BP wins 42-40 thriller at Bethlehem

Blooming Prairie picked up its biggest win of the 2023 season last week by beating Bethlehem Academy (BA) 42-40 in a thriller that came down to a failed Cardinals’ pass to the endzone in the game's waning seconds.

After the Awesome Blossoms took a 42-32 lead with just 2:03 remaining in the game, BA showed why it’s ranked No. 7 in Class A by scoring in under a minute, securing a three-and-out on defense, and then driving once again to set up an attempt at a last-second pass to win the game.

“I was like, ‘Please, don’t let this happen.’ Obviously, they’ve practiced that play before because they did it a couple of times and it worked. I was happy to see it hit the ground because it would have been a heartbreaking loss to play with the heart and determination our guys did tonight and lose that way,” said Blooming Prairie Head Coach Chad Gimbel.

BA earned the first points of the game after Blooming Prairie quarterback Brady Kittelson fumbled the ball on a rushing attempt to the Blossoms’ 36-yard line, putting the host Cardinals up 6-0 early in the first quarter.

BA added the two-point conversion to jump out to an 8-0 lead, much to the excitement of the home crowd.

Blooming Prairie was not rattled by its initial offensive blunder and instead took the ball swiftly down the field and capped a seven-play, 51-yard drive with a 30-yard passing touchdown from Kittelson to wide receiver Dylan Anderson.

The Blossoms elected to kick the ball for the point after, but the attempt missed to keep Blooming Prairie at an 8-6 deficit.

BA began its ensuing possession at its own 42-yard line, thanks to a short Blooming Prairie kickoff, and made the Blossoms play with a 41-yard passing touchdown to extend its lead to 15-6.

Once again Blooming Prairie brushed off BA’s score with one of its own, this time thanks to an 11-yard rush by Kittelson to cap a short four-play, 27-yard drive.

Blooming Prairie’s two-point attempt was unsuccessful and kept the score at 15-12.

BA’s offense was not prepared to slow down and scored again to put itself up 20-12 with 9:48 remaining in the half via a 15-yard passing touchdown on a third-and-11 play.

To this point, BA’s offense seemed poised to take over the game with its consistent successes, however, the Blossoms had other plans.

A massive kick return by Blooming Prairie utility player Alex Lea set the Blossoms up at the Cardinals’ 45-yard line to begin another important possession.

Blooming Prairie was able to cash in on its valuable field position and eventually found the endzone again on a five-yard run by Kittelson to move the score to 20-18 with 7:19 remaining in the half.

Blooming Prairie elected to go for two points after the score, and this time was successful in tying the game at 20-20.

BA attempted to regain control of the momentum on its next possession, but a quick three-and-out stop by Blooming Prairie began to shift the game in favor of the visiting Blossoms.

Neither side was able to put up any points on their next two possessions, but Blooming Prairie looked to change that when it got the ball back at its own 12-yard line with 2:37 left in the half.

Needing 88 yards, the Blossoms marched down the field in a hurry on seven plays, capping their massive drive with a two-yard plunge by running back Cole Wangen with just 49 seconds left in the second quarter.

Chaos ensued when Kittelson fumbled while attempting to rush in from the three for the two-point conversion. Luckily for Blooming Prairie, Anderson hopped on the ball in the endzone for a successful attempt.

Blooming Prairie’s score was the last of the quarter and put the Blossoms up 28-20 at the half.

Both sides battled hard on defense to begin the second half, working hard to maintain an edge in field position.

BA found itself pinned back at its own 12-yard line with 6:56 left in the third quarter but managed to score in a hurry via a 78-yard passing touchdown to shift the momentum back toward the Cardinals.

BA went for two after the score, but Blooming Prairie linebackers Bo Zwiener and Lea stuffed the attempt to keep the Blossoms ahead 28-26.

A few minutes in change passed before Blooming Prairie managed to score again, this time on a three-yard rush by wide receiver Bradley Boyd with 2:28 left in the third quarter.

Blooming Prairie tacked on two more points via a successful two-point pass to Lea to take a 36-26 lead.

BA scored again with 10:51 remaining in the fourth quarter to trail 36-32 and looked poised to overtake Blooming Prairie after an important red zone stand, but a strip sack by Zwiener quickly put the Blossoms back in control of the game.

Zwiener’s strip and recovery gave the Blossoms possession at the Cardinals’ 33-yard line and set up a methodical eight-play, 33-yard scoring drive that ended with a four-yard rushing touchdown by Kittelson.

“Coach Kittelson sent me on a blitz and the O-Line didn’t pick it up. I saw the quarterback holding the ball with one hand, so I tackled him with one arm and stripped it with the other. When I fell on the ball, I was just hyped,” said Zwiener.

Kittelson’s score put Blooming Prairie up 42-32 with two minutes remaining in the game following an unsuccessful two-point try.

Now needing a quick score to stay in the game, BA got exactly what it was looking for just 46 seconds later after a four-play, 60-yard drive ended with a four-yard rushing touchdown and a successful two-point conversion.

BA’s efforts made the game 42-40 with 1:14 left to play.

The Cardinals attempted the onside kick but failed to recover the ball.

Blooming Prairie did its best to kill off the clock, but ultimately had to punt, giving the ball back to BA at its own 31 with 17 seconds left in the game.

The Cardinals’ first play from scrimmage went for 42 yards on a batted ball downfield that was caught by a lurking receiver, setting up BA with one more chance at the endzone after spiking the ball with seven seconds left.

BA threw the ball into the back of the endzone where the ball was deflected in the air twice before hitting the ground and securing the win for Blooming Prairie as time expired.

The run game was instrumental for Blooming Prairie in the win, as the team accumulated 414 yards behind a 189-yard performance by Kittelson and a 167-yard game by Wangen.

With the win, Blooming Prairie earned the No. 5 seed in the Section 1A playoffs and faced No. 4 Goodhue in the opening round on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Stats and results from the game were not available at the time of press.

Player Stats

Passing

#9 Brady Kittelson – 4/15 81 1 TD 1 Int

Rushing

#9 Kittelson – 9 att. 189 yards 3 TD 1 Fum; #4 Cole Wangen – 19 att. 167 yards 1 TD; #2 Bradley Boy – 5 att. 28 yards 1 TD; #12 Alex Lea – 4 att. 26 yards; #8 David Clennon – 1 att. 4 yards

Receiving

#1 Dylan Anderson – 3 rec. 47 yards 1 TD; #3 Carter Bishop – 1 rec. 34 yards