By Les Knutson
Sports Reporter
In a well-played high school football game that was so much closer and way more competitive than what the final score indicates, Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda was defeated in the opening round of the Section 2A 11-Man playoffs by Bethlehem Academy of Faribault, 34-0, at Fulda’s Alex Fisher Field last Tuesday evening, October 23.
The Coyotes, in their first year as a paired program, entered the contest as the section’s fourth-seeded team after winning three of eight games playing Nine-Man football. The Cardinals, who played 11-Man all season, were the section’s fifth seed and had a record of 2-6.
HL-O / Fulda moved the ball well most of the first half, getting inside BA’s 20-yard line (the red zone) five times during the game. The Cardinals intercepted a pair of passes — the first at about the five-yard line and the second in the end zone — to kill the two best chances by the Coyotes. Three other times, the black-clad home team turned the ball over on downs.
Meanwhile, Bethlehem Academy scored just once prior to intermission — that coming on a 23-yard run touchdown run on its first possession, capping a quick four-play 40-yard drive, after the Coyotes had gone four-and-out on their first series.
After that poor start, the Coyotes were in command the next 21 minutes as they picked up numerous first downs on offense and came up with big-time stops on defense. But, they just couldn’t put the ball across the goal line.
Neither team scored in the second quarter as the Cardinals held a slim 6-0 lead at halftime.
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