BROOKINGS — Facing a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ playoff scenario, the Huron Tigers closed the regular season Thursday night, with a 12-0 win over the Brookings Bobcats. Huron ends the season with a mark of 3-6 and the probable No. 5 seed in the upcoming 11AA playoffs.
It was another outstanding defensive effort for Huron, while the offense took advantage of a pair of Brookings miscues
Huron took the opening kickoff quickly down the field, as Alex Hill churned out good yardage on three straight runs, and the Tigers benefitted from a facemask penalty, to set up with a first down inside the Brookings 35.
But the same turnover bug that has been an issue this season bit again, as Huron put the ball on the turf and Brookings took over.
As it did last week in Spearfish, the Tiger defense owned the line of scrimmage and Brookings struggled to move the ball.
After trading possessions, Huron began to move the ball down the field, converting a couple of long first-down conversions, but saw the drive stall on a holding penalty.
Tiger punter Jett McGirr lofted the ball deep into Bobcat territory, but the Brookings player muffed the ball, and Huron recovered inside the 10-yard line.
From there, the Tigers made quick work, as McGirr found halfback Walker Schiltz with a short dump pass across the middle for a seven-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead after a missed PAT, at the 10:44 mark of the second quarter.
Brookings went three-and-out and Huron took over and immediately began to chew up the yardage, with McGirr, Matthew Katz and Hill accounting for the bulk of the carries.
Again, as it did last week in Spearfish, the penalty bugaboo bothered Huron, as a pair of holding penalties made it impossible to convert a first down and the half ended a short time later.
Photo:
Senior tight end Will Gross hangs onto a pass from Jett McGirr for a 7-yard touchdown reception during the first quarter of the Tigers’ 12-0 Eastern South Dakota Conference win over the Bobcats on Thursday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.
Photo by Troy Maroney/The Register