By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team locked up a berth in the Section 2 Nine-Man Playoff championship game by defeating Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 35-32 in Hills Saturday.The Patriots compiled 412 rushing yards and scored five rushing touchdowns in the contest to run their season record to 7-3.The victory allows H-BC-E to host the section title tilt 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Hills.The second-seeded Patriots face No. 5 Southwest United, which nipped No. 1 Nicollet 9-6 with a late field goal in Nicollet Saturday, in the championship game.It was H-BC-E’s ability to move the ball on the ground that lifted it over the Cougars Saturday.Running back Zach Wysong ran the ball for 280 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Travis Broesder added two rushing touchdowns to help the Patriots win their third straight game."We hoped we could run the ball entering the game, but we didn’t think we could be that successful," said H-BC-E coach Dan Ellingson. "Our offensive line (Cody Scholten, Jason Martens and Kenny Bittner) did a great job. We had a lot of rushing yards, but it was because of our offensive line. We were confident in going for first downs during fourth-and-one and fourth-and-two situations because we knew they couldn’t stop us."Although the game was close, H-BC-E seemed to be in control the entire way.The Patriots never trailed in the contest, and they were able to answer every challenge CM-C offered.Both teams turned the ball over four times in the game, and the game started with each team turning the ball over once.H-BC-E’s Kerry Fink ended C-CM’s first possession when he recovered a fumble on the Patriot five-yard line, and it set up a 95-yard, 15-play touchdown march.Wysong capped the advance with a five-yard touchdown run at the 3:54 mark of the opening quarter. Wysong booted the first of five straight extra points after the touchdown to make it a 7-0 game.The H-BC-E defense stopped CM-C on downs on the Patriot 43-yard line late in the first quarter.H-BC-E’s offense took the field and marched 57 yards in seven plays with Broesder scoring on an eight-yard run at the 11:09 mark of the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.The teams proceeded to exchange possessions before the Cougars tied the game at 14 with two touchdowns in a 2:05 span of the second period.After taking over on its own 49 when H-BC-E punted, CM-C mounted a five-play, 51-yard drive that ended with quarterback Andrew Larsen throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Darren Tighe. The run for a two-point conversion failed, leaving the Patriots sporting a 14-6 lead at the 6:10 mark of the second period.Cougar defender Cameron Maurer came up with a big play moments later when he intercepted a pitch from Broesder and ran the ball to the H-BC-E 19.Larsen scored on a two-yard run four plays later, and a Larsen-to-David Krenz conversion pass tied the game at 14 with 4:05 remaining in the first half.H-BC-E was able to regain the lead (21-14) before the first half was complete.Wysong capped a five-play, 56-yard drive with a 37-yard run with 1:07 left in the second period.CM-C ran seven more offensive plays before the first half was complete, but no points came from the possession.The teams produced a combined five turnovers in the first 4:22 of the third quarterThe final turnover of the series was an H-BC-E fumble that was recovered by Comfrey’s Chris Mathiowetz on the Cougar 14-yard line.The CM-C offense then advanced the ball 86 yards in nine plays with Larsen tossing a five-yard touchdown pass to Brent Kopischke at the 4:23 mark of the third quarter. The run for a conversion failed, leaving H-BC-E sporting a 21-20 edge.H-BC-E answered CM-C’s score by producing a touchdown on the third play of its next possession.Wysong raced 56 yards for six points with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter to make it a 28-20 game.CM-C, however, trimmed the difference to two points (28-26) when Larsen fielded the ensuing kick and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown 11 seconds later.The Cougars tried to run for a two-point conversion after the return, but the attempt came up short.The Patriots produced what proved to be the game-winning points with their next offensive possession.H-BC-E moved the ball 65 yards in 12 plays with Broesder capping the drive with a two-yard touchdown run at the 10:00 mark of the fourth quarter to make the difference 35-26.The teams exchanged possessions as the fourth quarter progressed, with CM-C taking over on its own 43 after fielding a punt with 5:07 left to play.From there the Cougars put together an 11-play, 57-yard drive that ended with Larsen throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Krenz with 2:39 remaining to make it a 35-32 game. Again, CM-C’s run for a two-point conversion failed.H-BC-E fielded the ensuing kick on the CM-C 45-yard line, and proceeded to run the remaining time off the clock without turning the ball over.When the game was complete, Ellingson had some nice things to say about the Cougars."CM-C was a good team, and it was a good thing we had the chance to scout them, because some of their offensive formations could have given us problems if we were not prepared for them," Ellingson said. "They have some really good athletes who made some great plays."H-BC-E will get the chance to win the rubber game of a three-game series when it hosts SU Saturday.The Patriots beat SU 12-0 Sept. 6 in Hills, and SU bested H-BC-E 29-6 in Brewster Oct. 10."SU is a quick team with a great running back in Anthony Johnson," Ellingson said. "The key for us will be to not make mistakes. We can’t turn the ball over. Our special teams need to play at a high level, too."Team statisticsH-BC-E: 412 rushing yards, 37 passing yards, 449 total yards, 21 first downs, six penalties for 50 yards, four turnovers.CM-C: 125 rushing yards, 235 passing yards, 360 total yards, 19 first downs, one penalty for five yards, four turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Wysong 37-280, Tom LeBoutillier 18-118, Broesder 5-8, Greg Van Batavia 1-4, Blake Hanisch 1-2.Passing: Broesder 4-7 for 37 yards.Receiving: Wysong 2-26, Hanisch 1-8, Van Batavia 1-3.Defense: Van Batavia 11 tackles, Scholten 11 tackles and one interception, Jon Klaassen eight tackles and one sack, LeBoutillier seven tackles and one sack, Wysong six tackles and one interception, Fink five tackles and two fumble recoveries.
