High school football: Grady Buettner leads Hill-Murray over South St. Paul
Surprising South St. Paul may have been off to its best start since 2016, but that didn’t phase sophomore running back Grady Buettner and his Hill-Murray teammates on Friday night.
Buettner rushed for just over 100 yards and three touchdowns as the Pioneers handed the Packers their first loss of the season, posting a 35-14 victory on Homecoming night at Mary Queen of Victory Stadium.
Hill-Murray improved to 4-1 this season — its lone setback coming against Byron, the top ranked team in Class 4A, on Sept. 12. South St. Paul — tied for No. 8 in the most recent Class 4A poll — fell to 4-1.
Things couldn’t have started in worse fashion for the Packers. After receiving the opening kickoff, they fumbled on their first play from scrimmage when senior quarterback Sincere Casarez-McCampbell was tripped up after taking the snap.
Four plays later, facing a 4th-and-1, Buettner scored on a 7-yard run to put the Pioneers on top 7-0.
On its next possession, Hill-Murray struck again on 4th-and-5 at the South St. Paul 28-yard line. Freshman quarterback Brayden Hartmann connected with sophomore Brady Reeves on a 28-yard scoring strike that extended the lead to 14-0.
Then, after his team got the ball back at the Packers’ 48, Buettner made it 21-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:29 to play before halftime.
But South St. Paul didn’t fold.
One play after recording an interception, Casarez-McCampbell found senior Ben Thrun breaking free on a 40-yard touchdown catch. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the Packers cut the gap to 20-6.
The Pioneers had a chance to widen their lead just before halftime after recovering a fumble at the South St. Paul 21. But a 38-yard field goal attempt with under a second remaining came up short.
Yet, the Hill-Murray offense continued to pile up points in the second half, first on a 3-yard touchdown run by Buettner, then on a 1-yard run by senior Levi Grigson that put the Pioneers on top 35-6 with 46.5 seconds to play in the third quarter.
Senior Jake Baldus added a final South St. Paul touchdown on a 55-yard run with 1:01 left to play.
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High school football: Grady Buettner leads Hill-Murray over South St. Paul
Surprising South St. Paul may have been off to its best start since 2016, but that didn’t phase sophomore running back Grady Buettner and his Hill-Murray teammates on Friday night.
Buettner rushed for just over 100 yards and three touchdowns as the Pioneers handed the Packers their first loss of the season, posting a 35-14 victory on Homecoming night at Mary Queen of Victory Stadium.
Hill-Murray improved to 4-1 this season — its lone setback coming against Byron, the top ranked team in Class 4A, on Sept. 12. South St. Paul — tied for No. 8 in the most recent Class 4A poll — fell to 4-1.
Things couldn’t have started in worse fashion for the Packers. After receiving the opening kickoff, they fumbled on their first play from scrimmage when senior quarterback Sincere Casarez-McCampbell was tripped up after taking the snap.
Four plays later, facing a 4th-and-1, Buettner scored on a 7-yard run to put the Pioneers on top 7-0.
On its next possession, Hill-Murray struck again on 4th-and-5 at the South St. Paul 28-yard line. Freshman quarterback Brayden Hartmann connected with sophomore Brady Reeves on a 28-yard scoring strike that extended the lead to 14-0.
Then, after his team got the ball back at the Packers’ 48, Buettner made it 21-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:29 to play before halftime.
But South St. Paul didn’t fold.
One play after recording an interception, Casarez-McCampbell found senior Ben Thrun breaking free on a 40-yard touchdown catch. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the Packers cut the gap to 20-6.
The Pioneers had a chance to widen their lead just before halftime after recovering a fumble at the South St. Paul 21. But a 38-yard field goal attempt with under a second remaining came up short.
Yet, the Hill-Murray offense continued to pile up points in the second half, first on a 3-yard touchdown run by Buettner, then on a 1-yard run by senior Levi Grigson that put the Pioneers on top 35-6 with 46.5 seconds to play in the third quarter.
Senior Jake Baldus added a final South St. Paul touchdown on a 55-yard run with 1:01 left to play.
Related Articles
High school football: Mounds View goes on road to beat East Ridge
High School Volleyball: Gophers commit Madi Kraft is Eagan’s defensive anchor
High School Football: Baez tallies 201 yards, 3 TDs in Cadets win over Apple Valley
High School Football: Picks for Mounds View-East Ridge, South St. Paul – Hill-Murray and more
High school football: Stillwater rolls past Mound View through delays
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