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Bucs fall to Warriors 48-0

By Staff | Nov 8, 2015

Blue Earth Area Buccaneers Brandon Olson, left, Chandler Kienitz, No. 3, center, and Zach Buseman, No. 13, right, have the Caledonia Warrior’s running back surrounded during this play in the State Football Tournament game played on Friday night, Oct. 30, in Rochester.

Ouch!

The Caledonia Warriors showed why they have consistently been ranked No. 1 in Class AA State Football polls when they shut out the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers 48-0 in the opening round of the 2015 State Football Tournament.

The game was played on a cool and breezy Friday night, Oct. 30, at the stadium of the Rochester Community and Technical College.

The Buccaneers, who defeated three good teams in as many weeks to claim their fourth Section championship in the past five years, could not pull off another big upset.

The Warriors took control of the game early and also dominated the stats sheet.

Blue Earth Area quarterback Bailey Olson, No. 8, scampers away from a Caledonia defender as he looks downfield for a Buccaneer receiver, above left. Camden Bowers, No. 4, gets by a slipping Warrior defender as he hustles down the field on a run, below.

Caledonia had 398 total yards of offense to BEA’s 101, and gained 17 first downs to the Bucs’ seven.

They also forced BEA to punt eight times in the game, with one of those being blocked. The maroon and gold’s other three possessions of the ball ended with two interceptions and turning the ball over on downs.

The first half of the game was actually evenly played, despite the fact the Bucs trailed the Warriors 21-0 at the break.

BEA’s first possession ended with an interception and Caledonia scored a touchdown just five plays later, with 9:38 still left in the first quarter.

After a Buccaneer punt on their next time with the ball, the Warriors failed to gain a first down when they went on fourth and eight from the 20-yard line.

However, BEA’s ensuing drive got them to the 44-yard line before another interception brought it to a halt.

The Warriors scored again five plays later on a 41-yard touchdown pass completion.

The first quarter came to a close with BEA trailing 14-0, but marching down the field.

The second quarter started with the Bucs going on a fourth down and four yards to go at the Warriors 25-yard line. A pass from Bailey Olson to Camden Bowers in the endzone just missed and BEA turned the ball over on downs.

The Warriors failed to convert on a fourth and 18 yards to go situation in their next possession, when the Buccaneers broke up a pass.

But, the Bucs were again forced to punt. This time the punt attempt was blocked and a short while later the Warriors scored on a five-yard touchdown pass.

With 3:28 left in the half, the score was 21-0.

BEA punted once more, but then nearly had their first score.

Olson hauled in an interception at the Bucs 30-yard line and it looked for a moment as if he could break it for the TD, but was tackled at the Warriors 37.

BEA marched down to the 17-yard line before another interception in the endzone ended the drive to the goal just before half-time.

The pass attempt looked good but was tipped into the air and picked off by the Caledonia defense.

The third quarter was all Caledonia.

They scored just three plays into the second half on a 42-yard TD run, making it 28-0.

After another BEA punt, Caledonia scored again on a four-yard run, upping it to 35-0 with 6:12 left in the quarter.

BEA fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the 19-yard line, and Caledonia scored three plays later on a pass to the corner of the endzone.

This time the Warrior kick for extra point hit the left upright and was no good. The score stood at 41-0 with 5:25 remaining in the third.

The Buccaneers struggled on their next possession, getting hit with three tough penalties, besides facing a rough Warrior defense. BEA faced a fourth and 29 after an illegal block in the back, another block in back and a delay of game penalty.

Caledonia wasted little time and scored on a 65-yard pass play that hit the Warrior receiver in stride and gave the Bucs little chance to catch him.

With 1:29 remaining in the third, the score was 48-0. It would end up being the final tally, with no scoring by either team in the fourth quarter which featured running time on the clock.

Buccaneer quarterback Olson was 10 of 25 for 59 yards and two interceptions. Chandler Kienitz had two pass attempts, with no completions.

Tyler Hannaman had five receptions out of nine balls thrown his way and gained 29 yards. Jacob Vaske had two catches for 14 yards and Kaylan Legred had two for 12 yards.

Leading rusher was Bailey Olson with 32 yards on 12 carries. Brandon Olson had 12 yards on seven carries and Bowers four yards on one carry.

The Warriors were 13 of 20 passing for 231 yards and five touchdowns. They gained 167 yards on the ground on 32 attempts and had two running touchdowns.

The win moved the Caledonia Warriors into the semi-finals of the State Tournament where they were set to face Otter Tail Central on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. at Mounds View High School.

The Warriors have so far outscored their opponents 206-7 in the football playoffs this year.