The Blue Earth Area football team’s quarterback, Hunter Bleess, takes off on a big 60-yard run against the Windom Eagles in a game played at St. James due to wet field conditions in Windom. Bleess also passed for 103 yards in the game on 5 of 10 passing completions. The Bucs defeated the Eagles 35-6 and won their second victory in as many weeks. BEA had 388 yards of offense to Windom’s 137.

The Blue Earth Area Buccaneers football team made it two in a row with a 35-6 victory over the Windom Eagles on Sept. 28. The game was played in St. James because Windom’s football field was damaged from the summertime flooding.

“It was good to get the win,” said Coach Randy Kuechenmeister. “It was nice that we were able to give everyone a chance to play.”

It didn’t take long for the Bucs to cross the goal line. Windom received the opening kickoff but was unable to get a first down forcing them to set up for a punt.

A bad snap resulted in Windom not being able to get the punt off and BEA taking over at the Windom 11-yard line.

Max Ehrich’s 9-yard burst up the middle followed by Koby Nagel’s 2-yard run put the Bucs on the scoreboard with 10:41 left in the first quarter. Brayden Barnett’s kick was good to give the BEA a 7-0 lead.

Buccaneer senior linebacker CJ Germann gets a good grasp around the Windom Eagles’ running back and brings him down for little gain. The Bucs held the Eagles to just 28 rushing yards while amassing 286 yards on the ground of their own. BEA won the game 35-6.

Windom was able to drive into Buccaneer territory before their drive stalled. The Eagle’s punt pinned the Bucs deep in their own territory on the 5-yard line.

It only took four plays for the maroon and gold to score their second touchdown.

Ehrich gained five yards to move the ball out to the 10-yard line. A 60-yard run by quarterback Hunter Bleess advanced the ball to the Eagle 30-yard line. Bleess then completed a nine-yard pass to Caelan Sanders to move the ball to the 21.

Bleess dropped back again and found Sanders in the end zone for touchdown. Barnett’s kick was good and with 7:50 remaining in the first quarter the Bucs held a 14-0 lead.

The Bucs continued their success in the second quarter. A drive that started on their own nine-yard line utilized the running of Ehrich, Nagel, and Austin Thielfoldt to march the ball to the BEA 42-yard line.

Bleess connected with Sanders at the 46-yard line, Sanders picked up some downfield blocking before breaking into the open scampering for a 58-yard touchdown run. Barnett’s kick was good and the Bucs led 21-0 with 9:59 left in the second quarter.

BEA scored once more in the first half. Starting at their 40-yard line with 4:46 remaining in the opening half, Ehrich broke a run to the sideline and sprinted to the Eagle 10-yard line for a 50-yard gain. Four plays later Ehrich broke the plane of the goal line for another touchdown. The PAT was no good and the Bucs took a 27-0 lead with 2:29 remaining in the first half.

The Bucs wasted no time adding to their lead in the second half.

Once again starting at their 40-yard line, Nagel took the hand off and reeled off a 50-yard run to put the ball on the Windom 10-yard line.

Three plays later the Bucs were faced with a fourth and eight to go for a touchdown. Bleess found Nagel alone in the end zone for the touch down. Bleess then hit Thielfoldt with a pass for a two-point conversion and a 35-0 lead.

“We’re trying to get better, to improve , to keep taking steps in the right direction,” said Coach Kuechenmeister.

With the Buccaneers in control of the game the reserves were able to see a lot of action in the fourth quarter. Running time was utilized for much of the fourth quarter because BEA led by 35 points.

Windom scored a touchdown with 7:14 left in the game to stop the running time. Their PAT failed and BEA led 35-6.

The Eagle’s final two points came when BEA elected to take a safety late in the game by running the ball out of the back of the end zone.

The BEA offense was led in rushing by Ehrich who gained 109 yards on 13 carries. Nagel added 63 yards on four carries, Bleess gained 60 yards on four carries, and Thielfoldt carried the ball nine times for 51 yards.

Bleess completed five of his 10 pass attempts for 103 yards and three touchdowns.

Sanders had three receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Nagel added two receptions for 15 yards and a touchdown.

Ehrich had six tackles; Thielfoldt and Zac Murphy contributed five tackles each.

Cameron Anderson and Jack Frundt each had an interception and Parker Kienitz had a fumble recovery.

Blue Earth Area played host to Luverne on Oct. 5. Results of that game will appear in next week’s Faribault County Register.