Britton-Hecla tuned up for the Class 9AA football playoffs with a resounding 50-0 win over Waverly-South Shore on Friday that was called with 1:07 left in the third period on the 50-point rule.
The Braves are riding a six-game winning streak and posted a 6-2 regular season mark. Coach Jacob Skogstad’s squad is seeded 10th among the 16 playoff teams and will travel to seventh seed Viborg-Hurley, also 6-2, for a 6 p.m. Thursday matchup. The winner of that contest will play the winner between #2 seed Hamlin (8-0) and #15 Waubay-Summit (3-5) on Thursday, Oct. 31.
After losing its first two games to Hamlin (52-0) and Leola-Frederick (36-30) the Braves have outscored their opponents 298-40 (50-points per game average) and ended the last two regular season games early on the 50-point rule, playing just a total of five quarters in those contests.
Viborg-Hurley has also scored a lot of points, averaging 40 per contest, and had its five-game winning streak broken in the regular season finale to unbeaten Howard 48-14. The Cougars other loss came against Elkton-Lake Benton (7-1) 40-24.
“I think only playing five quarters the last two weeks is a good thing for us,” said Skogstad. “It has allowed us to stay healthy and build up confidence going into the playoffs. We have really been able to work on some different looks both offensively and defensively, and been able to get a lot of guys game reps these last two weeks.”
The Braves’ boss knows that Viborg-Hurley will present a stiff test in the playoff opener.
“Viborg-Hurley poses a challenge for us. They are very athletic and run a similar offense to the two teams we played to close out the regular season. It will be very important for us to tackle soundly this week and contain their quarterback. He is very athletic, and tough to bring down in the open field.
“Offensively, it is just going to be continuing to lean on our line. We have really found a groove in our running game, and play action pass has been great for us off of that run game. I think ball control offense, and capitalizing on field position will be huge for us this week.”
The Braves were dominant both offensively and defensively in the regular season finale, holding a 394-41 total yardage advantage. Skogstad’s crew ran for 335 yards on 33 carries (10.2 average), while Waverly-South Shore was a minus 51 yards on the ground. Jaxon Zuehlke was a thorn in the visitors’ side all night with 10 tackles, three sacks, and 26 yards in losses.
It didn’t take long for the Braves to get on the board. After pushing W-SS back 13 yards on its first possession it took just four plays for B-H to find the end zone, capping a 44-yard drive with a three-yard scoring toss from Jace Rein to Zuehlke. Bryce Hawkinson added the conversion for a quick 8-0 lead.
B-H forced another three-and-out and then put together a 73-yard with Hawkinson doing the honors from the two. Peyton Pearson ran the conversion for a 16-0 lead with 4:04 left in the opening period.
Another three-and-out gave the Braves the ball on the W-SS 47 and on first down Hawkinson, who ran for 147 yards on just 14 carries (10.5 average), broke loose for another score. Lofton Heer booted the PAT and it was 23-0 after one quarter.
The Braves had their best drive of the game early in the second quarter, driving 90 yards in six plays with Dashel Davidson, Daniel Person, and Hawkinson picking up hunks of yardage. Rein found Zuehlke again, this time from 26 yards out, and Heer’s kick boosted the score to 30-0.
The final score of the first half capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive when Rein tossed his third TD pass of the game to Person from 30 yards out and Heer kicked the point for a 37-0 Braves’ halftime advantage.
Hawkinson scored his third touchdown of the contest to open the third stanza on a 12-yard jaunt, making the score 43-0 with 8:10 left. Reserves took over late in the quarter and after Bryce Heitkamp ran for 37 yards Trey Atkinson scored from the six. Heer booted the PAT to end the game early.
W-SS (3-5) 0 0 0 – 0
B-H (6-2) 23 14 13 – 50
BH – Jaxon Zuehlke 3 pass from Jace Rein (Bryce Hawkinson run)
BH- Hawkinson 2 run (Peyton Pearson run)
BH – Hawkinson 47 run (Lofton Heer kick)
BH – Zuehlke 26 pass from Rein (Heer kick)
BH – Daniel Pewrson 30 pass from Rein (Heer kick)
BH – Hawkinson 12 run (kick failed)
BH – Trey Atkinson 6 run (Heer kick)
RUSHING: WSS, 13-(-51) (Colton Kranz 5-7); BH, 33-335 (Bryce Hawkinson 14-147, Jace Rein 7-60, Dashel Davidson 6-53, Daniel Person 2-22, Bryce Heitkamp 1-37, Trey Atkinson 1-6, Ben Suther 1-5, Peyton Pearson 1-5)
PASSING: WSS, 5-18-0-92 (Zach Ries 5-18-0-92); BH, 3-8-1-59 (Rein 3-8-1-59)
RECEIVING: WSS (Sam Appelhof 1-36, Kyle Kneeland 1-32, Kranz 2-25); BH (Person 1-30, Jaxon Zuehlke 2-29)
FIRST DOWNS: WSS 3, BH 17
DEFENSIVE LEADERS: WSS (Bryan Ramirez 5 tackles, pass interception; Austin Hovitek 3 tackles); BH (Zuehlke 10 tackles, 3 sacks; Hawkinson 3 tackles; Graham Fosness 3 tackles; Person 3 tackles)
