FAIRMONT – After starting the season 1-3, the Blue Earth Area Bucs football team won its final four games to end the regular season with a 5-3 record, including a 26-20 win at Pipestone Area on Wednesday.

Senior quarterback Logan Jahnke completed 13 of 18 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns to go with 59 yards on 15 carries in the Bucs’ comeback victory.

“It was a good win for us,” Bucs head coach Randy Kuechenmeister said. “We played well defensively in the second half, and I was happy we kept them (Pipestone Area) off the scoreboard.”

Fairmont, Redwood Valley and Jackson County Central – all in the top 10 of their respective classes – served the Bucs with their only losses on the season. The team has since rebounded and gone undefeated during the second half of the regular season.

“At the beginning of the season, we knew we had to improve, and we still need to make improvements. We’re always a work in progress,” Kuechenmeister said. “We’re trying to find the identity of our team, and we’ll find that out going into the playoffs.”

The Bucs received the No. 4 seed and are set to play host to the No. 5-seeded Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Knights in the Section 2AA quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.

The Knights finished the regular season with a 21-7 win over the LeSueur-Henderson Giants on Wednesday night in Lake Crystal for a 3-5 overall record.

“I don’t know a lot about them other than their weekly scores and schedule,” Kuechenmeister said. “I know they have good skilled kids and have a decent running game.”

This was especially true Wednesday night when fullback Garret Anderson-Gilman scored two of the Knights’ three touchdowns on runs of 5 and 3 yards, respectively.

“It’s either execute and play well or go home,” Kuechenmeister said.

The Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman Jaguars also are looking to continue executing into the postseason on the heels of a 50-42 win over the Madelia Blackhawks during Week 8 football action on Wednesday night.

“We found out what we were about last night,” Jaguars head coach Ben Senf said on Thursday. “Hopefully, there will be no hangover from (the game) and we’ll keep pushing forward.

“We’re trying to build a program here and last night was a good start to what we’re trying to do.”

Junior halfback Derek Shoen led the Jaguars with 570 rushing yards, setting a state and national 9-Man record. With the victory, the Jaguars finished the regular season with a 2-6 record.

The win also saved the Jaguars from being eliminated from playoff contention and secured them a No. 7 seed in the Section 3, 9-Man playoff bracket.

The Jaguars travel to the No. 2-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots for a 7 p.m. quarterfinals playoff game Tuesday night in Hills.

The two teams last played one another during Week 5 when the Patriots won, 54-13.

“We didn’t play good football that game. It left a bad taste in our mouths,” Senf said.

Looking ahead to Tuesday night, Senf said the Jaguars are hoping to ride the momentum of winning two of their last three games into the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have won their last two games, including a 61-14 win against Fulda during Week 8, for a 6-2 regular season record.

“Our goal is to win a playoff game,” Senf added. “We expect a lot of good things to come from the game, and we’re expecting nothing short of a dog fight.”

The winner of the contest will face off against the winner between No. 3-seeded Mountain Lake Area and No. 6-seeded Westbrook-Walnut Grove at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, with the higher seed hosting.

Edgerton/Ellsworth netted the No. 1 seed in the section and will play host to the No. 8-seeded Nicollet Raiders on Tuesday night. No. 4-seeded Fulda is set to host Madelia, the No. 5 seed, in quarterfinal action on Tuesday in Fulda.

Although the Martin County West Mavericks went winless during the regular season, the team did get the No. 7 seed in the Section 3AA playoff bracket.

The Mavericks lost their final regular-season game to Luverne, 36-0, but edged out Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop for the seventh spot.

The Mavericks will play No. 2-seeded the Yellow Medicine East Sting in the section quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Granite Falls.

Like the Mavericks, the Sting lost its final game of the regular season, falling 42-6 to BOLD for a 5-3 record. The winner between the Mavericks and the Sting will take on either No. 3-seeded Lakeview or St. James, the No. 6 seed, on Saturday, Oct. 29.

GFW, the No. 8 seed, travels to Redwood Falls to play No. 1-seeded Redwood Valley, while No. 4-seeded Pipestone Area hosts No. 5-seeded Windom Area during section quarterfinal action.