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The Ashby-Brandon-Evansville Bolts came through with a strong second half of football on Friday night as they were able to play spoilers on homecoming night for the Hillcrest Comets, recording a 26-14 victory in Fergus Falls. Trailing 7-6 at the half, the Bolts scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half to gain control of the game.
The Comets struck on their first possession of the night when Ethan Swedberg connected with Gabe Swedenburg on a 33 yard TD pass with 7:32 remaining in the quarter. A Kian Stender extra point kick put the score at 7-0.
Ashby-Brandon-Evansville got on the board at 8:29 of the second quarter when Colton Breitkreutz hauled in a 26 yard pass from Micah Fuller. The two-point try failed and the Comets led 7-6.
A Breitkreutz interception on the Comets first drive of the second half setup the Bolts for the go ahead score. Jake Norby took the ball in from 25 yards out and ABE led 12-7 with 6:30 left in the 3rd quarter. Following a Hillcrest punt, Fuller hit Breitkreutz in stride with a 40 yard touchdown pass, giving the visitors an 18-7 advantage. Hillcrest responded with a 6 yard touchdown pass from Swedberg to Leo Nordick and another Stender PAT kick, trimming the Bolts lead to 18-14 with 2:26 remaining in the third.
Ashby-Brandon-Evansville converted a fourth and three into an 11 yard TD pass from Fuller to Norby and the two then hooked up for the two-point conversion and a 26-14 lead with 10:11 to play in the game. The Bolts stopped Hillcrest on downs at the Ashby-Brandon-Evansville 6 yard line, but had to punt the ball back to the Comets. A Hillcrest drive was ended with another Breitkreutz interception and the Bolts were able to take the final two minutes off the clock, securing the win.
Logan Haburn led a potent ground attack with 132 yards on 19 carries. Fuller added 70 yards on 10 rushing attempts and Norby had 53 yards on 11 rushes. Ashby-Brandon-Evansville finished with 242 rushing yards and 199 passing yards for 441 total yards. Breitkreutz hauled in 4 catches for 101 yards. Fuller completed 12-of-21 passes.
Leaders for Hillcrest were Gabe Swedenburg with 6 receptions and 108 yards, and Isaac Blaskowski with 3 catches for 80 yards. Swedberg completed 13-of-29 passes for 215 yards and the Comets had a total of 271 yards of offense, gaining only 51 yards on the ground.
Hillcrest travels to Wheaton to face Border West next Friday, while Ashby-Brandon-Evansville is in Battle Lake to face Ottertail Central.