Blooming Prairie fends off NRHEG at home

The Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms kept their perfect record unblemished with a 42-20 victory against NRHEG on Friday, despite some heavy resistance from the Panthers.
Blooming Prairie found itself in some unfamiliar spots during the game, not scoring any points in the first quarter.
The Blossoms’ only scores came from an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Drew Kittelson to senior wide receiver Sam Skillestad and a one-yard rushing touchdown from freshman running back Cole Wangen.
NRHEG’s only score of the half came on a 15-yard passing touchdown from junior quarterback Charlie Nissen to junior running back Andrew Phillips.
Blooming Prairie held a 14-7 lead halftime.
The momentum of the game shifted entirely in the second half
Adjustments made by Blooming Prairie resulted in a 14-point quarter for the Blossoms.
“Just too many mistakes in the second half. On defense, we ended up giving up over 400 yards on the ground to them, and that is something that needs to be fixed,” said NRHEG head coach Marc Kruger.
A fumble on NRHEG’s first play after half led to a short field for Blooming Prairie, who put together a short drive ending with a five-yard passing touchdown from Kittelson to senior wide receiver Colin Jordison.
On the next drive, Kittelson struck again, finding senior wide receiver Carson Brennecke for a nine-yard touchdown pass.
A pair of successful extra points put the Blossoms up 28-7 after the third quarter.
NRHEG scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on a seven-yard passing touchdown from senior wide receiver Tyrone Wilson to fellow senior wide receiver Bo Budach and a massive 62-yard rushing touchdown by Phillips.
Phillips, who scored two of NRHEG’s three touchdowns on the night, contributed 154 of NRHEG’s 242 yards of total offense.
However, the points came too late as Blooming Prairie controlled the clock the rest of the way and added a one-yard touchdown rush by Wangen and a nine-yard keeper by Kittelson. Both extra points were successful.
The game ended 42-20, with Blooming Prairie coming out on top.
Blossoms’ head coach Chad Gimbel said that the team’s ability to win the line of scrimmage made the difference in the second half. He also said the team has a lot to work on as it progresses in the season.
The win improves Blooming Prairie’s record to 7-0 on the season, while NRHEG’s record moves to 3-4.