6). Blaine was a team that we had at the very bottom, or very near the bottom in our preseason power rankings for Class AAAA. The Bengals are not only two games over .500, they have won four games in a row beating Andover and Spring Lake Park as well as Rogers and Duluth East. They've won five of six and the one loss is to Park Center by two scores. Blaine is balanced with five guys averaging in double figures led by senior Ty Buffo who is scoring 18 a game along with the 17 a game from junior [player_tooltip player_id='1874931' first='Shiloh' last='Ayitey'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lakeville North</strong> (10-5). Don't look now but the Panthers have won four in a row, they are moving up the power rankings, they are on the doorstep for the Class AAAA top ten, and they sit at 10-5 heading into a big game with rival Lakeville South. Six-foot-4 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2094704' first='Johanes' last='Piscikas'] is scoring nearly 17 a game and senior [player_tooltip player_id='2422065' first='Drew' last='Kolander'] is at 13-14 points a contest. James Fager and [player_tooltip player_id='1575343' first='Riley' last='Grossman'] make for a solid senior backcourt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Down</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eden Prairie </strong>(6-8). The Eagles have lost three in a row and are now a couple games under .500. The Eagles have lost four of five and they are yet to win a game in conference play. [player_tooltip player_id='1574221' first='Max' last='Lorenson'] is still scoring getting his 23 a game but the Eagles need to find a groove with Buffalo, Burnsville and Edina coming up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Edina</strong> (5-9). Speaking of Edina, they are also slow out of the games. They've lost their last four games and they are giving up 76 points a contest! Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1594744' first='Billy' last='DeMars'] is scoring 17 a contest and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2126115' first='Vincent' last='Cronin'] is putting up 11 points a game, but the schedule doesn't lighten up with Tonka, CDH and Buffalo coming up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chaska</strong> (5-9). The Hawks were a team I thought could sneak into the top 15 or 20 this year but after starting the year with wins over Shakopee and Lakeville South it's been a struggle. And a close game struggle! These guys are right there losing by four to Orono, by four to Prior Lake, by six to Wayzata, and by eight to East Ridge. But it's nine losses in their last eleven games nonetheless. Tray Lanezen is scoring 17 a game and Jimmy Coddington is scoring 11 a contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->