HALTED HILLMAN — North Union defensive lineman Colin Rasch (77) drags down St. Ansgar wide receiver Hunter Hillman (42) as Warriors’ defensive back Grady Madden (12) assists on the tackle during Iowa high school football action Friday night in Armstrong. (Photo by Greg Abel)

ARMSTRONG — The St. Ansgar Saints football team scored through the air, on the ground and on special teams to upend the North Union Warriors 42-7 on Friday night in Armstrong.

The fourth quarter was played with a running clock due to the 35-point differential on the scoreboard.

“We knew they would be physical and we would have to play to that level of physicality,” North Union head coach Matt Ernster said. “St. Ansgar has a great tradition. They’re good and they played a strong game tonight. We gave up a touchdown on the ground, through the air and on special teams. St. Ansgar scored those two quick touchdowns in the third quarter and we never recovered from those.

“We have to learn from our mistakes, clean up our game on both sides of the ball, and get ready for our next opponent.”

The Saints scored at the 7:42 mark of the first quarter when running back Christian Michels ran in from 16 yards out. Connor King kicked the extra point.

St. Ansgar quarterback Jayce Schwiesow threw a 10-yard touchdown on a fade pass to 6-foot-6 wide receiver Hunter Hillman for the Saints’ second touchdown that came at the 9:21 mark of the second stanza. King missed the extra point.

The Saints put a third first-half touchdown on the board with only 30 seconds left in the second quarter. Schwiesow once again connected with Hillman for a 6-yard TD pass that stretched the Saints’ lead to 19-0.

Schwiesow completed the two-point conversion pass to Joe Clevenger to give St. Ansgar a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Saints’ Korben Michels returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and King kicked the extra point to make it a 28- 0 game with 11:47 left in the third quarter.

The Warriors were able to respond to the quick TD by using eight plays to score their lone touchdown. Quarterback Grady Madden threw a 10-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Preston Guerdet at the 7:38 mark of the third quarter. Brennan Bollinger kicked the extra point to draw the Warriors within 21 points.

Once again St. Ansgar scored quickly. This time, running back Regan Witt ran up the gut and scored on a 60-yard run at the 9:22 mark of the third quarter. Colton Wynia converted the extra point to give the Saints a 35-7 lead.

Schwiesow ended the scoring with a 2-yard TD run with 48 seconds left in the third quarter and Wynia made his second PAT to make it 42-7.

For St. Ansgar, Schwiesow completed 7 of 11 passes for 100 yards with two touchdowns and ran for one score, while Hillman was the recipient of all 100 yards and caught both TD passes.

On the ground for the Saints, Witt gained a game-high 94 yards with the one touchdown and Christian Michels ran for 32 yards with one touchdown.

For North Union, Madden completed 9 of 12 passes for 71 yards and one touchdown. Kaden Laabs caught three passes for 40 yards and gained 30 yards on the ground on six carries. Landon Hagedorn rushed 12 times for 30 yards for the Warriors.

Defensively for the Warriors, Hagedorn finished with 11 tackles, while Laabs had nine tackles ande Talan Priester had six tackles.

Next for the Saints (2-0) is a home game next Friday against West Hancock, while the Warriors (1-1) play their first road game next Friday against Belmond-Klemme in Belmond, Iowa.

SA 7 14 21 0–42

NU 0 0 7 0– 7

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

SA–Christian Michels 16 yard run (Connor King kick), 7:42.

2nd Quarter

SA–Jayce Schwiesow 10 yard pass to Hunter Hillman (kick failed), 9:21.

SA–Schwiesow 6 yard pass to Hilllman (Schwiesow 2 point pass to Joe Clevenger), 30.3.

3rd Quarter

SA–Korben Michels 90 yard kickoff return (King kick), 11:47.

NU–Grady Madden 10 yard pass to Preston Guerdet (Brennan Bollinger kick), 7:38.

SA–Regan Witt 60 yard run (Colton Wynia kick), 9:22.

SA–Schwiesow 2 yard run (Wynia kick), 0:48.

4th Quarter

No scoring

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Pipestone Area 21, Blue Earth Area 18 — Bucs’ running back Caleb Langager erupted for a game-best 186 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, but the hometown Arrows survived the season-opening clash by converting two extra-point attempts on Friday night in Pipestone.

Trailing 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter, Langager broke free for a 44-yard scoring sprint to draw Blue Earth Area within nine points with 11:18 remaining in regulation.

Langager then displayed his good balance by finding the end zone on a 24-yard tackle-eluding run with 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Arrows’ defense held the Bucs out of the end zone down the stretch to garner the three-point victory.

Langager also scored on a 4-yard run with 7:02 remaining in the third quarter to whittle BEA’s deficit to 7-6.

Hayden Brooke generated the lone touchdown of the opening half by hitting paydirt on a 3-yard run before Oliver Ville kicked the extra point.

Clinging to a one-point lead later in the third, quarterback Landon Quist punched the football across the goal line on a 4-yard run to rebuild a seven-point lead at 13-6 with 3:06 to go.

Rysley Borman’s interception only seconds later put Pipestone back in business at the BEA 43-yard line. Austin Musch then took a pitch from Quist and fired a scoring spiral to Cayden Zephier for a 19-6 edge with 2:03 left in the third. Quist then zipped a 2-point conversion to Borman for a 21-6 advantage.

Blue Earth Area (0-1) plays host to Triton next Friday at Wilson Field in Blue Earth, while Pipestone Area (1-0) travels to Le Sueur-Henderson for a Week 2 contest.

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Canby 21, Martin County West 0 — Halfback Dylan Houseman rushed for a pair of touchdowns to help the Lancers post a season-opening shutout over the Mavericks on Friday night in Canby.

Houseman crossed the goal line from 1 yard out with 6:08 remaining in the opening quarter before Canby went to the airwaves. Nick Wagner tossed a 46-yard pass to Evan Engesmoe to double the lead to 14-0 with 6:08 left before halftime.

Houseman capped the Lancers’ offensive production by reaching the end zone on a 5-yard run with 4:22 to go in the fourth quarter.

Rylan Cutler topped the Mavericks’ defensive effort by recording a dozen tackles, Riley Allen contributed eight stops to the cause, while teammate Barret Scholl chipped in five tackles and a quarterback sack.

Maddex Faber and Lucas Larson each pocketed an interception for MCW.

Cutler gained 22 yards on 12 carries on offense and made three catches for 15 yards. Larson completed 11 of 23 passes for 74 yards to complement gaining 25 yards on six totes. Jacob Wilmes added four receptions for 24 yards.

Martin County West (0-1) plays host to Adrian Area next Friday night in Sherburn. Canby (1-0) hits the road to Lakeview next Friday night.

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Edgerton 36, Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman 20 — Chase Bootsma and Jared Fischer packed a powerful 1-2 punch on the ground to rush the Flying Dutchmen to a 16-point triumph over the Jaguars on Thursday night in Truman.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Bootsma topped all rushers by generating 131 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries to complement scoring a pair of 2-point conversion runs.

Fischer also cleared the century mark on the ground by pounding out 109 yards, one TD and one 2-point conversion on 22 totes for Edgerton.

Trailing 36-6, the Jaguars rallied for 14 fourth-quarter points to inch within striking distance of the Flying Dutchmen.

Ashton Spear triggered Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman’s late comeback bid by returning a kickoff 78 yards for a TD before quarterback Jackson Madsen zipped a 2-point conversion pass to Carter Brudelie to whittle the gap to 36-14.

Carter Langford then capped the Jaguars’ point production by catching a 4-yard pass from Madsen in the end zone.

Madsen completed 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards and two TDs, while running back Hunter Grathwohl topped the ground game by generating 106 yards on eight carries for the Jaguars.

Braeden Shell, who caught a 29-yard scoring strike from Madsen during the second quarter, made four receptions for 46 yards, while Brudelie supplied four catches for 35 yards.

Madsen garnered 10 tackles to top the Jaguars’ defensive charts, Spear supplied 9.5 stops, while Grathwohl chipped in eight tackles.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman (1-1) has a bye during Week 3 before playing host to Nicollet on Friday, Sept. 15, in Truman.