BPH earns first program win on opening night

The newly minted Blooming Prairie/Hayfield (BPH) earned its first-ever program win last week in a 44-18 game over Lewiston-Altura on opening night.

Despite only having a few weeks to get their athletes up to speed in the new co-op program, co-head coaches Chad Gimbel and Derrick Thompson watched their team shine bright under the McFarlin Field lights in week one.

“It was great… The biggest thing that I’m proud of is how these guys are coming together as a group. It’s not Blooming Prairie and Hayfield as two separate groups. You see Blooming Prairie kids and Hayfield kids coming together and really becoming great friends. I didn’t expect to see them gel so quickly,” said Gimbel.

The chemistry between the BPH athletes was evident right away by how the team handled its first game experience of the season.

BPH wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and put together an extended drivee on its first possession, capped by a nine-yard rushing touchdown by running back Lukas DenHerder.

The extra point attempt was no good, resulting in BPH taking a 6-0 lead early.

Lewiston-Altura responded with a quick scoring drive of its own punctuated by a 45-yard rushing touchdown, but failed to convert the extra point to keep the game tied at 6-6.

BPH wasn’t done with its first-quarter scoring and kept the trend alive by putting together another scoring drive on its second possession.

This time it was quarterback Chase Escamilla who found wide receiver Wyatt Naylor open for a 17-yard score.

BPH went up 12-6 following another missed extra point and quickly found itself tied with Lewiston-Altura again after the Cardinals scored for their second straight possession.

The second quarter began with the score gridlocked, but BPH had answers again thanks to a quick, seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive capped by a two-yard rushing score by Jesse Mealy.

The score put BPH up 18-0 heading toward halftime, but once again, Lewiston-Altura found pay dirt to cut the lead.

A five-play, 67-yard touchdown drive tied the game again at 18-18; where the score would remain at halftime.

While both teams traded blows in the first half, the second half belonged to BPH.

Four unanswered touchdowns from the home team shocked Lewiston-Altura and left the Cardinals too stunned to make a comeback.

Scoring touchdowns for BPH in the second half were: Christian Mealy (24-yard reception), Escamilla (25-yard rush), and a pair of scores by running back Easton Johnson (14- and 20-yard rushes).

“I have to give a ton of credit to our offensive line. We were able to run the ball pretty much at will,” said Gimbel.

Next up for BPH is a home game against Blue Earth on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.

Player Stats

Blooming Prairie

Passing

#12 Chase Escamilla – 11/22 175 2 TD 2 Int.

Rushing

#12 Escamilla – 7 att. 106 yards 1 TD; #18 Easton Johnson – 10 att. 99 yards 2 TD; #7 Eliot Gimbel – 1 att. 33 yards; #44 Lukas DenHerder – 6 att. 27 yards 1 TD; #5 Jesse Mealy – 3 att. 2 yards 1 TD

Receiving

#5 Mealy – 6 rec. 111 yards; #4 Christian Mealy – 4 rec. 47 yards 1 TD; #0 Wyatt Naylor – 1 rec. 17 yards