Aberdeen Central had been close before, but this time the Golden Eagles finished what they started.
Central made key plays throughout the second half to rally for a 21-13 homecoming win over fourth-rated Sturgis in non-conference football action Friday night at Brownell Activities Complex.
“We’ve been talking about finishing games and finishing drives and finishing plays,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “We finally came through tonight and took care of business, and finished plays, drives, the game.”
Central’s first big play occurred on defense. The Scoopers had already scored and were threatening again midway through the opening quarter when Evan Sichmeller intercepted a pass near the end zone to prevent a bigger deficit.
“Oh, that was great,” Sichmeller said.
Sichmeller described the play, that gave the Golden Eagles a jolt of momentum.
“It’s hard, because I got to split a corner route and then that out route there,” Sichmeller said, “but I read it right, jumped it and it paid off, and got the pick, and picked up some momentum there.”
The senior returned the interception 18 yards, but was getting some good-natured advice following the victory.
“Well, now that everybody’s saying I should have cut it back, now I wish I did,” Sichmeller said.
Central tied the game on a 16-yard slant pass from Brayden Bowman to Karson Borge, but still trailed 13-7 at the half. That deficit did not last long, though, as Porter Lozenski broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, which was followed up by a 13-yard quarterback scramble by Bowman for another TD on Central’s next possession.
“I was supposed to pass left,” Bowman said of the play. “All the guys were covered, I just run back and I just get an edge, find a hole and get in.”
While points have been hard to come by for the Golden Eagles this season, they weren’t on Friday night.
“It’s nice when we can break one. Up to this point, we’ve been getting taken down at first level, second level, and not be able to get that extra 5-10 yards out of a run,” Briese said. “Getting our offensive line off on to the right backers and where they’re suppose to be, that opens things up for Bowman to get those plays and make his reads, and then Porter getting out there and getting his lead blockers is huge.”
From the skill positions, to the line, to the defensive backfield, Central had a variety of players who rose to the challenge to help snap a four-game losing streak to start the season.
“We just had guys that stepped up and made plays. That’s what we talked about all week, is who’s going to be that guy who steps up and makes the play, and there were three guys that did that, and not just those three guys, the whole team,” Bowman said. “The defense makes a big stop at the end, that’s their guys stepping up and making a play.”
Bowman completed six of his eight passes for 52 yards, and also ran for 45 yards. Lozenski led the Golden Eagles with 93 yards on the ground.
“Our run game was there tonight which is big,” Bowman said, “and when I had to throw the ball, I executed and our guys executed and caught the ball.”
While the Scoopers never scored in the final half, they did put together one last-chance drive, getting down to the Central 13-yard line with just over a minute remaining. However, the Golden Eagles stopped the visitors on downs to preserve the victory.
“We kind of came through, dug our heels in, and made plays when we had to,” Briese said.
As a result, the Golden Eagles got into the win column for the first time this season.
“It only goes up from here,” Bowman said. “That’s all it is, it only goes up.”
Central will host Mitchell on Friday at Brownell Activities Complex and will head into that contest with momentum gained from its first win.
“It’s huge, because we had to dig ourselves out of the mud here, 0-4 that’s rough,” Sichmeller said, “but we’ll turn it around the rest of the season. This is a good momentum change for us, this game.”
Sturgis (3-2) 7 6 0 0 – 13
Aberdeen Central (1-4) 0 7 14 0 – 21
First Quarter
S – Zhoel Irion 1 run (Izaac Smith kick), 6:08.
Second Quarter
AC – Karson Borge 16 pass from Brayden Bowman (Joey Dallmann kick), 11:56.
S – Irion 16 run (kick failed), 7:36.
Third Quarter
AC – Porter Lozenski 57 run (Dallmann kick), 10:19.
AC – Bowman 13 (Dallmann kick), 4:10.
OFFENSE: Sturgis, rushing 33-203 (Jaxon Cano 13-126, Peter Pi 10-40, Irion 8-36), passing 11-28-1 for 103 (Cano 11-28-1 for 103), receiving (Ethan Graf 3-56, Gage West 3-29, Cole Litzen 2-15, Irion 1-2), first downs 14; Aberdeen Central, rushing 34-184 (Lozenski 14-93, Dallmann 11-45, Bowman 4-45, Ridley Waldo 3-3), passing 4-8-0 for 52 (Bowman 4-8-0 for 52), receiving (Paxton Ewing 2-20, Borge 1-16, Waldo 1-16), first downs 11.
DEFENSE: Sturgis, Irion 5 tackles, Pi 4 tackles, Robert Sperling 1 fumble recovery; Aberdeen Central, Jack Bertsch 5 tackles, Ewing 5 tackles, Owen Ward 5 tackles, Evan Sichmeller 4 tackles and 1 pass interception.
