Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots blank Red Rock Central Falcons, 22-0

The 4-2 Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots won their biggest football game so far this season Friday, Oct. 14, in Lamberton when they took down the 4-2 Red Rock Central Falcons in a convincing 22-0 victory.
The win put the Patriots in a good position for the Section 3 nine-man playoffs and proved they can start a game fast and finish strong.
The visiting Patriots started the game with an impressive 10-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard blast by Sawyer Bosch to put the Patriots up 6-0 with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
During the drive, Patriot wide receiver Brock Harnack averted a near disaster on the fourth play of the drive when he pounced on a Patriot fumble that kept possession and led to the game’s first score.
Looking back on that first scoring drive, head coach Rex Metzger said, “I thought our first drive set the tone for the game.”
The Red Rock Central Falcons were kept out of sorts by the stellar Patriot defense for the entire game, while H-BC’s offense scored more than enough points to secure the victory in the first half.
During the Falcons’ first offensive drive, Patriot defensive end Beau Bakken made the first two tackles, forcing the Falcons into their first three and out. RRC punted four times during the Patriot defensive shutout.
The Patriots did not score on their next possession and were forced to punt. However, they returned the favor and secured possession of the ball with a Falcon punt on their next possession.
The Patriots took over after they pressured the Falcon punter and caused a 15-yard punt to the 21-yard line.
It took only five plays for the Patriots to score their second touchdown of the game on another Sawyer Bosch scamper from five yards out. Bosch then took the ball over the goal line on the two-point conversion and the Pates widened their lead to 14-0.
The Falcons went for a fourth and four yards to go from their own 41-yard line on their next possession.
Senior Brock Harnack broke up the Falcon pass, and the Patriots took over on downs with 7:34 remaining in the half.
With the Patriots on offense, because of the running of Beau Bakken, the passing of Jamin Metzger, and the receiving of Riley Tatge, the Patriots scored their third touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run by Sawyer Bosch.
Bosch hit Riley Tatge with a strike to add a successful two-point conversion to bring the score to 22-0 with 3:13 left in the half. The Patriot defense held the Falcons to another punt, and the half ended without scoring.
During the scoreless second half, the Patriot defense forced one Falcon punt and two turnovers on downs. The defense also held Red Rock Central to a paltry one of 11 on third down conversions.
After scoring 22 points in the first half, the Patriot offense iced the game in the fourth quarter when they took over the ball with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter and controlled it for the remainder of the game.
After two kneel-downs at the Falcon five-yard line, the Patriots moved to 5-2 and the Falcons fell to 4-3 on the season.
“Our guys came out and played tough, and I thought they did a great job playing that way the whole night,” Metzger said at the end of the night.
The Patriots will play Edgerton Oct. 19, the Wednesday before MEA break, in the last regular season game.
This game will be instrumental for both teams in the Section 3 playoff seedings.
It will be the 84th meeting between Hills-Beaver Creek and Edgerton since 1965, but it will be the first “Battle of the Red Rock Trophy” to start a new traveling trophy tradition between Edgerton and Hills-Beaver Creek football teams.
 
Team statistics:
HBC- 164 rushing yards, 93 passing yards, 257 total yards, 18 first downs, one penalty for 10 yards, one turnover.
RRC- 63 yards rushing, 36 yards passing, 99 total yards, four first downs, six penalties for 35 yards, zero turnovers.
 
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Beau Bakken 22-83, Sawyer Bosch 22-71, Cooper Gehrke 2-12,
Team 2-(minus 2)
Passing: Sawyer Bosch 2-3 for 49 yards, Jamin Metzger 3-5 for 44 yards.
Receiving: Luke Fuerstenberg 1-43 yards, Riley Tatge 2-31 yards, Beau Bakken 1-13 yards, Jackson Gacke 1-6 yards.
Defense: Braden Metzger 4.5 tackles & 1 TFL, Beau Bakken 4 tackles, Riley Tatge 3 tackles, Sawyer Bosch 2.5 tackles, Luke Fuerstenberg 2.5 tackles, Micah Bush 2.5 tackles.