Hot start lifts BP to easy win over Hayfield

The Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms cruised through their season debut against Hayfield, winning 46-22 on home turf last week.

Blooming Prairie was able to capitalize off of a hot start to gather a commanding lead that kept Hayfield playing catch-up until the final whistle.

Kicking off the scoring for the Blossoms was senior wide receiver Cade Christianson who took a 38-yard reception on a slant route from sophomore quarterback Brady Kittelson to the house after breaking a tackle in the secondary less than two minutes into the game.

The Blossoms went for two after the scoring play and were unsuccessful, making the lead 6-0 early.

Blooming Prairie’s next score came with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter after Kittelson found sophomore wide receiver Jacob Pauly for a 14-yard touchdown.

The Blossoms were once again unsuccessful on their two-point conversion, making the game 12-0 near the end of the first quarter.

The game’s next score came halfway into the second quarter when a 28-yard run by Kittelson set up a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Cole Wangen.

This time Blooming Prairie was successful on its two-point conversion to take a 20-0 lead.

Less than 20 seconds later, after the first play of the ensuing Hayfield drive, Blooming Prairie was able to recover a fumble by the Vikings and begin a scoring drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Cale Braaten from Kittelson.

Blooming Prairie took a 26-0 lead after its third failed two-point conversion of the half.

Hayfield was able to capitalize one time before the half, scoring a touchdown on a 12-yard run and converting the point after attempt to make the game 26-7.

The game went into halftime remaining at 26-7, and saw a scoring draught take place in the third quarter where both sides were held scoreless.

However, the first play of the fourth quarter went Hayfield’s way as the Vikings cashed in on a tipped-ball reception on a fourth and 13 play to score a 35-yard touchdown.

Hayfield opted to kick the point after attempt and successfully converted to make the game a two-score contest at 26-14.

The score wouldn’t remain 26-14 for long as Wangen took back the Hayfield kickoff 80 yards to the end zone to make the game 32-14 after another failed two-point conversion.

With 4:00 minutes remaining in the game, Hayfield scored again on a fourth and four roll-out pass and converted the two-point attempt to make the game 32-22, but it came far too late to make a difference for the Vikings.

Kittelson put the final dagger in Hayfield’s comeback hopes with a 49-yard touchdown run with 3:15 remaining and completed his two-point attempt pass to make the game 40-22 late.

The last score of the game would come with 1:07 remaining when sophomore running back Bo Zwiener took a run up the middle to the end zone with a burst of speed for a 39-yard touchdown.

The game would remain at 46-22 after another unsuccessful two-point conversion, and it would stay the same until the final whistle.

Blooming Prairie start the season 1-0 after a massive offensive performance by a majority-underclassmen-led offense and a tough defensive stand.

The Blossoms' next game will be on the road against Lester Prairie on Friday at 7 p.m.