MARSHALL — Two area high school football teams will look to defend their state championships after clinching section titles Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State University.
The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots won their fourth-straight Section 3 9-Player title after a tough 38-28 battle against Edgerton Saturday morning.
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Later that day, Jackson County Central won a fifth consecutive Section 3AA tournament after defeating Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 9-0 in a defensive struggle.
Section 3 9-Player
The Patriots were highly tested by an Edgerton team entering the section championship with momentum.
It was the third section title game matchup between the two schools in the last four years with HBC winning the previous two games by an average of 24 points.
But Saturday’s matchup set a different tone early as the Flying Dutchmen took a 22-8 lead late in the first half. They were testing the Patriots more than any other team had done all season.
But HBC, led by junior quarterback sensation Brodie Metzger, showed resilience in fighting back to cut into the Edgerton lead with a touchdown before halftime.
That led to 22 unanswered points until late in the third quarter to take a ...