Basketball

       The Aitkin Gobbler girls' basketball team moved to 6-2 on the season with a 57-45 victory at home Friday over the Pierz Pioneers. Tika May led the Gobbler offense with 15 followed by Brita Westman and Teya Hawkins each with 10 points. Kate Palm had 6, Adah Williams had 5, Eva Kalis and Ellie Hoppe each had 4, Bela May had 2 and Kacie Kaiser had a free throw to complete the scoring. It was a foul filled contest with the Gobblers getting out front, and although challenged in the second half, closed out the Pioneers in front of a nice Parent's Night crowd. Coach Kaija Davies on the victory, "It was a great performance by all of our girls. Even when we get into foul trouble the girls from the bench have the ability to take control of the game. We are slowly learning the benefits of a shot clock and slowly learning our roles on the team. Exciting things are coming our way but we have to keep working toward those goals every day."

Pioneers   16 29 45

Gobblers 23 34 57

        The Gobbler JV played a thrilling double overtime game before losing 52-48. Kacie Kaiser led the Gobblers with 13 points while Annika Kalis and Adah Williams each had 9. Hailey Munsterteiger had 6, Eva Kalis had 4, Chey Schaffer had 3 and Grace Hunter and Elsie Kyllonen each finished with 2 points. 

Pioneers    21 17 7 7 52

Gobblers   11 27 7 3 48

      Isaac Asmus had a season high 22 points for the Aitkin Gobblers Friday night, but Aitkin came up short in a 73-52 road loss at Royalton. Caleb Smith added 9, Noah Moss had 6, Isaiah Baker and Kody Kostick each had 4, Camden Visnovec and Cole Trotter each had 3 and Braxton Huse had a free throw. Coach Rob Mason on the loss, "Royalton came out in a 1-2-2 full court press. In past games we struggled against that type of pressure but this week we had a few days to prep, and our guys did a great job of beating it. That is a big positive for our players to feel comfortable when facing full court pressure. In the 1/2 court their defense was quick and gave us very little for openings. Our big men had success, and we had a few threes early in the first half but still went into halftime down eight points. In the second half their defense tightened, and we had to really search for good shots. Our guys fought hard but came up short." 

Gobblers 25 27 52

Royals      33 40 73

      The Gobbler JV also came up short, losing 61-43. Cole Trotter led the way with 8, followed by Bo Sanford with 6, Tyler Boyd, Max Hagel and Jack Jacobson each with 5, Andy Hanson and Isaiah Fowlds each with 4, and Tyce Jorgensen, Lenny Hughes and Dion Magizii each had 2 points.

Gobblers 24 19 43

Royals      31 30 61

       The Gobbler C-Squad lost a hard fought 40-25 matchup with the Royals. Jerry Franzen led the Gobblers with 8 points while Teagan Vogtlin had 7, Jakob Bollum had 5, Mason Williams and Evan Redepenning each had 2 and Langen Peterson had a free throw.

Gobblers   20 5 25

Royals       27 13 40

    The Aitkin Gobbler JH girls split a pair of games at home with Pequot Lakes Dec. 20th. The 7th grade lost a 26-13 decision with Natalie Shereck leading with 5 points. Isabel Spicer added 4 and Ada Samuelson and Leah Palm each had 2 points. 

Patriots   15 12 26

Gobblers 7  6  13

      In the 8th grade game the Gobblers scored a 25-17 victory. Samuelson had 8 to lead the way while Paityn Hawkins had 6, Shereck had 5 and Charlotte Lundgren had 3 points.

Patriots     6 11  17

Gobblers 11 14 25

     Coach Steve Kinzer on the games, "We are going into a well-earned Christmas break with a record of 16-3."

       The Aitkin Gobbler JH girls played a pair of games with Staples-Motley at home Dec.19 and came away with two wins. In the 7th grade game, it was Aitkin winning 34-16. Paityn Hawkins led the way with 11 points followed by Leah Palm with 5, Ada Samuelson, Charlotte Lundgren and Eleanor Hughes all with 4 and Natalie Shereck, Isabel Spicer and Alaina Henline all with 2 points.

Cardinals 10  6  16

Gobblers  18 16 34

      In the 8th grade game, it was Aitkin winning 25-22. Hawkins led again, this time with 8, Samuelson had 6, Shereck had 4, Lynae Kinzer had 3 and Hughes and Spicer each had 2 points.

Cardinals 11  11 22

Gobblers  17 8 25

      Coach Steve Kinzer after the wins, "We handled their press well in both games. We also had balanced scoring in both games. We did a good job of passing and finding the open girl."

     The Aitkin Gobblers and the Staples-Motley Cardinals battled for 36 minutes Tuesday night at Aitkin and the game was back and forth until the final buzzer. Avandre Brandt hit a free throw with 7.8 seconds left to lift the Cardinals to the 66-65 victory. The Gobblers got the ball down court but couldn't get a shot up and suffered their third loss in four games. It was a scrappy game that either team could have won and both had their chances. In the first half Aitkin led 19-14 when the Cardinals went on a run to lead at the break by seven. Two minutes into the second half Aitkin made a run and tied it at 39-39. It was 49-46 with 7:30 to go when Jack Jacobson buried a three to tie it at 49-49. That sparked a 7-0 Gobbler run to take a 56-49 lead with 6:30 left. They went up 60-50 but the Cardinals went on another run, this time a 12-2 run and it was tied at 62-62. Isaiah Baker and Alex Schultz traded threes, and it was 65-65. Brandt got fouled and hit one of two for the final margin. Noah Moss led the Gobblers with 14 followed by Isaac Asmus with 13, 11 in the second half. Isaiah Baker added 12, Kody Kostick had 9, Caleb Smith had 8, Jacobson had 5 and Camden Visnovec had 2 points to complete the scoring. Coach Rob Mason after the game, "First off I don't think anybody expected that out of us. We have been growing quickly and tonight we got our first shot at a last second win. The guys executed the plan and went into the battle with a fantastic three-point shooting team. We played scrappy and physical, and there were times it felt like a prize fight. It's funny those times in basketball when you feel like an opponent is just handing it to you and piling on the points, but your team is playing so resilient that you only gave up two baskets. I'm very proud of the effort our guys put up against a team that has some very high expectations."

Cardinals 39 27 66

Gobblers  32 33 65

      The Gobbler JV had a wild finish as well as they recorded a 49-47 victory. The game was tied 47-47 after a Jack Jacobson three-pointer late. Tyler Boyd hit a free throw with 8.2 seconds left and Andy Hanson added a free throw shortly after for the final margin. Jacobson led the Gobblers with 20 while Boyd had 9, Hanson had 7, Cole Trotter had 6, Bo Sanford had 4 and Tyce Jorgensen had 3 points.

Cardinals 25 22 47

Gobblers  19 30 49

      Jakob Bollum scored 10 points to lead the Gobbler "C" squad to a 46-39 win over the Cardinals. Jerry Franzen added 9, Evan Redepenning had 7, Teagan Vogtlin and Owen Redepenning each had 6, Matthew Carlson had 4 and Isaiah Fowlds and Mason Williams each had 2 points. Coach Ryan Fowlds on the win, "We played solid defense and executed our offense. One of our main focuses has been to cut down on turnovers. I don't think we had more than five tonight. I am proud of the boys' efforts."

Cardinals 15 24 39

Gobblers  19 27 46

     The Aitkin Gobblers outscored visiting Moose Lake/Willow River 5-0 in overtime Monday night and won their fifth game of the season 58-53. The Gobbler defense turned in a terrific job in the final minutes of regulation and the overtime to help the Gobblers to a 5-2 record on the season. This game was back and forth the entire game with the Rebels owning the largest lead of the night, seven points. It was a one-point lead for the Rebels at the half and they managed to get out front by five a couple of times, but the Gobblers would not quit and came back each time. The Rebels led 53-50 late but Teya Hawkins hit a cold-blooded three from the deep corner to tie it and eventually send the game to the extra session. Kate Palm had the only basket of the overtime with Tika May hitting two free throws and Brita Westman hitting a free throw. The defense was the story for Aitkin especially in the overtime. Palm and Westman each had 11 to lead Aitkin while Tika May had 10. 8th grader Eva Kalis came off the bench and scored 9, Hawkins had 8, Bela May had 5 and Kacie Kaiser had 4 to complete the scoring. The Gobblers hit just 8 of 19 from the free throw line. Coach Kaija Davies after the win, "Tonight's win was an all-around team win. From the girls on the court to the girls cheering on the bench. It's been a very busy schedule for us and coming back to win this one after our loss Friday was huge for us. We have things to work through but being able to stay composed and finish the game is a huge start."

Rebels      22 31 0 53

Gobblers 21 32 5 58

       The Gobbler JV also picked up a win, 47-24. Chey Schaffer led Aitkin with 11, Eva Kalis had 10, Grace Hunter had 9, Adah Williams had 7, Hailey Munsterteiger added 5, Elsie Kyllonen and Molly Franke each had 2 and Annika Kalis had a free throw.

Rebels       13 11  24

Gobblers 27 20 47

       It was also great to see the Rippleside Cheer Squad at the game for an appearance tonight. Nice job ladies!

       The Aitkin JH girls basketball team traveled to Hibbing Dec.16 and played three quarters. Aitkin led after the first 18-2 then led after two 26-20 and the final was 53-24. Natalie Shereck had 18 to lead the way with Paityn Hawkins posting 17, Lynae Kinzer had 6, Ada Samuelson and Eleanor Hughes each had 4 and Charlotte Lundgren and Alaina Henline each had 2 points. Coach Steve Kinzer on the days action, "The girls got off to a fantastic start, then got a little careless with the ball and less aggressive on defense. The final period we picked up the intensity on defense and got back to the basics of basketball offense and won the game easily.:

       The Aitkin JH Gobbler boys basketball teams played at C-I Monday and split. The 7th grade lost 29-16 to the Rangers with Reed Parkin, Cayden Emery and Alex Martinson playing well and the 8th grade beat the Rangers 43-22.

     The Aitkin Gobbler JH girls were on the road Dec. 14 in Bemidji where they finished the day with a record of 2-1. They opened with a close 22-19 loss to Bemidji. Natalie Shereck led the way with 7 while Eleanor Hughes and Leah Palm each had 4, Ada Samuelson had 3 and Charlotte Lundgren had a free throw. 

Aitkin    12   7 19

Bemidji 4 18 22

     The second game saw the Gobblers bounce back and beat Bemidji (A) 30-24. Paityn Hawkins had 15 for the Gobblers followed by Shereck with 8, Samuelson with 5 and Isabel Spicer with 2.

Aitkin          16 14 30

Bemidji (A) 9 15 24

     The Gobblers ended the day with a 21-18 win over Walker. Samuelson led with 6, while Shereck and Lundgren each had 5, Palm had 3 and Hawkins finished with 2 points.

Aitkin    5 16 21

Walker 9  9 18

      Coach Steve Kinzer was proud of his team's effort, "Three exciting games. We played well on defense and improved our passing on offense. We had few turnovers on the day. They played with intensity and intelligence. We're very proud of how the girls played today."

     The Aitkin JH Gobbler boys were in Grand Rapids for a day of basketball Dec. 14 and the 8th grade finished second in the tourney, losing to Esko 33-31 in the finals. The Gobblers opened with a 40-18 win over Grand Rapids, then defeated Deer River 40-22. Aitkin beat Hibbing 44-33 to reach the finals where they lost a close one with the Eskimos. Coach Garrett Lee reports that Jayden Janzen, Noah Hughes, Nolan Aspelin and Reed Parkin stood out for their fine play in the tournament. 7th grade results were not available.

      The Aitkin Gobblers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end at Mora Dec.13 as the Mustangs pulled out a 53-45 victory. The game was close throughout although the Mustangs got out to a 14 point lead late before the Gobblers rallied. Aitkin led the entire first half of the game, but it was 11-10 before the Gobblers got a pair of Kate Palm baskets and a duece by Tika May to make it 17-10. Mora narrowed the lead to a bucket before the half ended. The second half was tight with the Mustangs taking their first lead at 23-21 with 15:55 remaining. They made it 27-21 but Palm wrapped a couple of hoops around a basket from May to tie it at 27-27. Mora went on an 11-1 run marching out to an eventual 42-30 lead. The Gobblers wouldn't quit though and Eva Kalis led the way back with six points late, but Mora scored enough to keep the lead. Palm had a huge night with 22 points to lead the Gobblers. Eva Kalis had 8 followed by Taya Hawkins with 5, Tika May and Kacie Kaiser each had 4 and Adah Williams had 2 points. 

Gobblers  19 26 45

Mustangs 17 36 53

       The Gobbler JV also took a loss, 47-32. Eva Kalis and Hailey Munsterteiger each had 7 to lead Aitkin while Chey Schaffer had 5, Grace Hunter and Elsie Kyylonen each had 4, Molly Franke and Annika Kalis each had 2 and Adah Williams had a free throw.

Gobblers   18 14 32

Mustangs 26 21 47

    The Aitkin JH Gobbler girls posted their 10th win in the last 11 games Dec.13 as they defeated the Mora Mustangs 28-22. Coach Steve Kinzer on the victory, "We played phenomenal defense committing only five fouls the entire game. We stayed composed against a team that pressed the whole game. Even the officials commented that our kids play great defense without reaching in, that's a nice compliment." Natalie Shereck led the Gobblers with 8 points followed by Paityn Hawkins wit 6, Leah Palm and Ada Samuelson each with 4 and Alaina Henline, Elanor Hughes and Isabel Spicer all with 2 points.

Gobblers  21  7 28

Mustangs 14 8 22