PREP FOOTBALL: Pats clip Flying Dutchmen's wings

HILLS — It might not be on the level of David defeating Goliath, but the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots’ 34-28 victory over the Edgerton/Ellsworth Flying Dutchmen, the No. 1 9-man team in the state, might be a close second.

The loss ended a 15-game winning streak for the Dutchmen and gave the Patriots revenge for the two losses they suffered at the hands of E/E last season.

“Ever since I’ve been playing we haven’t beat Edgerton,” Patriots running back Dalton Bass (35 carries for 158 yards) said. “It’s a feeling of relief. They are a great team. We played hard all 48 minutes and that is what we stress in practice.”

H-BC took the lead early in the first quarter on a four-yard TD run by running back Dalton Bass (2-point conversion good).

But E/E fought right back, picking up a TD of their own, just over a minute later, on a one-yard run by running back Blake Jouwstra (six carries for 38 yards). The Dutchmen got the 2-point converstion to tie the game at eight.

With 2:21 left in the first quarter, H-BC took the lead again on a 23-yard TD pass from QB Dylan Gehrke to Bass (2-point conversion failed).

“Hills is a good team; there is no shame in this loss,” Dutchmen coach Andrew Fleischman said. “The credit goes to Hills. Our kids battled, they made plays when they had to. We got beat by a team that was better than us tonight.”

E/E took the ball back and charged down the field, but quarterback Isaac Heard (11-for-17 for 81 yards) fumbled the ball and H-BC recovered just three seconds into the second quarter. The Patriots used the fumble to their advantage, converting the turnover into six points on a three-yard TD run by Bass.

“They like to spread it out up front so we knew coming in we could hit it up the middle,” Bass said.

The Dutchmen pulled within six points after a 48-yard TD run by receiver Devin Hulstein (2-point conversion failed). The Patriots, however, extended their lead once again on a seven-yard TD pass from Gehrke to Jeff Sandbulte with 7.2 seconds left in the half (2-point conversion failed).

“Intensity right off from the get-go is what got us the win,” Gehrke (16-for-21, 198 yards, one interception) said. “We started sticking them that is what we did. We played as a team. That is how we roll. That is Patriot football.”

At the half, the Patriots had out gained the Dutchmen 351 yards to 173.

“We are going to have to evaluate the film and there are some things we will have to do a better job with,” Fleischman said. “There were some things that they exploited us on. We are going to come back, get better and we aer going to be motivated.”

The Dutchmen got the only points in the third quarter, with both teams stepping up on defense to make stops. Hulstein scored a one-yard TD with 2:52 remaining in the third to bring E/E back within six points after a failed 2-point conversion. The TD made it 26-20 in favor of H-BC.

The Patriots took another double-digit lead off of a 10-yard TD run by Bass, his third of the night, with 7:23 left in the game (2-point conversion good).

“I’m proud of our guys,” Patriots coach Rex Metzger said. “We talked about coming out and being physical right from the get-go. And I thought our guys played well in all three phases of the game.”

E/E kept it close with a 25-yard TD pass from Heard to Hulstein at 5:49. With a good 2-point conversion, the Dutchmen pulled within one score of overtaking the lead.

“That is a tough situation to be in when we have to pass and they knew we had to pass the ball,” Fleischman said. “Give them credit, they did a good job of putting heat on Isaac and they made plays when they had to.”

The Dutchmen were able to get a stop the Patriots cold on their next drive and get the ball back with just enough time to claim victory. But a fumble by Heard recoverd by Jeff Nelson (seven tackles, two fumble recoveries) with 1:13 left in the game all but sealed the win for the Patriots.

“Ever since Coach Metzger has been coach we have taken pride in our turnovers,” Bass said. “We try for three turnovers a game. We’ve done that and we’ve lead the conference in turnovers the last few years.”

H-BC took a knee to run out the clock, taking the 34-28 victory and remaining perfect on the season.

“We were able to get a little pressure on them and just try to help the quarterback make a mistake,” Metzger said. “We weren’t just going to sit back on our heels; we were just hoping to put a little pressure on them.”

H-BC (2-0, 1-0) travels to Mountain Lake to take on the Wolverines Friday at 7 p.m., while E/E takes to the road for a second week, traveling to Renville to take on the Jaguars.

E/E 8 6 6 8 — 28

H-BC 14 12 0 8 — 34

Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi

may be reached at 376-7335.

Tags: hills beaver creek, sports, prep, football, edgerton, ellsworth