Benilde-St. Margaret’s got into a scoring race with Fridley early, but the Tigers put up 24 second-quarter points and held onto the ball for nearly 17 of 24 minutes in the second half to roll to a 51-21 victory.

After the teams traded punts, they combined for three touchdowns in a 31-second span as the Red Knights took a 14-6 lead.

BSM took over on its own 26-yard line with 8:41 to play in the first quarter and Keaton Studsrud carried the ball on five of the six plays on the game’s first scoring drive, gaining 71 yards, 49 of which came on the game’s first touchdown play.

It took Darius Mulbah just 11 seconds after taking the ensuing kickoff to get the hosts on the scoreboard. He found a hole up the middle and sprinted 85 yards but a bad snap on the extra-point attempt allowed the Red Knights to hold onto a 7-6 lead.

A 28-yard return by Sam Lynch on Fridley’s kickoff gave BSM the ball at its own 36 and, on the first play from scrimmage, Mikey Koller took a handoff through the left side and sprinted 64 yards for another touchdown, give the Red Knights a 14-6 lead.

The Tigers promptly drove the ball down to the BSM 25 but fumbled the ball away and Ashanti McFarland’s recovery gave the visitors the ball back, a possession which last just three plays before Fridley got the ball back on a fumble recovery.

The Red Knight defense stiffened and, despite giving up a first down inside the five-yard line, held the Tigers to a field goal to maintain its lead, at 14-9.

It was the Fridley defense which held its ground next, forcing BSM to go three-and-out on its next possession regaining possession of the ball at its own 30 with 10 minutes to play in the first half before going 70 yards in six plays to take a 16-14 lead.

Two rushing attempts by Studsrud, including a 55-yard run, moved BSM to the Fridley eight but, two plays later, Michael Murray scooped up a fumble at the Tigers’ one and raced 80 yards to the Red Knight 19, setting up Fridley’s second TD, which gave them a 23-14 lead.

BSM got the ball back at its own 27 and got a 15-yard pass interference penalty on the first play from scrimmage. From there, Studsrud rushed three times for nine, 11 and 38 yards to cut the Tiger lead back to two points.

After that, Fridley would hold onto the ball for 17 minutes, seven seconds of the game’s final 27:05 and scored 28 unanswered points, allowing the Red Knights to move the ball just 80 yards on five second-half possessions.

Studsrud, who rushed for a career-high 241 yards, gained 238 yards in the first half and accounted for 294 of BSM’s 411 total yards of offense.

The Red Knight defense was led by Spencer Shaver, who recorded a game-high 14 tackles. Luke Musech added nine and John Backes, who had a pair of quarterback hurries, and Barrett Fitzgerald each had eight tackles.

Koller, who finished with 77 rushing yards, added five tackles and broke up a pair of passes for the Red Knights.

BSM plays its second consecutive road game this Friday when it travels to St. Francis for another North Suburban Conference game. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.