HURON – Aberdeen Central put together one of its best offensive games of the season, but fell just short in a 26-21 loss to fifth-ranked Huron Friday night on the road in an Eastern South Dakota Conference football game.

The Golden Eagles, down two scores in the final quarter, found the endzone with three minutes left in the game, but could not recover the onside kick. Huron covered the kick, then ran out the clock to preserve the win.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “They really battled.”

Central led 14-13 midway through the game after Porter Lozenski turned a bad snap on a PAT into a 2-point conversion for the Golden Eagles.

The Tigers, however, scored twice to go up two scores and put the onus on the Golden Eagles in the final stanza.

“I told our guys after the game, we put together an almost complete game,” Briese said. “We hadn’t been able to do that all season and we were so close.”

Briese said his team was able to accomplish what it wanted to do for three and a half quarters, but fell victim to missed plays or penalties at inopportune times.

“Give Huron some credit,” he said. “They did some good things, too.”

Central’s performance came on the heels of losing its starting quarterback late in last week’s homecoming game. Sophomore Jackson Berry took over as the signal caller in this week’s contest.

“He did a good job,” Briese said. “It’s hard to ask a sophomore to come in midway through the year and take over for a guy who’s been there since June.”

Briese also noted the play of Lozenski, who was able to keep the Tiger defense off balance with his play-making abilities.

Central will return home to face Watertown next Friday.

“We took a big step forward today,” Briese said. “We need to carry that momentum going forward.”