Becker, No. 1 in 4A, ends regular season with shutout

The Becker Bulldogs finished their regular season the way they started it. With a shutout victory.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, relied on their sturdy defense to earn a 17-0 victory over Willmar on Wednesday in Willmar, Minn.

It was the third shutout of the season for the unbeaten Bulldogs (8-0), who started the season with a 28-0 victory over Rocori.

The Bulldogs stopped the Cardinals, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, on three consecutive trips into the red zone.

Becker led 14-0 at halftime. Carter Callahan's 2-yard touchdown run and Zach Bengston's PAT gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 6:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Ryan Bengston threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Berglund with 3:25 remaining in the first half. The PAT extended the Bulldogs lead to 14-0. The touchdown was set up by a 59-yard pass from Ryan Bengston to Berglund.

On the ensuing possession, the Cardinals drove to the Bulldogs 18-yard line before the Bulldogs held on downs to get the ball back with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

On their first possession of the second half, the Cardinals drove to the Bulldogs 14-yard line, but the Bulldogs stopped the drive on fourth down.

Becker started from its 14-yard line and drove to the Cardinals 10-yard line before the drive stalled. After a 5-yard penalty, Zach Bengston's 32-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter gave the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead.

Willmar responded by driving to a first down at the Becker 11-yard line. The Bulldogs defense stopped the Cardinals on a fourth-and-1 at the 2-yard line.

After forcing the Bulldogs to punt with 4:48 remaining, the Cardinals started a drive at the Bulldogs 38-yard line. That possession was ended by an interception by the Bulldogs' Landen Goebel.

The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Cardinals (6-2).

The victory was the 379th for Becker coach Dwight Lundeen, who is in his 52nd season with the Bulldogs.

Andover 28, Cambridge-Isanti 0: Caden Wheeler rushed for four touchdowns — three in the first half — to lead the visiting Huskies, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, past the Bluejackets.

Chaska 21, St. Louis Park 14: Jack Boyle rushed for three touchdowns to help the unbeaten Hawks (8-0), ranked No. 4 in Class 5A, outlast the visiting Orioles. Boyle's third touchdown, in the first minute of the fourth quarter, broke a 14-14 tie.

Mahtomedi 35, South St. Paul 12: Jordan Hull rushed for 114 yards in eight attempts and scored on a 59-yard touchdown run to spark the Zephyrs past the host Packers. Nicholas Beiersdorf and Charles Brandt each rushed for two touchdowns for the Zephyrs, who gained 255 yards on the ground.

Minneapolis North 50, St. Paul Central 6: Rio Sanders ran for two touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes to lead the Polars, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A, past the host Minutemen. De'Meiko Anderson caught touchdown passes of 89 and 19 yards and Jaylon Washington rushed for two touchdowns for the Polars (7-1).

Verndale 26, Brandon-Evansville 20: Verndale, ranked No. 1 in Nine-man, improved to 8-0 with the victory over the host Chargers. The victory was the 416th for Pirates coach Mike Mahlen, who is in his 53rd season.

JOEL RIPPEL