2017-18 Academic All-State: Jake Rademacher

Congratulations to Jake Rademacher for being named MBCA Academic All-State for the 2017-18 basketball season!

Great Lakes Analytics in Sports Conference

Coach Allen has been invited to speak at the Great Lakes Analytics in Sports Conference this year.  The Conference will be held at UW-Stevens Point on June 21st.

https://www.uwsp.edu/cols/Pages/GLASC/Great-Lakes-Analytics-in-Sports-Conference-Kyle-Allen.aspx

Letter to the Editor: Eric Wicktor

Pine City Pioneer, Eric Wicktor

Dragons make us proud

To the Editor:

I had the honor to coach young men in basketball  in Pine City for nearly a decade.  There was a team of mine that happened to go a long way in the playoffs a decade ago. Watching this year’s boy’s team brings back a lot of great memories for me. But this is a different group with a different coach.  

Coach Kyle Allen  is doing an excellent job of not only preparing these boys for their next opponent but also to be solid students and great people. As the years go by for people they look at the next generations with worry sometimes. No doubt kids today face many  challenges that you and I didn’t, and there are things that I wish they would do a better job of, but this team is a group of young men working together for a common goal.  

I’ve watched a documentary about the Miracle on Ice team many times and one thing that always struck me was something the great Herb Brooks said.  He said, “These men have a genuine love for one another.”  Call me sappy (believe me, the students do) but these boys do. It doesn’t matter if you are the star, the reserve, injured, etc., you are a big part of this team.  All season they have gone out with an intense enthusiasm and motivation to play their tails off on offense and defense every night, and to do it with style and class.  Little bit of swagger?  Dang right. That’s part of it too.  

I can’t tell you how happy I am for this team and their coaches. I’m proud to have these boys in class and know their coaches as my colleagues and friends.

Eric Wicktor

Pine City

Offseason Meetings 2017-18

3/19 (7:15 AM): Grades 7-11 Program Meeting in Coach Allen's classroom

3/19-3/23 (Before and After School): Grades 7-11 Mandatory Individual Meetings in Coach Allen's classroom.  Sign up on the sign up sheet on his classroom door or contact Coach Allen to set up a time.

2017-18 All-Section Selections

Seniors Jake Rademacher and Clay Logan were named 2017-18 All-Section selections.  They were recognized at halftime of the section final game last Friday.

3/14/18: Eden Valley-Watkins @St. John's University (3rd Round)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

The curtain has closed on the Pine City Dragons boys basketball season, and in the process, the end has come for the winningest senior class in school history. For a second straight year the Dragons lost by single digits to a much higher ranked opponent in the Section 6AA semifinals. Despite the season ending, the team has many successes to celebrate. The 2017-18 Dragons are among the best teams in school history.

Eden Valley-Watkins 50, Pine City 42

This game was played on Wednesday, March 14 to a packed house at St. Johns in Collegeville. The Eagles entered ranked #12 in the state and were owners of an impressive 26-2 record. Pine City struggled to find an offensive rhythm all night against such a tough, defensive minded opponent. The Dragons trademark three pointers were severely limited; Pine City made just five shots from downtown in the game. Even so, the contest was as close as two points in the final minutes and was in doubt until late free throws by Eden Valley-Watkins sealed the Dragons fate.

“Coming into the game,” said Dragons Coach Kyle Allen, “we knew how stifling their defense was. We watched them live once and had another three games of film on them that we studied heavily. They are long, athletic, and very strong. Their athletic ability allows them to extend their defense in the half court setting and force teams to do things that they normally don't do. Between the combination of their defense and our poor shooting percentage, we just could not get enough going to win this one. I didn't think we took a ton of bad shots, they just did not fall.” Pine City trailed 23-21 at the break. Eden Valley-Watkins did a nice job of staying at home on the Dragons shooters and forced Pine City to take tough shots. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the floor, the well-balanced Eagles showed tremendous patience. Seven different players made the Eagles first seven baskets. Pine City ran a trapping zone press but it had little effect on EV-W. "Eden Valley-Watkins also did a great job on the offensive end,” Allen noted. “They translated their strength, length, and athleticism to that end of the floor as well. They were very patient with the ball and worked to get the shot they wanted. We were able to turn them over a few times, but not enough; something we are not use to.” Pine City fell behind by 10 midway through the second half, but made a run. A three pointer by Seth Logan cut the Dragons deficit to two, but the Eagles responded and never let the Dragons overtake them. The game had a decidedly physical tone to it, and the Dragons needed to get to the line more often than they did. Eden Valley-Watkins did a nice job of not fouling hard enough to draw foul calls, while also keeping hands on the Dragons all over the floor. Pine City would have benefitted greatly from a game with quicker whistles. “We made a big push in the second half,” recalled Allen, “I think we cut it to two. We just could not get over that hump. Eden Valley-Watkins did a phenomenal job in the section final game, losing on a buzzer-beater three to St. Cloud Cathedral to go to State. It shows you how close we are. We shot 25% in the section semifinal and still had a chance to win that game.” The Dragons were led by Clay Logan with 11 points, Seth Logan had nine, Jake Rademacher had eight, and Jake Adams finished with seven. Although the season came to a close in a tough defeat, Pine City had many accomplishments to feel great about. The loss closes the book on the winningest senior class in school history. The team also won its first Great River Conference Championship in a decade, knocked off a top-six team in the state in Section 6AA’s #1 seed Annandale, and won 20-plus games for back-to-back seasons. “The year on a whole is a huge success,” said Allen. “You don't want to allow one game dictate your success or failure. A huge shoutout to our seniors (Jake Rademacher, Clay Logan, Jake Lunceford, Casey Foster, Damien Schwab, Cordell Major, Janae Johnson, Dayne Pulley). They have been quite the group and have blazed their own path; quite an accomplished group. I am so proud of our boys, our program, and our support system. We also had a great crowd at the game featuring our band and cheerleaders. I cannot say how important it is for the community to get behind the local athletics; we need that in a small community.”

Varsity: L (42-50)

3/10/18: Annandale @St. John's (Playoffs-Round 2)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

Pine City 56, Annandale 52

The Dragons played very well against top competition in the section tournament last season, narrowly losing to then #4 ranked St. Cloud Cathedral. While most outside of Pine County gave the Dragons little chance in this matchup, the players and coaches came in believing they could win. When the Dragons jumped out to an early lead, fueled again by excellent shooting, it was clear that Pine City had come to play.

“We felt like we were the best #8 seed in the state,” said Coach Allen.” Our section is so stacked that anyone can win on any given night. There are not a lot of #8 seeds that have a 20-win regular season and bring home a conference title. The moment was not too big for our boys, they were focused and prepared. They did not let anything shake them throughout the day.”

The Dragons game was delayed 15 minutes as the bus got stuck behind a horrific accident between Mora and Henriette. Despite arriving to the arena late, Pine City looked ready once the ball was tipped. They held a nine point lead, 33-24 at the break.

The second half would be tense and exciting. The Dragons led until around 1:35 remaining when a Cardinals three would put Annandale up by one. With ice in his veins, Hansmann calmly hit a deep three from the top of the key to put Pine City back on top by one. Hansmann and Rademacher would hit free throws in the final minute and the Dragons defense would hold the Cardinals at bay. Annandale is the highest ranked team Coach Allen's Dragons have ever beaten, and the win was one of the biggest in school history.

“We are playing some of our best basketball right now,” said Allen. “We try really hard to peak at the right time, toward the end of the season. We put in some new wrinkles over the last few weeks and the boys have responded well. They are fresh, excited, and motivated.”

It was a total team victory as even scoring and big plays came from up and down the roster. Clay Logan, Seth Logan, and Hansmann each had 14 points. Jake Adams was solid again providing a spark off of the bench with a big three and a pair of important free throws. Jake Lunceford finished with six points but also played great in other facets. Damien Schwab had what was quite possibly the best game of his high school career as he battled inside and affected the game on both ends.

“Seth, Nick, and Clay all did a nice job of allowing things to come their way,” Allen added. “We have a lot of scoring options, something that our team is really proud of, and we do a nice job of getting the ball to the hot hand. Seemed like everyone was willing to shoot and make a big shot when we needed it. Lunceford had a great game as well, really played to his role and did a lot of little things to help our team. Damien Schwab might be the game MVP. I don't think we win that game if he does not come in and give us the big minutes that he did.”

With a program-defining win already in the books, Pine City is now playing with house money in the postseason. Up next is another top-20 team in Eden Valley-Watkins, who will enter with an eye-popping 25-2 record. Should the Dragons beat the Eagles on Wednesday, March 14, they would play at St. Cloud State on Friday, March 16 in the Section 6AA Section Championship game.

Varsity: W (56-52)

3/8/18: Holdingford (Playoffs-Round 1)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

The Pine City Dragons boys basketball team is at it again. The squad is making a nice run in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and is turning heads state-wide in the process. The Dragons opened their postseason with a solid home win, but in the second round they knocked off the #1 seed in Section 6AA and logged one of the biggest upset wins in school history; the Dragons beat powerhouse Annandale.

Pine City 56, Holdingford 40

This game was the #8 versus #9 matchup in a loaded Section 6AA bracket. The Dragons section is so stacked that they had to wait until very late in the season to even secure a home playoff game despite a 20-win season. That home-court advantage would be helpful on Thursday, March 8 as the Dragons  would grind out a win against a scrappy Huskers team that seemed to pride itself on defense.

“Holdingford was very athletic and long, very stingy on the defensive end,” said Dragons Head Coach Kyle Allen. “We tried to stick to our game plan throughout the night, I thought the boys did a nice job of not fighting it. They stuck to it and allowed it to work as the game wore on.”

Pine City had its struggles on the offensive end as Holdlingford stayed at home on shooters and closely guarded the Dragons on the perimeter. Senior Jake Rademacher did a nice job of getting to the rim to break the defense down and had a nice game. Pine City had to dig in on the defensive end to pull out the victory.   

“We really allowed our defense to take over for long stretches,” said Allen. “Our defense led to good runs on the offensive end, allowing us to get good looks. I thought we could have improved our rebounding to start the game, but we were able to adjust and do better as the game went on.”

Seth Logan continues to prove himself since being inserted into the starting lineup midway through the season. He led the team with 16 points on 3-4 shooting from downtown, while also pulling down five rebounds. Nick Hansmann had 10 points and six boards.

The Dragons win had them advancing to play at St. John’s in Collegeville for the second year in a row. Pine City had the dubious task of taking on the #6 ranked team in the state, the Annandale Cardinals, a team that had made State five years in a row. Pine City would come up big when it mattered most.

Varsity: W (56-40)