BLUE EARTH — Blue Earth Area flanker Caelan Sanders celebrated his 18th birthday by scoring a pair of touchdowns Tuesday night, while teammate Max Ehrich returned to full-time duty at Wilson Field for the first time since the Bucs’ season-opener on Aug. 29.

Sanders and running back Koby Nagel produced two TDs apiece, Ehrich contributed one score and No. 1-seeded Blue Earth Area’s first-team defense held No. 8-seeded Norwood Young America to 72 yards en route to a 34-8 Section 2AA quarterfinal football clash in Blue Earth.

Class AA No. 8-ranked Blue Earth Area (7-2) advances to play host to No. 4-seeded Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (5-4) in a 7 p.m. sectional semifinal Saturday night back at Wilson Field. The Bulldogs collared No. 5-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, 8-0, during their Tuesday night quarterfinal.

“I thought we came out a little tight tonight,” said Bucs head coach Randy Kuechenmeister, whose lineup uncharacteristically committed turnovers to slam the brakes on both its opening and third possession of the first-round playoff game. “Maybe a little stress from tonight’s game being a 1 versus 8. Who knows?”

Despite driving to the Raiders’ 30 before NYA’s Jett Ruud scooped up a Bucs’ fumble to stymie BEA’s initial offensive series, quarterback Gavin Storbeck and Nagel marched the No. 1 seed to paydirt during the ensuing possession.

Nagel reeled off 18 of his game-best 75 rushing yards on consecutive wildcat runs before Storbeck zipped spirals to Cameron Anderson and Nagel to cover 17 and four yards, respectively, to inch inside NYA’s red zone at the 16.

Sanders took the direct snap and followed Ehrich’s path-clearing block to the 5 before Nagel capped the march downfield with a 1-yard TD run. The Raiders’ Caleb Butler blocked the PAT kick to keep the game at 6-0 with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.

BEA linebacker Zac Murphy and defensive end Adam Griffin then held NYA to a three-and-out series on the heels of Raider safety Austin Smith’s interception of Storbeck during the prior series.

Storbeck drilled a seam pass to Anderson, and the nimble junior wideout weaved around four Raider defenders to reach the NYA 23 via a 29-yard connection. Nagel proved the workhorse by covering the remaining real estate on five consecutive wildcat runs, capped by another 1-yard gallop across the goal line for a 12-0 lead with 6:01 to go before intermission.

Sanders later injected adrenaline into the Bucs by delivering a special-teams gem.

“Caelan just makes plays. He’s been doing that for us for the last four seasons,” said Kuechenmeister.

Sanders fielded NYA’s punt near the BEA sideline, cut right, read the Bucs’ blocking scheme, followed the wedge and accelerated down the Raiders’ sideline for a 32-yard scoring return with 1:35 left before halftime. Nagel burst through the middle for the 2-point conversion for a 20-0 lead at the break.

Ehrich, who piled up 48 yards on just six totes, broke three tackles on an 18-yard bulldozing run to help trigger the Bucs’ initial offensive drive of the third quarter.

Storbeck completed a 19-yard out pass to Austin Thielfoldt to set up Sanders’ 20-yard end-around TD sprint before Kean Hicks kicked the PAT for a 27-0 margin with 5:38 left in the third.

Sanders’ following 20-yard punt return to the NYA 30-yard line led to BEA’s final point production of the postseason contest. Thielfoldt covered 24 yards on three consecutive spinning carries before Ehrich blasted over the right side from 6 yards out for the TD. Hicks’ kick made it 34-0 with 2:39 showing in the third.

“Max got cleared to play last Wednesday, and we got him two carries to see how he’d react,” Kuechenmeister said in reference to Ehrich, who missed all but the first game of the regular season due to a back injury. “He’s been diligently practicing with us all season, and definitely gives us more flexibility with our offensive options.

“It’s not only great for our team to have him back, but it’s great for a kid like him who hung in there and fought his way back.”

NYA’s first-team offense then assembled a 55-yard scoring march against BEA’s defensive reserves, with Sam Pauly catching a 5-yard TD pass from Noah Strickfaden as time elapsed. Strickfaden then completed a 2-point conversion pass to Manning Harms.

NYA ended its season with a 1-8 record.

NYA 0 0 0 8 — 8

BEA 6 14 14 0 — 34

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

BEA–Koby Nagel 1 run (kick failed), 1:46.

2nd Quarter

BEA–Nagel 1 run (pass failed), 6:01.

BEA–Caelan Sanders 32 punt return (Nagel run), 1:35.

3rd Quarter

BEA–Sanders 20 run (Kean Hicks kick), 5:38.

BEA–Max Ehrich 6 run (Hicks kick), 2:39.

4th Quarter

NYA–Sam Pauly 5 pass from Noah Strickfaden (Manning Harms pass from Strickfaden), 0:00.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: BEA 15; NYA 6. Rushing: BEA 43-239; NYA 28-55. Passing: BEA 5-7-1-88; NYA 5-23-1-73. Fumbles-lost: BEA 4-1; NYA 2-0. Penalties: BEA 5-50; NYA 3-34.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Nagel (BEA) 17-75, Ehrich (BEA) 6-48, Sanders (BEA) 5-46; Wyatt Tordsen (NYA) 9-31. Passing: Gavin Storbeck (BEA) 5-7-1-88; Strickfaden (NYA) 4-22-1-39, Will Hoernemann (NYA) 1-1-0-34. Receiving: Cameron Anderson (BEA) 2-46, Sanders (BEA) 1-19, Austin Thielfoldt (BEA) 1-19.

Defense: Interceptions: Austin Smith (NYA) and Zac Murphy (BEA). Fumble recovery: Jett Ruud (NYA).