Although the score was relatively close, the total yards gained told a different story in a battle of two state-ranked teams in St. Peter on Friday night, Oct. 5.

The Class 3A No. 3-ranked Blue Earth Area Buccaneers downed the No. 6-ranked St. Peter Saints 27-13.

But, when it came to total yards amassed, the Bucs literally ran all over the Saints.

BEA had 433 total yards to St. Peter’s 128. And, the Bucs gained most of theirs, 374, on the ground, compared to the Saints’ 73.

That domination gave BEA 20 first downs to St. Peter’s six.

BEA’s junior quarterback, Kysten Zierke, led the Bucs in yards gained and scoring, being involved in all four Buccaneer scores.

He led the rushing with 258 yards on 28 carries, and was 2 of 13 passing for 59 yards.

The Bucs first score of the game came early in the first quarter when Zierke got loose for a 70-yard touchdown run.

The point after touchdown kick by Jared Hassing was good and BEA led 7-0 with 11:41 left in the first quarter.

St. Peter struck right back. They took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown.

Their kick was good and with 11:27 left in the opening period, the game was tied up 7-7.

The only scoring in the second quarter came on a 39-yard pass completion from Zierke to Gus Phillips for a score.

The kick by Felix Harseim was good and BEA reclaimed the lead, 14-7, with 4:40 left in the half.

The score remained at 14-7 for the entire third quarter as neither team was able to score.

In the fourth quarter, Zierke again had a huge run for a touchdown, this time scampering for 64 yards.

Harseim’s kick after was successful and BEA went on top 21-7 with 10:47 left in the game.

St. Peter made things interesting when they scored with a 14-yard pass completion, but failed on the extra point try.

That put the Saints within eight points of the Bucs, 21-13, with still 7:42 left in the contest.

Zierke closed out any idea of a Saints’ comeback by scoring another touchdown, this time with a one-yard run with 3:02 on the clock. The extra point attempt failed, but it didn’t matter as the Bucs wrapped up a huge 27-13 win, keeping their unbeaten record intact at 6-0.

The Bucs are 3-0 in the South Central Conference and traveled to Fairmont on Friday, Oct. 12 for the annual Little Brown Jug battle.

The Cardinals are 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SCC, so the game has huge conference title implications.

A Buccaneer loss puts both teams tied at 3-1, a record St. Peter also holds. A win keeps BEA’s conference record unblemished.

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

The score will also be posted on the Register’s website and Facebook pages.

Against the Saints, David Franta gained 62 yards on 12 carries, Carter Hanson had 41 on 11 totes and Phillips added 13 on three attempts.

Phillips had the one pass reception for 39 yards that resulted in a touchdown. Hanson had one catch for 20 yards.

On defense, BEA was led by Hanson who had 13 tackles, while Zierke had eight and Phillips, Justin Ritter, Steven Plocker and Franta all had six each.

The Bucs’ tough defense stopped the Saints on all 10 of their third down tries and 2 of 3 of their fourth down attempts. They also recovered all three of St. Peter’s fumbles in the game with grabs made by Phillips, Plocker and Ritter.