Tag: Heart River Cougars

COLLISION COURSE: No. 1 Beulah and No. 3 Trinity seem destined to meet again for title, but underdogs aren’t afraid to bite back

All winter, the question has lingered throughout southwest North Dakota.

“Who do you think is going to win Region 7 boys basketball tournament, Beulah or Dickinson Trinity?”

We could be five days from finding out that answer.

Or, who knows? An upset of classic proportions could be set to play out on the Knights of Columbus Activities Center floor during this week’s tournament.

Still, any way you slice it, the Region 7 Tournament goes through the No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Beulah. With many of its main components back from last season, the Miners are undefeated at 21-0 and on a 37-game win streak dating back to Jan. 10, 2012, when it lost to Trinity in the regular season. The Titans want to be the team that doesn’t let that streak reach 40.

It has been four years since anyone other than Beulah or Trinity represented Region 7 at the state tournament and there are six teams in this tournament who don’t plan on being the proverbial red carpet to the Minot State Dome for either team.

District 13 champion Heart River is chief among them. The Cougars upset Beulah in the 2011 region semifinals before losing to Trinity in the title game. In 2012, their season was cut short again by the Titans — this time in the semifinals. With a senior-heavy group that has been building to this week for three seasons, Heart River sure isn’t going to back down without a fight. Neither will Mott-Regent or Hazen, for that matter.

The District 13 runner-up Wildfire are led by senior guard Taylor Zentner, Region 7’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game. Hazen, the No. 3 seed behind Beulah and Trinity in District 14, follow one of the state’s best all-around athletes in senior guard Stetson Carr. And don’t forget the underdogs. New England and Richardton-Taylor each have seven seniors on the roster and each boasts one of the region’s best scorers.

Raiders junior Lane Voltz (19.2 points per game) and Tigers senior Levi Hollinger (19.1) have ranked among the top five scorers in Region 7 much of the season.

Hettinger-Scranton has just two seniors — including difference-making center Stephen Kristy — and a talented group of underclassmen that have quietly improved throughout the season to a point where they are relied upon to take the reins in the clutch.

Whether Trinity and Beulah tip off for the title Thursday night or if a dark horse finds a way to stick its nose into the mix, this season’s Region 7 Tournament is bound to be memorable.
Continue reading “COLLISION COURSE: No. 1 Beulah and No. 3 Trinity seem destined to meet again for title, but underdogs aren’t afraid to bite back”

SMALL WONDERS: Senior running backs Ewoniuk, Hecker the 1-2 punch driving Heart River

Heart River Cougars football standouts Cole Hecker, left, and Seth Ewoniuk, right,

BELFIELD — Dave Hendrickson was in his second season as Heart River’s head football coach when he heard rumblings about two small, yet exceptionally fast eighth-grade running backs.

Planning to stick around for a while, Hendrickson decided he should check out the Cougars’ junior high games.

Hendrickson barely had to watch Seth Ewoniuk and Cole Hecker to realize he had a special pair of players waiting in the wings.

“I knew, after watching film for years and years, there was no question those two were going to develop into good athletes,” Hendrickson said. “They were good already as eighth-graders.”

Continue reading “SMALL WONDERS: Senior running backs Ewoniuk, Hecker the 1-2 punch driving Heart River”

Killdeer starter may miss tourney game after father’s death, Cougars coach offers support

Killdeer sophomore Brock Pittsley's status for the Region 7 boys basketball tournament is uncertain following the death of his father, David. Pittsley is the Cowboys' starting power forward.

The Killdeer boys basketball team will be playing through some pain on Monday in the Region 7 tournament quarterfinals.

Sophomore Brock Pittsley, the Cowboys’ starting power forward, is dealing with the death of his father, David Pittsley, who passed away Thursday at age 45. David Pittsley’s funeral is at 10 a.m. Monday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Killdeer. The Cowboys are scheduled to play Heart River at 4:30 p.m. that day.

Asked whether or not Pittsley will play, Killdeer coach Wayne Sanders said, “we’re not real sure.”

Sanders said David Pittsley’s death has greatly affected his team. The Cowboys practiced Thursday and Sanders said, “We had a tough day.”

Heart River head coach Greg Pruitt said he has reached out to Pittsley and the Cowboys for two reasons. First, many Heart River players are good friends with Pittsley. Second, Pruitt said he also lost his father at a young age.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Brock,” Pruitt said. “Our hearts go out to him.”