The Hastings Raiders continued their unbeaten football season with a commanding 42-6 victory over Burnsville on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Pates Stadium. Hastings scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters, building a 36-point halftime lead before holding the Falcons scoreless throughout the second half.

The victory improved Hastings to 7-0 overall and kept the Raiders undefeated heading into their final regular-season game. Hastings also holds a 4-0 record in Northstar District East-Maroon play.

Senior running back Zack Shatek delivered another outstanding performance, rushing for 264 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. Shatek averaged nearly 19 yards per attempt, with touchdown runs of 48 and 92 yards helping Hastings take control of the game during the opening quarter.

Hastings wasted little time getting started. The Raiders opened the game with a four-play, 59-yard scoring drive, capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carter Hanson to Marlowe Strain. Brady Irwin converted the extra point, giving Hastings a 7-0 lead with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Following a Burnsville punt, the Raiders faced a longer field, beginning their next possession at their own 10-yard line. Hastings covered the 90 yards in six plays, finishing the drive with a 48-yard touchdown run by Shatek. Irwin added another extra point, extending the lead to 14-0 with 4:51 remaining in the quarter.

Burnsville's next possession also ended with a punt, leaving Hastings backed up at its own eight-yard line. That field position did little to slow Shatek.

On the Raiders' first play of the possession, Shatek broke loose for a 92-yard touchdown run, his second long scoring run of the quarter. The extra point gave Hastings a 21-0 advantage with 2:05 remaining in the opening period.

The two touchdown runs accounted for 140 yards, more than half of Shatek's rushing total for the evening. His 264 yards represented approximately 84 percent of Hastings' 314 rushing yards.

Burnsville answered with its only scoring drive of the game, moving 67 yards before quarterback Liam Henke connected with Alex Krumwiede on a six-yard touchdown pass. The score came with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter.

The Falcons' extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving Hastings with a 21-6 lead.

Hastings responded with another lengthy offensive possession, this time covering 80 yards. Hanson finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run, and Irwin's fourth successful extra point pushed the Raiders' advantage to 28-6 with 2:01 remaining before halftime.

The Hastings defense then helped create two more scoring opportunities during the closing minutes of the half.

Burnsville lost a fumble on its next possession, with Hastings defensive lineman Adrian Fuchs recovering the football. The Raiders capitalized when Gabe Ferdig scored on a two-yard touchdown run. Irwin added the extra point, extending the lead to 35-6 with less than a minute remaining.

The Falcons suffered another turnover on their following possession, this time with Payton Perseke recovering a fumble for Hastings.

The Raiders turned that opportunity into another touchdown, covering 66 yards in three plays. Strain finished the drive with a one-yard scoring run, his second touchdown of the game. Irwin converted his sixth extra point, giving Hastings a 42-6 lead with just eight seconds remaining in the half.

Hastings had scored six touchdowns on its first six offensive possessions, including three during the final minutes of the second quarter.

With the Raiders holding a substantial lead, the majority of the Hastings starters did not play during the second half. Neither team added to its score during the final two quarters.

The Hastings defense continued to produce turnovers after halftime, with Perseke and Marcus Black each recording an interception. Perseke returned his interception 36 yards, adding another significant play to an evening that also included his fumble recovery.

In all, Hastings recovered two Burnsville fumbles and intercepted two passes, giving the Raiders four takeaways. The Hastings offense did not commit a turnover.

While the offense attracted attention with its big plays, the defensive effort was equally important in securing the victory. Burnsville finished with 275 yards of total offense, including 150 rushing yards and 125 passing yards.

Henke completed nine of 18 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also gained 48 yards rushing on eight carries.

Krumwiede led the Falcons with 10 rushing attempts for 35 yards and caught four passes for 37 yards, including Burnsville's only touchdown. Donnavon Lyons led Burnsville's receiving effort with four catches for 80 yards.

Hastings finished with 396 yards of total offense on just 36 plays, compared with Burnsville's 275 yards on 48 plays. Both teams recorded 14 first downs, but the Raiders' ability to produce long touchdowns made a substantial difference.

The Raiders rushed 30 times for 314 yards and five touchdowns. Hastings also completed four of six passes for 82 yards and another touchdown.

Hanson finished with four completions in six attempts for 82 yards and one passing touchdown. He also scored on his only rushing attempt, the 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Strain was the leading receiver for Hastings, catching three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. He also carried twice for 11 yards, including his one-yard touchdown run. His two scores gave him 12 points for the game.

Ferdig contributed in both the rushing and receiving games. He carried twice for 11 yards, including his two-yard touchdown, and caught one pass for six yards.

Brock Lundstrom handled 10 rushing attempts, gaining 21 yards. His carries accounted for one-third of the Raiders' rushing attempts as Hastings used additional players throughout the contest.

Irwin was perfect on extra points, converting all six attempts for six points. He also handled Hastings' punting duties, recording three punts for 107 yards, an average of 35.7 yards per punt.

Penalties were limited for both teams. Hastings was flagged twice for 11 yards, while Burnsville had one penalty for five yards.

The victory continued an impressive season for the Raiders, who have scored 263 points through seven games while allowing 109. Hastings is averaging 37.6 points per game and has held five of its seven opponents to 21 points or fewer.

The Raiders' rushing attack has been especially productive. Through seven games, Hastings has accumulated 2,133 rushing yards on 263 attempts, averaging 8.11 yards per carry. The team has scored 29 rushing touchdowns.

Hastings has added 576 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns, giving the Raiders 2,709 yards of combined rushing and passing offense.

The defense has contributed to the team's success by forcing turnovers. Hastings has recorded eight interceptions through seven games, while its offense has thrown only two.

Shatek remains one of the Raiders' leading offensive performers. Through the Burnsville game, the senior has recorded 185 rushing attempts, accumulated 1,827 all-purpose yards and scored 24 touchdowns this season.

Hastings now turns its attention to the regular-season finale, with an opportunity to finish the schedule undefeated.

The Raiders will host Mankato East on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. at McNamara Stadium/Todd Field in Hastings. The game will also include a special recognition of the 1961 conference championship football team. Members of that team will be in attendance, and all Hastings football alumni are invited to join the former players for the final regular-season home game.

The Raiders sit firmly atop the section standings and should finish the season as the number one seed in Section 3AAAAA having defeated all four section foes. Hastings is also currently ranked as the third best team in Class AAAAA and the tenth best team in the entire state. For now, fans need to focus on the section and winning two games to go to the state tournament.

The section standings are as follows with one game left in the regular season.

1. Hastings
2. Two Rivers
3. Thomas Academy
4. Apple Valley
5. Burnsville

With only five teams in the section, the quarterfinal round is only one game giving the first, second and third seeds all first round byes leaving the fourth and fifth seed to essentially play an extra game to get in. The quarterfinal round will be played on Oct. 27 at 6:00 p.m.

Assuming Hastings stays as the number one seed, they will play the winner of the #4/#5 quarter final round. That game will take place at Todd Field on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m.

Because the section does do their own thing for seeding, the final section tournament order could change. The issue at hand is all the final regular season games for the five teams in the section are non-section games, which changes the overall record but not the section record. As it sits, Hastings should be hosting the winner between Apple Valley and Burnsville to go to the section championship. On the other side of the bracket, Two Rivers should be hosting St. Thomas Academy on Halloween. The Warriors squeaked out a last minute win at STA in their most recent game, 30-29 after trailing 23-0 at the end of the first half.