Hutchinson jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the early moments and Becker (almost) never caught up.

 

(The Bulldogs appeared to draw even in the game at 28-28 in the late stages, but a disputed referees call had the Becker boys holding, and the score was eliminated. An ensuing attempt to tie it didn’t work.)

 

Hutch took an early lead at 6-0 on a 55-yard pass over the middle from the Hutch QB Glaser to his tight end. 

 

Becker got the ball, but a Josh Fobbe fumble gave Hutch a great scoring opportunity, and that they did, with RB Nelson rambling for 16 yards.

 

“It was a rough start,” said Coach Dwight Lundeen.

 

The Bulldogs got on the board with a Fobbe six-yard run at the end of the first period; he followed it with the first of three PAT conversions.

 

After a third first period touchdown, by the Tigers’ Nelson, a one-yard run, Becker went to work. 

 

Heitala scored on a 10-yard pass from Fobbe to draw Becker to within 20-14.

 

But Hutch pushed its lead out again to two scores with a Glaser 44-yard pass to Peterson.

 

Kevyn Vilayphanh, who caught seven passes for 119 yards in the game, pulled Becker to within striking distance again on a 60-yard TD pass from Fobbe.

 

And that’s the way it took until Becker’s ill-fated effort to tie things up in the late stages.

 

Nelson pushed across a touchdown on a five-yard run as the clock ticked down for the final margin.

 

Fobbe had a good night, passing 30 times and completing 16 for 193 yards, two TD passes, and he ran for the third score. Nick Goth, moved from the defensive line to fullback this year, had 17 runs for 124 yards.

 

Reid Kraus and Mickie James each had nine tackles to lead the defense.

 

Coach Lundeen credited his players for evening the game up as they hung in there with a Tiger squad that averaged 280 pounds across the front line.

 

“They can eat the clock, they only threw four times,” he said. 

 

Lundeen is looking forward to a future game with Hutch, perhaps in the state tournament.

 

With the win, the Tigers established them as the team to beat in upcoming district play.

 

As of last Friday’s action, they were 4-0 in conference play; ahead of Apollo and Willmar, both 3-1; Becker, 2-2; Big Lake, 1-3; and Rocori and Princeton, each 0-4.