BRAVES FALL TO DEFENDING CHAMPS

    For almost a quarter and half the Britton-Hecla football squad battled defending Class 9AA champion Hamlin toe-to-toe, but the Chargers forged a 22-0 halftime lead and went on to record a 36-0 victory in the season opener for both clubs in Britton on Friday.
    The Braves hit the road this week to do battle with Leola-Frederick in Frederick on Friday at 7 p.m.  A year ago The Titans scored with 20 seconds remaining to edge B-H 36-30.  L-F, 1-0, downed Redfield 54-22 in its season opener. 
    “I thought that we did a really good job of executing the game plan early in the game,” said B-H boss Jacob Skogstad.  “But we kind of fell into the same trap that ended our season last year - too many turnovers and too many trips to the red area where we did not capitalize.
    “We are going to focus on what we can change this week,” noted Skogstad.  “We saw a lot on film that is fixable and want to hit the ground running on Friday against a good Titans team. We expect a lot of the same - ball control and physical football this week - so we will need to be prepared for that.”
    Hamlin struck quickly on Friday, needing just two plays to go 65 yards and grab a 6-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game.  The Braves responded with a ball-control drive that included 15 plays and three third down conversions that consumed nearly seven minutes of the clock and took the ball from their own 18 to a first down on the Hamlin two.  But four plays resulted in a minus three yards and the Chargers took over on downs on their own six.
    However, on second down Graham Fosness recovered a Hamlin fumble and the Braves were back in business on the Chargers’ 17.  But B-H managed just three yards on three plays and Hamlin intercepted a fourth down pass to end another threat and the visitors led 6-0 at the quarter break.
    The Braves put together another strong drive to open the second period, taking over on their own 10 and driving to Hamlin’s 40.  Jace Rein connected with Mitch Burger on a 38-yard pass play to convert a third and 15 to keep the drive alive, but a pass interception again thwarted B-H and Hamlin needed just three plays to find the end zone and take a 14-0 lead.  After a Braves three-and-out, Hamlin put together a 71-yard scoring drive to forge its 22-0 halftime advantage.
    After a change of possessions in the third stanza the Braves drove to the Hamlin 44 but a first down fumble resulted in another Chargers’ TD three plays later.  Hamlin scored again on its next possession and was in charge 36-0 after three quarters with neither team scoring in the final period.
    Hamlin held a 345-210 total yards advantage in the contest with 189 passing and 156 on the ground.  The Braves had 128 running the football with Bryce Hawkinson carrying the ball 24 times for 92 yards and added 82 via the airways with Burger catching two for 46 yards.  Hawkinson also led the defensive effort with 12.5 tackles and Jaxon Zuehlke had 7.5 stops.
    A big difference in the game was the turnover department.  The Braves lost the ball five times on four pass interceptions and a fumble, while Hamlin turned the ball over just once.