Football: Bombers unable to complete comeback at Byron

Once again, the Cannon Falls football team was on the verge of a second-half comeback. But this time, the Bombers fell in too deep of a hole after Byron scored 16 first-quarter points on the way to a 22-14 Hiawatha Valley League Blue Division victory in Byron.

“We spotted Byron 16 points in that first quarter,” said Bombers head coach Josh Hofstedt. “After that, our boys played very hard to the end.

“The last drive of the game, we drove down the field with a chance to tie. It was a very exciting ending.”

Special teams paid big dividends early on for the Bears with a 22-yard field goal and a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ricky Brown. With 1 minute, 33 seconds left in the first quarter, Byron increased its lead to three scores with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Jack Nelson to Thor Knutson.

Needing a score to close the gap, Cannon Falls drove the field late in the second quarter, with quarterback Hunter Johnson connecting with Noah Callister for a 1-yard score with 1:26 remaining until halftime.

Johnson led the Bombers’ offense, going 10 of 15 passing for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also had 28 yards rushing.

Bears kicker Andrew Root tacked on field goals of 26 and 36 yards in the third to put Byron up 22-7.

With 3:44 left in the game, Johnson got Cannon Falls within striking distance with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Ian Althoff accounted for 92 of the Bombers’ 138 rushing yards, and Jordan Lindell had four catches for 76 yards in the loss.

Cannon Falls (3-2, 1-2 HVL Blue) faces Rochester Lourdes, Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked team, next Friday at home.

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