Fortune didn’t shine on the Golden Eagles in their season finale Thursday night as Aberdeen Central dropped a drama-filled four overtime decision 33-27 to Watertown at Brownell Activities Complex.
The Golden Eagles had a game-winning interception negated by offsetting penalties in the third overtime, dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the second overtime and were beleaguered by key injuries throughout the extra stanzas in the loss.
“Back and forth game,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “They’re a good team, and I think our guys were up and ready to play. Just the way the game played out.“
After trading touchdowns in regulation and field goals in the first two overtimes, Central came up with a seemingly game-clinching interception in the third overtime period. The Golden Eagles had scored on a Joey Dallmann touchdown during their portion of that period, meaning Watertown needed more than a field goal during its possession.
However, what would have been a game-winning interception in the end zone was instead negated by offsetting penalties and a replay of the down. Central was whistled for pass interference on the next play, followed by a fumbled snap that the Arrows recovered and a game-tying Markus Pitkin TD pass.
Earlier in the overtime drama, the Golden Eagles dropped a would-be touchdown pass of their own. Watertown had kicked a field goal during its possession, so that play would have sealed a win for the Golden Eagles, who instead settled for a field goal.
In the end, it was a Pitkin touchdown in the fourth overtime that put the Arrows up for good, though Watertown did leave the door open after missing the extra point attempt. However, the Golden Eagles’ ensuing possession ended with an interception.
“It sucks it’s over,” said an emotional Central senior quarterback Brayden Bowman after the game, “but I like to see that we can fight like that. Wish we would have seen it sooner, but you can’t get everything. But I like to see that out of our team.”
Dallmann, who finished with a dozen carries for 40 yards and two touchdowns, three catches for 21 yards, two field goals and three extra points in the game, said he appreciated that never-give-up mindset from his teammates.
“It means a lot,” Dallmann said. “It just shows how much the guys care and are willing to fight. This whole entire season, they’ve just been fighting and fighting and fighting, regardless if things went our way or not.”
For a game that ended with the gridiron equivalent of a shootout, the first half of regulation was markedly less dramatic. Watertown turned the ball over on downs on its first two possessions and threw an interception on its third.
Central couldn’t take advantage of Watertown’s miscues, however, until its second drive of the third quarter. After forcing the Arrows to punt, the Golden Eagles returned the ball deep inside Watertown territory, then tacked on a personal foul penalty that set up the drive start inside Watertown’s 10-yard line.
Dallmann scored on the first and only play of the drive, a 9-yard scamper for the game’s first points.
“Everyone was just doing their job, so I did mine,” Dallmann said.
After a pair of Watertown touchdowns – Pitkin on a short run and Lincoln Schutt on a long one – Central tied the game on a 33-yard pass from Bowman to a wide-open Paxton Ewing.
The Golden Eagles then blocked a would-be game-winning Watertown field goal with just over a minute left to play to force the first of four overtimes.
“That’s a good team,” Briese said of the Arrows. “They’ve got a really good run game, they’re well-coached. (Our) defense just kept sticking with it, sticking with it, sticking with it. They’d make some plays and we’d make some plays back. Constantly back and forth.”
Bowman finished the game completing 16 of 22 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Karson Borge caught three passes for 48 yards, while Carter Lust had four catches for 24 yards. Ewing notched two receptions for 37 yards, including that TD snag from Bowman.
Watertown was led by Schutt’s workload in the ground game, as he carried the ball 30 times for 157 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Pitkin was 15-for-26 through the air for 153 yards and an interception. He also carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards and two scores.
The loss ends the season for Central and the Golden Eagle careers of 22 seniors.
“We had a really good senior supporting class that had high energy every single day,” Dallmann said. “Just came in and got to work, got out, repeat every single day.”
“There’s plenty of points in that game where we could have given up, this is getting too tough, and back and forth, it’s been a long game,” Briese said. “It’s the same way with the entire season. The way the season’s gone this year, there’s points in (it) where guys could have given up … and quit on each other and quit on themselves, but they didn’t. They kept coming back for more every day.“
Watertown (5-4) 0 0 7 7 3 3 7 6 – 33
Aberdeen Central (2-7) 0 0 7 7 3 3 7 0 – 27
First quarter
No scoring.
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
AC – Joey Dallmann 9 run (Dallmann kick), 6:18.
WAT – Markus Pitkin 2 run (Carson Schlaht kick), 0:00.
Fourth quarter
WAT – Lincoln Schutt 59 run (Schlaht kick), 8:55.
AC – Paxton Ewing 33 pass from Brayden Bowman (Dallman kick), 6:42.
First Overtime
AC – Dallmann 24 FG.
WAT – Schlaht 22 FG
Second Overtime
WAT – Schlaht 27 FG.
AC – Dallmann 22 FG.
Third Overtime
AC – Dallmann 1 run (Dallmann kick).
WAT – Kutler Swenson 8 pass from Pitkin (Schlaht kick).
Fourth Overtime
WAT – Pitkin 7 run (kick failed).
OFFENSE: Watertown, rushing 44-192 (Schutt 30-157, Pitkin 10-39), passing 15-26-1 for 153 (Pitkin 15-26-1 for 153), receiving (Kutler Swenson 4-51, Hunter Peterson 4-19, Schutt 3-20, Keslar Swenson 1-34, Kye Paulson 2-20); Aberdeen Central, rushing 36-68 (Dallmann 12-40), passing 17-23-1 for 208 (Bowman 16-22-1 for 175; Ridley Waldo 1-1 for 33); receiving (Karson Borge 3-48, Ewing 2-37, Carter Lust 4-24).
