Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth junior Zach Wysong is unable to haul in a potential two-point conversion pass during a 22-8 victory over Edgerton in Hills Wednesday, Oct. 15. Wysong ran for 105 yards and scored two touchdowns to help the Patriots snap a three-game losing streak. By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team snapped a three-game losing skid by upending Edgerton 22-8 in Hills Wednesday, Oct. 15.H-BC-E was hoping to pick up some momentum heading into the playoffs and did so by scoring 22 unanswered points to defeat the Flying Dutchmen in the regular-season finale.The win upped H-BC-E’s record to 5-3 entering Tuesday’s Section 2 Nine-Man Playoff game against Westbrook-Walnut Grove. Look for the game story on the front page of the sports section.The fact that the Patriots played their best game of the second half of the regular season against Edgerton wasn’t overlooked by H-BC-E coach Dan Ellingson.Although Edgerton took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, the Patriots kept their focus while battling back to win their first game since Sept. 19."We really came out ready to play in this game," Ellingson said. "Even though Edgerton scored first, the guys did a great job of responding to their first touchdown. I was really happy with the way we played."The game didn’t start in a positive way for the hosts.H-BC-E received the opening kick and fumbled the ball five plays into the contest.Edgerton’s Travis Hulstein recovered the loose ball on the Flying Dutchmen 46-yard line, setting up an eight-play, 54-yard drive that ended with Brett Elgersma scoring on an 11-yard run at the 7:02 mark of the first quarter. When Elgersma carried in the two-point conversion, Edgerton sported an 8-0 advantage.The Flying Dutchmen threatened to increase their lead the second time they controlled the ball, but the H-BC-E defense stopped Edgerton on downs on the H-BC-E 22.H-BC-E moved the ball inside Edgerton territory with its next possession before pinning the Flying Dutchmen inside their own 20 with a punt.Edgerton had to punt three plays later, and a nice return by the Patriots gave them the ball on the Flying Dutchmen 30-yard line midway through the second quarter.Four plays later H-BC-E quarterback Travis Broesder tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tom LeBoutillier. When Broesder carried in the two-point conversion, the game was tied at eight with 4:19 remaining in the first half.Neither team could produce any points during the final four minutes of the second quarter, but the Patriots did move the ball to Edgerton’s 30-yard line before time ran out.H-BC-E’s defense forced Edgerton to punt four plays into the third quarter, and the Patriot offense took over on its own 46. H-BC-E advanced the ball 54 yards in eight plays with running back Zach Wysong finding the end zone at the end of a five-yard run at the 6:50 mark of the third quarter. A pass for a two-point conversion failed, but the Patriots had their first lead at 14-8.A roughing the kicker penalty on the Patriots kept Edgerton’s next possession alive, and the Flying Dutchmen proceeded to advance the ball deep into H-BC-E territory before losing the possession on downs with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter.The H-BC-E offense took over with the ball on the Patriot five-yard line, and put together a 14-play drive that chewed 7:28 off the clock.The march ended with Wysong scoring on a one-yard run with 4:55 left to play in the game, and Broesder carried in the two-point conversion to make the difference 22-8."That 95-yard drive in the second half was big," Ellingson said. "We ended up running nearly 7:30 off the clock, and we had to overcome some penalties to keep the drive alive. Edgerton ended up having two offensive plays in the fourth quarter. I was really happy with the way we finished the game."Edgerton’s first offensive play of the final period wasn’t very successful as Wysong picked off a pass and returned the ball to the Edgerton 22 with 4:39 remaining.The Patriots lost the ball on downs with 13 seconds remaining, giving the Edgerton offense an opportunity to run one play before time expired.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 285 rushing yards, 87 passing yards, 372 total yards, 15 first downs, 12 penalties for 80 yards, one turnover.Edgerton: 91 rushing yards, 126 passing yards, 217 total yards, 12 first downs, eight penalties for 60 yards, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: LeBoutillier 13-94, Wysong 21-105, Broesder 13-51, Blake Hanisch 2-35.Passing: Broesder 5-12 for 87 yards.Receiving: LeBoutillier 3-28, Greg Van Batavia 1-34, Wysong 1-25.Defense: Wysong six tackles and one interception, LeBoutillier six tackles and one sack, Cody Scholten nine tackles, Brian Gacke six tackles.
