Fertile-Beltrami Football falls to Hills-Beaver Creek in State Semifinals

The Fertile-Beltrami Falcons couldn’t contain the Hill-Beaver Creek Patriots offense, and fell by a score of 30-14 at U.S. Bank Stadium in the state semi-finals played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

1st Quarter–
Hills-Beaver Creek started the game with the ball. The first two plays were runs for a total of five yards. After a six-yard run by Jamin Metzger for a first down. The fourth play of the drive was a big one for the Patriots as Jamin Metzger dumped a screen pass to Brodie Metzger, and he found a seam along the sideline and sprinted down the field for a 45-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good, and the Patriots led 8-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Fertile-Beltrami ran six plays before they had to punt on their first offensive series. HBC ran seven plays before they were forced to punt and the Falcons got the ball back. The first play of the drive was a handoff to Creed Tollefson, who had a huge hole off the right side of the line and made a nice cut after getting through the line for an 85-yard run. The two-point conversion failed, and the Falcons trailed 8-6 with 3:24 left in the quarter.
HBC gained 20 yards on three plays. The next three plays covered 23 more yards. The quarter ended with HBC moving the ball down to the Fertile-Beltrami 17-yard line.

2nd Quarter –
HBC’s first two plays covered 13 yards down to the Fertile-Beltrami’s four-yard line. The Patriots handed the ball to Brodie Metzger, who fumbled the ball at the one-yard line, and HBC’s Hunter Leenderts recovered the ball for a touchdown. After a two-point conversion, HBC led 16-6 with 10:59 left in the first half.
Fertile-Beltrami’s first offensive of the quarter started with a Caleb Sather four-yard run before Gavin Aakhus found Bryer Strem for an 11-yard completion and a first down. Two plays later, Hills-Beaver Creek was called for a facemask penalty, which gave the Falcons a first down. Two plays later, the Patriots were called for another penalty, and Fertile-Beltrami had another first down to the six-yard line. Creed Tollefson took the handoff on the next play and ran over three Patriot defenders to score a six-yard touchdown, and after the two-point conversion, the Falcons trailed 16-14 with 8:50 left in the half. 
Fertile-Beltrami started to move the ball down the field before HBC intercepted a pass to get the ball back.

3rd Quarter –
The Falcons got the ball to start the second half, but after a 1-yard rush, a Gavin Aakhus pass was deflected and intercepted by Hunter Leenderts, the same lineman who recovered the football in the endzone for the touchdown, and the Patriots got the ball right back. The Falcon defense was able to step up, and force a turnover on downs, but were unable to take advantage of the defense, backing up 10 yards before punting after a three-and-out. Hills-Beaver Creek began to drive the ball down the field, but after getting into the red zone, an errant throw by Jamin Metzger was intercepted by Bryer Strem, giving the Falcons some new life. They got the ball on their own 25-yard line, and began to orchestrate a very methodical drive, churning yards on rushes and short passes. Once the Falcons crossed midfield, the clock expired on the end of the 3rd quarter.

4th Quarter –
As the 4th quarter got underway, the Falcons continued to drive down the field, wearing down the Patriot defense. The Falcons were able to move the ball all the way to the 13-yard line, but after a blown-up run play, the Falcons were forced into a 4th and 13, and Gavin Aakhus’ pass was intercepted for the fourth time off of a deflection, giving the ball back to the Patriots. The Falcon defense, as they had been doing consistently throughout the second half, stymied the Patriot offense, forcing a three-and-out and yet another punt. Once the Falcons got the ball back, they were able to cross midfield. However, after that, a Gavin Aakhus deep ball was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by the defensive lineman Wyett Shimp, and the Patriots got the ball back with 5:32 remaining in the quarter. The Patriots were able to churn the rest of the clock, running the ball and getting first downs until they were able to kneel the rest of the clock out, and the Patriots were able to hold on to a 30-14 victory, ending the Falcons’ season.

Fertile-Beltrami ends another fantastic season with an 8-4 record and say goodbye to the following seniors: Bryer Strem, Gavin Aakhus, Preston Hanson, Briley Raaen, Erik Stromstad, Creed Tollefson, Drew Gullickson, Brady Bjerk, Steven Sather, Caleb Sather, Julian Ystenes, Teegyn Johnson, Gage Henrickson, Langdon Sip, and Gavin Lang.
Hills-Beaver Creek improves to 12-0 and will play in the state championship on Saturday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m.

SCORING-
1st Quarter –
9:47 – HBC – Jamin Metzger 45 yard pass to Brodie Metzger (Micah Bush pass to Carson Metzger)
3:24 – FB – Creed Tollefson 85-yard run (pass failed)

2nd Quarter –
10:59 – HBC – Hunter Leenderts fumble recovery (Jamin Metzger pass to Karson Metzger)
8:50 – FB – Creed Tollefson 6-yard run (Gavin Aakhus pass to Preston Hanson)
7:54 – HBC – Eduardo Wegener 69-yard run (Micah Bush run)

3rd Quarter –
No scoring

4th Quarter –
No scoring

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Bryer Strem

Gage Henrickson

Preston Hanson

Creed Tollefson TD

Erik Stromstad

Creed Tollefson

A Falcon gang tackle

Gavin Aakhus

Bryer Strem

Gage Henrickson

Preston Hanson

Creed Tollefson TD

Erik Stromstad

Creed Tollefson

A Falcon gang tackle

Gavin Aakhus

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