“I don’t mind being under the radar,” Habisch said. “The fourth quarter, when I get to grind it out, I just get pumped up and ready to go.”

“He’s just a tough, hard-nosed kid,” Buffalo coach Todd Bouman said. “He’s one of those kids where you can give it to him 15 times in a row and he can’t hardly breathe, but he’ll just keep on fighting.”

After spotting Brainerd a touchdown on its opening drive, Buffalo responded with three consecutive touchdowns to take a 21-7 first quarter lead. Welch, who normally catches touchdown passes, got a chance to show off his arm, hitting Biegert for a 50-yard score.

Biegert caught another pass two minutes later, this time from Bouman on a perfectly lofted 37-yard throw. Bouman hit Tony Dahl for a 15-yard score later in the quarter.

With Buffalo leading 21-14 in the third quarter, Bouman hit Welch for 19 yards to bump the lead to 14 points. After the Warriors answered again, the Bison embarked on their game-sealing drive, which ended with another Bouman-to-Welch score and a 35-21 lead.

Brainerd responded with another touchdown, but Buffalo capped the victory with 26-yard field goal by Parker Vajda with 47 seconds left for the final score.

“People always say we’re a big-play offense, and we do make big plays, but the biggest thing is taking what they’re giving us,” Bouman said. “Last year, we ran the ball 48 percent of the time and passed it 52 percent. So we’re more balanced than people think.”