BENSON — Against a winless opponent, Benson looked to match its most wins in a single season since 2008.

Instead, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted was the one that made some history.

In control throughout thanks to their ground attack, the Lakers snapped a 27-game regular-season losing streak on Wednesday with a 40-13 victory over the Braves during a Mid-State crossover game from Brock Field.

HL-W-W chewed up 383 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Benson had just 117 yards of total offense and five turnovers.

The Braves’ biggest play came on the opening kickoff. Senior wide receiver Ben Peterson needed only 16 seconds to put his team in front with an 84-yard return. Photo Gallery: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted at Benson Braves

From there, Benson struggled to execute in the first half. The Braves lost yardage on a wide-receiver pass and continued to go backwards after a bobbled wide-receiver screen. Later, they were stopped on a 4th-and-2 at their own 38-yard line.

Late in the first quarter, the visitors took the lead when a pass from Braves senior quarterback Cole Hedman was deflected and taken 28 yards to the house by Lakers freshman linebacker Colton Long.

As sloppy as they played offensively, Benson’s biggest issue was containing a Lakers run game committed to dives up the middle and off-tackle rushes. HL-W-W added to its lead midway through the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Mitchell Mallak plunged in for a touchdown on 4th-and-goal from the Braves’ 3-yard line.

Benson looked its best on the ensuing drive. Set up by a long Peterson scamper, the Braves made it 14-13 when sophomore running back Thomas Dineen scored on a 5-yard run.

Dineen finished with 71 rushing yards on 21 carries. Peterson had three rushes for 49 yards.

HL-W-W extended its lead in the third quarter with a Long 9-yard run before three players rushed for long-distance scores in the fourth. Mallak added his second of the game on a 22-yard run. Later, Andrew Gatz scored on a 36-yard rushing touchdown and Collin Boese closed the deal with a 45-yard TD run. Boese led all rushers with 147 yards on 18 carries. Gatz had 124 yards on 11 rushes.

Finishing the regular season at 4-2, the Braves await the start of the Section 4A tournament, which is set to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

HL-W-W 40,
Benson 13

HL-W-W (1-5) 8 6 6 20 — 40

Benson (4-1) 7 6 0 0 — 13

Scoring Plays

B – Ben Peterson 84 kickoff return (Patrick Minchow kick)

H – Colton Long 28 interception return (Mitchell Mallak run)

H – Mallak 3 run (run failed)

B – Thomas Dineen 7 run (kick blocked)

H – Long 9 run (run failed)

H – Mallak 22 run (run failed)

H – Andrew Gatz 36 run (Mallak run)

H – Collin Boese 45 run (pass failed)

Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted

First downs: 14 … Penalties: 6-63 … Rushing (Individual and team): Collin Boese 18-147, Andrew Gatz 11-124, Mitchell Mallak 13-62, Colton Long 10-50. 52-383 … Passing (Individual and team): Mallak 0-3-0-2. 0-3-0-2 ... Receiving (Individual and team): None … Interceptions: Long 1, Cody Zachmann 1 … Fumble recoveries: Danny Mosford 1, Isaac Cain 1, Eric Williams 1 … Tackles (solo-assist): N/A … QB sacks: Boese 1.5, Long 0.5

Benson

First downs: 9 … Penalties: 3-15 … Rushing (Individual and team): Thomas Dineen 21-71, Ben Peterson 3-49. 36-106 … Passing (Individual and team): Cole Hedman 2-5-11-2 ... Receiving (Individual and team): B. Peterson 1-9, Abe Peterson 1-2 … Interceptions: A. Peterson 2 … Fumble recoveries: None … Tackles (solo-assist): Adam Zosel 5-8, B. Peterson 2-10, Kellen Schmidt 4-8, Dineen 3-5, Nick Staton 4-4, Sam Grussing 0-6, Jordan Anderson 1-5 … QB sacks: None

EV-W 28,
ACGC 10

Holding a 6-2 lead after a low-scoring first half, Eden Valley-Watkins scored 22 straight points on the way to a victory over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in Eden Valley.

Both of the Falcons’ scores came through unconventional means, with a safety in the first quarter and a 78-yard kickoff return TD by Masson Hiltner in the fourth.

ACGC quarterback Luke Trebil threw for 66 yards while rushing for 34 yards, both team highs. Braeden Pickle was Trebil’s top target with four catches for 33 yards. On defense, Mason Studeman had 11 total tackles (four solo) while Hiltner came through with an interception.

The Falcons (2-4) will wait for the Section 5AA playoffs to get underway on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

ACGC (2-4) 0 2 0 8 — 10

EV-W (5-1) 0 6 14 8 — 28

Scoring Plays

E – Josh Streit 21 pass from Nolan Geislinger (run failed)

A – Safety

E – Michael Bautch 41 run (Streit pass from Bautch)

E – Streit 19 pass from Bautch (Pass failed)

E – Parker Schultz 14 run (John Maile run)

A – Masson Hiltner 78 kickoff return (Jacob Gratz run)

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City

First downs: 6 … Penalties: 0-0 … Rushing (Individual and team): Landon Blom 10-38, Luke Trebil 17-34. 27-72 … Passing (Individual and team): Trebil 5-11-66-2 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Braeden Pickle 4-33, Levi Lilleberg 1-33. 5-66 … Interceptions: Masson Hiltner 1 … Fumble recoveries: None … Tackles (solo-assist): Mason Studeman 4-7, Terrell Renne 5-5, Pickle 5-2, Hiltner 5-0, Blom 3-2, Wilson Gratz 2-4, Anders Grimsgard 1-4, Taylor Fester 1-4 … QB sacks: Blom 1, Fester 0.5, Malcolm Ludwig 0.5

Eden Valley-Watkins

First downs: 16 … Penalties: 5-40 … Rushing (Individual and team): MIchael Bautch 17-67, Sam Nistler 8-46, Nolan Geislinger 5-24, Caden Neiman 4-15, Parker Schultz 1-14, Billy Fish 3-9, John Maile 1-7, Myles Dziengel 1-4, Broden Thielen 3-(-5). 43-181 … Passing (Individual and team): N. Geislinger 5-10-64-1, Bautch 4-5-47-0.9-15-111-1 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Josh Streit 5-72, Nistler 2-18, Bautch 1-17, Neiman 1-4 … Interceptions: Neiman 2 … Fumble recoveries: One … Tackles (solo-assist): Jared Geislinger 2-7, Streit 3-3, Tyler Stanwick 3-2, Nistler 3-1, N. Geislinger 3-1 … QB sacks: Streit 1

B/EV 45, BBE 0

Browerville/Eagle Valley collected a shutout victory over winless Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in Belgrade.

Both teams will be in the eight-team Section 4A playoffs, which begins on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Non-District
Barnesville 65,
Morris/CA 56

With 121 points and 1,120 yards between two ranked teams in Class AA, third-ranked Barnesville won a shootout over fifth-ranked Morris/Chokio-Alberta.

The Trojans ran for an eye-popping 534 yards, with Adam Tonsfeldt going off for 260 yards on 33 carries. Aaron Schiefert added 150 yards on 17 attempts.

Meanwhile, Tigers quarterback Zach Bruns put up video game-like numbers in the air, completing 21 of 31 passes for 498 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target was Kenny Soderberg, who had eight grabs for 208 yards and three total touchdowns. Jackson Loge hauled in six balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns while Toby Gonnerman came through with 106 yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Morris/CA will await seeding for Section 5AA, which will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Barnesville (6-0) 29 28 8 0 — 65

Morris/CA (5-1) 28 8 14 6 — 56

Scoring Plays

B – Aaron Schiefert 1 run (kick good)

M – Kenny Soderberg 37 pass from Zach Bruns (kick failed)

B – Adam Tonsfeldt 60 kick return (kick good)

M – Soderberg 16 pass from Bruns (Bruns run)

B – Kaden Zenzen 13 pass from Tonsfeldt (kick good)

M – Toby Gonnerman 53 pass from Bruns (Bruns run)

B – Tonsfeldt 29 run (Tonsfeldt run

M – Soderberg 80 kickoff return (kick failed)

B – Schiefert 4 run (pass failed)

B – Schiefert 3 run (Noah Krause run)

B – Cameron Heng 1 run (Krause run)

M – Jackson Loge 4 pass from Bruns (Bruns run)

B – Heng 8 pass from Tonsfeldt (kick failed)

M – Fumble recovery (Gonnerman pass from Bruns)

M – Loge 16 pass from Bruns (pass failed)

B – Tonsfeldt 20 run (Schiefert run)

M – Durgin Decker 53 pass from Bruns (pass failed)

Barnesville

First downs: 32 … Penalties: 5-35 … Rushing (Individual and team): Adam Tonsfeldt 33-260, Aaron Schiefert 17-150, Cameron Heng 11-75, Noah Krause 9-49. 70-534 … Passing (Individual and team): Tonsfeldt 4-5-64-1 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Kaden Zenzen 3-56, Heng 1-8 … Interceptions: Krause 1, Tonsfeldt 1 … Fumble recoveries: Two … Tackles (solo-assist): N/A … QB sacks: N/A

Morris/Chokio-Alberta

First downs: 22 … Penalties: 1-5 … Rushing (Individual and team): Zach Bruns 10-18, Durgin Decker 6-6. 16-24 … Passing (Individual and team): Bruns 21-31-498-2 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Kenny Soderberg 8-208, Toby Gonnerman 3-106, Jackson Loge 6-93, Decker 3-71, Josh Rohloff 1-20 … Interceptions: Bruns 1 … Fumble recoveries: One … Tackles (solo-assist): N/A … QB sacks: N/A