Eli Beachy and the Yellowjackets will play for a share of the HOL title Thursday against Barnesville. Photo by Darren Gibbins/Forum
Barnesville hops back in the rankings with Pelican Rapids dropping out on the boys side.
Girls side stays the same, but Hawley is inching closer to Pelican Rapids.
BOYS
1. Battle Lake (23-0)
This week: At Frazee Thursday
Battle Lake is the only remaining undefeated team in the state. The Battlers beat a 16-6 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy team 68-57 and a 16-6 West Central Area team 55-40.
A win over their fifth Class 2A team would cap a perfect regular season for the Battlers.
2. Perham (17-7)
This week: At Barnesville Thursday
Perham’s hopes for a share of the HOL title all depends on a win over Barnesville on Thursday. Photo by Darren Gibbins/Forum
The Heart O’ Lakes Conference comes down to Thursday. The winner of Perham and Barnesville will be sharing the conference championship with Hawley.
3. Barnesville (18-4)
This week: Host Perham Thursday, at Norman County East-Ulen-Hitterdal Friday
Barnesville answered a bad loss to Breckenridge with five straight wins. With the Trojans, Perham, Hawley and Pelican Rapids all in the same subsection, you can flip a coin to pick what team will head to the section championship.
4. Wheaton-Herman-Norcross(19-2)
This week: Host Breckenridge Friday
The Warriors have two losses. One to a team from South Dakota and another to Battle Lake 71-32 on Jan. 7.
They won’t escape Battle Lake in the postseason. In order to get to a section championship, the Warriors will have to figure out the Battlers.
5. Fertile-Beltrami (20-5)
This week: Host Kittson County Central Thursday
Falcons look set for a subsection title matchup with Northern Freeze, which beat them 70-59 earlier in the season.
If the Falcons get by Northern Freeze, they’d most likely have to take on a Red Lake team they fell to 61-55 earlier in the season.
GIRLS
1. Fergus Falls (22-0)
This week: Host Brainerd Thursday, host Moorhead Saturday
Fergus Falls has a couple of Class 4A teams this week to test their undefeated record.
2. Ada-Borup (21-0)
This week: At Crookston Thursday
The Cougars took on the No. 9-ranked team in Class 1A in Win-E-Mac and beat them 53-36. They are nearly beating teams on average by 34 points a game.
A big test looms Monday (Feb. 24) against Pelican Rapids.
3. Pelican Rapids (18-2)
This week: At Barnesville Friday, at Park Rapids Saturday
Lincoln Haiby (10) and company will have to overcome a bruising loss to Hawley. Photo by Chris Murphy/Forum
The Vikings had their seven-game winning streak snapped in a 61-36 drubbing by Hawley. That goes down as the Vikings only section loss and makes the southwest subsection of 8AA extremely interesting.
4. Hawley (15-6)
This week: At Breckenridge Friday
Hawley coach Bill Gottenborg did what he does best. He adjusted and found a defensive scheme.
After losing to Pelican Rapids 59-37 on Jan. 14, the Nuggets topped the No. 5-ranked team in Class 2A 61-36. These two teams could meet with a chance to play in the section title on the line.
5. Verndale (20-3)
This week: At Sebeka Friday
The Pirates knocked off Browerville 78-70 on Feb. 18, redeeming their 76-72 loss to the Pirates in the season opener. That evens up the north subsection of Section 5A, as these two teams should meet in the subsection championship.
Nice to have this update
Interesting you have left Detroit Lakes off the list for girls basketball. They beat both Pelican Rapids and hawley, who are on your list. Lakers are 17-5 on the season and have won 13 of their past 14 games. In that stretch they have beaten Thief River Falls and Alexandria who are both ranked in State. Only loss in that stretch was an overtime loss to Staples on the road. They get a rematch with Staples tonight in Detroit Lakes with the Mid-State Conference title on the line.
They should beat Pelican and Hawley. They are a class above them.
This list is for teams with the best shot of making it to state. DL has had a good run, but, as of now, they are a 5 seed in their own section, according to the QRF. I’ve wanted to get them on the list, but their section makes it hard to make them a safe bet to get to state.