Lincoln tops Mitchell at Howard Wood in football game

SIOUX FALLS — Mitchell High School’s football team was never able to get its offense going as it fell 56-0 to Sioux Falls Lincoln Friday night at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.

The No. 5-ranked Patriots were the heavily favored team in the matchup and proved why throughout the entire night. Sioux Falls Lincoln improved to 5-2 with the win while the Kernels dropped to 0-7.

“They’re a good football team,” Mitchell coach Kent VanOverschelde said of the Patriots. “I don’t think we put forth the performance that we’re capable of.

“It’s disappointing because you come out here and prepare for a certain level of play and even our opponents deserve a certain level of competition.”

This was the second time of the season Mitchell was shut out. The Kernels, who had six turnovers against Lincoln, were also held scoreless in the second week of season, a 28-0 loss to Brookings.

Sioux Falls Lincoln wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and tallied 21 points in each of the first two quarters to hold a 42-0 lead at halftime.

“We played really hard and played extremely fast and we executed,” Lincoln coach Aaron Beavers said. “Our starters were sharp and our other guys got in and played at a high level as well.”

Leading the Patriots’ offense was running back Caden Quintanillia. Quintanillia tallied 104 yards rushing with three touchdowns, while also hauling in two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.

“He was everything we expected, but we didn’t do a very good job of containing him,” VanOverschelde said.

With Matt Larson not starting after suffering concussion-like symptoms in last week’s loss to Rapid City Central, the Kernels needed a strong rushing attack. Landon Neugebauer finished with 53 yards on the ground and Mitch Johnson recorded 43 yards rushing.

“They run hard and they make good decisions,” VanOverschelde said about the Kernels’ backs. “They’re good football players and they have a lot of good games ahead of them.”

With Larson off the field, Mitchell went with Alex Herrick and Kanin Nelson behind center. Herrick was 3-of-8 passing for 17 yards and an interception and Nelson was 5-of-10 passing for 33 yards and two interceptions.

“I think the experience was good for both of them on this stage to see the pressure that was on them,” VanOverschelde said. “It was an experience to grow from and we can always look back at the techniques.”

VanOverschelde said he is unsure of Larson’s status for next week’s game on the road against Yankton.

“We’ll evaluate him over the weekend,” he said. “It seems like things are going pretty well for him right now and hopefully he will be ready to return to the football field.”

SIOUX FALLS LINCOLN 56, MITCHELL 0

Mitchell 0 0 0 0 – 0

SF Lincoln 21 21 14 0 – 56

First Quarter

SFL: Caden Quintanillia 41 run (Teren Schuster kick)

SFL: Quintanillia 19 pass from Connor Burchill (Schuster kick)

SFL: Trevor Naasz 6 pass from Burchill (Mason Nelson kick)

Second Quarter

SFL: Dylan Bartow 11 pass from Burchill (Nelson kick)

SFL: Quintanillia 24 run (Nelson kick)

SFL: Matt Wagner 3 run (Nelson kick)

Third Quarter

SFL: Quintanillia 2 run (Nelson kick)

SFL: Isaiah Roach 28 yard interception return (Nelson kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing: MIT — Neugebauer 10-57; Johnson 17-42; Fuerst 2-3; Herrick 2-2; Nelson 6-(-3). SFL — Quintanillia 8-103; Belhaj 9-55; Wagner 5-16; Heitkamp 4-10; Burchill 2-3.

Passing: MIT — Nelson 5-10-1-30; Herrick 3-8-1-17. SFL — Burchill 5-7-0-68; Roach 1-3-1-49.

Receiving: MIT — Mastel 2-9; Jones 2-6, Brown 1-10; Wahlen 1-9; Johnson 1-9; Neugebauer 1-4. SFL — Quintanillia 2-36; Naasz 2-21; Burgard 1-49; Bartow 1-11.

Defensive: MIT — Fuerst 11 tackles; Johnson 7 tackles, fumble recovery.

Tags: sports, updates, football, kernels