The Austin football team didn’t waste any time showing how bad it wanted to host its first postseason game in at least a decade when it hosted Mankato East (2-5 overall) in Art Hass Stadium Friday night. The Packers showed a lot of balance on offense and their defense made big plays as they beat the Cougars 47-26.

Tate Hebrink threw for 190 yards and a TD and he ran for 48 yards and four TDs for the Packers (4-3 overall), who led the game 40-13 when they pulled their starters out of the game early in the fourth quarter.

Joe Seeman ran for 103 yards for Austin as he helped set up Hebrink on the read option.

“Joe is such a good runner and teams key on him. It opens things up for me,” Hebrink said. “The offensive line played so good tonight and I think it was their best game of the year. We connected on some passes and we had some good runs. It all worked tonight.”

Defensively, the Packers forced three turnovers and they scored a safety. Austin also shut down the Cougar rushing attack as it allowed just 47 yards on the ground on 32 carries. The Packers made 14 tackles in the East backfield and Austin defensive ends Jake Halsey, who had two sacks, and Logan Braaten were getting a lot of penetration.

“Their [backs are] shifty guys, but as a defensive line right now we’re really confident,” Braaten said. “We’ve been shutting down the run for the last three weeks.”

The win puts the Packers in prime position to pick up the No. 3 seed in Section 1AAAAA, which means Austin would host its first postseason contest in at least 10 years. Austin will close out the regular season in Winona Wednesday and the Section 1AAAAA playoffs begin Oct. 24.

“The guys wanted this win bad. They knew we had a great chance at a home playoff game if we started fast. It was a good overall team win,” Austin assistant coach Justin Heskett said. “I think it’s huge for the program and it’s huge for the community too. The community has done a great job of supporting us and for the guys, they deserve it. They’ve worked their tails on the field and off the field. It couldn’t happen for a better group of guys.”

Braaten said this year has been a great one for a senior class that has seen its ups and downs over the past few years.

“We’ve been around for a long time and we’ve worked hard,” Braaten said. “We’ve experienced some bad seasons and it’s nice to be the class that gets the ball rolling and to have not just a respectable team, but a good team.”

SCORING SUMMARY

East 0    7   6   13  —  26

Austin 14  7  12  14  —  47

First quarter

(A) Tate Hebrink 1 run (Andrew Schumacher kick) (7 plays, 48 yards) 4:07

(A) Hebrink 14 run (Schumacher kick) (4 plays, 31 yards) 2:31

Second quarter

(A) Hebrink 2 run (Schumacher kick) (5 plays, 66 yards) 11:10

(M) Reid Gruenes (Jake Kibble kick) (13 plays, 98 yards) :23

Third quarter

(A) Schumacher 23 field goal (6 plays, 65 yards) 8:59

(A) safety (1 play, 0 yards) 7:26

(A) Hebrink 2 run (Schumacher kick) (10 play, 53 yards) 3:32

(M) Jack Clifford 11 pass from Gruenes (kick failed) (9 plays, 60 yards) 3:32

Fourth quarter

(A) Gavin Owens 33 pass from Hebrink (Schmacher kick) (5 plays, 65 yards) 11:01

(M) TJ McNeal 40 run (kick failed) (3 plays, 48 yards) 7:36

(A) Nate Murphy 3 run (Schumacher kick) (5 plays, 33 yards) 1:15

(M) Zac Forbrook 51 pass from Jacob Prybylla (Kibble kick) (5 plays, 60 yards) :03

AUSTIN STATS

Rushing: Jacob Seeman, 16-for-101; Hebrink, 11-for-48, 4 TDs; Sam Hagan, 7-for-30; Nate Murphy, 5-for-10, TD; Andrew Schumacher, 1-for-9; Aiden Wilson, 5-for-4

Passing: Hebrink, 11-for-22, 190, TD, INT; Murphy, 0-for-2

Receiving: Connor Byram, 3-for-65; Luke Hawkshead, 4-for-60; Gavin Owens, 1-for-33, TD; Seeman, 3-for-32

Defense: Jacob Halsey (2 sacks); Joe Seeman (2 fumble recoveries); Nico Forte (1 fumble recovery)

Penalties: 6-for-45

EAST STATS

Rushing: 47

Passing: 242

Penalties: 3-for-15