By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots bowed out of the Section 2 Nine-Man Football Playoffs Tuesday night in Brewster.Taking on third-seeded Southwest United in the quarterfinal-round of the event, No. 6 H-BC-E surrendered 18 first-half points and couldn’t recover in the second half of a game that ended with the Wildcats posting a 24-6 victory.SWU advances to the semifinal round of the playoffs on Saturday. The Wildcats will play Edgerton in Edgerton. The Flying Dutchmen upended Granada-Huntley-East Chain-Martin Luther 58-6 Tuesday.H-BC-E’s 3-6 season comes to an end."It was a game in which missed opportunities, and inopportune penalties hurt us," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We had three first downs called back because of penalties, and we fumbled inside their 10-yard line once. We had some chances. We just couldn’t stick the ball into the end zone."The Patriots didn’t help their cause by allowing SWU to open an 18-0 halftime advantage.The Wildcats scored one touchdown late in the first quarter before adding two more six-pointers in the second period to gain a healthy lead.SSU’s third offensive possession of the game turned into a drive that ended with Dustin Leopold scoring on a 13-yard run with seven seconds left in the first quarter. A failed conversion pass kept the score at 6-0.The Wildcats doubled their lead (12-0) with their second possession of the second quarter.SWU quarterback Jared Smith capped a drive with a one-yard plunge. The pass for a conversion failed.Smith made a big play later in the second quarter when he tossed a 42-yard completion to Bryan Scheevel that moved the ball to the H-BC-E two-yard line late in the first half. Mike Schmitz scored on a two-yard run two plays later to make it an 18-0 game.H-BC-E made a defensive adjustment at halftime that helped it play SWU to a draw at six in the second half."We went from a three-man line to a 4-4 defense in the second half, and we played really well," Ellingson said. "We made them punt three times and held them on fourth down three times in the second half."The Patriot offense also put together its most impressive drive of the game in the second half.H-BC-E received the kick to start the third quarter and moved the ball to the SWU two, where senior fullback Tom LeBoutillier capped the march with a two-yard plunge. A run for the two-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 18-6.The Patriots threatened to score again the next time they controlled the ball, but the opportunity slipped away when a fumble was lost on the SWU seven-yard line.SWU capped the scoring with 5:00 left in the fourth quarter.Leopold scored on a 26-yard scamper for the Wildcats, but H-BC-E’s Chris Nuffer blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt.Individual statisticsRushing: Zach Wysong 8-36, LeBoutillier 9-69, Cody Schilling 10-46.Passing: Schilling 9-26 for 138 yards. LeBoutillier 1-2 for minus two yards.Receiving: Cody Rozeboom 4-87, Wysong 4-41, Greg Van Batavia 2-0.Defense: Cody Scholten 17 tackles and one fumble recovery, LeBoutillier seven tackles and one sack, Tanner Scholten five tackles and one fumble recovery, Brian Gacke nine tackles and one sack.