HURON — The Mitchell Kernels played spoiler at Tiger Stadium on Friday night, as the defending Class “AA” champions defeated the Huron Tigers 33-12 in the Tigers’ homecoming game.
Huron found itself plugging several other players into the lineup, as several of the starters for the Tigers were out with injury, including quarterback Jett McGirr, who was injured in the Huron loss to Yankton last week, and was spelled by Kobe Busch Friday night.
The Kernels started quickly, as quarterback Kiel Nelson took the second snap of the game around right end, dropped a defender with a stiff arm and was on his way to a 71-yard touchdown. A Trevor Lambert PAT made it 7-0 with a minute off the clock.
Huron was unable to move the ball, turning the ball back to Mitchell on a long pass that was intercepted.
The Kernels didn’t waste much time on their second possession either, as a Nelson 30-yard pass to Austin Kerr put the ball deep in Huron territory, at the 25-yard line. Nelson capped the drive with his second touchdown run. Huron blocked the PAT attempt.
The Tiger offense began to click on its second possession, as Busch, Alex Hill and Walker Schiltz found open holes and moved the ball down the field. After a first down, however, the drive stalled with a Busch pass to Mason Small came up just short on third down and Huron was forced to punt.
The Tiger defense also began to find the range, as they forced Mitchell into a three-and-out, including a crippling sack of Nelson by Gabe Rieger and Remington Walton.
The first quarter ended with Mitchell in possession and on the move again, and junior Drew Kitchens scored on the first snap of the second quarter, on a 25-yard run.
“We work and try to get off to a better start because that has been a problem area the past few weeks,” said Tiger coach Michael Schmitz after the game. “We put ourselves in a tough position when we fall behind early and it happened again tonight.
Huron’s next possession was a short one, as the Tigers fumbled on their second play, setting the Kernels up at the Huron 22-yard line.
Three straight Kitchen runs added up to the fourth score of the half, this time on a one-yard run, with 8:49 left on the clock to take a 27-0 cushion.
Neither team could manage to move the ball the remainder of the half, as Huron’s defense began to better control the line of scrimmage, although the Tiger offense continued to struggle, as the runners sought lanes to run and Busch was unable to generate offense through the air.
After a couple changes of possession, the Kernels began to move the ball through the air. Nelson capped the drive with a 38-yard scoring strike to Jordan Dirkes that made it 33-0 after another blocked PAT attempt.
Photos by Mike Carrol of the Plainsman
Huron’s Mason Small fights to break free from Mitchell’s Briggs Havlik after making a catch during the first half of their Eastern South Dakota Conference football game Friday at Tiger Stadium. Huron’s Will Gross tackles Mitchell’s Drew Kitchens as teammate Jackson Hook assists on the play during their game Friday at Tiger Stadium.
