ALGONA — It was a Class 3A, District 1 fight Friday night — officially.

However, fans of the former North Central Conference know they saw an added chapter to rivalries of the past.

Humboldt posted three second half touchdowns and held off a final minute Algona comeback for a pivotal 28-23 victory.

The Highway 169 trophy wasn’t kept in the hands of the Blue and Gold until a hard-struck onside kick attempt by the Bulldogs bounced off a Wildcat hands team member but didn’t go too far away to be recovered by the visitors to lock up the decision.

“I’ve been telling our guys all week that they just have to keep on chopping,” Humboldt head coach Derek Elman said. “Last week was a tough loss at the hands of Webster City, but our team came back and fought through a first half where Algona really got their offense going.

“The guys stayed together as a team, and we got some breaks to go our way in the second half. I’m so happy for our team and the grit and determination they showed.”

Humboldt (3-3, 1-1), took advantage of one of Elman’s aforementioned breaks to get the rally started.

Early in the third quarter, Algona quarterback Nathan Manske tried to squeeze in a pass to senior running back Evan Allie in a tight window that was picked off inside Bulldog territory.

An eight-yard touchdown pass on third down from senior quarterback Jackson Flaherty to senior wide receiver Chase Flaherty cut the deficit to 17-14.

The Wildcats overtook their long-time rivals in the opening stages of the fourth quarter.

Flaherty got time from his offensive line and fired a dime to Chase Flaherty who sprinted the final 10 yards to close out a 48-yard scoring strike.

Humboldt added their third second half score when junior running back Cash McIntire, spotlighting a 15 carry, 136-yard night, broke loose through the middle of the Algona (3-3, 0-2) defense and found paydirt from 16 yards out.

Despite trailing 28-17 with less than three minutes to go, head coach Andy Jacobson’s team marched down the field behind the arm of Manske, finishing off the score after the Wildcats’ touchdown with a five-yard scoring toss to junior wide receiver Micah Kitzinger.

It trimmed the deficit to 28-23 and set up the onside kick try that narrowly missed being successful.

“We just need to find a way to put four quarters together,” Jacobson said. “In my mind, our team still have everything in front of it that we want to accomplish.”

Manske threw for 241 yards and proved efficient hitting on 17 of 22 attempts.

He also rushed for 50 yards on 15 carries. McIntire’s solid showing for the Wildcats was followed by Flaherty throwing for 147 yards on eight of 13 passing.