Friday Night Lights VI: hearts break on Homecoming

Coach Gossen gives instructions to the offense late in the third quarter against Rockford.

I am so incredibly proud of our Jaguars.

Against a very talented Class AAA team who was supposed to beat us something around 45-12, our guys gave everything they had. They truly left it all on the field and gave a huge Homecoming crowd a whale of a game to cheer for. The wind and cold were unbearable at times. We had 25 to 30 mile an hour gusts almost the entire game. Temperatures (not including the wind chill) hovered in the low 40s the whole night.

In a wild Central Minnesota Conference contest riddled with turnovers on both sides, the B-B-E Jaguars football team battled their hearts out in tremendous fashion but came up short in an 18-12 loss to Rockford Area on Homecoming night.

Against the odds, the Jaguars scored first on a touchdown run by Jordan Wosmek and held a 6-0 lead in the second quarter until the Rockets tied it with 7:40 on the clock. The Jaguars regained the lead at 12-6 with about six minutes left in the third quarter. The lead stood until the 9:08 mark in the fourth quarter when Rockford tied it 12-12.

The game-winning touchdown was posted with just 2:13 on the clock and moved the Rockets to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the CMC.

Rockford gained 319 total yards in the game compared to 162 for the Jaguars. Rushing yards showed 211 for Rockford and 162 for B-B-E. The leading rusher for the Jaguars was Tommy Cebulla with 104 yards. The Rockets lost three fumbles, while the Jaguars had no turnovers. Neither team threw an interception.

Tear your heart out. This one hurts!! I've already seen a handful of other Section 4A teams lose, and a win tonight would have given the Jaguars a huge shot at the number-four playoff seed (which translates into a home game). It wasn't meant to be. It's cruel!! After glancing at the Section 4A standings heading into this game, it appears that a win would have not only vaulted the Jaguars firmly into fourth place but would give them a shot at the number-three seed even if they end up 2-6 in the regular season. A-C-GC would have to beat BOLD or Montevideo in order to secure third place under that scenario.

That's all for tonight.

Here's the new Section 4A standings:
1st Minneapolis North (6-0)
2nd Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity (4-2)
3rd A-C-GC (3-3)
4th Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (1-4)
5th B-B-E (1-5)
6th K-M-S (1-5)
7th Mayer Lutheran (0-6)
8th Kimball Area (0-6)

I believe Mayer Lutheran will move ahead of K-M-S when the new QRF calculation is completed on Monday. The Crusaders lost to Watertown-Mayer, a Class 3A school, while the Fighting Saints lost to Class 1A Browerville tonight. BL-H-S will get beaten by undefeated New Ulm tomorrow in their sixth game of the season. I honestly don't know if we'll briefly move into fourth place when the new QRF comes out. It looks like a toss up.

In week seven, BL-H-S has a shot at beating Sleepy Eye (2-4 overall) but then faces the private school in that same town who is 5-1; the Mustangs will be either 1-7 or 2-6 going into the playoffs, which starts with the quarterfinals on Tuesday, October 21.

I looked at Mayer Lutheran's schedule, and they have a decent shot at winning their last two games. That would vault them into fourth place. I predict we'll either go to Hector, Grove City or Mayer for the playoff opener as the fifth seed. I'm even more convinced now that a Homecoming win tonight would have virtually guaranteed us the fourth seed. Again, tear your heart out! That hurts!!!

Central Minnesota Conference football scores on Oct. 3:
Maple Lake 61, Kimball Area 0 (at Kimball)
Pierz 21, Eden Valley-Watkins 7 (at Pierz)
Holdingford 14, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 6 (at HL-W-W)

Area football scores on October 3 in week six:
Browerville 27, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Paynesville Area 34, Minnewaska Area 12
Minneapolis North 39, Minneapolis Edison 0
Albany 62, Mora 0
(Games played in snow up north!)
MACCRAY 18, Lakeview 12
New London-Spicer 18, Annandale 14
BOLD 32, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 13
Norwood-Young America 21, Belle Plaine 0
Brandon/Evansville 36, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 34
Dawson-Boyd 27, Canby 0
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40, Wadena-Deer Creek 0
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 20, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 18
A-C-GC 33, Sauk Centre 15
YME 30, Benson 8
St. Cloud Apollo 24, Willmar 20
Minneota 59, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 0
Watertown-Mayer 42, Mayer Lutheran 6