NEW LONDON — Fourth-seeded New London-Spicer proved to be ready for postseason football with a 42-6 victory over fifth-seed Melrose in the first round of the Section 6AAA playoffs Tuesday.

The Wildcats play Saturday at No. 1 Albany (6-2). Albany had a first-round bye.

“It’s a really bruising conference that we play in, but we’re a real battle-tested team and they were ready to prove themselves,” Wildcats’ head coach Chad Gustafson said of the Melrose win. “Our kids played awesome offensively and defensively in the first half and it carried over into the second half.”

Wildcats’ sophomore Mason Delzer recorded 67 yards and three touchdowns on eight rushing attempts.

NLS was going for perfection in the first half, scoring a touchdown in each of its five possessions, starting with a 2-yard run by Delzer and followed by a 65-yard pick interception return by Gavin Degner moments later.

The Dutchmen scored their lone touchdown with a 10-yard run by junior Lucas Feldewerd, but muffed the snap, resulting in a failed conversion.

Despite holding a 35-6 lead at halftime, Gustafson wanted to see his players continue to play hard in the second half.

“We told them we wanted to get a stop early,” he said.

The Wildcats answered by recovering a fumble on the kickoff.

Following the fumble recovery, Delzer scored his third touchdown on the first play of the drive, leading to the 42-6 win.

Gustafson noted that the Wildcats will immediately begin preparing for the Huskies.

“Albany is really well-coached,” he said. “We have a nice rivalry and we certainly had our share with them.

“We‘re excited to play them. We respect them and it should be a great high school football game. We hope to extend our season a little longer and potentially have a shot at playing (for) the section title.”

Section 6AAA
NLS 42, Melrose 6

Melrose (3-6) 0 6 0 0 — 6

NLS (4-5) 27 8 7 0 — 42

Scoring Plays

NLS – Mason Delzer 2 run (Gabe Rohman kick)

NLS – Gavin Degner 65 interception return (kick fail)

NLS – Brycen Christensen from Kyle Doty 27 (Rohman from Doty)

NLS – Delzer 7 run (Rohman kick)

NLS – Delzer 10 run (Rohman kick)

MEL – Lucas Feldewerd 10 run (kick fail)

NLS – Delzer 10 run (Rohman kick)

Melrose

First downs: 13 … Penalties: 3-30 … Rushing (Individual and team): Devin Orbeck 19-106, Anthony Berscheit 4-27, Lucas Feldewerd 7-56, Samson Berscheit 4-16. 44-255 … Passing (Individual and team): Orbeck 2-8-2 11 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Berscheit 2-11 … Defensive stats unavailable.

NLS

First downs: 15… Penalties: 2-10 … Rushing (Individual and team): Mason Delzer 8-67, Hunter Downey 4-27, Connor Rothwell 2-20, Noah Woelfel 6-19, Brycen Christensen 3-16, Reid Holmquist 1-2. 25-147 … Passing (Individual and team): Kyle Doty 8-10-0 151 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Christensen 4-77, Brody Duke 2-47, Gabe Rohman 1-14, Gavin Degner 1-13 … Interceptions: 2 … Fumble recoveries: 2 … Tackles (solo-assist): Brandyn Anderson 7-2, Laytin Dechon 7-2, Anakin Haglund 7-1, Sam Gabrielson 7-1, Hunter Downey 6-2, Peyton Coahran 7-0, Brody Lien 3-2, Rohman 4-0, Nate Netland 3-1 … QB sacks: Dechon 1.

Morris/CA 37,
Montevideo 0

Durgin Decker reached the end zone four times to pace third-seeded Morris/Chokio-Alberta in a shutout win over sixth-seeded Montevideo at Big Cat Stadium in Morris.

Decker had TD runs of 27, 6 and 4 yards while also hauling in a 21-yard pass from Brandon Jergenson for a score. Decker ran the ball 21 times for 185 yards while also catching three passes for 31 yards.

Francis O’Malley ran for a Thunder Hawk-best 53 yards while also completing a pass for 19 yards and catching an 11-yard pass.

Morris/CA heads to Pierz on Saturday to face the second-seeded Pioneers.

Montevideo (1-8) 0 0 0 0 — 0

Morris/CA (5-3) 0 30 7 0 — 37

Scoring Plays

MCA – Durgin Decker 27 run (Dylan Rose pass from Brandon Jergenson)

MCA – Jackson Loge fumble recovery (Decker run)

MCA – Decker 21 pass from Jergenson (pass failed)

MCA – Decker 6 run (Tyler Berlinger pass from Jergenson)

MCA – Decker 4 run (Maddix Erickson kick)

Montevideo

First downs: 9 … Penalties: 1-5 … Rushing (Individual and team): Francis O’Malley 17-53, Kaden Boike 6-43, Bradyn Schultz 4-8, Carson Boike 3-4, Andrew Van Binsbergen 2-(-4), Cooper Dack 1-(-9). 34-80 … Passing (Individual and team): O’Malley 1-1-0 19, K. Boike 2-4-0 14, Dack 0-1-0 0. 3-6-0 33 ... Receiving (Individual and team): K. Boike 1-19, O’Malley 1-11, Schultz 1-3 … Interceptions: None … Fumble recoveries: N/A … Tackles (solo-assist): Gavin Johnson 10-2, Mason Jerve 4-3, Callin Schmitz 4-2 … QB sacks: None

Morris/CA

First downs: 14 … Penalties: 3-15 … Rushing (Individual and team): Durgin Decker 21-185, Hunter Gibson 8-26, Brandon Jergenson 2-18, Ethan Lebrija 3-14, #40 2-9, Ethan Sperr 1-4, Lewis Nohl 1-2, Maddix Erickson 1-1, Drew Storck 1-0, Derek Waldbeser 2-(-1), Owen Anderson 1-(-5). 43-253 … Passing (Individual and team): Jergenson 3-6-0 31 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Durgin Decker 3-31 … Interceptions: None … Fumble recoveries: N/A … Tackles (solo-assist): N/A … QB sacks: N/A

Pierz 48,
Minnewaska 18

Pierz led 27-18 at halftime and continued to pull away as the second-seeded Pioneers eliminated seventh-seeded Minnewaska in the section quarterfinals at Pierz.

Minnewaska ends the season with a 1-8 record.

Pierz will play host to No. 3 seed Morris/Chokio-Alberta on Saturday.

Section 2AAA
Litchfield 13, Rockford 6

Fifth-seeded surprised fourth-seeded Litchfield for the playoff victory at Rockford.

The Dragons dominated defensively, holding the Rockets to 44 yards rushing. Sam Zilmer completed 13 of 30 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown for Rockford. But, Litchfield had interceptions by Tanner Kohls and Ryan Schutz and two quarterback sacks by T.J. Christensen.

Wyatt Larson also recorded a safety, tackling a ball-carrier in the end zone for Litchfield.

The Dragons also got a 30-yard field goal by Garrison Jackman.

Key to the win was a two-yard, third-quarter touchdown run by Lukas Kuehl, followed by a two-point conversion. Beau Weseloh caught a pass from Logan King.

Litchfield plays at 7 p.m. Saturday at No. 1 Providence Academy (8-0) in Plymouth. Providence Academy had a first-round bye.

Litchfield (6-3) 0 3 10 0 — 13

Rockford (6-3) 0 6 0 0 — 6

Scoring Plays

L – Garrison Jackman 30 field goal

R – Conner McCracken 37 pass from Sam Zilmer (kick failed)

L – Wyatt Larson makes tackle in end zone, safety

L – Lukas Kuehl 2 run (Beau Weseloh pass from Logan King)

Litchfield

First downs: 10 … Penalties: 4-26 … Rushing (Individual and team): Kuehl 18-76, Cole Bartlett 10-43, King 17-21, Weseloh 2-10, Tanner Kohls 2-8. 49-148 … Passing (Individual and team): King 3-8-0 18 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Weseloh 2-15, Ryan Schutz 1-3 … Interceptions: Kohls 1, Schutz 1 … Fumble recoveries: Dom Dietel 1, Jacob Dietel 1 … Tackles (total): Weseloh 9, Larson 7, T.J. Christensen 4, Kohls 4, Schutz 4 … QB sacks: Christensen 2

Rockford

First downs: 12 … Penalties: 6-65 … Rushing (Individual and team): McCracken 12-36, Henry Skinner 4-7, Patrick Andry 1-6, Caleb Richards 1-2, Logan Stedman 1-4, Zilmer 1-(-11). 20-44 … Passing (Individual and team): Zilmer 13-30-2 139 ... Receiving (Individual and team): McCracken 2-40, Wes Overton 1-9, Nolan Perry 5-40, Stedman 1-34, Alex Altmann 2-49, Skinner 1-2, Richards 1-9 … Interceptions: none … Fumble recoveries: none … Tackles (solo-assist): not available … QB sacks: n/a

Section 5AA
Kimball 36, ACGC 0

Ashton Hanan rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries to lead Kimball past Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City at Kimball.

Lucas Jansky passed for two touchdowns and 137 yards for the Cubs.

For ACGC, Landon Blom rushed 26 times for 97 yards.

Kimball is the third seed in Section 5AA. ACGC is the sixth seed.

Kimball plays Saturday at second-seeded Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1). EVW had a first-round bye.

ACGC (3-6) 0 0 0 0 — 0

Kimball (9-0) 6 16 6 8 — 36

Scoring Plays

K – Ashton Hanan 1 run (pass failed)

K – Hanan 6 run (Andy Becker pass from Andrew Mehr)

K – Hanan 2 run (Cody Leither pass from Lucas Jansky)

K – Leither 58 pass from Jansky (run failed)

K – Leither 6 pass from Jansky (Hanan run)

ACGC

First downs: 13 … Penalties: 5-60 … Rushing (Individual and team): Landon Blom 26-97, Terrell Renne 7-4, Mason Studemann 10-17, Alex Kokenge 1-5, Kyler Pickle 7-(-3). 51-140 … Passing (Individual and team): Pickle 5-17-1 51 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Studemann 3-29, Masson Hiltner 1-12, Jaxon Dragne-Leyendecker 1-10 … Interceptions: none … Fumble recoveries: not available … Tackles (solo-assist): Hiltner 7-3, Jevon Williams 3-1, Studemann 2-3, T. Renne 2-2, Isaiah Renne 2-2, Drange-Leyendecker 2-2 … QB sacks: Blom 1

Kimball

First downs: 18 … Penalties: 5-45 … Rushing (Individual and team): Hanan 15-127, Jansky 9-42, Becker 3-2, Hayden Rosenow 1-1. 28-172 … Passing (Individual and team): Jansky 7-12-0 137, A. Mehr 2-3-0 46. 9-15-0 183 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Jamison Tubridy 3-30, Leither 2-64, Becker 2-46, Austin Schindler 1-26, Becker 1-17 … Interceptions: Leither 1 … Fumble recoveries: not available … Tackles (solo-assist): Hanan 9-7, Becker 11-2, Carter Holz 5-4, Ace Meyer 2-7, Leither 5-0, Mehr 4 … QB sacks: Carter Holtz 1

Paynesville 48,
Holdingford 27

Down 21-20 in the second quarter, Paynesville scored the next four touchdowns as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs pulled ahead of the fifth-seeded Huskers in a section quarterfinal victory at Paynesville.

Four Paynesville players scored rushing touchdowns. Dalton Lahr led the rushing attack with 112 yards on 18 carries. Blake Hiltner had 101 rushing yards on 17 attempts. He also came down with a 4-yard TD reception.

At quarterback, Grayson Fuchs completed 14 of 21 passes for 206 yards and three scores to Hiltner, Max Athmann and Gus Johnson.

The Bulldogs will travel on Saturday to top-seeded Royalton. In the regular season, Paynesville handed the Royals their only loss of the year, 22-16, in the Bulldogs’ homecoming.

Holdingford (3-6) 7 14 0 6 — 27

Paynesville (7-2) 8 28 6 6 — 48

Scoring Plays

H – Name unavailable 10 run (kick good)

P – Grayson Fuchs 7 run (Eli Nelson run)

H – Name unavailable 5 run (kick good)

P – Blake Hiltner 7 run (2pt failed)

P – Hiltner 4 pass from Fuchs (2pt failed)

H – Name unavailable 50 run (kick good)

P – Max Athmann 12 pass from Fuchs (Athmann run)

P – Gus Johnson 37 pass from Fuchs (Athmann run)

P – Dalton Lahr 26 run (2pt failed)

P – Austin Pauls 7 run (2pt failed)

H – Name unavailable 9 run (2pt failed)

Holdingford

Stats not available

Paynesville

First downs: 27 … Penalties: 4-35 … Rushing (Individual and team): Dalton Lahr 18-112, Balke Hiltner 17-101, Grayson Fuchs 14-68, Austin Pauls 4-30, Max Athmann 6-9, Tyson Brunlett 1-0, Jake Schlangen 2-(-4). 63-317 … Passing (Individual and team): Fuchs 14-21-1 206 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Athmann 5-95, Gus Johnson 2-45, Nelson 3-32, Tafadzwa Juma 3-30, Hiltner 1-4 … Interceptions: Nelson 2, Juma 1 … Fumble recoveries: None … Tackles (solo-assist): N/A … QB sacks: N/A

Section 5A
Minneota 52, YME 0

Top-seeded Minneota advanced with a victory against No. 8 seed Yellow Medicine East at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota.

Vikings running back AJ Josephson ran for three touchdowns in a 158-yard, 13-carry effort. Zack Fier and Anthony Rybinski also had rushing scores for Minneota. Isaac Pohlen completed 10 of 13 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Josephson also chipped in with a defensive score, returning an interception 10 yards for a TD in the third quarter.

The Vikings will host No. 4 seed Dawson-Boyd in the section semifinals on Saturday.

YME (0-9) 0 0 0 0 — 0

Minneota (9-0) 7 21 17 7 — 52

Scoring Plays

M – Anthony Rybinski 5 run (Peyton Gillund kick)

M – AJ Josephson 45 run (Gillund kick)

M – Josephson 24 run (Gillund kick)

M – Cale Sorensen 9 pass from Isaac Pohlen (Gillund kick)

M – Josephson 6 run (Gillund kick)

M – Josephson 10 interception return (Gillund kick)

M – Gillund 30 field goal

M – Zack Fier 18 run (Gillund kick)

YME

Stats unavailable

Minneota

First downs: 20 … Penalties: 6-70 … Rushing (Individual and team): AJ Josephson 13-158, Jonah Gruenes 5-43, Max Rost 4-29, Zack Fier 2-14, Isaac Pohlen 1-9, Anthony Rybinski 1-5, Ryan Dalager 1-0. 29-248 … Passing (Individual and team): Pohlen 10-13-0 125, Dalager 3-3-0 41 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Gruenes 2-54, Peyton Gillund 5-42, Cale Sorensen 4-41, Tyler Schmidt 1-18, Rost 1-11 … Interceptions: Josephson 1, Rost 1 … Fumble recoveries: N/A … Tackles (solo-assist): Tucker Thooft 4-3, Gruenes 3-3 … QB sacks: Conner Sik 2, Jayden Gamrak 1, Branden Johnson 1, Sawyer DeSmet 1

BOLD 52, MACCRAY 8

BOLD rushed for 259 yards on 47 carries and had two Jack Gross touchdown passes to beat MACCRAY at Olivia.

Second-seeded BOLD was led by Hudson Vosika. The freshman running back ran 19 times for 150 yards and a TD.

Seventh-seeded MACCRAY rushed for 28 yards and passed for 130. Isaac Post caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Strommer for the Wolverines’ only score.

The Warriors play No. 3 Lakeview (8-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Olivia.

Lakeview beat sixth-seeded Canby (3-6), 30-6.

MACCRAY (1-8) 0 0 0 8 — 8

BOLD (8-1) 14 19 13 6 — 52

Scoring Plays

B – Hudson Vosika 4 run (Jack Gross kick)

B – Connor Plumley 5 run (Gross kick)

B – Ryan King 15 pass from Gross (kick blocked)

B – King 25 pass from Gross (kick failed)

B – Stevie McMath 30 pass from Gross (Gross kick)

B – Gross 14 run (kick failed)

B – Austin Kiecker 1 run (Gross kick)

B – Kaden Fischer 1 run (pass failed)

M – Isaac Post 31 pass from Isaac Strommer (Post pass from Strommer)

MACCRAY

First downs: 8 … Penalties: 5-33 … Rushing (Individual and team): Isaac Strommer 5-(-13), Sebastian Cisneros 18-41. 23-28 … Passing (Individual and team): Strommer 9-20-2 130 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Isaac Post 2-36, Willie Miller 1-10, Jordan Warne 1-12, Brooke Asche 3-15, Gavin Husman 2-57 … Interceptions: None … Fumble recoveries: None … Tackles (solo-assist): Austin Sweep 1-8, Brady Heiling 1-4 … QB sacks: Charlie Delbosque 1

BOLD

First downs: 25 … Penalties: 1-5 … Rushing (Individual and team): Jack Gross 3-(-6), Stevie McMath 1-10, Hudson Vosika 19-150, David Garcia 2-10, Kaden Fischer 13-67, Parker Kiecker 1-2, Austin Kiecker 4-22, Connor Plumley 2-10. 47-259 … Passing (Individual and team): Gross 8-11-0 181, Rylan Gass 1-1-0 20. 9-13-0 201 ... Receiving (Individual and team): McMath 2-47, Hunter Borer 1-12, Mathew Jacobs 1-20, Ryan King 5-122 … Interceptions: Borer 1, Max Marks 1 … Fumble recoveries: none … Tackles (solo-assist): David Garcia 1-4, Plumley 2-4, Tate Sheehan 1-4. Ethan Sullivan 3-2, Owen Flann 1-3 … QB sacks: Sullivan 2, O. Flann 1.

D-B 20, LQPV 13

Dawson-Boyd edged Lac qui Parle Valley in the first round of the playoffs at Dawson.

The Blackjacks came back from a 13-0 first-quarter deficit. Levi Olson got D-B on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Then in the third, the Blackjacks took the lead for good with a 6-yard TD pass from Brayden Hahn to Caleb Torke. A Pau Clemens Suau kick on the point-after try put D-B up 14-13.

Then in the fourth quarter, Hahn gave his team some insurance with a 1-yard TD run. Hahn completed 7 of 10 passes for 66 yards while also running for 59 yards on nine carries.

The Blackjacks head to Minneota on Saturday to face the top-seeded Vikings in the section semifinals.

LQPV (3-6) 13 0 0 0 — 13

D-B (7-2) 0 7 7 6 — 20

Scoring Plays

LQPV – 14 run (kick good)

LQPV – 1 run (kick failed)

DB – Levi Olson 2 run (Pau Clemens Suau kick)

DB – Caleb Torke 6 pass from Brayden Hahn (Clemens Sauau kick)

DB – Hahn 1 run (2-point conversion failed)

LQPV

First downs: 11 … Penalties: 2-33 … Rushing (Individual and team): 38-145 … Passing (Individual and team): 4-7-0 2 ... Receiving (Individual and team): 4-2 … Interceptions: not available … Fumble recoveries: n/a … Tackles (solo-assist): n/a … QB sacks: n/a

D-B

First downs: 13 … Penalties: 3-20 … Rushing (Individual and team): Olson 22-147, Hahn 9-59, Brayson Boike 1-5, Holt Larson 2-3. 34-214 … Passing (Individual and team): Bray. Hahn 7-10-1 66 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Aiden Swenson 2-31, Braxton Hahn 2-18, Torke 3-17 … Interceptions: n/a … Fumble recoveries: n/a … Tackles (solo-assist): Nathan Kittleson 3-5, Codie Johnson 3-2, Swenson 2-2, Keaton Haas 2-2, Olson 0-4 … QB sacks: n/a

Section 2 9-Man
RCW 42, Nicollet 14

Renville County West dominated the line of scrimmage to beat Nicollet in the first-round playoff victory at Danube.

RCW went 18 plays and 80 yards on its opening drive, capped off by a 14-yard TD run from Tyler Amsden. Amsden rushed for 74 yards and three scores.

Jasen Jansen rushed 23 times for 95 yards and a TD for the Jaguars.

RCW is the No. 2 seed. Nicollet is the No. 7 seed. Nicollet beat RCW 14-12 on Oct. 15 in Nicollet.

RCW plays No. 3 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (7-1) or No. 6 Ortonville (3-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Danube.

Nicollet (2-7) 0 0 0 14 — 14

RCW (6-3) 8 21 13 0 — 42

Scoring Plays

RCW – Tyler Amsden 14 run (Isaac Haen run)

RCW – Jasen Jansen 14 run (Eddie Morales kick)

RCW – Amsden 2 run (Morales kick)

RCW – Jack Wertish 4 run (Morales kick)

RCW – Amsden 19 pass from Haen (Morales kick)

RCW – Wertish 30 pass from Haen (kick failed)

N – Conner Martens 15 pass from Colton Thomsen (Thomsen run)

N – Thomsen 1 run (pass failed)

Nicollet

First downs: 10 … Penalties: 6-35 … Rushing (Individual and team): Thomsen 15-32, Dylan Hatlevig 6-11, Martens 1-6. 23-54 … Passing (Individual and team): Thomsen 12-30-1 121 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Nick Slater 3-56, Martens 3-25, Owen Warmington 3-20, Grant Bruns 1-12, Hatlevig 2-8 … Interceptions: none … Fumble recoveries: not available … Tackles (total): Warmington 21, Austin Northquest 10, Brady Havemeier 10, Justin Slater 6 … QB sacks: none

RCW

First downs: 19 … Penalties: 4-45 … Rushing (Individual and team): Jansen 23-95, Amsden 6-67, Wertish 5-37, Haen 5-16, Luka Hale 2-4. 45-201 … Passing (Individual and team): Haen 4-5-0 104, Amsden 1-2-0 4. 5-7-0 108 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Amsden 3-74, Wertish 1-30, Haen 1-4 … Interceptions: Adam Schrupp 1 … Fumble recoveries: Hale 1 … Tackles (total): Jansen 8, Hunter Ridler 6, Isaiah Botello 5, Jace Miller 4, Hale 4, Amsden 4, Noah Gullickson 4 … QB sacks: Jonah Nauman 1, H. Ridler 1, Amsden 1, Gullickson 1.