Second-half propels Lawton-Bronson past Sioux Central

Sports Editor

Dakota Miller ran for 235 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries, and preseason district favorite Lawton-Bronson scored 34 unanswered points to beat Sioux Central 40-14 Friday in Albert City.

"We just got physically worn down. The weakest part of our team is our run defense. Teams that can really run the ball are going to beat us up," said Sioux Central head coach Jeff Tiefenthaler.

The Rebels went toe-to-toe with the Eagles for 24 minutes, falling behind for the first time with less than three minutes left in the first half.

Lawton-Bronson took the opening kickoff of the second half 75 yards for a score, and Miller added two more rushing touchdowns to put away the Rebels.

"I hate to say the kickoff return took the wind out of our sails because it was the first play of the second half, but maybe it did," Tiefenthaler commented. "We just couldn't recover after that. We couldn't get going. "

Sioux Central struck first Friday when quarterback Trevor Tiefenthaler connected with Austin Buchholz on a 60-yard touchdown pass. Following Tiefenthaler's 2-point run, the Rebels led 8-0.

After Lawton-Bronson answered with an 8-yard run from Miller, Sioux Central put together a 75-yard scoring drive on its final possession of the first quarter. Tiefenthaler scored from 1 yard out, making it 14-6.

Lawton-Bronson punched in the fourth touchdown of the first quarter just two minutes later, tying the contest at 14-14. Miller scored on a 2-yard run.

Leading rusher Levi Keleher gave the Eagles their first lead three minutes before the half, rumbling 44 yards for a score.

"We're a much improved team from last year, we just don't have the physical size to hang with some of these teams," Tiefenthaler said. "They controlled the ball a lot in the third quarter, which really hurt us. We only touched the ball twice in the third."

Miller scored all three of Lawton-Bronson's second-half touchdowns. Following the 75-yard kick return, he scored on a 25-yard run and a 61-yard run. The Eagles missed their final two extra point attempts.

"(Miller) played some quarterback in the second half. They mixed him up with their original quarterback. They ran a bunch of iso plays, a lot like we do with Trevor," coach Tiefenthaler said.

Lawton-Bronson finished with 392 total yards, rushing for 385 yards on 41 carries. Sioux Central had 217 total yards.

Tiefenthaler ran for 116 yards on 25 carries and was 1-for-4 through the air for 60 yards

Sioux Central (2-6, 1-5) will close out the season against Hinton.