Jack Norman, dark uniform, pins the ball against the Sibley East defender’s helmet to make a catch in BEA’s victory on Homecoming night.

Noah Johnson’s 52-yard touchdown run during the opening minute of the football game set the tone in Blue Earth Area’s 51-12 Homecoming victory over the Sibley East Wolverines.

The extra-point kick failed but the Bucs were up 6-0 just 48 seconds into the game.

BEA’s defense held Sibley East to a three-and-out and the Bucs took possession on their own 27 yard-line following Caleb Langager’s fair catch of the Wolverines’ punt.

The Bucs picked up a total of six yards on their first two plays in the drive before running back Parker Meyers hauled in a pass from quarterback Ashton Lloyd for 16 yards to the BEA 49-yard line.

Jack Norman’s amazing catch advanced the ball to the Wolverines’ 15-yard line. Norman trapped the football against the Wolverine defensive back’s helmet before pulling the ball in for a catch.

Two plays later Abe Kokos leaped high into the air to snare a pass over the Sibley East defender for a 13-yard touchdown and a 12-0 BEA lead with 5:26 left in the opening quarter. The point-after kick failed.

The Bucs’ next touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Meyers with 41.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The extra point kick was no good but BEA held an 18-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

The teams traded turnovers early in the second quarter with Sibley East fumbling and BEA throwing an interception.

Following a turnover on downs by the Wolverines, the Bucs took possession on their own 26-yard line with 6:47 to go before halftime.

On the fifth play of the ensuing drive, Johnson broke through the Wolverines’ defensive line and raced to a 60-yard touchdown. Meyers ran the ball in for a 2-point conversion and a 26-0 BEA lead.

Evan Brinkman got the Wolverines on the board when he caught the kickoff from the Bucs’ Jacob Grandgenett and eluded the would-be BEA tacklers before racing down the sideline for a 77-yard touchdown. The Bucs denied the Wolverines’ 2-point conversion so with 5:20 remaining before intermission the score was BEA 26, Sibley East 6.

Caleb Langager was back to receive the kick from Sibley East and he returned the ball all the way to the Wolverines’ 35-yard line before being tackled.

Two plays later Lloyd found Meyers behind the defensive secondary for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed so the Bucs had a 32-6 lead with 4:29 remaining in the half.

After the Wolverines were forced to punt again, the Bucs started their next possession on their own 49 yard line with 2:49 showing on the scoreboard clock.

BEA got on the board again with a 1-yard TD pass to Austin Stauffer with 58 seconds left in the half. Grandgenett’s kick for the extra point was good and the Bucs were up 39-32.

The Maroon and Gold ended up getting the ball back one more time before the first half ended. A 33-yard pass to Meyers resulted in another TD. The extra point kick was no good but the Bucs held a 45-6 lead with two quarters left to play.

BEA’s final score of the game came in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Langager. The extra point attempt failed and the Bucs were on top 51-6.

The Wolverines crossed the goal line from two yards out in the fourth quarter to make the final 51-12.

BEA had 545 yards of total offense to only 137 for Sibley East. The Bucs had a huge edge in first downs with 19 to only six for the Wolverines.

BEA gained 355 yards on the ground and averaged 9.9 yards per carry.

The leading rusher was Johnson with 122 yards on just four carries. He also scored two touchdowns.

Meyers was the second-leading rusher with 91 yards on seven carries and one touchdown.

Meyers led the Bucs in the number of receptions and in total yards. The senior caught six passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

Norman had one reception for 35 yards while Kokos and Stauffer each had a touchdown reception.

Ashton Lloyd completed nine passes in 13 attempts for 173 yards and four touchdowns.

Max Loge was 2 of 5 passing for 17 yards.

BEA played at Maple River at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8. Look for the results of that contest in next week’s edition of the Faribault County Register.