FERTILE-BELTRAMI ADVANCES TO STATE 9-MAN SEMIFINALS AT U.S. BANK STADIUM

The Fertile Beltrami Falcons football team used a huge second half to beat the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers 44-22 in the State 9-man Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night at Grand Rapids High School.  The trip to the state semi-finals is the first since 2006 when the Falcons played at the Metronome in the Class A semi’s and in their third year as a 9-Man team they are advancing back to the semi’s.  “It was a big decision to make the switch because we had been opting up to play in Class A for 12 years.  We felt like we didn’t have the numbers anymore,” said Coach Brian Nelson. “We still have a lot to learn about playing 9-Man game, but this is a great feeling.”

FIRST-QUARTER –

Fertile-Beltrami received the opening kickoff and began on their own 38-yard line. It didn’t take long for the Falcons to strike. Everett Balstad got things started with a 33-yard run on the first play of the game. A few plays later Balstad finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run giving Fertile-Beltrami the early lead. Balstad would convert the two-point conversion making it 8-0 with 9:48 in the first quarter. “We have a good run game,” said Coach Brian Nelson. “That is what we talked about doing and trying to limit their offensive series.”  The Rangers showcased their powerful offense on their first drive of the game as well, going 70 yards on nine plays using a balanced passing and rushing attack. Mountain Iron-Buhl quarterback Asher Zubich capped the drive off with a 13-yard rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion would fail keeping Fertile-Beltrami in front 8-6 with 5:35 remaining in the opening quarter of play. After both offenses came out firing, each defense responded and got a stop. The Falcons were driving the football before a fumble gave the football back to the Rangers with 2:59 left in the first quarter. Then the Falcons defense immediately responded and forced a turnover of their own, as Austin Bjerk fell on a Rangers fumble giving Fertile-Beltrami the football back on their own 46-yard line with a two-point lead.

SECOND-QUARTER –

Fertile-Beltrami would take the ensuing drive into Mountain Iron-Buhl territory converting a third down and six on an Everett Balstad run. On the following play, mother nature would once again play a factor, as a muffed snap would lead to a fumble and the third straight possession with a turnover for the two teams. “You can’t blame the kids with the conditions we had,” said Coach Nelson. “The ball was wet and hard to take care of, but we told the guys to keep their hands dry and secure the ball the best they can.”  The Rangers couldn’t capitalize and would go three and out after an incomplete pass on a third-down. After a short punt, the Falcons would have excellent field position on the Rangers 40-yard line with 9:26 remaining in the first half. The Falcons would capitalize and hit a big play to extend the lead. Rylin Petry would deliver a pass deep downfield that would deflect into the arms of Austin Bjerk who would take it the rest of the way for the touchdown. Everett Balstad would convert the two-point conversion once again giving the Falcons a 16-6 lead with 7:11 in the first half. The Rangers would quickly face a fourth down and short on the following drive and trailing by 10 would elect to go for it. Austin Zubich would fake a hand-off and go right up the middle just getting enough to convert the first down. On the following play Austin Zubich would launch a pass deep downfield and Nik Jesch would make an incredible catch, seemingly stealing the ball from Brayden Werpy who looked like he had intercepted the ball, for a 36-yard touchdown. “I don’t know what happened there,” said Werpy. “I don’t know if it went through my hands, or he made a great play.”  Sam Lokken would run in the two-point conversion cutting the Fertile-Beltrami lead down to 16-14 with 4:17 remaining in the first half. Fertile-Beltrami would turn the ball over for the third time in the first half on another fumble, giving the football and momentum to Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Rangers would take over at midfield with 4:09 left on the clock. They would use up the remaining time in the first half and end up facing a fourth down and goal from the seven-yard line with nine seconds remaining. Mountain Iron-Buhl would get a delay of game penalty and then had an incompletion as the Falcons defense got a huge stop to take a 16-14 lead into the halftime break.  “We had the ball in the red zone a couple of times and I fumbled the ball and we fumble twice and that hurt,” said Rylin Petry. “We played Blackduck in three inches of rain and muddy so we kind of knew what to expect and did a better job in the second half.”

THIRD-QUARTER –

The second half was all Fertile-Beltrami, as they dominated the time of possession, and couldn’t be stopped running the football. The defense was also able to slow down the explosive Mountain Iron-Buhl offense. Mountain Iron-Buhl received the second-half kickoff and would be forced into a fourth down and five just inside Fertile-Beltrami territory. They would go for it on fourth down, and Brayden Werpy would jump a slant route and snag an interception giving the Falcons another huge defensive stop. “It felt so great to redeem myself,” said Werpy. “I saw it and was able to jump the route.”  On the Falcons first offensive possession of the second half, they would extend the lead, running the football fourteen times and using up seven minutes of clock. They would score on a fourth down and goal from the one-yard line on an Everett Balstad run and convert the two-point conversion making it a two-possession game at 24-14 with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter. “The offensive line was awesome again tonight,” said Balstad. “They did a great job blocking and we couldn’t do it without them.”  The Rangers needed an answer on the following possession, but the Falcons defense once again came through and forced another punt. All the momentum was with Fertile-Beltrami heading into the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead.

FOURTH-QUARTER –

The Mountain Iron-Buhl defense would force the Falcons into a third down and ten, with a great chance to get their offense back on the field. However, Everett Balstad would take a handoff and run 10-yards just getting enough for the first down to extend the drive and continue to chew the clock. The Falcons had no intention of throwing, as they continued to run for first downs and use up time. The Rangers defense would force another third and long, but Everett Balstad was again too much, running defenders over to pick up the first down. Derek Sorenson then broke a big run setting up first and goal at the Rangers two-yard line. From there, Everett Balstad did the rest running in his third touchdown of the game and putting the game out of reach with 6:23 left. Derek Sorenson would convert the two-point conversion making it a 32-14 Fertile-Beltrami lead. The drive was just as good as the previous one, this time going 13 plays, once again all runs, and using eight more minutes of clock. The Rangers needed to score quickly to have any hopes of keeping their season alive. A quick screen pass to Damian Tapio for a 34-yard gain got the drive started and moved Mountain Iron-Buhl into Falcons territory. It was by far the best play of the second half for the Rangers offense. A few plays later, Tucker Bolstad sealed the victory for good with a 65-yard interception return touchdown for Fertile-Beltrami. The two-point conversion would fail, but the damage was done, as the lead was extended to 38-14 with 5:44 remaining in the football game. Fertile-Beltrami wasn’t quite done yet, as, after another quick stop, Isaiah Wright would take a handoff for a 24-yard touchdown run to add to the impressive performance. It would extend the lead to 44-14 and cap off what was 28 unanswered points in the second half. Mountain Iron-Buhl would score one last touchdown with just five seconds left, but Fertile-Beltrami would take one final kneel down to secure a 44-22 victory. The Falcons held Mountain Iron-Buhl to their season-low in points and total offense in the win.  “That is probably the best our defense has played,” said Coach Nelson. “We haven’t seen an offense like this other than Nevis who had a really good team.  Like I said Nevis got us ready for this, Norman County East and their quarterback got us ready for this, playing in Blackduck got us ready for playing in these conditions. I am proud of the kids and it is exciting for the community.  It is unbelievable how many people came to the game.”

Mountain Iron-Buhl ends their season 9-2 with their only other loss coming against Hancock in a game they lost by only two points.
Fertile-Beltrami improves to 12-0 and will play the winner of Hills-Beaver Creek (9-2) vs Renville County West (8-3) in the State 9-man semifinals next Friday, November 19, at 9:00 a.m. inside U.S. Bank Stadium. You can listen to the game on KROX Radio with a pre-game at 8:30 a.m.
Hills-Beaver Creek and Renville County West play tomorrow night at Southwest Minnesota State University with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.

[yotuwp type=”videos” id=”9qVQp8HfJRw” ]

1st Quarter
9:48 – FB – Everett Balstad 2-yard run (Everett Balstad run)
5:35 – MIB – Asher Zubich 13-yard run (pass failed)

2nd Quarter
7:11 – FB – Rylin Petry 36-yard pass to Austin Bjerk (Everett Balstad run)
4:17 – MIB – Asher Zubich 36-yard pass to Nik Jesch (Sam Lokken run)

3rd quarter
2:56 – FB – Everett Balstad 1-yard run (Balstad run)

4th quarter
6:23 – FB – Everett Balstad 2-yard run (Derek Sorenson run)
5:44 – FB – Tucker Bolstad 65-yard interception return (run failed)
2:52 – FB – Isaiah Wright 24-yard run (run failed)
0:05 – MIB – Asher Zubich 2-yard pass to Cooper Salinas (Damian Tapio)

INDIVIDUAL STATS