Top performers - Becker vs. Holy Angels

Friday night in Richfield was a defensive battle when undefeated Becker took on undefeated Academy of Holy Angels. After a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs' offense made just enough plays to feed off the defense – leaving town with a 14-0 victory.    A big reason the Stars' offense was held off the scoreboard was the Bulldogs' play on the edges. Golley held the edge well multiple times as the Stars tried to get outside. Then, his penetration forced the runner out of his path, which allowed his Bulldogs' teammates to make the tackle. On offense, Golley's great downfield block helped spring a 39-yard touchdown run.     The most impressive Stars' player was Bird-Winston. Early, he made a tackle for loss. Late in the game, he made a solid tackle on the outside for a short loss. In between, the senior hauled in a deep crossing route on a ball that was thrown too high. However, the senior got up in the air and made the catch. Then, he caught a quick hitting pass to pick up a first down. Later, he used his superior size to wall off the corner and make a grab on a back shoulder throw.     Daluge hurdled a tackler and bounced off a tackler for five yards. Running an end around, he broke a tackle and got the edge. Then, he used his speed and set up a downfield block on an outside run, resulting in a 39-yard touchdown. On defense, Daluge stuffed a run for a short gain. Then, he played the option well - keeping the offense short of the chains. Late in the game, the senior made a diving interception on an overthrown pass.     Stark undercut a route and almost made an interception, ending up with a pass breakup. The junior did it again later in the game, breaking on a deep out route and nearly picking off the pass. Stark broke up a deep pass later in the game and added a tackle for a short loss.     Early in the game, Kujawa came off the edge to get a hit on the quarterback, forcing an incompletion. Then, he put a big hit on a running back in the backfield. The senior then read an inside draw and made a tackle for a short gain. On offense, he exploded through the hole on a run in the middle and made a man miss for twenty yards. Then, he broke a tackle in the backfield on third and ten to pick up a first down.     For much of the game, Nolen was a problem for the Bulldogs' offensive line. First, he beat a block to make a tackle for loss. Then, his pressure up the middle resulted in a poor throw by the quarterback. Late in the game, he beat a blocker and made a tackle for a loss.     Weiss dropped into coverage and picked off a pass over the middle. He got to the outside and picked up twenty yards on the return. Later, he shot a gap and made a thudding hit on the running back - wrapping up the back for a short loss.     Like Weiss on the other side of the ball, Zellmer's hard hit and wrap-up of the back at the line of scrimmage stopped the runner for no gain. He made another tackle on the inside for a short gain. Later, he got into the backfield to force the ball carrier into his teammates. Later, he held the edge on an end-a-round to make a tackle for a short gain.     Along with linebacker Cody Klatt, Houle held the edge well multiple times as the Stars tried to get outside. Against the pass, Houle undercut a route to cause an incompletion.     Boecker got good penetration into the backfield - re-routing the runner and allowing his teammate to make a tackle. Then, the senior came off the edge to make a tackle for loss. He beat a block at the line of scrimmage and got into the backfield to make a tackle for loss. Then, he got the ball back to his offense by stuffing a run on fourth and short, preventing a first down.     Hyrkas came up from the corner spot and made an open-field tackle short of a first down. Against the pass, he put pressure on the quarterback, forcing a bad throw.     The Bulldogs offense didn't score but looked good early. One key was Reckelberg's outside run for a first down. On defense, he made a solid open-field tackle on a quick pass to the outside.    [player_tooltip player_id='234877' first='Cody' last='Becker'] Becker OL SR 5'11 230 Collin Lietha Becker OL SR 5'10 180   Becker and Lietha did a solid job sealing the edge early in the game. Late in the game, they opened a big hole to start a run for twenty yards.   Aiden Radeke Becker OL SR 6'2 230 and Thatcher Jurek Becker OL JR 6'0 240   Radeke and Jurek move the pile to key a fourth down conversion. Later, Radeke's trap block helped spring a runner for a first down.

Friday night in Richfield was a defensive battle when undefeated Becker took on undefeated Academy of Holy Angels. After a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs' offense made just enough plays to feed off the defense – leaving town with a 14-0 victory.