BEA’s Nick Nelson (white jersey) leaps on the football following a fumble by JCC in the first half.

The Blue Earth Area football team faced their first real challenge of the young football season when they traveled to Jackson on Friday, Sept. 16, to take on the undefeated Jackson County Central Huskies.

The two squads played to a 26-26 tie through three quarters but JCC completed a 65-yard pass for a touchdown with just under four minutes remaining in the game. They added a two-point conversion and then thwarted the Bucs’ attempt for a comeback to triumph 34-26 over the Maroon and Gold.

JCC began the game on offense and had driven the ball to near midfield before BEA’s Will Allis recovered a Huskies’ fumble at the JCC 48-yard line.

Following an incomplete pass, the Huskies were offsides which moved the ball to the JCC 43. An eight-yard run by quarterback Ashton Lloyd and passes to Parker Meyers and Jack Norman put the ball one yard away from a touchdown.

Meyers ran the ball in for the touchdown and Daniel Rodriguez kicked the ball through the uprights for the extra point to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead with 8:19 to go in the opening quarter.

The Huskies returned the ensuing kickoff to their 32-yard line. On their first play from scrimmage, defensive lineman Isaiah Cornelio took the ball out of the JCC runner’s hands and returned the ball to the 30-yard line.

A pass to Jack Norman was good for 15 yards and a first down from the 15-yard line. Lloyd carried the ball for seven yards to the eight-yard line. The 6-foot-5 240-pounder kept the ball again and crossed the goal line to put BEA on top 13-0. Another successful kick by Rodriguez had the Bucs out front 14-0 with 6:39 left in the first quarter.

JCC began their next drive on their own 20-yard line. Two incomplete passes led to a third down and 10 situation.

The Huskies’ quarterback, Roman Voss, was able to escape the clutches of the Buccaneer defenders and scramble for a 16-yard gain and a first down.

JCC continued to move the ball. They were on the 11-yard line. It was third down and they needed seven yards for a first down.

Voss completed a pass to wide receiver Travis Rogotzke for the touchdown but BEA’s Kade Gaydon blocked the extra point. With 3:12 left to go in the first quarter the scoreboard showed the Bucs in the lead 14-6.

BEA took over on their own 30-yard line with 3:07 on the clock following JCC’s kickoff.

Two incomplete passes brought up third down with the Bucs needing to reach the 40-yard line for a first down.

Lloyd’s third-down pass was complete to Norman for 17 yards to the BEA 47-yard line.

A pass to Meyers moved the ball across midfield to the JCC 49-yard line. Lloyd then connected with Colton Hubly for 16 yards and a first down at the 33-yard line.

Soren Fering’s 28-yard pass reception on second down had the Bucs at the five-yard line. Meyers took a direct snap and crossed the goal line standing up for a 20-6 BEA lead with one minute left to go in the first quarter. The extra point kick was blocked by the Huskies.

Three minutes later the Bucs struck again.

Following the kickoff, JCC began their drive at their own 29-yard line.

A fumble on the first play from scrimmage led to BEA’s Nick Nelson recovering the ball on the 22-yard line.

The Bucs were called for holding and the ball was placed at the Huskies’ 31-yard line. The Bucs ran for two yards before the first quarter ended.

Two plays into the second quarter the Bucs faced a fourth down and needed 10 yards for a first down.

They got that and more when Lloyd bought some time scrambling before connecting with Norman on a pass to the six-yard line.

Two penalties against the Bucs, one for holding and one for illegal motion, moved the ball back to the 22-yard line.

Meyers and Lloyd exchanged places and Meyers took the snap and completed a pass to Lloyd for a touchdown. The extra point kick was no good and the score was 26-6 with 10:01 to go until halftime.

The Huskies started their next drive with good field position when they returned the ensuing kickoff to the BEA 38-yard line.

One play later, a 38-yard run by Gabriel Wolff resulted in a touchdown. The extra point kick was good and the Bucs’ lead stood at 26-13.

JCC scored one more time as the half ended. A two-yard completion to Wolff and a successful extra point kick narrowed BEA’s advantage to 26-20 as the teams headed into the intermission.

The Huskies tied the game at 26-26 when Wolff caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter. Their bid to take the lead was thwarted when they failed to make their extra-point kick.

BEA had a couple of their second-half drives stall when they failed to convert on fourth down.

JCC scored the winning touchdown with 3:56 left in the game.

Wolf recorded his third touchdown of the game, his second receiving, when he hauled in a pass from Voss and raced to the end zone for a 65-yard score. The two point attempt was successful to give JCC the 34-28 lead.

The team statistics for the game were quite even.

Each team ran 60 plays. BEA had 377 yards of total offense to 351 for JCC.

The Bucs had 281 receiving yards and 96 rushing yards.

Lloyd completed 18 of 33 pass attempts for 259 yards. Meyers completed his only pass attempt for a 22-yard touchdown.

Meyers had eight receptions for 99 yards. Norman caught five balls for 63 yards. The only other Buc with more than one reception was Abe Kokos who caught two passes for 23 yards.

Lloyd ran the ball for 71 yards on 17 rushes while Meyers had seven carries for 21 yards.

Caleb Langager returned two kickoffs for 53 yards.

BEA’s record is now 2-1. They were on the road to play the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants on Sept. 23. The Bucs return home on Sept. 30 to face Sibley East.