This is football playoff opening night! Updates

It's playoff time for high school football in Minnesota...our team has the No. 2 seed in Section 5A...and therefore, we can enjoy watching games from the comfort of our living rooms! I have the West Central Area vs. Ashby/Brandon-Evansville quarterfinal game pulled up on HUDL right now. It is very convenient to not be in the cold conditions that teams are facing tonight.

Game updates from Brandon - incredible first half plays out!
The Bolts (5-3) took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. With 10:18 left in the second quarter, WCA (1-7) answered with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion pass. WCA 8, A/B-E 6.

A/B-E then drove down field but was held to 4th-and-2 at the WCA 33 with around 3 minutes left. Quarterback Evan Dingwall ran a terrific play-action move to connect with a well-covered receiver near the goal line. It was an incredible play. The Bolts then punched in a go-ahead touchdown with 2:44 on the clock. On the conversion play, they committed a false start penalty. On the second try, Dingwall rolled right and threw a terrific pass deep to the end zone, where a receiver made a leaping grab. A/B-E 14, WCA 8.

After the kickoff, the Knights started on their own 39 with 2:40 left. On a deep pass, the Bolts committed pass interference, which moved WCA to the A/B-E 46. The Knights advanced to the 28 with under 2 minutes to go, but the 1st down play was blown dead with a penalty with 1:48 to go. The call: holding on WCA.

After the 10 yards were assessed, WCA's quarterback was flushed from the pocket but managed to pull off a running throw to a wide-open receiver on a deep pass. The ball was caught near the 10-yard line, and WCA gained first down at the A/B-E 7-yard line with 1:24 to go.

In a two-tight end formation, WCA ran a draw play, and their quarterback made a move off left tackle for the end zone. He was tackled at the 1-yard line with 58 seconds left and the clock running.

The Knights called a timeout with 43 seconds left. On a quarterback sneak straight up the gut, the Knights scored on the next play with 41.2 seconds to go, but A/B-E stopped the conversion play to keep it at 14-14 tie.

The second half...
WCA started the first series of the third quarter on their 32-yard line. A/B-E came out with fire in the belly and held WCA to a net negative 7 yards on 3 plays. A high punt followed that got a big WCA roll down to the Bolts' 36 with 9:38 left.

A/B-E drove into WCA territory. On 3rd-and-6, Dingwall ran wide right to move the chains. He was pushed out of bounds at the WCA 27. On 2nd down, Dingwall broke loose and ran wide left to the WCA 6-yard line.

A/B-E's senior running back Zach Crane bulldozed his way to the 1-yard line. On 2nd down, Dingwall faked a handoff and ran untouched wide right to the endzone with 6:00 to go. Crane ran off left tackle for the conversion to give A/B-E a 22-14 lead.

A penalty hurt WCA on their next drive, and they later punted on 4th-and-10 from the A/B-E 48-yard line with 5:30 left. The punt got a nice WCA roll, and the Bolts were set up at their own 20-yard line.

On 3rd-and-3, A/B-E's Dingwall ran wide right and was pushed out of bounds at their 41 to move the chains. Now A/B-E had the penalty bug, and they were held to 3rd-and-15. On the third down play, junior receiver Seth Thoennes caught a pick pass and ran past a great block on his defender for a huge gain: first down at the WCA 32 with 2:33 left in the third quarter.

Another A/B-E penalty helped hold them to 3rd-and-10, but Dingwall got free on a run to the right. He slipped a couple tackles right near the first down mark, giving A/B-E a crucial third down conversion as the final seconds were ticking down on the clock. After the chains were set, A/B-E ran the clock down to take a 22-14 lead into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter...
On 2nd-and-1 at the WCA 10, Dingwall connected with tight end Colton Breitkreutz on a short pass for a touchdown with 11:46 left. I didn't catch who ran in the conversion, but the run appeared to go off right tackle to give the Bolts a 30-14 lead.

WCA later had 1st-and-10 at the 50, but on their next play, they turned the ball over on a lost fumble. A/B-E recovered the pigskin with 9:56 left at their own 42-yard line. The Bolts later had 1st-and-goal at the WCA 4. With 5:16 left, Crane ran in a three-yard touchdown to essentially put it out of reach for the Knights. The conversion run was stuffed a couple yards short for a 36-14 A/B-E lead.

In the last 30 seconds, A/B-E ran back an interception for a Pick 6 touchdown. Final score: Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 42, WCA 14. The rematch is set! The Jaguars host A/B-E on Saturday, October 25 in Belgrade with kickoff at 2 p.m.

In the other Section 5A quarterfinal game tonight...at Browerville, Benson lost 18-16 to see their season end with a 4-5 record. The Tigers (5-4) travel to Swanville this Saturday for their semifinal game.