Things to Watch in the HVL/TRC Showdown Saturday
The Hiawatha Valley League and Three Rivers Conference will be duking it out Saturday in Rochester in one of the more enjoyable conference vs conference days of the winter sports season. Both are among the best small-school leagues in the…
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Continue ReadingThe Hiawatha Valley League and Three Rivers Conference will be duking it out Saturday in Rochester in one of the more enjoyable conference vs conference days of the winter sports season. Both are among the best small-school leagues in the state and offer up some of the top talent in southern Minnesota.
Here are some things to watch
Caledonia, Lake City, St. Charles and Stewartville all in action
A couple of the top teams in the Three Rivers won’t be playing as La Crescent and Rushford-Peterson aren’t playing but the two teams traditionally at the top of the league along with R-P will as Caledonia takes on Stewartville and St. Charles plays Byron.
The Caledonia-Stewartville tilt might be the best one of the day as Stewartville figures to be one of the contenders in the HVL while Caledonia is a top-five team in Class AA.
St. Charles and Byron were two of the top teams in Section 1AA last season and while there’s a fair amount of turnover on both clubs, there’s also enough history to suggest both programs will be competitive still. The Saints have Drew Leistikow who is one of the best players that will take the court Saturday.
Lake City takes on Plainview-Elgin-Millville in an afternoon matchup. The Tigers are coming off a loss to Breck in the Tip Off Classic in Hopkins Saturday but certainly are among the best teams in Class AA. PEM’s 2-1 on the year and has a terrific frontcourt.
Players to Watch
Noah King and Eli King of Caledonia are certainly players to watch as the Warriors are likely the best team playing in Rochester Saturday. They both struggled in some capacity in the loss to Perham so it’ll be interesting to see if they can get back on track this week. Stewartville counters with 6-foot-8 sophomore Will Tschetter who is among the best sophomores in the state and Hunter Voight on the perimeter.
Lake City’s got a terrific duo as well in Nate Heise and Reid Gastner. Both are juniors in their third years as starters. They both look like potential Division II guys. PEM’s Griffin Doughty is one of the best big men in the TRC.
Brady Williams of Dover-Eyota is one of the best small-school players in the state and among the top players in the 2020 class. He’s got the ability to off on any given night and his combination of size, skill and athleticism makes him a nightmare to try to defend.
St. Charles forward Drew Leistikow is a multi-sport star for the Saints and has a lot of football and basketball interest at the college level. He’s a double-double guy and combines a motor that runs hot with an improving skillset on the wing.
Cannon Falls is 3-0 to start the year and the Bombers could be strong this winter as they return four starters including junior forward Drew Otte and senior forward Isaac Illa.
Goodhue is off to a slow start this year but Sam Opsahl is worth looking at. He’s a multi-year starter for the Wildcats and has great length and a solid perimeter skillset.
Here is the schedule for the day:
Cannon Falls vs Dover Eyota – 9 am
Zumbrota-Mazeppa vs Chatfield, 11:45 am
Triton vs Fillmore Central – 12:30 pm
Lake City vs. PEM – 3:15 pm
Goodhue vs. Southland – 4 pm
Byron vs. St. Charles – 6:45 pm
Caledonia vs. Stewartville – 7:30 pm