MITCHELL It wasnt a pretty win, but the ball bounced the way of the Huron Tigers when it needed to Friday in Mitchell, allowing the Tigers to defeat the Mitchell Kernels 27-3.
The game could not have started much better for Huron, as Mason Jurgens returned the opening kickoff 48 yards to midfield. On fourth-and-seven, quarterback Anderson Porisch found Jurgens for a 32-yard completion to get to the Mitchell 15.
From there, Landon Hulst carried three times into the end zone with 8:56 left in the first quarter. The point-after kick sailed wide right, but Huron had a quick 6-0 lead.
Despite coming in 1-6, the Kernels had a strong game plan for the Tiger defense, and it was evident immediately as sophomore quarterback Brady Hoesing went nine yards on the ground on the first play. Lawson LeBrun would gain just enough for the first down, then after an incomplete pass, Kaiden Allen found a seam in the Huron defense for 25 yards into Huron territory.
After three runs gave Mitchell a fourth-and-one, a bad snap led to a fumble recovered by Ty Kleinsasser on the Huron 49.
Huron got a first down on a pair of short runs and a pass to Carter Porisch, but penalties sent the Tigers backward and led to a punt.
Mitchell then put together a methodical running drive. Logan Bessler gained 16 to open the drive, LeBrun picked up 12, and Hoesing ran for 11 yards to earn three consecutive first downs on the ground.
After a holding call, Hoesing found Bessler for a 22-yard gain fueled by multiple missed tackles. Allen busted through to the Huron 9, but the Kernels went backward from there. Mitchell would settle for a 27-yard field goal from Hunter Magee to make it 6-3.
Huron took the ball after the score and on the first play of the drive, Porisch found Carter Porisch for a 21-yard gain into Mitchell territory. Hulst had a short gain and then busted the next run 43 yards for a score. Porisch found Hulst in the middle of the end zone for the two-point conversion, and Huron was up 14-3 midway through the second quarter.
Mitchell had a punt, then Huron used quick passes to Carter Porisch and Blake Ellwein to get to the Mitchell 24, but then Huron turned the ball over on downs at the Mitchell 14.
The Mitchell offense went three-and-out, but on the punt, Hulst broke through and blocked the kick. Oakley Anderson recovered the blocked punt and ran it in two yards for a touchdown with just nine seconds left. Anderson Porisch kicked the PAT to send Huron to the locker room with a 21-3 lead.
The teams exchanged punts to open the second half. Mitchell then had a long drive, working all the way to the Huron two-yard line after a 15-yard run by Allen. However, a personal foul penalty pushed the Kernels back 15 yards, and they ended up turning the ball over on downs.
Huron was able to get a short run from Porisch for a first down but then had to punt on the next possession. That was the first of four consecutive possessions, two for each team, that ended with a punt, eating up the clock in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers got the ball back near midfield and went about running the ball to eat clock. Porisch gained nine on the first carry of the drive, then Hulst picked up the first down and took the next carry 11 yards for consecutive first downs to the Mitchell 30. On fourth and three, Porisch threw up a ball into the end zone, and Ellwein came down with it for a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the game. After the missed PAT, the Tigers had a 27-3 lead, and that would be the final margin.
The Tigers move to 7-1 behind a balanced night. Porisch was accurate over the air, going 11 for 15 for 154 yards and a touchdown while running four times for 14 yards.
Though he had a strong game running the ball, Hulst had just his second game of the year without 100 yards rushing, carrying the ball 15 times for 93 yards and two scores. Carter Porisch had five catches for 52 yards, Jurgens grabbed four balls for 51, and Ellwein had two catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.
It wasnt the prettiest game on offense, but Huron coach Dru Strand was pleased with how his team adapted throughout the contest.
We had to continue to fight through things tonight, Strand noted. The guys showed that, and Im really proud of them for keeping after it.
Mitchell falls to 1-7. Though they ran for 187 yards as a team against the Tigers, the leading rusher was quarterback Hoesing with seven carries for 56 yards.
Huron closes the season on the road at Brookings next Thursday, and Strand is hoping his team is focused on the short week to shore up tacking concerns that presented against the Kernels.
We have to figure out how to wrap guys up, Strand said. Our guys rallied enough to keep them out of the end zone, but its something well need to work on.
Huron 6 15 0 6 – 27
Mitchell 0 3 0 0 – 3
Scoring summary
First quarter
8:56 – H – Landon Hulst 2-yard TD run. PAT kick fails.
Second quarter
8:36 – M – Hunter Magee 27-yard field goal.
7:29 – H – Hulst 43-yard TD run. Anderson Porisch 2-pt pass to Hulst.
0:09 – H – Oakley Anderson 2-yard blocked punt return for TD. Porisch PAT good.
Fourth quarter
0:19 – H – Porisch 23-yard TD pass to Blake Ellwein. PAT kick fails.
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