Late start doesn’t hurt Blossoms at home

A lock-down defense in the second half enabled the Awesome Blossom football team to escape with a 24-3 victory over visiting St. Clair Friday, Sept. 4.  After a very lackadaisical and inept first half, the local offense came alive enough to score four times in the second half, three of them in the final quarter.
“The defense really kept us in the game until we could muster some offense,” remarked Coach Chad Gimbel. “We played really well, especially in the second half against the Cyclone offense.”
Neither side could mount any sort of threat in the first quarter, as the teams traded fumbles and penalties on two possessions each.  The Cyclones finally found the end zone with 5:21 to play in the half.  A six-play drive after a Blossom short punt stopped on the BP 19, where Tanner Hauser kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.   A lost fumble and an intercepted pass stopped Blossom drives, and St. Clair took the 3-0 lead into the break.
The offense finally broke through for BP in the third quarter.  After taking over on their own 49, Lucas Noble tossed one of his two completions in the game to Jon Hatch, who rambled to the six.  The Blossoms failed to score, however, and turned the ball over.  They got a reprieve when they recovered a Cyclone fumble on the eight, Anthony Nelson gained six yards on first down, and Noble reached the end zone from a yard out, for a 6-3 lead at 1:34 of the period.  
In the fourth quarter, a roughing the kicker against the visitors on a punt attempt gave BP possession on the 49, and three plays later, Nelson swept the end for 41 yards and a touchdown at 8:47.  For one reason or another Ethan Strunk’s kicks were all unsuccessful in this game, but BP led 12-3.
The Blossoms recovered another Cyclone fumble on the 26 on the next possession, and BP scored on the third play from scrimmage. Reserve quarterback Seth Peterson found Jon Hansen for 10 yards to the 16, and Nelson navigated the final yards for a score and an 18-3 edge. The final score came on the last play of the game when Jon Hatch intercepted a desperation throw and twisted 40 yards for the touchdown and a 24-3 final.
BP had 122 yards rushing and 58 passing for 180 total yards, while St. Clair had 73 yards rushing and 78 passing for 151 total.  The Cyclones had only one first down in the second half and nine for the game. BP struggled to 17 first downs.
As part of the stingy defense, Riley Olson led the team with nine tackles, and Nelson had eight.  Wyatt Grundmeier and Kevin Eischens both added six.  Nelson gained 71 yards on the ground, including the 60-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. 
 Noble completed only two of 12 pass attempts, although several dropped passes were among the 10 incompletions. Two of his passes were intercepted. “We played terribly in the first half,” summarized Coach Gimbel, “but the defense bailed us out in this one.” The team travels to Janesville Friday, Sept. 12 for another district tussle against the Bulldogs.
Blooming Prairie 24
St. Clair   3
 
Friday, Sept. 4
at Blooming Prairie
               1     2     3     4      F  
BP     0     0     6    18    24
St. Clair  0     3     0      0     3
 
Rushing: Nelson 71; Passing: Noble 12-58 yards; Receiving: Hatch 1-48.