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Blue Earth Area football routs St. James, 45-6

BLUE EARTH — The Bucs dominated from the opening kickoff.

Blue Earth Area beat St. James Area 45-6 in a South Central White District football matchup Friday night in Blue Earth.

After forcing a quick turnover on downs on the Saints’ opening drive, Koby Nagel continued his incredible season with his first of four touchdowns.

Through some light snow and hard wind, BEA started with the ball on the Saints’ 31, Nagel carried the ball for 6 yards then broke free on his next run for a 25-yard score.

BEA forced a punt on the ensuing Saints drive and downed the ball at the Saints’ 28.

After Caelan Sanders carried the ball 10 yards on a receiver sweep, Nagel took the ball up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown, then ran in the two-point conversion to put BEA ahead 14-0 with 5:11 left in the opening quarter.

The Bucs wouldn’t be stopped on their following drive.

Gavin Storbeck completed two passes to Cameron Anderson for a combined 23 yards, then after a facemask on SJA, Nagel took a toss sweep to the right for an 8-yard score.

Nagel scored on a fourth consecutive drive when he took a direct snap out of the wildcat formation and ran up the middle for 1 yard to cap a seven-play 55-yard drive.

The Bucs scored one more time in the first half when Austin Thielfoldt took a designed run up the middle, broke to the left sideline and sprinted past the Saints’ defenders for an 80-yard score on the only play of the Bucs’ next drive. Thielfoldt’s touchdown and Kean Hicks’ extra point kick put the Bucs ahead 33-0 with 6:23 left in the first half.

BEA head coach Randy Kuechenmeister said the Bucs were able to execute the game plan and perform well.

“We did what we had to do,” Kuechenmeister said. “We wanted to come in and just take care of business and we did that. We’re happy with the win, now it’s time to move on.”

The Bucs’ backups came in for the final drive of the half and gained 55 yards on four plays, including a Cole Warmka 38-yard run.

Kuechenmeister said in a game where the backups came in early, he was happy to see solid production.

“You want to give them the opportunity to play,” Kuechenmeister said. “You want them to execute and make plays and we were able to score twice in the second half. I’m happy with how they played.”

The Bucs scored again with 9:39 left in the game to go ahead 39-0.

Warmka, Riley Anderson and Ashton Lloyd combined to carry the ball five times for 71 yards, including a 31-yard tote and an 11-yard scoring carry from Lloyd.

The Saints got on the scoreboard with 5:05 left in the matchup when quarterback Logan Carlson hit Derrick Halvorson on a corner route for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The pass ended a seven-play 50-yard drive.

After the wind knocked the ensuing kickoff down and the Saints’ recovered it, the BEA defense forced a turnover on downs with 2 minutes left.

Warmka took a carry up the middle for 6 yards, then Lloyd broke a keeper for 27. Keagan Ihle then broke free through the left side of the line for a 33-yard touchdown to create the final score of 45-6 with 1:08 left.

BEA (5-2, 2-2 district) plays its final regular-season game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Redwood Valley, while St. James Area (0-7) hosts Jackson County Central.

SJA 0 0 0 6 — 6

BEA 20 13 0 12 — 45

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

BEA–Koby Nagel 25 run (kick failed), 9:25.

BEA–Nagel 18 run (Nagel run), 5:11.

BEA–Nagel 8 run (kick failed), 1:49

2nd Quarter

BEA–Nagel 1 run (run failed), 9:00.

BEA–Austin Thielfoldt 80 run (Kean Hicks kick), 6:23.

4th Quarter

BEA–Ashton Lloyd 11 run (run failed), 9:39.

SJA–Derrick Halvorson 12 pass from Logan Carlson (kick failed), 5:05.

BEA–Keagan Ihle 33 run (kick failed), 1:08.

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: St. James Area 5; Blue Earth Area 11. Rushing: SJA 19-25; BEA 38-445. Passing: SJA 10-24-0-54; BEA 4-4-0-34. Fumbles-lost: SJA 1-1; BEA 2-1. Penalties: SJA 9-62; BEA 13-93.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Nagel (BEA) 8-80; Lloyd (BEA) 6-73; Adam Schavey (BEA) 7-84; Austin Thielfoldt (BEA) 1-80. Passing: Logan Carlson (SJA) 10-24-0-54; Gavin Storbeck (BEA) 4-4-0-34. Receiving: Daevon Anderson (SJA) 3-30; Derrick Halvorson (SJA) 3-24.

Martin County West 49, Le Sueur-Henderson 6 –Jaxson Rohman ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and the Mavericks dominated on both sides of the ball to flatten the Giants on Friday night in Le Sueur.

Martin County West tallied 324 yards of total offense, including 262 on the ground, while Le Sueur-Henderson managed just 74 yards, 51 through the air.

The Mavericks also took advantage of Giant miscues, including two interceptions and a errant snap over the head of the LSH punter.

Miles Fitzgerald opened the scoring for Martin County West with a 1-yard run at the 7:37 mark of the first quarter. Quarterback Wyatt Geistfeld ran in the 2-point conversion.

Rohman put up his two scores in the first frame on 2-yard and 1-yard runs, respectively. Alec Weir kicked both extra points.

The relentless Maverick ground game continued in the second quarter when Geistfeld scored on a 3-yard run with 1:45 to play. Weir notched another extra point to make the score 29-0 at halftime.

The Giants fumbled their first snap in the second half, turning the ball over. Geistfeld subsequently threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Raine Stade, with Weir adding the extra point.

At the 7:38 mark of the third quarter, the Geistfeld-to-Stade connection worked again, this time on a 6-yard pass. The missed extra point made the score 42-0.

Finally, at the 3:07 mark of the third quarter, Connor Simmonds wrapped up the scoring for the Mavericks, running it in from 5 yards out. Weir added the point after.

Le Sueur-Henderson managed its only score of the night in the fourth quarter, on a 50-yard punt return by Brandon Stoiley. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.

For the night, Geistfeld was 3 of 7 passing for 62 yards and two touchdowns, both thrown to Stade, who had 23 yards receiving.

Running back Joseph Forsberg generated 71 yards on 11 carries for the Mavericks.

Fitzgerald led the defense with eight tackles, while Nate Simmonds added four, including two quarterback sacks. Connor Simmonds had three tackles and an interception. Geistfeld also intercepted a pass, while teammate Max Olson contributed two sacks.

Martin County West improves to 5-2 on the season. The Mavericks host Maple River at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Sherburn, in what coach Tom Elliott said will be a matchup for the district championship.

Nicollet 46, Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman 14 — The Raiders doubled the Jaguars’ total offensive yards in a 9-Man football rout Wednesday night in Nicollet.

Nicollet recorded 340 yards of total offense to the Jaguars’ 168.

Quarterback Owen Wolter completed 7 of 19 passes for the Jaguars for 77 yards and one touchdown to Peyton Strauser late in the fourth quarter, Wolter ran in the 2-point conversion.

The Jaguars scored with a minute left in the matchup when Cole Ziemer intercepted a Raider pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Wolter also carried the ball 25 times for 89 yards to top the Jaguars’ offensive effort.

Cael Jaskulke led the Jaguar defense with four solo tackles, three for a loss, while teammate Jacob Becker had three solo tackles.

The Jaguars (2-5) close out their regular season playing host to Edgerton/Ellsworth at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Granada.

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