The Blue Earth Area Buccaneer football team had a successful homecoming game against the Waseca Bluejays on Friday, Sept. 28.

The Bucs won, 17-7, but it was a hard-hitting battle all the way.

In fact, the defensive units of both teams tightened up and stopped both offenses from doing any scoring in the second half of the game.

The Bucs were on the board first when Felix Harseim nailed a 26-yard field goal with 4:37 left in the first quarter.

However, the Bluejays came right back and, with 1:16 left in the first period, scored a 1-yard running touchdown, kicked a successful extra point, and took a 7-3 lead.

That was going to be the last time the Bluejays would get on the scoreboard, however.

The Buccaneers, on the other hand, put up two scores in the second quarter.

They reclaimed the lead with 8:21 left in the half when quarterback Kysten Zierke powered into the end zone on a 4-yard run.

It came at the end of a successful 68-yard drive.

After Harseim hit the extra point, the Bucs went up 10-7.

Zierke went back into the end zone six minutes later, scoring on a 2-yard run.

It was set up after Greg Claeys recovered a Bluejay fumble deep in Waseca territory.

Harseim hit the point after kick again, and BEA was up 17-7.

That proved to be the halftime score as well as the final tally.

The defenses on both teams kept their opposing offenses out of the end zone all during the second half.

Waseca opened the half with an onside kick they recovered.

The Bucs defense stiffened and the Bluejays tried a field goal that fell short and to the right of the upright.

Both teams were forced to punt many times in the game. Waseca kicked five times and BEA four. Punting was not the only stat that was similar for the two teams.

BEA accumulated 251 total yards of offense, Waseca 201. The Bucs ran 55 plays, the Bluejays 54.

Penalties played a part in the game, with the Bucs flagged seven times for 57 yards and the Bluejays six times for 60.

BEA had most of their yardage on the ground, while Waseca gained more in the air.

The Bucs had 166 yards on the ground. Zierke was the leading rusher with 132 yards on 22 carries. Carter Hanson added 24 yards on eight attempts.

Zierke was 7 of 17 passing for 85 yards. Isaac Darrington had 71 of those yards on five catches, with his longest grab good for 25 yards.

Waseca had 61 rushing yards and 140 on 9 of 18 passing.

Hanson had a big night on the defensive end of the field and was involved in 16 tackles for the Bucs. David Franta and Zierke had eight each.

The Buccaneers boosted their season record to 5-0 and are now ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 3A polls.

This past Friday, Oct. 5, the Bucs took their unbeaten record on the road to St. Peter to take on the Class 3A No. 6 ranked Saints.

Details on that game will be in the next Faribault County Register.

This week, the Bucs will travel to Fairmont on Friday to play the Cardinals in another South Central Conference clash.