By ROGER JEROME, Sports Correspondent

HIBBING — The Falls Broncos football team used an old formula Friday night of ball control and time consuming drives as the spark they needed to defeat the Hibbing Bluejackets 26-7 in a Sea-Range Conference game at Cheever Field.
“Let’s use this game as a starting point,” Bronco captain Andrew Mannausau said as he addressed the team on the field after the game. Smiles of relief from Bronco players were plentiful as the team headed off the field.
“Our offensive line blocked very well and we were able to move the football on the ground,” said Bronco head coach Stuart Nordquist. The Broncos had three running backs — Kyle Hell, Tim Myles and Mike Menard — run for over 70 yards apiece as the team had 327 yards rushing on 62 attempts, an average of over 5 yards per carry.
After punting on their first possession, the Broncos got the ball back as Jackets running back Ryan Olds fumbled on the first play. The ball was on the Hibbing 24, but following a post-possession penalty, the Falls had the ball on the Hibbing 12. Bronco quarterback Jake Casareto scored on a 1-yard run shortly after to give the Falls the lead. Casareto then ran in a 2-point conversion and the score was 8-0.
But Hibbing (1-6, 0-6 Sea-Range) responded quickly using a 5-play, 57-yard drive to get on the board. Olds did much of the damage running wide to the right side and finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The extra point left the Broncos with an 8-7 lead.
In the second quarter, the Broncos began to move the ball on the ground effectively. Using a back by committee approach, the Falls moved the ball up the field 77 yards in 12 plays, finished off by another 1-yard run by Casareto. The 2-point conversion failed, however, leaving the score 14-7 at halftime.
“We were able to overcome a penalty on that drive and it turned out to be a key point of the game,” said Nordquist. “Throughout the night Alex Bruess did a very good job blocking out of the backfield to enable us to move the ball,”.
The score remained the same through the third quarter, but the Broncos had two drives totaling 151 yards on 27 plays in the fourth quarter to put the game away. In both cases the drives were ended on scoring runs by Myles, one of 10 yards and the other 7.
Late in the game, aided by Bronco penalties, the Bluejackets moved the ball down the field only to lose the ball on downs deep in Bronco territory. The Broncos then fumbled on their 3-yard line, but the defense again rose to the challenge and kept Hibbing out of the end zone.
Menard had 109 yards on 10 carries, Myles had 95 yards on 15 carries and Hell powered between the tackles and finished with 12 carries for 74 yards. Bruess had 33 yards on seven carries and Casareto, Ryan Tomevi and Marcus Zawchenuk all had carries. Casareto completed 2 of 7 passing for 35 yards, both to Myles. The Falls ran a total of 69 plays to the Bluejackets’ 44.
The Broncos (2-5, 1-5) will turn around and play Cloquet (4-3, 4-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Bronco Stadium with a chance to host a home game the following week in the Section 7AAA tournament. Cloquet lost 7-0 Friday to Proctor.
“Cloquet has a good team, but if we come to play football we feel we can do well,” said Nordquist. It’s Parent’s Night, and can be heard live on Broncoradio.com.