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Patriots rally to top W-WG

By John RittenhouseThirteen unanswered points in the final 4:51 of the game gave the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team its second win of the season Friday.Entertaining Westbrook-Walnut Grove for their 2004 home opener in Hills, the Patriots found themselves facing a 21-20 deficit when the visiting Chargers scored a touchdown and recorded a two-point conversion with 9:00 left to play.H-BC-E, however, recorded two touchdowns in a span of 2:36 late in the fourth quarter to pull out a 33-21 win."We came back nicely," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "The guys played really well in the fourth quarter."The fourth quarter started with H-BC-E producing some big plays on defense.After the Patriot offense had a drive stall on the W-WG four-yard line late in the third quarter, the defense stopped a W-WG run for a three-yard loss on the final play of the third period. The Chargers tried to run the ball again on the first play of the fourth period, but a fumble during the exchange between the quarterback and running back resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Patriot defender Brian Gacke for a touchdown.The pass for the ensuing two-point conversion failed, but H-BC-E sported a 20-13 lead after Gacke’s big play.The game’s momentum swung in W-WG’s favor during its next offensive possession, when the Chargers put together a drive that ended with Dominic Madson scoring on a one-yard run with 9:00 left to play. When Madson hit Jake Severson with a successful conversion pass after the touchdown, W-WG moved in front 21-20.H-BC-E answered the challenge with its next offensive possession.The Patriots mounted a drive that ended with Kerry Fink scoring on a four-yard scamper with 4:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. The run for a two-point conversion came up short of the end zone, leaving the hosts with a 26-21 cushion.H-BC-E’s defense forced W-WG to punt four plays into its next offensive possession, setting up a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Travis Broesder to Cody Rozeboom with 2:15 left to play. Adam Finke booted the ensuing extra point to cap the scoring."We had a bunch of younger guys who usually don’t play much come in and make big contributions for us," Ellingson stated. "Kerry Fink came in and ran the ball well for us, and Adam Finke had a couple of nice kick returns and kicked an extra point. Cody Rozeboom caught two long passes and scored two touchdowns on offense, and he made an interception on defense. Those young kids came in and played well."H-BC-E needed its younger players when senior Zach Wysong was unable to play after breaking three bones in his foot early in the game.Wysong, who capped a four-play, 66-yard drive with a 55-yard touchdown run at the 10:09 mark of the first period, injured his foot on his way to the end zone. Ellingson said the injury will keep Wysong on the sidelines between four and six weeks.H-BC-E passed for a two-point conversion after Wysong’s touchdown, but the attempt fell incomplete.W-WG moved in front 7-6 before the first quarter was complete.The Chargers recovered a fumble on H-BC-E’s 14-yard line as the period progressed, and Madson scored three plays later on a three-yard run. Victor Vondracek added the extra point to give W-WG a one-point cushion.The Patriots regained the lead at 14-7 early in the second quarter.After a W-WG punt sailed out of bounds on the H-BC-E 28, Roozenboom scored on a 28-yard run on the first play of his team’s next possession. Broesder carried in the two-point conversion to make it a seven-point difference.W-WG trimmed H-BC-E’s lead to one point (14-13) with 58 seconds remaining in the first half when Theisen hit Severson for a seven-yard touchdown pass. A missed extra-point attempt kept the Patriots clinging to a one-point lead.Ellingson said H-BC-E’s defense, which created three turnovers and limited W-WG to 169 total yards, played a key role in the win."We really played well defensively. We dominated W-WG statistically. We gave them a short field a couple of times, and W-WG was able to take advantage of it. Other than that, we played well on defense," Ellingson concluded.The 2-0 Patriots will play a road game against 1-1 Edgerton Friday.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 249 rushing yards, 152 passing yards, 411 total yards, 20 first downs, 10 penalties for 78 yards, one turnover.W-WG: 127 rushing yards, 42 passing yards, 169 total yards, 19 first downs, eight penalties for 65 yards, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Wysong 3-62, Tom LeBoutillier 7-23, Broesder 13-63, Fink 10-28, Rozeboom 2-54, Jon Klaassen 4-19, Finke 2-10.Passing: Broesder 4-11 for 152 yards.Receiving: Rozeboom 2-102, LeBoutillier 1-44, Chris Nuffer 1-6.Defense: Cody Scholten 19 tackles, Gacke nine tackles and one fumble recovery, Klaassen nine tackles, Rozeboom four tackles and one interception, Fink three tackles and one interception.

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