Blaine 33, Andover 13

There was plenty of football incentive Wednesday at Blaine when Andover dropped by to face the Bengals in one of the bigger games of the season on one of the colder nights of the season.

At stake for both teams: 1) a continued hold on at least a share of first place in the Northwest Suburban Conference; 2) the top seed and a first-round bye in the Class 5A, Section 7 playoffs.

And today's standings -- both conference and section -- have Blaine in the pole position. The Bengals rolled to a stunning 33-13 victory, shutting down the Huskies' air attack and running nearly at will behind a powerful offensive line.

Mike Thai ran 21 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns for Blaine (6-1), which led 21-0 at halftime and remained in total control after that. The first-half highlights were somewhat new for the Bengals.

"Usually we struggle early and we've been a second-half team," quarterback Eric Kline said. "This game was the total opposite, and we'll take it."

Andover quarterback Tyler Finnes was averaging 262 passing yards and three touchdowns per game, but he completed only 12 of 27 for 74 yards against the Bengals while rushing for 108 yards. Andover's seven first-half possessions ended in six punts and an interception and the Huskies (5-2) got past midfield only once before halftime.

"Field position was big and our offense was clicking early," Blaine coach Shannon Gerrety said. "Our defense held them to very few yards in the first half."

Andover's best first-half scoring chance might have come on the game's first play. Receiver Jason Schneider had a step on the defense but lost his footing ever so slightly, and Finnes' pass was an inch or two too long.

"The first play of the game, in my mind, is a touchdown if Schneider doesn't slip," Andover coach Rich Wilkie said. "Blaine just outplayed us early on. They maybe had a little better game plan than we did. We had some good plays called and we just didn't execute."

The day began with a three-team coagulation at the top of the league standings among Andover, Blaine and Centennial, which beat Maple Grove 34-21 on Wednesday. Blaine's only loss was to Centennial in Week 2, but the Bengals have something extra on their side of the section ledger: one of Centennial's victories was over Park Center, a Class 4A team. Blaine has an all-5A schedule, which means if both the Bengals and Cougars win next week, Centennial would win the conference based on the head-to-head result, but Blaine would get the No. 1 seed in the section.

Andover lost for the second game in a row, following a 19-7 defeat to Anoka on Friday.

With one game remaining in the regular season, nobody is looking too far ahead. Blaine will play at Elk River on Tuesday, after which the section tournament pairings will be set. And just as nobody is looking that far ahead, nobody is ruling out a rematch, either.

"They're a good football team," Gerrety said of the Huskies. "And chances are we'll see them again."

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com