HUDSON — River Falls came to play against a Hudson team tearing through its schedule with a 6-1 overall record, but Raider quarterback Grant Bjerke’s 400 total yards and three touchdowns made the difference as Hudson reclaimed the Little Brown Jug with a 28-14 win Friday.

River Falls beat Hudson 44-21 a year ago during the dream season that brought the Wildcats all the way to the State semi-finals, but, like any great rivalry, Hudson desperately wanted that jug back.

The stadium was packed a half hour before kick-off, and the Raiders delivered the fireworks they had promised early. River Falls senior Nolan Hoepfl, who would later go down with an injury, looked to set the tone with a massive shoulder pad tackle along his team’s sideline; however, it was Hudson that would prevail on the opening drive. Bjerke had already done a lot of the work to get into striking distance, and he broke through three tacklers at once to dive for the pylon and score from 31 yards out less than two minutes into the game.

River Falls had a lot of life on its opening drive as well. Senior Oliver Simmons made a nice return from just shy of the endzone to push the Wildcats to their own 37. On third and long, sophomore quarterback Maxim Wahlquist found senior Charlie Burke on the left side wide open for a first down to get to the 50. Junior running back Trevor Bartlett got into the mix with a run of about 20 yards on third and short. A screen pass on the very next play seemed as if it would get River Falls into the red zone, but it was punched out and recovered by the Raiders to steal back all the momentum the Wildcats had earned.

Hudson scored again to go up 14-0 early in the second on a sweep play by Jake Kowles that was clogged up, causing him to bounce back to the middle and find a window from inside the 10 into the end zone. A muffed punt got River Falls back into the game. Starting at Hudson’s 30. The Wildcats worked the ball inside the 10, stalling out and being stopped on fourth and goal. On the final drive of the half, Hudson opted to bring out the field goal unit for a three-score lead. That proved to be a massive mistake. Simmons led a three-man Wildcat charge to block the kick, scooping the ball and taking it all the way for a touchdown to cut the halftime deficit to 14-7.

In the second half, Hudson got a stop and went out and scored halfway through the third for a 21-7 lead. Bartlett scored late in the third, but it was the last time the Raiders would allow Wildcat points.

The Wildcats are now through the two-week stretch they knew would be difficult, facing New Richmond with a 5-0 BRC record and Hudson with a 4-1 BRC record. They showed flashes against both teams but could not stay as consistent as the opposition.

At 3-4 overall and 3-2 in BRC play, River Falls has a lot to play for over these final two weeks of the season. The Wildcats are fighting for a spot in the postseason, hosting Rice Lake (0-5 in BRC) and playing at Menomonie (3-2 in BRC) over the final two weeks to get it done.