Having to score a touchdown from 99 yards away in 90 seconds or less didn't prevent the International Falls football team from winning a Sea Range Conference game for the first time this season on Friday night at Hibbing, 24-20.

“That was a great drive we had there,” said Falls head coach Jay Boyle. “I was glad we were able to complete some passes and get our running game established. Overall, we’re very happy with our victory (Friday night).”

The win improved Falls’ season record to 1-3 in conference play and 2-4 overall.

The Broncos trailed 20-16 when they stopped Hibbing on downs on their own 1-yard line with 1:30 to play.

The Falls used a combination of running and passing plays to travel the length of the field with the first play from scrimmage being a 23-yard run by running back Jakob Ettestad.

“(The Bluejackets) were out of their main defense, which had done a fairly good job of stopping our run, but they got into a zone prevent (and) opened up the running lanes,” Boyle said. “We still had our three timeouts, so we thought we had a little time to gash and get it up the field.”

The Broncos’ game-winning scoring strike against the Bluestreaks came on a double-pass play, in which quarterback Jakob Eide tossed the ball laterally to Ben Humbert, who then found Luke Spilde open for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds to play.

“That double-pass play of ours (is) something we’ve been working on, something we’ve had in the back pocket — we work on it here and there — and glad it was ready when we needed it,” Boyle said.

Friday’s game also marked the fourth week in a row the Falls led at halftime before trailing in the second half. But unlike the previous three weeks, the Broncos were able to come back and win.

The Falls scored first with 9 seconds left in the opening quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Ettestad, who then threw an option pass to Humbert for the 2-point conversion to extend the Broncos’ lead to 8-0.

Ettestad ended up leading the Falls in rushing with 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Hibbing’s only touchdown of the first half came with 1:16 left in the second quarter when quarterback Deion Harris capped off a 58-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Falls remained in front at halftime, 8-6, after the pass for the 2-point conversion failed.

The Bluejackets took the lead on their first drive of the second half when running back Mitch Vesel capped off a 60-yard scoring drive on a 5-yard run with 8:14 left in the third quarter. A pass from Harris to Josh Sinnot for the 2-point conversion extended Hibbing’s lead to 14-8.

The Bluejackets’ next scoring driving began from their 30-yard line after intercepting an Eide pass on fourth down.

A two-touchdown lead by Hibbing was temporarily stopped when a 38-yard run into the end zone by Harris was called back on a holding penalty late in the third quarter.

However, early in the fourth quarter, Harris scored a 15-yard rushing touchdown with 11:35 to play. The Bluejackets’ lead remained at 20-8 when the pass for the 2-point conversion failed.

The Broncos responded with a touchdown on their next series on offense when a 69-yard drive was capped off by a 37-yard scoring strike from Eide to Cody Hallin with 8:20 to play. A pass from Eide to Spilde for the 2-point conversion narrowed Hibbing’s lead to 20-16.

The Bluejackets were back on offense when they temporarily played without Harris, who limped off the field with 7:21 to play when Bryan Farden replaced him at quarterback, before Harris returned to action after having an ankle taped.

“That definitely helped us, because obviously Deion Harris is a great football player,” Boyle said. “He’s very hard to defend against, because he doesn’t always go exactly where the play is supposed to go. He’s good at just finding what’s open and wiggling through holes.”

The Broncos were in a position to stop Hibbing on a fourth-and-four play from their own 20-yard line with 3:51 to play, but a pass interference call kept the drive alive and gave the Bluejackets a fresh set of downs on Falls’ 10.

The Broncos’ got the ball back when their defense forced Hibbing running back Ryan Schrupp out of bounds at their 1-yard line on a fourth-down play.

Falls’ final 99-yard scoring drive not only provided the margin of victory, it also resulted in the Broncos outgaining the Bluejackets in total offense.

The Falls rushed for 197 yards and passed for 134 yards to end up with 331 yards of total offense, compared to Hibbing having 270 yards rushing and 23 yards passing for 293 yards of total offense.

The Broncos will be back at home this coming Friday when they host winless Virginia at Sports Stadium, prior to hosting the regular-season finale Oct. 16 against Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin.

“It’s nice to beat a (Class) AAAA school — definitely going to help us in our (playoff) seeding,” Boyle said. “We still believe that we are capable of being in the top half of the Section (7AAA) this year and getting a home playoff game.”

I. Falls 24, Hibbing 20

I. Falls 8 0 0 16 — 24

Hibbing 0 6 8 6 — 20

Scoring: IF: Jakob Ettestad, 6-yard run (Ben Humbert pass from Ettestad); H: Deion Harris, 2-yard run (pass failed); H: Mitch Vesel, 5-yard run (Josh Sinnot pass from Harris); H: Harris, 15-yard run (pass failed); IF: Cody Hallin, 37-yard pass from Jakob Eide (Luke Spilde pass from Eide); IF: Spilde, 37-yard pass from Humbert (Humbert pass from Eide).

Team statistics: IF: 197 yards rushing, 134 passing, 331 total. H: 270 yards rushing, 23 passing, 293 total.

Rushing: IF: Jakob Ettestad, 28-147, 1 TD; Nehemiah Olson, 10-44; Cody Hallin, 2-5; Jakob Eide, 1-1.

Passing: IF: Jakob Eide, 7-16, 97 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; Ben Humbert, 1-1, 37 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving: IF: Luke Spilde, 3-59, 1 TD; Cody Hallin, 3-52, 1 TD; Ben Humbert, 2-23.