BROOKINGS Bergan Tetzlaffs one-yard plunge with 14 seconds left gave Brookings a 14-10 victory over Aberdeen Central at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Brookings marched 70 yards in just over three minutes to regain the lead after Joey Dallmann gave the Golden Eagles the lead with a 20-yard field goal. Tetzlaff took a direct snap three-straight times before finally getting into the end zone on fourth down.
Brookings head coach Carter Gordon said his team likes to run that formation and it was great to see his team dig deep late in the game.
We did some good things throughout the game but really what it came down to was that last drive and our guys believing in themselves. They love that heavy formation because they just get to go and they get to hit people, and its awesome when it works out the way you want it to, Gordon said.
The Bobcats improved to 2-1 with the win and Aberdeen Central dropped to 0-3. Gordon said he preached to his team that it was going to be a hard-fought game and it played out that way.
All week we talked about how Aberdeen was 0-2, but that doesnt mean they arent a good football team. All week I was referring it to a bare-knuckle fist fight. I told them to be ready for them to punch us in the mouth and its all about how we responded, Gordon said.
Neither team scored in a first quarter that had four punts. Brookings then had the ball on the Aberdeen three yard line to start the second quarter. Tetzlaff took a direct snap and this time he threw the ball and it was intercepted by the Golden Eagles in the end zone.
Brookings got the ball back and marched right back into the red zone. The Bobcats then faced third and goal from the 13 and Gavin Anderson connected with Tetzlaff who then made a couple defenders miss while working his way into the end zone. That gave Brookings a 7-0 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half.
Gordon said he wants to continue to find different ways to get the ball into Tetzlaffs hands.
Hes such a highly touted tight end and it would be a shame not to use him. We know that theres times where we need to use him as a decoy. But he does a good job of creating plays for himself on the field and its hard to keep the ball out of hands, Gordon said.
Brookings took the 7-0 lead into halftime. The Bobcats then forced a three and out to start the second half but then Anderson threw an interception that gave the Golden Eagles the ball in Brookings territory. Then Brayden Bowman found Riley Waldo for an eight-yard touchdown on third and goal to make it 7-7 heading into the fourth.
Gordon said the interception gave Aberdeen a lot of momentum and changed the tone of the game.
I thought going into [the second half] we had a good idea of what we could do with the ball, but we just came out a little stagnant. Defensively, their touchdown, you can put the blame on our offense. We gave them really nice field position and the entire game [up to that point] we were playing the field position game. We were pinning them on their side of the field and we kind of got away from that. But at the end of the day, we were able to do what we needed to to get the win, Gordon said.
Brookings will head to Pierre next Friday for a matchup with the Governors at 7 p.m. Gordon said if his team cleans up some of the turnovers and hits more of their blocks, they should see more success down the road.
We were watching film on the sideline with our O-line coaches and there were just a few blocks here and there where if we get to them, we can spring a [big] run. I think we did a good job at halftime of talking with our O-line, because our run game picked up a bit [in the second half]. You take those lumps sometimes [but well get better], Gordon said.
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