Turnovers got the better of the Aberdeen Central football squad last weekend, and while they didn't plague Brookings in its win over Huron, it will be a key point of focus in Week 2 for both teams.
"That was kind of the difference in the game last week," said Central Head Coach Mike Flakus. "We just have to take care of the ball a little bit better. We can't turn the ball over and we need to win some field position."
Central dropped a tight 19-17 decision on the road to a ranked Sioux Falls Washington team in the season opener, but turned the ball over twice in red zone scoring opportunities.
Brookings coughed up the ball just once in its 20-13 win over Huron, but the Bobcats are in no hurry to give Aberdeen Central extra opportunities with the ball tonight.
"From my point of view, it looked like Central dominated that game. Just the turnovers hurt them," said Brookings Head Coach Lee Schmidt. "We're going to have to not turn the football over and we're also going to have to get takeaways."
Central, who is receiving votes in the Class 11-AAA poll, will be looking once again to junior starting quarterback Jacob Goehring to guide the Golden Eagle offense against the Brookings defense. The Bobcats were solid against the run last week, but struggled a bit against the pass. That will play well in Goehring's favor, as he threw for 262 yards in Week 1.
"He did a great job," said Flakus. "I think our receivers and our running backs did a great job catching the ball and we got some running game going to keep them off balance. I think Jacob did a great job of making good decisions. As he gets better, I could foresee him having a pretty darn good year."
The Golden Eagles will also rely heavily on the offensive line to protect and create for the backfield. The Bobcats gave up just 90 yards rushing last week.
"They're very physical up front," said Flakus. "They do stunt a lot with both their inside and outside backers and they like to bring multiple backers, so the offensive line will definitely have their hands full. When we have a chance to make a big play, it'll be pretty important that we make those."
Defensively, Flakus said, it will be imperative for the Golden Eagles to maintain discipline against the Bobcats and pointed to Brookings running back Devon Crandall, who had a 100-yard rushing game last week for the Bobcats, as a player to contain.
"He's a great kid," said Flakus. "And he's got a pretty good group around him, as well. We'll definitely have to be on our toes. We know we're playing a good football team."
For Brookings, who is playing its second straight road game to begin the season, defense is going to be the strong point despite the fact that the Bobcats ran for 220 yards against Huron last week.
"Our defense is probably a little bit ahead of our offense at this point," said Schmidt. "We did a nice job against the running game. We did struggle against Huron's passing game, but most of that was our own doing. Hopefully we can shore that up because Aberdeen can throw the ball."
While Bookings has eight returners on both sides of the ball, they have significantly more depth at defense and can run fresh players into the game against the Golden Eagle offensive unit. The Bobcats used nearly 20 players on defense in Week 1.
Offensively, the Bobcats will continue to run a two-quarterback system this week, a facet that has not allowed them to fine-tune their timing in the passing game. Brookings countered nicely on the ground, however, with just two running plays going for negative yardage in last week's opener.
"It was actually kind of a surprise for us," said Schmidt. "We weren't sure how our running game was going to go, but we were able to be pretty consistent. We needed to; our passing game is a little bit behind pace."
Carter Gordon will get the start at quarterback this week, but Schmidt says the passing game will need to improve this week to avoid having to rely solely on the running backs.
"If you get stuck running the football, people are going to load the box on you," he said. "And looking at Aberdeen's defense, they had no problem stopping Washington's run game. I don't know that we're at that caliber of run game, but we're going to have to be able to throw the ball to loosen things up."
Game notes: This is the 11th annual Hub City Bowl and the third time Brookings has been Central's opponent for this event. In 2005, Central beat Brookings 20-14 in overtime and the Golden Eagles nipped the Bobcats 14-13 in the first Hub City Bowl in 2003 . . . Central won the 2003 game against Brookings when Taylor Mehlhaff booted the game-winning PAT with 58 seconds left after he threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth and seven. It completed a 17-play, 85-yard drive that took only four minutes and three seconds . . . In 2005 in Central's first game on new Swisher Field, Central defenders Dustin Jeschke and Dan Hagen stopped Brookings running plays on third and fourth downs near the goal line in OT. That gave Central the ball, and Tony Arampatzis rushed 10 yards for the winning TD . . . Tonight's game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1420 AM and 107.1 FM.
Starting Lineups
Aberdeen Central
OFFENSE
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
OT Sam Schaunaman 5-10 195 Jr.
OG Collin Schmidt 5-9 175 Jr.
C Brenden Miller 5-8 175 Sr.
OG Zach Fleming 6-0 225 Sr.
OT Brock DeGroot 6-4 215 Jr.
TE Jordan Allbee 6-3 190 Sr.
WR Curtis Paysen 5-8 170 Sr.
WR Anthony Buechler 5-11 175 Sr.
QB Jacob Goehring 5-11 180 Jr.
RB Logan Strubbe 5-11 165 Jr.
RB Mitch Johnson 5-7 155 Sr.
DEFENSE
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
DE Brock DeGroot 6-4 215 Jr.
NG Sam Schaunaman 5-10 195 Jr.
DE Hayden Grote 6-4 220 Sr.
LB Chase Severson 6-2 185 Sr.
LB Grayson Neuharth 5-7 180 Jr.
LB Brenden Miller 5-8 175 Sr.
LB Anthony Buechler 5-11 175 Sr.
CB Logan Legrand 5-9 145 Jr.
S Josh Weig 5-9 150 Sr.
S Logan Strubbe 5-11 165 Jr.
CB Curtis Paysen 5-8 170 Sr.
Brookings
OFFENSE
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
LT Tyrel Minor 6-5 210 Sr.
LG Brady Alberts 6-0 205 Jr.
C Adam Palmer 6-1 180 Sr.
RG Adam Pharis 6-0 225 Jr.
RT Josh Nelson 5-11 270 Jr.
TE Cody Shepardson 6-1 225 Sr.
WR Dayton Bender 5-7 170 Sr.
WR Tyler Madler 5-11 180 Sr.
RB Wyatt Resmen 5-8 195 Jr.
RB Devon Crandall 5-8 170 Sr.
QB Carter Gordon 6-0 180 Jr.
or
QB Tyler Hanson 6-0 165 Jr.
DEFENSE
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
DE Kurt Reed 6-1 220 So.
DT Tyson Salzman 6-1 210 Sr.
DE R.J. Helsper 6-3 190 Jr.
LB Shane Bradley 6-0 175 Sr.
LB Wyatt Resmen 5-8 195 Jr.
LB Cody Shepardson 6-1 225 Sr.
LB Tyler Priest 5-11 190 Jr.
CB Jon Lehman 5-10 170 Sr.
CB Nick Hanson 5-7 165 Sr.
S Dayton Bender 5-7 170 Sr.
S Tyler Madler 5-11 180 Sr.
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