There were a lot of “what-ifs” for the Britton-Hecla for the Britton-Hecla football squad in its 28-24 loss to Viborg-Hurley in the first round of the Class 9AA playoffs.
Coach Jacob Skogstad’s squad forced four turnovers, held the ball twice as long as Viborg-Hurley, and gained just five fewer yards for the game (306-301). However, the Braves, who finished with a 6-3 season mark, were not able to take advantage of those turnovers as the hosts scored 22 second period points for a 22-8 halftime lead and then withstood a Braves’ second half comeback.
Viborg-Hurley, now 7-2, will play at second-seeded Hamlin (9-0) in quarterfinal play on Thursday.
“It was a hard fought battle, and I am very proud to be this team’s coach,” said Skogstad. “The final score didn’t go in our favor, but our kids fought hard, and this town should be proud of the way they competed.
“Our defense really played well, forcing four turnovers,” Skogstad added. “A couple of big plays went their way, but aside from that, our defense was phenomena. Offensively, I wish we could have better capitalized on those turnovers we forced. We just didn’t capitalize when we needed to. Credit to Viborg-Hurley, they were able to get constant pressure on Jace (Rein) when we threw the ball, and that made it difficult for us in the passing game.”
Despite the loss, Skogstad is excited for the future.
“Our offensive line really gelled throughout the season, and I am excited to see that group continue to grow. We are sure going to miss our seniors, their leadership, their production, and most importantly, who they are as young men. I couldn’t be more proud and grateful to be a Britton-Hecla Brave, and we are excited to keep moving forward.”
After neither team scored in the opening period a crucial turnaround happened to open the second stanza. Britton-Hecla had a third and goal from the two yard line but Viborg-Hurley intercepted a pass, ending up on the two. Then, on first down, V-H quarterback Brady Schroedermeier found Nicholas Hanson on a 78-yard pass on the 80-yard field for a sudden 6-0 lead.
The Braves were forced to punt but had another opportunity when the Cougars fumbled on first down and Jordyn McGregor pounced on the ball on the Viborg-Hurley 27. But B-H fumbled the ball right back.
B-H did take its only lead of the game a few minutes later when Jace Rein hit Jaxon Zuehlke with a 63-yard scoring strike and Rein ran the conversion for an 8-6 advantage with 6:34 left in the half. But Viborg-Hurley scored twice in the final minutes on a 22-yard run with 5:40 left and again on a 25-yard pass with just 1:15 remaining to go up 22-8.
The Braves made things interesting in the second half. After being stopped on downs early in the third quarter Bryce Hawkinson ran a fake punt all the way to the Cougars’ five yard line but again B-H was not able to punch the ball into the end zone. Ben Suther did give the Braves some momentum, however, when he recorded a safety to cut the margin to 22-10. Then about a minute later, Rein scampered 46 yards down the left sideline to paydirt and passed to Zuehlke for the conversion to make it a four-point contest at 22-18 with 5:58 left in third period.
The Braves were back in business again when they recovered a fumble on the Viborg-Hurley 30 but could manage just seven yards. The Cougars gave themselves a little breathing room on a well-executed hook and ladder 24-yard pass for a 28-18 lead with 9:59 to play early in the fourth quarter, but the Braves wouldn’t go away.
After a failed fourth down deep in Viborg-Hurley territory, the Braves’ defense held when Zuehlke recorded a sack and Hawkinson responded with a 19-yard score to climb back within four at 28-24 with 5:16 left.
The B-H defense gave the Braves another chance when they forced a punt and took over on the Viborg-Hurley five. But Skogstad’s crew threw an incomplete pass on fourth down with 1:11 left to settle the issue.
The Braves outgained the Cougars on the ground 236-141, led by Hawkinson with 140 yards on 25 carries. The effort boosted the junior runningback’s season total to 1,093 yards on 126 carries, an average of 8.7 yards per carry.
Viborg-Hurley passed for 145 yards to the Braves’s 65, and Britton-Hecla was just 2-18 in the passing department.
H (6-3) 0 8 10 6 - 24
V-H (7-2) 0 22 0 6 – 28
VH – Nicholas Hanson 78 pass from Brady Schroedermeier (PAT failed)
BH - Jaxon Zuehlke 63 pass from Jace Rein (Rein run)
VH – Jacob Graves 22 run (Nolan Kolthoff pass from Schroedermeier)
VH – Brenner Gerdes 25 pass from Schroedermeier (Anton Santiago
Brea run)
BH – Ben Suther tackled V-H ballcarrier in end zone for safety
BH – Rein 46 run (Zuehlke pass from Rein)
VH – Jake Austin 24 pass from Schroedermeier (pass failed)
BH – Bryce Hawkinson 19 run (Hawkinson run)
RUSHING: BH, 51-236 (Bryce Hawkinson 25-140, Jace Rein 8-63, Dashel Davidson 5-11, Peyton Pearson 2-1); VH, 37-141 (Jacob Graves 7-60, Brady Schroedermeier 12-56,Brenner Gerdes 1-3)
PASSING: BH, 2-18-1-65 (Rein 2-18-1-65); VH, 5-12-0-145 (Schroedermeier 5-12-0-145)
RECEIVING: BH, (Zuehlke 1-63); VH (Nicholas Hanson 1-1-78, Gerdes 1-25, Jake Austin 2-23)
FIRST DOWNS: BH, 10, VH 10
DEFENSIVE LEADERS: BH (Davidson 7.5 tackles; Hawkinson 5 tackles; Zuehlke 5 tackles, 2 sacks; Graham Fosness 3.5 tackles, fumble recovery, forced fumble; Ben Suther 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble; Jordyn McGrregor 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble)
