Bethlehem Academy, helped by a 21-point second quarter, knocked off defending state champion Dawson-Boyd 29-20 Saturday, advancing to next Saturday's Class 1A Prep Bowl title game.
The Cardinals scored three touchdowns in a span of a little less than five minutes. Christian Von Ruden returned a punt 50 yards to set up a score, took reverse 53 yards for a touchdown and also placed a 42-yard punt inside the 20-yard line in the period.
The Blackjacks closed the gap to nine points with 7 seconds left in the first half. Justin Lee took a pitch from Joey Lee and lofted a 9-yard pass to Nathaniel Huot for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and the halftime score was 21-12.
Bethlehem Academy's clinching score came at 8:05 of the fourth quarter, as a shanked punt led to a 14-yard touchdown run by Matt Siegfried.
The Cardinals converted a fake extra point kick for two points to take a 17-point lead.
"That's a play we work on in practice," Bethlehem Academy head coach Scott Hanson said. "The players themselves set it up because they sensed that Dawson-Boyd was bringing a lot of pressure up the middle."
Hanson praised his team and cited quarterback Kyle Filzen as a "tremendous leader and example for his teammates."
Filzen scored a 1-yard touchdown to begin the scoring for the Cardinals, and finished the game with 40 yards rushing and one touchdown pass.
