PIERRE — The Huron Tigers went on the road for the second straight week, as they traveled to Pierre. Huron put together a strong first half, but saw the Governor offense get rolling in the third quarter, as Pierre pulled away for a 48-6 win in ESD football action at Hollister Field.

“We knew that Pierre was going to be a solid opponent,” said Huron coach Dru Strand. “The guys did great in the first half, but we are starting to figure out how to play together, trust each other and play hard on every play.”

The game started slowly, as both teams earned first downs and had opportunities, but it wasn’t until the final play of the first quarter, that Pierre pushed deep into Tiger territory.

Huron moved the ball on its first two possessions - a nice Colt McNeil to Blake Ellwein connection for 36 yards up the right sideline got Huron out of the shadow of its own goalline after a Governor punt pinned the Tigers deep. A 14-yard completion to Mason Jurgens moved the ball into Pierre territory, but Pierre applied the pressure and four straight incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs.

For the rest of the quarter, the teams simply traded possessions, as Huron was unable to find time for McNeil to throw downfield, while Pierre had difficulty completing the shotgun snap, which cost them nearly 30 yards.

Huron punted on a fourth-and-seven at the Tiger 46, but a penalty on Pierre gave the Tigers a shot with a short fourth down play. McNeil was unable to complete the pass for a first down, and Pierre took over at its own 49 yard line.

That is when quarterback Kaleb Lounsbury tossed a rainbow to tight end Cooper Terwilliger for 31 yards, as the quarter expired. Lounsbury didn’t waste any time, tossing a ball to George Stalley for 20 yards and the score that gave Pierre a 6-0 lead after the conversion failed.

Huron got decent field position after the kick, but a run attempt went for negative yardage, then McNeil had a pass tipped and intercepted by Kellen Hansen of Pierre, who returned it to the Huron 30 yard line. A penalty on the Govs pushed the ball back to the 35, but Lounsbury tossed a bomb to Carter Shiefelbein that just cleared the Tiger defender’s fingertips for the score, which became 13-0 after a Carter Templeton kick.

The Tigers took over on their own 31 yard line and mounted a drive, mixing the running of Landon Hulst and Bubba Peterson with short passes to Ellwein and Anderson Porisch to move the ball down the field.

A 13-yard pass to Porisch moved the ball to the four-yard line and McNeil found Riley Winegar in a crowd for Huron’s first touchdown of the season, with 5:42 to play in the half.

Pierre wasn’t done, however. Lounsbury tossed short passes to Terwilliger and Salley moved the ball on the ground and Huron found itself backed up against its own goal line, with the Governor’s having first down, goal to go, from the eight yard. The Tiger defense stiffened there, and despite an encroachment penalty that moved the ball to the three, Huron held the defending champions out of the endzone on five straight plays inside the 10 yard line and the half ended there, with Pierre holding a 13-6 lead.

Things went bad for Huron from its opening drive of the second half, as Terwilliger stepped in front of a McNeil pass at the Huron 44 yard line and returned it for a ‘pick-six’ and the Governor lead was extended.

Huron went three and out, but pinned Pierre deep in its own territory to open the next possession.

Rounds got the Governors rolling, ripping off large chunks of yardage, then Lounsbury lofted a pass to Schiefelbein for 34 yards to get into Huron territory. Another Rounds run got Pierre closer, then Lounsbury found Schiefelbein again, this time for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Huron moved the ball on its next possession, as a Hulst rush and a McNeil/Jurgens connection got the Tigers out of a hole. A snap that went over McNeil’s head was costly and Huron again punted the ball back to the Governors, but the punt went out of bounds at the Tiger 19 yard line, setting Pierre up in great field position.

Rounds ran twice, a short pass moved it to first and goal, but a holding penalty gave Huron a short reprieve. But Lounsbury found Stalley again on the left flat and the quick receiver carried a pair of Tigers into the end zone for the score.

After another Huron possession that began with promise - a run from Hulst and a Logan Leyendecker reception resulted in two first downs, but three straight incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

Pierre put together its longest drive of the game on its next possession, starting on its own 28 yard line and using a nice mix of Rounds runs and Lounsbury passes to Terwilliger to move into Huron territory. Then a mis-direction play shook Ayden Behm lose on the right side and Lounsbury hit him for the 31-yard score.

A final score by Pierre backup quarterback Porter Hunsley, on a four-yard run, closed the books on the game.

Lounsbury ended the game 10-25 for 224 yards and five touchdowns in the game. Rounds carried 12 times for 67 yards as the Governors were able to gain 321 yards from scrimmage.

Huron rolled up 202 yards in offense, as Hulst got rolling in the second half and ended up with 15 carries for 51 yards. McNeil was 15-38 for 149 yards and one touchdown. Huron benefited from the return of Hulst and Porish, who missed the season opener, as it added more variables to its offensive attack.

The Tigers return to action Friday night, as they host Tea Area in the home opener, set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Tiger Stadium.

“We made mistakes,” Strand said, “but the mistakes we are making are largely correctable. I expect us to have another good week of practice and see continued improvement as we get ready for Tea Area.”

Score by quarters
Huron 0 6 0 0 — 6
Pierre 0 13 21 14 — 48

Scoring summary
1st quarter

2nd quarter
P-11:54 — George Stalley, 20-yard pass from Kaleb Lounsbury. Conversion failed
P-10:26 — Carter Schiefelbein, 35-yard pass from Lounsbury. Carter Templeton PAT.
H-5:42 — Riley Winegar, 4-yard pass from Colt McNeil. Conversion failed.

3rd quarter
P - 10:34 — Cooper Terwilliger, 44-yard interception return. Templeton PAT.
P - 7:25 — Schiefelbein, 32-yard pass from Lounsbury. Templeton PAT.
P - 2:59 — Stalley, 16-yard pass from Lounsbury. Templeton PAT.

4th quarter
P - 6:58 — Ayden Behm, 31-yard pass from Lounsbury. Templeton PAT.
P - 2:01 — Porter Hunsley, 4-yard run. Templeton PAT.