Groton Area jumped out to an 18-6 halftime lead and held on to stop Mobridge-Pollock 18-12 in a key win that could go a long way in securing a playoff spot for the Tigers.
Coach Jordan Carson’s club is now 3-4 heading into its regular season finale against rival Aberdeen Roncalli on Friday. Sixteen Class 11B teams will qualify for postseason play and the Tigers currently rank 13th, while Roncalli (2-5) is 15th. The playoffs begin on Thursday, Oct. 22.
“We are back to work on trying to clean up our offense as much as we can to try to stay in front of the sticks and keep giving our playmakers opportunities with the ball this week,” said Carson. “The Groton vs. Roncalli rivalry is just as it is any other year – two teams looking to get the better of each other and trying to put an exclamation point on the end of the regular season.
“They have a complex offensive playbook and can attack you from multiple different formations with a variety of different looks,” noted Carson. “We are going to have to keep moving the ball on the ground and use our passing game to assist us with big play opportunities.”
Carson is hoping that the hard-fought win on Friday will be a springboard for his team heading into the playoffs.
“That was a big win for our kids,” said the Tigers’ boss. “Everything came together for us on Friday night. The defense was able to hold strong throughout the game, and we only got beat on a few big plays. Our special teams were huge for us – two blocked punts and when the game came down to needing to punt in the last two minutes we had a good snap and got off a clean punt with a downfield tackle. Then we were able to make a good play on a tipped ball and kneel out the clock for the biggest ‘W’ so far this year.”
The Tigers drew first blood when quarterback Asher Johnson found the end zone from the one. Mobridge-Pollock tied the game early in the second quarter but Johnson countered with a 31-yard scoring run and Jordan Schwan added a one-yard dive for the 18-6 halftime advantage. The visitors cut the margin to 18-12 in the third period but the GA defense kept M-P at bay the rest of the way.
Mobridge-Pollock had more yards than the Tigers, running for 124 and passing for 128 for 252, while GA had 128 rushing and 61 passing for 189. Both teams picked up 10 first downs. Johnson was the top rusher with 76 yards on 17 carries and hit 7-16 passes with Jordan Schwan his top receiver, catching four for 38 yards.
Ryder Schelle led the Tigers’ defensive effort with nine tackles, Johnson had seven, and Braeden Fliehs six. Anthony Tracy and Johnson both had a pass interception.
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