Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City came back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in a 26-22 section football thriller on Tuesday night in Grove City.

ACGC (4-5) running back Beau Anderson punched the ball in from two yards out with 20 seconds remaining to win the Section 4A playoff game for the Falcons, who are the No. 3 seed in the eight-team section tournament.

The Falcons trailed BBE (1-8, No. 6 seed) early in the fourth quarter, until ACGC quarterback Derek Dengerud’s 17-yard touchdown run brought the team within two points.

The subsequent two-point-conversion pass from Dengerud to tight end Walker Youngblom was unsuccessful, leaving ACGC down 22-20 with 9:10 remaining in the final period.

But Anderson’s last-minute touchdown run put the Falcons on top, keeping their season alive another week.

The Falcons out-gained BBE in a possession-oriented, run-heavy game: neither team turned the ball over, and the two teams combined for 94 rushing attempts and only eight total passing attempts in the game.

ACGC racked up 369 yards on the ground on 60 carries to BBE’s 241 rushing yards on 34 attempts.

Anderson led a balanced Falcon attack, carrying the ball 26 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while Dengerud rushed the ball 25 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns and running back Brett Busskohl racked up 87 yards on only five carries.

Anderson also caught Dengerud’s only successful pass of the evening, a 13-yard completion, and added two tackles and 0.5 sacks on defense.

The Falcons’ Adam Johnson and Sheldon Rasmussen spent much of the game in the BBE offensive backfield: Johnson had four solo tackles – including two for a loss – and an assist, and Rasmussen had two tackles, 1.5 for a loss, and two assists.

ACGC punted only once in the game, riding their efficient running game to 21 first downs to BBE’s nine; the Falcons also converted six of their 12 attempts on third down.

ACGC will now travel to No. 2 seed Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity for their second-round game on Saturday.

Football results

Section 4A playoffs

Oct. 21 from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City High School

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 26, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 22

BBE …… 8 8 6 0 – 22

ACGC …. 8 6 0 12 – 26

B – Tanner Heinsius 9-yard run (Dalon Bitzan run good)

A – Derek Dengerud 1-yard run (Pass from Dengerud to Beau Anderson good)

B – Brendon Loch 2-yard run (Dalon Bitzan run good)

A – Beau Anderson 10-yard run (Run failed)

B – Tanner Heinsius 7-yard run (Run failed)

A – Derek Dengerud 17-yard run (Pass failed)

A – Beau Anderson 2-yard run (Run failed)

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa

First downs: 9 … Rushing: 34-241 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 3-5-67-0 … Fumbles lost: 0 … Penalties: 5-30

Rushing: Tanner Heinsius 14-105, Dalon Bitzan 5-74, Brendon Loch 6-38, Tommy Cebulla 8-24 … Passing: Dalon Bitzan 3-5-20-0 … Receiving: Tanner Halvorson 1-15, Tanner Heinsius 1-3, Tommy Cebulla 1-2 … Punting: Adrian Belden 3-95 (31.7) … Interceptions: None … Fumble recoveries None … Tackles (solo-assist): Ben Thompson 6-10, Tommy Cebulla 7-5, Jordan Wosmek 6-4, Tanner Heinsius 5-2, Ryan Illies 5-1, Shawn Felling 3-3, Brendon Loch 3-2 … QB sacks: None.

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City

First downs: 21 … Rushing: 60-369 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 1-3-13-0 … Fumbles lost: None … Penalties: 2-15

Rushing: Beau Anderson 26-152, Derek Dengerud 25-118, Brett Busskohl 5-87, Tanner Olson 4-12 … Passing: Derek Dengerud 1-3-13-0 … Receiving: Beau Anderson 1-13 … Punting: Tye Olson 1-33 … Interceptions: None … Fumble recoveries None … Tackles (solo-assist): Kolt Soine 3-3, Adam Johnson 4-1, Payton Kinzler 4-1, Cody Berghuis 4-1, Tye Olson 2-4, Sheldon Rasmussen 2-2, Brennan Lewis 1-3, Tanner Olson 1-3, Cullen Hoffman 1-2, Beau Anderson 1-2 … QB sacks: None.