E-P had No. 2 Bismarck-Henning on ropes: Saturday’s Sauk Valley football roundup

Clas 2A

Bismarck-Henning 14, Erie-Prophetstown 6: Seeded No. 15 in Class 2A, the Panthers were just under seven minutes away from pulling off the upset over the No. 2 seed Blue Devils (10-0). In a defensive struggle, a Keegan Winckler one-yard touchdown plunge following a 46-yard pass to Demetree Larson gave E-P a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. The Panthers (5-5) held B-H off the scoreboard until a Connor Powell rushing TD with 6:27 left, but E-P blocked the extra point. The Blue Devils got the ball back late as a 55-yard touchdown pass from Anderson Thomas to Chaz Dubois with 38 seconds left was the difference. They advance to face No. 7 Seneca next week.

E-P coach Tyler Whitebread said defenses dominated the game and yards were tough to come by. Winckler threw for 79 yards and ran for 44.

“Bismarck-Henning scored on a well covered deep throw that was tipped by the cornerback and landed in the B-H wide receiver’s hands,” he said. “We got the ball back but were unable to move it down the field.”

8-player

Milledgeville 52, South Beloit 0: The sixth-seeded Missiles (9-1) advance to face third-seeded Ridgewood on the road at 1 p.m. next Saturday. Kyson Francis was 5-of-8 passing for 129 yards and three touchdowns in the win for Milledgeville. Mica Toms-Smith had two rushing scores and a TD pass in the win. Spencer Nye caught two TDs and ran for another.