Hills-Beaver Creek defeats Hillcrest Lutheran for Nine-Player title

The Minnesota Star Tribune

November 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM

The key to Hills-Beaver Creek’s run to the Nine-Player state football championship, which culminated in a 46-22 victory over Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Saturday, was the Patriots’ ability to forget what they clearly needed to remember.

Hills-Beaver Creek lost to Fertile-Beltrami in the 2024 championship game. Patriots head coach Rex Metzger acknowledged that experience played a part in Saturday’s victory.

“Any time you have experience is a big part of it,” he said. “Understanding the significance of the game and what it entails. As a coach, I had to go back and figure some things out. There were a lot of places where I had to say, ‘Hey, it’s not getting the job done. How can we fix this?’ ”

The school of 115 tucked into the far southwestern corner of Minnesota had the athletes it needed to establish a position among the Nine-Player elite. While the coach fretted about learning from past failure, the players flipped that script 180 degrees.

“We had people in our community this year saying we’re going to The Bank and it was just Week 4,” Metzger said. “There was so much outside noise we had to block out.”

“We just had to take things one game at a time,” said 6-5 starting senior quarterback Jamin Metzger. “We didn’t really care about the end result. We only go week to week.”

Metzger was superb Saturday, completing his first 14 passes and setting a Prep Bowl record for passing efficiency. He completed 16 of 18 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns.

The Patriots’ motto all season? Be the hammer, not the nail.

“These guys are phenomenal athletes on our team. Everybody’s fast, everybody’s quick, and everybody loves to hit,” Jamin Metzger said. “They like to be the hammer, not the nail. They like to lay the punch. They’re not scared of it.”

Coach Metzger installed a “Hammer” award, with which he recognizes a player willing to put in extra effort.

“We try to build these guys up and get these guys to play confidently,” he said. “We talk about not being the nail. Let’s be the hammer, baby.”

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The Patriots (13-0) hammered Hillcrest Lutheran (12-1) repeatedly Saturday. Hills-Beaver Creek put up 481 yards of total offense, 243 passing and 238 rushing. They held Hillcrest to 258 yards of total offense, building a 40-8 halftime lead and coasting to victory.