Three Maple River players Caleb Thompson (5), Zach Trio (2), and Carter Wegman (20) converge on Blue Earth Area running back Brayden Rhey, but not before the Buccaneers’ running back gained 20 yards on a carry during the first quarter of their Oct. 22 game.

The No. 3-seeded Maple River Eagles defeated the No. 6-seeded Blue Earth Area Buccaneers 48-24 in the Section 2AA football playoffs Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Mapleton.

Maple River, with a record of 5-4, moved on to the semifinal round where they will face the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Buccaneers on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Waterville. The loss ended BEA’s season with a record of 1-8.

The Eagles struck first against the Bucs when their quarterback, Zach Trio, found receiver Wyatt Birr wide open in the middle of the field for a 79-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion attempt failed but 44 seconds into the contest Maple River led 6-0.

Gage Barker caught the Eagles’ kickoff at the Bucs’ 18-yard line and returned it 12 yards to the 30-yard line.

BEA ran 10 plays and advanced the ball to the Maple River 19-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

The Eagles ran three plays before punting the ball back to the Bucs. Kicking the ball into a strong wind, the punt only traveled 20 yards and BEA began their next drive in Maple River territory on the 45-yard line.

The Bucs scored on the eighth play of their drive when quarterback Jacob Grandgenett ran the ball into the end zone from 19 yards out as time expired ending the first quarter. The BEA signal caller then completed a pass to receiver Gage Barker for the two-point conversion and an 8-6 Buccaneer lead.

Following the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles needed six plays to cover 55 yards for a touchdown with running back Anthony Orduna carrying the ball over the goal line from one yard out. Maple River’s two-point conversion was good and the Eagles were on top 14-6.

The Bucs received the kickoff and marched 53 yards down the field to the Eagles’ three-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

A Maple River fumble with 5:01 left in the second quarter turned the ball back over to BEA at the Eagles’ 13-yard line.

Three plays later Grandgenett ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to tie the score 14-14.

The Bucs took the lead when Grandgenett rushed the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion. With 3:45 remaining in the second quarter, BEA was in front of Maple River 16-14.

Maple River’s Jax Boening caught BEA’s kickoff at his own 23-yard line and returned it 21 yards to the 44-yard line.

After running two plays that resulted in no gain, Boening got free for a 56-yard rushing touchdown. The Eagles were successful on their two-point conversion to retake the lead 22-16 with 2:49 to go until half time.

The Bucs were unable to get a first down on their next drive and the Eagles got the ball back with 5.1 seconds to play before half time.

Maple River went into their bag of tricks and successfully pulled off a double-pass for a touchdown. The extra-point attempt was no good and the teams went into the intermission with the Eagles holding a 28-16 lead.

There was only one score in the third quarter and it was by Maple River on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Birr.

The Eagles added 14 more points in the fourth quarter while the Bucs scored eight in the final stanza to make the final score 48-24 in favor of Maple River.

BEA finished the game with 17 first downs to 13 for Maple River.

The Bucs had 344 total yards on offense, 267 on the ground and 77 through the air.

The Eagles had 182 yards rushing and 222 yards passing for a total of 404.

BEA was penalized five times for 35 yards while Maple River was flagged three times for 30 yards.

Grandgenett rushed the ball 36 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns and Brayden Rhey had five carries for 36 yards.

Branson Hauskins had four receptions for 31 yards, Barker caught two balls for 25 yards and Rhey had two receptions for 20 yards.

Carter Rosenau led the defense with six unassisted tackles and eight assisted tackles for a total of 14. Joe Bell finished the game with six tackles – three solo tackles and three assisted tackles.