By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots wrapped up a 2-6 regular season by dropping a 12-7 football decision to Westbrook-Walnut Grove Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Hills.In what was a rematch between two teams that squared off in Westbrook Sept. 6, the recent clash was a more positive experience for the Patriots.Considering H-BC-E came up on the short end of a 34-0 tally in early September, the five-point loss to W-WG was a little easier for the Patriots to cope with."We played like we should play this time," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson."It was a competitive game, and I felt like we should have gotten this one."Some crucial penalties on the Patriots ended up settling the issue. Both of W-WG’s scoring marches during the contests were kept alive by H-BC-E penalties.The Patriot defense forced the Chargers to punt during W-WG’s opening possession of the game. H-BC-E, however, was flagged for a running-into-the-punter penalty, giving the Chargers a new set of downs. W-WG made the Patriots pay for the mistake when Dominic Madsen scored on a 32-yard run during a fourth-and-two situation moments later to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.H-BC-E battled back to take a 7-6 lead with a drive that started in the first quarter and ended early in the second period.The 18-play march was capped by a four-yard touchdown run by Cody Rozeboom at the 11:22 mark of the second period. Adam Finke’s extra point gave the Patriots a one-point lead.H-BC-E remained in front until the third quarter, when W-WG turned its opening possession into a 12-7 lead.The drive, which was extended by two face-masking penalties by the Patriots, ended with W-WG quarterback Brian Thiessen throwing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Joe Doubler with 4:58 remaining in the quarter. The touchdown came during a third-and-goal situation.H-BC-E did have one potential scoring opportunity when it recovered a fumble on W-WG’s 30-yard line as the second half progressed, but the Patriots didn’t take advantage of the field position.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 185 rushing yards, 19 passing yards, 204 total yards, 11 first downs, seven penalties for 50 yards, zero turnovers.W-WG: 160 rushing yards, 68 passing yards, 228 total yards, nine first downs, two penalties for 15 yards, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Jon Klaassen 23-79, Finke 13-77, Jarid Hoogendoorn 4-20, Rozeboom 5-7, Kerry Fink 1-2.Passing: Finke 3-8 for 19 yards.Receiving: Rozeboom 3-19.Defense: Jason Hup nine tackles, Jason Martens nine tackles and one fumble recovery, Rozeboom seven tackles and one fumble recovery, Mitchell Leuthold seven tackles, Tom Leuthold three tackles and one fumble recovery.