Skip to main content

Patriots advance in nine-man football playoffs

Subhead
Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots defeat Edgerton Flying Dutchmen 44-8 in semifinal game
Lead Summary
,
By
Dan Ellingson, For the Star Herald

On a sunny Oct. 30 afternoon, the No. 2-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots hosted the No. 3 Edgerton Flying Dutchmen in a Nine-Man Section 3 Semifinal matchup.
After securing a 44-8 victory Saturday, the Patriots earned a ticket to the Section 3 championship game for the fourth time in four years. The game will be Friday, Nov. 5, at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
As in the previous games, the Patriots offense struck first Saturday after an impressive start by the Patriots defense. Although Edgerton did manage one first down on their opening drive, the Patriots forced a Dutchmen punting situation after only five Edgerton offensive plays. 
From their own 37-yard line the Patriots put together a seven-play, 63-yard drive culminating with an Oliver Deelstra one-yard run for six points. 
For the ensuing two-point conversion the Patriots dug into the playbook for their version of the “Philly Special,” made famous in the Super Bowl by the Philadelphia Eagles a few years back.
The H-BC version of the play started with a Deelstra-to-Cole Baker hand-off going to Baker’s left. He in turn pitched the ball to wide out Ty Bundesen, going to his right. 
Bundesen then threw a pass, while rolling right, to Deelstra who had slipped into the right corner of the endzone after his handoff to Baker. The Patriots’ successful “Philly Special” put the score at 8-0 with 5:07 left in the first quarter.
After a Patriots defensive stop, HBC capitalized on an Edgerton special teams miscue. A bad long snap to the Dutchmen punter resulted in great field position for the Patriots. 
A Deelstra-to-Baker pass of 22 yards extended the score to 14-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter. That same combination of throw and catch was not done for the first quarter. 
With 13 seconds left in the first quarter, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Deelstra to Baker widened the score to 20-0. The two-point conversion run made it 22-0 in favor of the home squad Patriots, heading into the second quarter.
The Patriots defense continued to give a dominating performance throughout the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Patriots offense put up another 14 points. Deelstra and Baker each had touchdown runs of four yards in the second quarter. 
The two-point conversion was good after the Deelstra touchdown, a pass from Deelstra to Andrew Harris. The score stood 36-0 at the half.
Patriot Justin Roelfs scored the final Patriots touchdown with a nifty run of 39 yards. He also tacked on the two-point conversion run. The Patriots led 44-0 with 9:26 left in the third quarter. 
The Dutchmen answered with their only touchdown on a five-yard run, and with the two-point conversion pass good, the scoring closed at 44-8. Reserves were able to contribute on the field of play throughout the second half until the game ended. 
“I’m very happy with how physical we played in all three phases of the game,” said Patriots head coach Rex Metzger. “I thought our O and D lines played really well and controlled the game.”
The No. 2-seeded Patriots will face the No. 1-seeded Mountain Lake Area Wolverines in the Section 3 Nine-Man Championship game scheduled for Friday, Nov. 5, at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Game time is at 11:30 a.m. 
 MLA has won two of the last three section titles. The Wolverines won the first meeting of these two teams back on Oct. 8 by a 24-6 final score. 
“Anytime you get a chance to play for a section championship is a great opportunity for our kids,” Metzger said in anticipation of the upcoming game. “We look forward to the challenge.” 
Team statistics
HBC: 262 rushing yards, 123 passing yards, 385 total yards, 22 first downs, five penalties for 40 yards, zero turnovers.
Edgerton: 81 yards rushing, nine yards passing, 90 total yards, six first downs, three penalties for 15 yards, one turnover.
Individual statistics
Rushing: C. Baker 11-104 yards, J. Roelfs 7 for 52 yards, Sawyer Bosch 3 for 39 yards, O. Deelstra 6 for 33 yards, T. Bundesen 2 for 21 yards, Luke Fuerstenberg 6 for 14 yards, Brock Harnack 1 for 2 yards, Team 3 for Minus 3 yards.
Passing: Deelstra 12-17- 110 yards, S. Bosch 2-3-13 yards.
Receiving: C. Baker 3-50 yards, Bundesen 5-32 yards, Andrew Harris 1-12 yards, Gideon Taubert 2-12 yards, Drew Leenderts 1-8 yards, Brock Harnack 1-8 yards, Casey Kueter 1-1 yard.
Defense:C. Kueter four tackles & one sack, G. Taubert four tackles, C. Baker 2 ½  tackles & ½ sacks, Max Scholten one tackle & ½ sack.

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.