Friday Night Lights XII: Jaguars go down swinging at State (VIDEOS)

On Saturday night, another video was added here with footage from the first half of the game...

An unforgettable football season has now ended in an unforgettable State Tournament game. This was an outstanding football game from start to finish.

Coming out of halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars football team played probably the best stretch of football they have this entire season as they went to work to tie the game in the third quarter. With 5:12 on the clock, Easton Hagen caught a 61-yard touchdown on a third-down and 7 to go play. The touchdown drive started on the B-B-E 36-yard line after the Trojans went three-and-out on their first second-half offensive series. The Jaguars went 64 yards in just three plays while consuming just 58 seconds of game clock.

The Trojans answered with a 63-yard touchdown catch with 3:04 left in the third quarter with a 12-6 lead. On a two-point conversion attempt with a pitch-and-run, B-B-E's Maximus Hanson, Ethan Spanier and Gavin Kampsen stuffed the play short of the end zone.

After B-B-E's next series ended with an interception, Rushford-Peterson set up their offense at the B-B-E 20-yard line with 1:53 left. Three plays later, they scored on a 13-yard touchdown catch with 30 seconds on the clock. Carson Gilbert tipped the two-point conversion pass to make it an 18-6 deficit.

The B-B-E defense came up with multiple stops in the second half to keep the Jaguars in the game and within striking distance. Keep in mind they were doing this against one of the state's best offenses in Class 1A. On offense, the Jaguars played their hearts out but were repeatedly hampered by a very quick Trojans defense.

Final score at Crown College: No. 3-ranked Rushford-Peterson 18, B-B-E 6. The Jaguars finish the record-setting, history-making season with an 8-4 overall record. They were 5-3 (fourth place) in MidState Sub-District III. 

Rushford-Peterson takes a 12-0 record into the Class 1A state Final Four round. Their next game is at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 20 at the Bank in Minneapolis.

**Here's a video featuring Harley Weber's game-opening kickoff tonight; plus the first portion of the first quarter:


**Here's a second video from the first half of the game:


The Jaguars came OH SO CLOSE to gaining a lost fumble by Rushford-Peterson on Weber's kickoff. That would have been incredible, as they would've had possession on the Trojans' 32-yard line to start the game. How crazy that would have been! But it was not meant to be.

B-B-E was outgained on offense by a very small margin: 175 yards to 168 yards. They out-rushed the run-happy Trojans team with 74 rushing yards to 24 by Rushford-Peterson. Each team finished with just 6 first downs. It was that kind of game. I am proud beyond belief of this team. I can't put it into words right now. I don't know where to even begin.

Some quick state volleyball news...
At the state volleyball tournament, Sauk Centre won 3-0 over Hawley to advance to the Class 2A state championship match. In the Class 1A consolation bracket, Breckenridge (30-3) swept South Ridge to advance to the fifth-place match. Also in Class 1A, Minnesota won 3-0 over Section 5A champion Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in the semifinals to land a spot in tomorrow's state title match, where they'll face Mayer Lutheran.

Some late football scores over the past 24+ hours across Minnesota:
On Thursday night this week at Brainerd high school, Section 6AA champion West Central Area/Ashby defeated Moose Lake-Willow River 14-6 to advance to the Class 2A state semifinals. WCA/A is 10-1 overall now heading into the semifinals, where they'll take on Maple River at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. At Alexandria high school on Thursday, Barnesville won 34-20 over Eden Valley-Watkins in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. EV-W finishes an outstanding season with a 9-2 record and a co-championship in the MidState, Sub-District II.

In Class 1A, upstart New York Mills is heading to the Bank and the state semifinals after they beat Deer River tonight by a 20-6 score at Brainerd high school.