Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth senior Blake Hanisch and his Patriots remained alive in the Section 2 Nine-Man Football Playoffs by defeating Westbrook-Walnut Grove 15-13 Tuesday in Hills. The Patriots host Cedar Mountain-Comfrey in the semifinals 3 p.m. Saturday in Hills.By John RittenhouseHills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth survived a scare from Westbrook-Walnut Grove to win a quarterfinal-round game of the Section 2 Nine-Man Football Playoffs in Hills Tuesday.The second-seeded Patriots fell behind No. 7 W-WG 6-0 in the first half, but H-BC-E rallied to outscore the Chargers 15-7 the rest of the way to pull out a 15-13 victory.The win ups H-BC-E’s season record to 6-3, and it gives the Patriots a two-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s semifinals.H-BC-E will host No. 6 Cedar Mountain-Comfrey, a 42-28 upset winner over No. 3 Edgerton Tuesday, at 3 p.m. Saturday in Hills.The Patriots didn’t turn in their best performance of the season against W-WG, but they played well enough to get the job done.The H-BC-E defense made a couple of key stops to keep the Chargers from scoring during the course of the game. The Patriot offense produced 271 rushing yards and two touchdowns while helping the team pull out a two-point win.W-WG drew first blood in the game after the teams battled to a draw in a scoreless first quarter.A shuffle-pass from quarterback Brennan Enstad to Dominick Madson turned into a 69-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter.W-WG, however, missed the extra-point attempt to keep the score at 6-0.The Patriots answered the Chargers touchdown by putting together a scoring drive with their next offensive possession.H-BC-E back Zach Wysong, who carried the ball 27 times for 135 yards in the game, tied the score at six with a 20-yard touchdown run late in the first half.Wysong added the extra point to give the Patriots a 7-6 edge.The H-BC-E defense forced the Chargers to punt early in the second half, giving the Patriots the ball for the first time.The H-BC-E offense turned its first possession into a touchdown march that provided what proved to be the decisive points of the game.Patriot quarterback Travis Broesder, who carried the ball nine times for 75 yards in the contest, capped the advance with a 25-yard touchdown jaunt midway though the third quarter.Wysong carried the two-point conversion to give the Patriots a 15-6 cushion.The difference remained at nine points until late in the fourth quarter, when W-WG used a double pass to create a long gain that gave it the ball on the H-BC-E four-yard line.W-WG’s Madson scored on a three-yard run moments later, and the Chargers added the extra point to make it a 15-13 game with less than 2:30 left to play.The Chargers tried to get the ball back with an on-side kick, but H-BC-E’s Chris Nuffer recovered the ball.H-BC-E’s offense was able to run the remaining time off the clock, icing the victory for the Patriots."We won, but it kind of was an ugly game," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "They made some big plays to keep them in the game, and we couldn’t put them away."Team statisticsH-BC-E: 217 rushing yards, zero passing yards, 217 total yards.W-WG: 41 rushing yards, 194 passing yards, 235 total yards.
