9 Man Semifinal Fertile-Beltrami 30 Hills-Beaver Creek 22

Fertile-Beltrami took another step toward the completion of a magical unbeaten season with a 30-22 victory over Hills-Beaver Creek in the Class Nine-Man semifinals on Friday, Nov. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Senior running back Everett Balstad accounted for four touchdowns and a successful conversion run to spur the Falcons (13-0) to the first Prep Bowl Championship game appearance in six tournament trips. Fertile-Beltrami, the Section 6 champion, will face LeRoy-Ostrander (11-2) for the Class Nine-Man title on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m.

Balstad, who rushed for 135 yards on 20 carries, snapped a 22-all tie on a three-yard run with 6:16 remaining. He also pushed the advantage to eight points when he completed a successful conversion run. Four minutes earlier, Hills-Beaver Creek (10-3) had forged a tie when senior running back Cole Baker scored from five yards with 10:28 left. Baker paced the Patriots with 120 yards on 24 carries. 

All three of Balstad’s rushing touchdowns came in the second half when the Falcons outscored the Patriots 24-8. In the first half, he caught a 20-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Rylin Petry that created a 6-all tie. About three minutes later Hills-Beaver creek built its final lead of the game when senior wide receiver Drew Leenderts caught a 19-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Oliver Deelstra. Deelstra finished with seven completes for 71 yards.

Junior linebacker Tucker Bolstad was credited with 3 ½ sacks for the Falcons