Covid-19 has caused plenty of disturbances in 2020, some with life-altering ramifications.
For the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots football team it caused a disturbance in what was fixing to be a historic season in 2020.
Over the previous two seasons the Patriots accumulated a record of 18-4 and were knocking on the door of the state tournament. In 2018 they lost to Mountain Lake Area in the section championship.
The Patriots reached the section championship game again in 2019, but once again fell to the Wolverines.
With a strong group of seniors and juniors returning, 2020 was going to be the season that they knocked down that door and reached the state tournament.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Minnesota State High School League opted not to host state tournaments for fall sports due to Covid-19.
“Knowing that we didn’t have a state tournament was very heartbreaking,” H-BC senior Zander Wysong said.
“Everyone looks forward to a state playoff. It’s why people play — this year especially, because we were an amazing team. We probably would have gone far in the state tournament.”
That didn’t stop the Patriots from putting together an impressive season.
H-BC finished the shortened 2020 season with a 7-0 record and as Section 3A nine-man section champions.
The Patriots were recently recognized by the Associated Press for their historic season. The AP voted H-BC the No. 1 team in their final poll, giving them the “mythical” state title.
The Patriots dominated each team they faced this season en route to a perfect season and earned the top billing from the AP. In the seven games, the Patriots outscored their opponents 338-35.
Chase Bosch, a senior for the Patriots, was looking forward to the opportunity to make history this season with his fellow teammates.
“The last time we reached the state tournament was 1990,” Bosch said.
“It would have been a great opportunity to represent our school and compete in trying to win a state championship. Knowing that we had one of the better teams in H-BC history, it would have been special to prove how good we actually were.”
While the season did not go as planned, Bosch was thankful to make more memories with his teammates on the gridiron.
“I’ll miss the memories we made and the people we made them with,” Bosch said.
“We have been doing things together for many years. All the morning lifts, the practices and all the Friday night games. We had a great group of guys this year and it was fun to make all the memories and be as successful as we were.”