Detroit Lakes Football Sees Their Season End In Becker 31-14

BECKER, MN (KDLM) – The Detroit Lakes Laker Football team’s season ended on Saturday afternoon in the Section 8AA Semifinals at the hands of the Becker Bulldogs, 31-14.

It’s the second straight year that Becker has beaten Detroit Lakes in the playoffs, ousting them from the playoffs 35-15 in last year’s Section Championship game.

The Lakers were the three-seed in this year’s tournament and came out firing against the number-four team in the state. The Laker defense forced a Becker turnover on downs deep in their own territory, then Ethan and Mason Carrier picked apart the Bulldog defense on their opening drive. The Lakers faced a fourth down from the Becker 28 yard-line and sent Nick Buboltz and the field goal unit out. Buboltz’s kick was just short, giving the ball back to Becker.

The Lakers and Becker would hold each scoreless in the first quarter, but Becker would finish off their drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Bengsten to Alex Weiss on a third-and-24 playfor the game’s first touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Lakers fumbled a handoff on their first play from scrimmage, and the Bulldogs recovered it. Two plays later, Isaiah Gardner was in the end zone to extend the Bulldog lead to 14-0.

The Laker pass defense struggled against Bengsten in the opening quarter, allowing 123 yards on 7-of-8 passing. After the 29-yard touchdown pass, the Laker D buckled down, only allowing two completions on seven attempts for five yards to one of the state’s best pass offenses.

After another DL drive stalled, Becker Zack Bengsten hit a 28-yard field goal to give Becker a 17-0 lead.

Things began to get chippy between both teams late in the second quarter. After Mason Carrier converted on a third-and-short and the officials had moved the chains, Becker head coach Dwight Lundeen convinced the officials to go back and measure the spot (the ruling stood), then two plays later Becker linebacker Dylan Weber was ejected after a late blow to the head of Mason Carrier after the play was dead. The Lakers would turn the ball over on downs on the drive, and Becker would run the ball to the 28-yard line and attempted to kick another field goal as time expired in the first half, but Grady Kirchner blocked the kick to send his team to the half facing a 17-point deficit.

The Lakers got the ball to start the second half, and drove deep into Becker territory. Mason Carrier was stopped short of the marker on a fourth-and-one play that put the ball back in to Becker’s hands. But the Bulldogs put the ball on the ground on their first play, and the fumble was recovered by Breck Winter. DL capitalized on the turnover with their first touchdown of the game: a four-yard touchdown by Mason Carrier. Becker responded on their next drive, with Bengsten punching in a touchdown on third and goal from the half-yard line.

The Lakers forced another turnover in the fourth, a interception by Cody Bartness that sailed over the head of Weiss. Bartness had a great return to get the ball to midfield, and the Carrier Brothers wore down the Bulldog defense, eventually scoring from one yard out for Mason’s second score of the game, to cut the deficit to 10 points with about six minutes left in the game.

Becker would take advantage of Laker penalties and miscues, and converted a huge fourth down on the next drive to add a little cushion to their lead on a Weiss’s one-yard touchdown reception…his second of the game.

Becker’s Isaac Daluge picked off Mason Carrier on the next DL play to end any hopes of a Laker comeback.

The Lakers finish the 2022 campaign 5-4 in head coach Reed Hefta’s second season. Becker advances to the 8AAAA Championship Game, where they will face the Rocori Spartans after the Spartans smashed Little Falls 65-12 in their semifinal matchup. Rocori beat Becker 31-10 on August 26^th. That game will be played in Monticello on Friday, November 4^th.

TEAM SCORING:

DL- 0 0 7 7 – 14

BHS – 0 17 7 7 -31

SCORING PLAYS

Q1- No scoring

Q2-

BHS – 11:57 29-yd TD pass R. Bengsten to Weiss, Z. Bengsten XP good

BHS – 10:55 5-yd TD run Gardner, Z. Bengsten XP good

BHS – 4:51 33-yd FG Z. Bengsten

Q3-

DL – 6:39 4-yd TD run M. Carrier, Buboltz XP Good

BHS – 3:51 1-yd TD run R. Bengsten, Z. Bengsten XP good