Playing in their first season at the Class AAA level, the Esko football team has quietly slipped into the championship game. The Eskomos took down the Aitkin Gobblers 20-8 on Saturday afternoon at Public Schools Stadium to advance to the Section 7AAA title against Proctor. The Rails defeated International Falls 7-0 in the other semifinal game on Saturday.
Esko scored the only touchdown of the first half when Jake Olson slipped in from the 1-yard line in the first quarter. Jeff Lindemood booted the conversion kick to give Esko a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, a score that remained through halftime.
The Eskomos gave themselves some breathing room in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns. The first came when running back Ryan Eskuri romped in from the 4-yard line and the second was when Tyler LeRoux caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Olson. Lindemood added the extra point kick on the Eskuri score, but the Gobblers blocked his second kick, giving Esko a 20-0 lead.
Aitkin showed its resiliency with a fourth quarter score that cut the lead to 20-6. The score came when quarterback Scott Nyberg hit Dan Catlin with a 29-yard scoring strike. On the extra point attempt, Nyberg threw to Jake Hegman for the two-point conversion, pulling the Gobblers to within 20-8.
The Eskomo defense had a solid game and stymied the Gobbler offensive attack for most of the game, while Olson was able to pass for 171 yards.
ADVERTISEMENT
For years, Esko has been a local football power in Class AA. The Eskomos games against Moose Lake-Willow River in both the regular season and in the playoffs were of legendary status.
Now, the Eskomos will have to face another perennial power, the Proctor Rails, if they are to move on to the state tournament - and that will be no easy task. The Rails come into the game with a perfect 10-0 record against the 6-4 Eskomos, but last weekend Proctor showed a chink in their armor by having to do everything they could do in defeating International Falls.
Esko brings in a balanced attack that features the passing of Olson and the running of Eskuri, among others, and that balance could be difficult for Proctor to handle. Meanwhile, the Rails have relied on Caleb Maki's quick feet to carry them to victory as well as a new quarterback, Steve Nelson, who was thrown into the fray just two weeks before the end of the season after an injury to their starting quarterback.
The teams will meet for the title at Proctor at 7 p.m. Friday.
