Aberdeen Central did all of its scoring in the first half en route to a 28-13 win over Mitchell Friday night in Eastern South Dakota Conference football action at Brownell Activities Complex.
The Golden Eagles scored in all three phases of the game – two touchdowns on special teams, one from the defense and one on a long catch-and-run pass play from the offense.
“I think our guys were riding pretty high and feeling pretty good,” said Central coach Justin Briese.
The offensive blitz came after the Kernels scored on their opening possession to take a 6-0 lead.
Central answered right away, when Karson Borge returned the kickoff for a touchdown. After forcing the Kernels into a 3-and-out on the ensuing possession, Central blocked the punt and Carter Lust scooped up the ball and returned it for another touchdown and a quick 14-6 advantage.
Jackson Board added an interception return for a touchdown and Borge picked up his second TD of the night on a 57-yard pass from Brayden Bowman in the second quarter, and by halftime the Golden Eagles had rattled off 28 unanswered points and were in complete control.
But there the scoring ended, as Mitchell burned up clock in the second half, though Central’s defense held on all but one of those drives.
“At that point it was 28-6, and if they’re going to run the ball and chew up clock and eat up time, I mean, give credit to their offense for being able to move the ball down the field, but they were content to chew up clock and we were OK with giving up big long, slow drives and not any points,” Briese said.
Mitchell’s first such drive began with the opening kickoff of the second half and lasted nearly the entire third quarter before the Kernels gave the ball back on downs with under five minutes to play in the stanza.
While the Golden Eagles were unable to capitalize on the offensive side, that stop, plus a Ridley Waldo interception late in the game helped seal the win for Central.
Still, Briese said, he would have liked to have seen a bit more from the offensive side of the ball in the second half.
“You always want to see your offense continue momentum from the first half and score some points,” Briese said.
Despite that, however, the Golden Eagles picked up their second consecutive win and moved to 2-4 on the season.
“It’s great for our fans and great for our seniors to be able to play well in front of their hometown and in front of their fans,” Briese said.
Central now heads on the road for a pair of games against two of the top teams in 11AA and 11AAA, respectively. The Golden Eagles will face second-rated Huron next week, followed by a trip to top-rated Sioux Falls Lincoln the following week.
