The Madison Bulldogs' bid to go to the DakotaDome ended on Friday night at Tea. The Tea Area Titans used an outstanding ground game to gain a 37-14 win over the Bulldogs in the Class 11A semifinal round.

Tea Area struck first and often in the opening period to build a 17-0 advantage. Chase Van Tol connected on a 42-yard field goal to put the Titans on top 3-0 with 7:38 left in the quarter.

Kaden Johnson scored on runs of 10 and five yards with Van Tol adding both extra-point kicks.

Madison's offense started to click in the second period and the Bulldogs pulled to within three, 17-14, with just over eight minutes left in the half.

In just two plays, the Bulldogs moved the ball 70 yards and hit paydirt. Nate Ricke tossed a 16-yard scoring strike to Carter Bergheim with 11:26 left in the half. Trey Smith drilled the extra-point kick and the Bulldogs trailed 17-7.

On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs were able to force the Titans to punt. Smith blocked the Johnson punt, which was recovered by Logan Allbee at the Titans' 14 yard line.

Three plays later, the Bulldogs found the end zone. Ricke tossed a seven-yard scoring strike to Allbee and the Bulldogs were right back in the game, trailing 17-14 after Smith booted the extra-point kick.

Tea Area struck again just before halftime. Johnson scored his third touchdown on a two-yard plunge with one second left. Von Tol added the extra-point kick and the Titans held a 24-14 halftime lead.

It was all Titans in the second half. Tea Area held the ball the entire third quarter as they ran 18 plays and gained 74 yards.

Tea Area scored early in the fourth period. Conner Mulder capped off a 19-play, 80-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. The extra-point kick was blocked by Peyton Wolf, and the Titans stretched their lead to 30-14.

Garrett Kolbeck added the final score with a five-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds remaining. Van Tol added the extra-point kick.

Madison had 104 total yards, two yards rushing and 102 passing. Ricke had 43 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Ricke was 7-of-17 passing for 102 yards. Carter Bergheim caught three passes for 50 yards. Dillon Bickett hauled in two passes for 45 yards.

Tea Area racked up 410 total yards, 358 rushing and 52 passing. Johnson ended the game with 159 yards rushing on 25 attempts.

Austin Lake was 4-of-6 passing for 48 yards. Kolbeck was 1-of-2 passing for four yards. Klayton Sattler caught two passes for 30 yards.

Zach Whitlock had 18 tackles (8 solo, 10 assists) for the Bulldogs. Smith had 11 tackles (5-6) while Wolf, Allbee and Joe Gors each had 10.

Caden Ellingson, Trevor Welch and Luke Rettedal each had four tackles for the Titans.

Madison finished the season with a 6-5 overall record.

Tea Area will play for the 11A championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday against the Canton C-Hawks.