Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske on the Hawks' 95-82 loss to Chisago Lakes in the Section 7AAA championship game on Thursday night – "Obviously, the scoreboard didn't reflect what we wanted. The credit goes to Chisago Lakes for their work and execution of their game plan. We had moments where we just couldn't get the ball to go through the rim. That only happened a few times this season and unfortunately, in an elimination game, that's a tough time to have that happen.
In terms of our record (21-8), most would say our season was a success, and not making it to state would be a bad mark to put on it. However, the true test to see the success of our season will be the last impact that these young men leave, not just on the program, but on society as well. We get the chance to work X's and O's, life lessons, and be a steward of the Hermantown Basketball program.
When it comes to this senior class, I still can't put it into words as to what they mean to this program and myself. You get this group that some came up as 8th graders, most were dressing varsity as freshmen, and three of them played a ton of minutes from their sophomore year on. They won over 60 games in their three-year tenure, they set numerous team records, they have their names written across the individual records as well. They led us to three straight section championship games, winning two of them. There's just not enough time to say all the great things would begin to shine a light on what they have meant to this program. As we look down the road, we'll never be able to fill those shoes, but we'll be able to continue to build upon the success that they have taken this program to over their all-too-fast time spent in a Hermantown Hawks uniform."
