LATE SCORE SINKS BRAVES

    Britton-Hecla erased a 16-0 first period deficit and grabbed a 30-28 lead with 5:57 to play, but Leola-Frederick drove 60 yards and scored with 20 seconds remaining to nip the Braves 36-30 in football action on Friday.
    The loss dropped Britton-Hecla to 0-2 on the season while Leola-Frederick improved to 2-0.  Coach Jacob Skogstad’s club plays at Redfield at 7 p.m. Friday.  Redfield is also 0-2 and dropped a 60-7 decision to Leola-Frederick in the season opener and fell to Kimball-White Lake 52-0 last week.
    “I thought Friday’s performance was a big step in the right direction for us,” said Skogstad.  “Offensively I think we kind of found our identity running the football and were able to make some plays in the passing game off of that. There are still some situations where we need to capitalize and put teams away.     “Defensively we played better as well, but we still need to work on wrapping up and getting ball carriers on the ground,” added the B-H boss.  “It’s always tough to lose a football game, especially in that fashion. But, I was very happy with how our guys battled through adversity after being down 16-0. This week the keys will be to just continue to build on what we have and hopefully come away with our first win of the season.”
    It looked like the Titans were going to take control early in the Braves’ home opener.  L-F scored on its first possession, converting a fourth and five on a 32-yard scoring toss for an 8-0 lead with 6:43 left in the opening period.
    The Braves picked up three first downs but failed on a fourth and 12 from their own 47, giving the Titans a short field, and the visitors took advantage.  Five plays later L-F connected on a 15-yard TD pass and it was 16-0 with 37 seconds left in the first stanza.
    But the second quarter belonged to the Braves.  With the help of a roughing the punter penalty, Britton-Hecla had the ball for all but 2:47 of the second quarter and scored on both its possessions.  
    Bryce Hawkinson, who led all rushers with 143 yards on 23 carries, gained some big hunks of yardage and Jaxon Zuehlke grabbed a 10-yard pass from Jace Rein to cap off a 10-play, 76-yard drive.  Hawkinson added the conversion run to cut the margin to 16-8.
    Then Zuehlke and Graham Fosness led a stalwart defensive effort on the next possession, forcing a fourth and 25 and a punt.  The Braves took over on their own 13 and proceeded to put together their best drive of the night, thanks to the roughing the punter call on their own 19.
    Nine plays later, after a pair of third down conversions and a 27-yard toss from Rein to Zuehlke, Rein found Person with a five-yard scoring pass.  Hawkinson added the conversion run and the contest was knotted 16-16 at halftime.
    The Braves picked up a pair of first downs to open the second half but stalled on the Titans’ 47, and the visitors quickly took back the lead.  Taking advantage of a pair of 15-yard B-H penalties, L-F drove 69 yards in less than three minutes and Gavin Nickelson, who gained 101 yards on the night, put the visitors back on top 22-16.
    Then the Titans defense forced a three-and-out but on first down Peyton Pearson pounced on a fumble and the Braves were back in business on the L-F 45.  On first down Rein found Ben Suther on a quick out and Suther tight-roped down the sideline to paydirt and again tied the game at 22-all.
    Then when the Braves recovered an onside kick it looked like Skogstad’s crew had all the momentum, but a holding call resulted in the Titans getting the ball back on their own 29 with 11:51 to play in the game.  L-F needed just four plays to go on top again in the seesaw affair when Nickelson broke loose for a 52-yard score and a 28-22 advantage.
    The teams traded punts on the next two possession and Person had a good return to set up the Braves on the L-F 37.  Hawkinson ripped off a 23-yard run and Dashel Davidson tied the game again with a 14-yard scamper.  This time Rein hit Suther with the conversion toss and the Braves led for the first time 30-28 with 5:57 to play.
    But the time remaining proved to be 21 seconds too much for the Braves.  The Titans marched 60 yards, converting three third downs in the process, and scored on a seven-yard run with just 20 seconds remaining to remain unbeaten.
    Statistically the teams were as even as the score indicated.  Britton-Hecla won the total yardage battle 360-323 with 224 rushing and 136 via the airways.  L-F had 213 rushing and 110 passing.  Both clubs had one turnover and the Braves had 50 yards in penalties compared to the Titans’ 30.