JAMESTOWN, ND. (NewsDakota.com) – The Jamestown High School football team secured home-field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs on Thursday night with a 49-21 victory over Fargo North at Hansen Stadium.

Neither offense found its rhythm during the first half of play as Jamestown and North went into the halftime break tied at 7. In the second half, Jamestown scored 21 points in each of the third and fourth quarters to blow out Fargo North late for the win.

Payton Hochhalter was dominant in the second half, throwing for four touchdowns and 173 yards in the final 24 minutes. Hochhatler also found the endzone once with his legs during the first half of play. The senior quarterback connected with Jackson Walters for two touchdowns while Preston Gall and Nate Walz each had one touchdown catch.

All in all, Hochhalter was 14-23 with 224 yards passing and five total touchdowns. Walters led the Jays with seven grabs for 118 yards and two scores. It’s the fifth time this year that Walters has had a multi-touchdown game.

Gall recorded three grabs for 63 yards and a score and Walz finished with four catches. Walz also had the biggest play of the first half on defense for Jamestown after an interception and a 34-yard return to set up the Hochhalter rushing touchdown.

Jamestown’s defense dominated the final 18 minutes of play as the Blue Jays forced three turnovers on three straight offensive plays by the Spartans. Kelan Harstad and Hochhalter had interceptions and the Blue Jay defense hopped on a fumble to completely flip the game.

Jamestown rounds out the regular season with a 7-2 overall record. Fargo North now sits at 5-4 heading into the postseason. The Blue Jays will have to wait and see where they sit in the QRF rankings after the completion of games this weekend.