Last year’s playoff loss to Big Lake was a bitter pill to swallow for Becker players, coaches and fans, so Friday night’s drubbing of their crosstown rivals gave the Bulldogs some sweet redemption.

 

Dwight Lundeen’s boys came out fired up and before many of the spectators had even found their seats, Becker dented the scoreboard with the game’s first TD. Kevin Andres took the opening kickoff and raced 80-yards to paydirt to fire up his fellow teammates.

 

It only got better and better from there.

 

When Big Lake got their hands on the ball on their first possession 13 seconds into the game, they gained one first down on six plays and handed the ball back to Becker at Becker’s 43 when they failed to convert a fourth down play.

 

Passing was at a minimum in this slugfest as the Bulldogs utilized the legs of QB Josh Fobbe and backs Lucas Dertinger, Austin Hemmelgarn, Andres and Sydney Boros. When Fobbe did drop back to pass, more times than not he tucked the ball under his arm and scrambled for big plays.

 

The same occurred for Big Lake as the game went on, as QB Spencer Hinrichs used his running ability to rack up yardage and when Becker’s defense squeezed in, Hinrichs found a few of his receivers open for big gains. Otherwise, it was he, Deon Harris and Trey Teige toting the ball for most of the night.

 

On Becker’s second possession, Big Lake put the clamps on Fobbe and company but on the Fobbe punt, Big Lake was called for a personal foul, giving the Bulldogs a first down at Big Lake’s 36.

 

The Bulldogs controlled the ball for the next 10 plays and got the ball to the five yard line before an offensive pass interference call pushed the ball back to the 15. Dertinger came on to boot a field goal and the visitors were up 10-0 with 3:03 to go in the first.

 

Big Lake got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff and were set up in good field position at their own 42. Hinrichs showed off his arm with a couple passes to Teige and Devonne Harris to get to midfield. They punted the ball to Becker’s 17 and it was time for Boros to get his jets cooking.

 

On first down, Boros scrambled for 11 yards. On the next play, he slithered for four and on second down, Fobbe weaved through the defense for a 17-yard gain at the 30. Boros put a stamp on the first quarter with a 13-yard gain as the horn sounded.

 

Setting up for a first and 10 at the 34, Fobbe chucked the ball to the endzone for Bryce Boser and it fell incomplete. Boser was called for offensive interference, sending the ball back to the 44 yard line.

 

No problem for Boros as he took the Fobbe handoff and sliced through the blue and gold defenders to the endzone for Becker’s third score. With 11:40 to go in the first half, Becker had jumped out to a 17-0 lead.

 

The lead increased when, on Big Lake’s next possession, the Bulldogs broke through and blocked the Hornet punt and recovered the ball at the 44-yard line. An offside penalty and a 15-yard pass interference penalty on the home team helped Becker reach Big Lake’s four yard line five minutes later. Boros smashed over the goal line from there and the Bulldogs were looking like their previous state-winning teams of a few years ago.

 

Big Lake was reeling and their posture on and off the field demonstrated shock and embarrassment. Players were standing still with their hands on their hips, looking towards the sidelines wondering what they could do.

 

They stayed stumped as Becker stymied the Hornets yet again and Becker got the ball back with three minutes to go in the half.

 

Hemmelgarn gained one yard, then Boros did his magic again — exploding through the defense for a 33-yard TD score. Becker was up 30-0 and the Hornet sideline and stands was muted.

 

Two saving graces for Big Lake were the fact they juiced their generator when they blocked Dertinger’s extra-point attempt, then finally spawned a drive that resulted in a score just before halftime.

 

They converted a two-pointer and the halftime score was Becker 30, Big Lake 8.

 

Big Lake was a different team in the second half as Hinrichs was called on to be the legs and arms the rest of the way. On their first possession of the third quarter, Hinrichs ripped off 33 yards on eight carries while Deon Harris tallied 27-yards on three carries. Hinrichs eventually bulled into the endzone from one yard out and Big Lake felt a little life. Their two-point try failed, but the Hornets appeared to have lit a fire.

 

Boros decided to pour water on that fire.

 

He was responsible for a huge runback on the kickoff that set Becker up at Big Lake’s 35-yard line moments later. His first carry after that was for one yard, but then he burst around the end for 31 yards to the three-yard line. Dertinger capped it off by ramming the ball in from there and Becker increased their lead to 37-14.

 

Big Lake didn’t back down and they drove the ball on their next possession the length of the field for another score. Their two-point attempt following the Devonne Harris TD catch failed and they found themselves down by 17 with 1:49 to go in the third quarter.

 

As the fourth quarter commenced, Becker had to punt the ball back to Big Lake, clinging to a 30-17 lead and a hard-charging Hornet offense — led by Hinrichs.

 

The Big Lake QB carried the offense on his shoulders and when the referees marked the ball at Becker’s 12 and a first down — it appeared the Hornets were going to go in for another score to make things interesting. However, Hokan Bengtson’s defense came up big. Hinrich’s first pass to the endzone fell incomplete — almost intercepted by Sam Ricker. Another pass fell short at the goal line and on fourth down, Dertinger defended the ball perfectly to thwart the Hornets with less than five minutes to go.

 

The Bulldogs took over and never relinquished the ball the rest of the way.

 

Boros finished with 262 yards gained on  18 carries and three TDs.

 

Hinrichs had 144 yards gained on 21 carries and two TDs.

 

Jayden Gruba led the defense with eight tackles.