Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth junior Chris Nuffer braces for contact after catching a pass during Saturday’s home football game against Southwest United. Nuffer grabbed two passes for 20 yards during a 12-0 win over the Wildcats.By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team won its home opener during a rare Saturday night game in Hills.The Patriots entertained Southwest United in a non-conference game for both teams.With a shutout performance by the defense, H-BC-E ran its season record to 2-0 with a 12-0 victory."We were really pleased with the way things turned out," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We knew they had a couple of quick backs, but we didn’t know how things would turn out because we didn’t know what type of a line SU had. It turned out all right for us because our defense really played well."All things considered, the defense is what kept the Patriots undefeated for the season.SU did pick up 13 first downs in the game, but the H-BC-E defense limited the visitors to 12 passing yards and 100 total yards in the contest.The Patriots did a better job on offense than the Wildcats (271 total yards and 18 first downs) did, but it didn’t start out that way as both of H-BC-E’s opening possessions ended with turnovers.The third time H-BC-E had the ball proved to be a charm.Senior quarterback Curt Schilling, who completed 11 of 22 passes for 121 yards in the game, hooked up with Travis Broesder for a 27-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. When the kick for an extra point sailed left of the mark, H-BC-E sported a 6-0 lead.A key play by an H-BC-E special team set up the game’s final touchdown in second quarter.SU was trying to punt when Patriot Tom LeBoutiller broke through the line of scrimmage and blocked the kick, giving H-BC-E the ball on the Wildcat seven-yard line.Schilling scored on a one-yard plunge on the second play of the possession. A run for the two-point conversion came up short, leaving the Patriots sporting a 12-0 lead.With the H-BC-E defense able to blank SU for the remainder of the game, 12 points proved to be enough to send the Patriot fans home happy."I was really happy with the way our defense played," Ellingson offered. "Offensively, we played well when we had to. I was glad to see our passing game get going. We completed half of the passes we attempted, and we had a couple of key completions."Ellingson is looking for more offensive improvement when the Patriots travel to Westbrook to take on 0-2 Westbrook-Walnut Grove Friday. Lakeview hammered the Chargers 41-0 in Westbrook Friday.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 159 rushing yards, 121 passing yards, 271 total yards, 18 first downs, 11 penalties for 85 yards, two turnovers.SU: 88 rushing yards, 12 passing yards, 100 total yards, 13 first downs, three penalties for 30 yards, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: LeBoutiller 16-104, Schilling 12-20, Zach Wysong 5-11, Broesder 3-12, Lee Jackson 1-3.Passing: Schilling 11-22 for 121 yards.Receiving: Wysong 4-49, Broesder 4-49, Chris Nuffer 2-20, Greg Van Batavia 1-3.Defense: Schilling 14 tackles, Cody Scholten nine tackles, Brian Gacke eight tackles, Van Batavia four tackles and one fumble recovery, Drew Spykerboer two tackles and one sack, Jon Klaassen two sacks.
