By John RittenhouseA turnover-filled second half kept the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team from posting a win in Ellsworth Friday.Performing in front of a large homecoming crowd in Ellsworth, the Patriots pleased their fans by scoring a touchdown with their first offensive possession of the game.Lakeview, however, scored the final two touchdowns of the contest to secure a 14-6 victory over H-BC-E.Although the Lakers deserve some credit for turning in a strong effort, the Patriots ended up being their own worst enemies on the field.H-BC-E turned the ball over five times in the second half (four interceptions and one fumble), erasing any chance of a late-game comeback."This was one game we let slip away," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We had the ball inside their 15-yard line five different times, and we didn’t score once. We had five turnovers, and they all came in the second half."The Patriots beat Lakeview 32-12 in Cottonwood to open the 2004 season, and they got off to a good start by taking a 6-0 lead 2:24 into Friday’s game.The Lakers, however, were able to blank H-BC-E over the final 45:36 and pull out an eight-point victory by scoring second- and fourth-quarter touchdowns.H-BC-E caught a big break early in the game when Lakeview fumbled on the second play from scrimmage.Patriot defender Greg Van Batavia recovered the loose ball on the H-BC-E 36, setting up a four-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Cody Rozeboom scoring on a 29-yard run at the 9:36 mark of the first quarter. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Patriots with a 6-0 advantage.H-BC-E never mounted a serious scoring-threat the rest of the first half, but Lakeview did.The Lakers third offensive possession of the game turned into an extended drive deep into H-BC-E territory. Lakeview faced a fourth-and-five situation on the 10 when it lost the ball on downs when a running play yielded one yard.H-BC-E dodged another bullet when a fourth-and-goal pass by Lakeview fell incomplete at the 11:33 mark of the second quarter, but the Patriots had to punt four plays later, giving the Lakers the ball on H-BC-E’s 49-yard line.The Lakers moved the ball to the H-BC-E six before being faced with a fourth-and-goal situation. Lakeview quarterback Cody Fruin came up with a key play when he eluded H-BC-E’s pass-rush and fired a six-yard touchdown strike to Eric Dingwall in the back of the end zone. Tyler Isaackson then carried in the two-point conversion to give the Lakers an 8-6 edge with 1:10 left in the first half.Lakeview added some insurance points when Fruin threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Adam Blake with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.H-BC-E, on the other hand, had plenty of opportunities to score in the second half. The Patriots simply didn’t get the job done."We had the ball inside their 15-yard line three times in the third quarter, and we didn’t score," Ellingson said. "We threw an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter. We had tons of scoring chances. We just didn’t capitalize on them."Ellingson expects the Patriots to face another stiff challenge when they host 5-1 Edgerton in Hills Friday. The Flying Dutchmen beat H-BC-E 42-8 in Edgerton Sept. 17, and they have not lost a game since then."Edgerton is a team that is playing very well right now," Ellingson offered.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 173 rushing yards, 37 passing yards, 210 total yards, 10 first downs, five penalties for 40 yards, five turnovers.Lakeview: 215 rushing yards, 58 passing yards, 273 total yards, nine first downs, four penalties for 20 yards, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Tom LeBoutillier 10-57, Kerry Fink 12-55, Rozeboom 3-35, Jon Klaassen 3-3, Cody Schilling 4-23.Passing: Schilling 4-10 for 37 yards.Receiving: Van Batavia 2-20, Rozeboom 1-19, LeBoutillier 1-minus 2.Defense: Cody Scholten 15 tackles and one interception, Rozeboom six tackles and one interception, Van Batavia five tackles and one fumble recovery, Brian Gacke five tackles and one sack, Jason Martens six tackles and one sack, Chris Nuffer nine tackles, LeBoutiller nine tackles.
