YANKTON — The Huron Tigers dived into the deep end of Class 11AA football Friday night for its season opener, traveling to face the Yankton Bucks and suffering a 60-0 defeat.

“We knew we had our work cut out for us opening here in Yankton,” said Tiger coach Dru Strand. “They really came after us, but our guys stepped up, worked hard and never stopped fighting.”

The Bucks, runners up last season in Class 11AA, had the running game in mid-season form, as Yankton scored on all eight of its first half possessions, three of which turned out to be one-play possessions, as they rumbled to a 53-0 lead at the half and coasted to the win.

Huron had limited success on offense, as quarterback Colt McNeil was able to complete passes downfield to Logan Leyendecker and Blake Ellwein, when he had time to get rid of the ball. Yankton, however controlled the line of scrimmage, both offensively and on defense, limiting Huron’s rushing attack.

Huron earned a first down on its first possession, as McNeil connected with Leyendecker for 14 yards, and then found Kolby Hofer for eight yards, but eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Yankton struck quickly, as quarterback Easton Nelson sprinted 39-yard up the middle for the first score of the game. McNeil connected with Leyendecker again on the next Huron possession, for 42 yards and delving deep into Yankton territory. But the drive stalled and Yankton took over at its own 27 yard line.

From There, Nelson tossed a couple short passes, then handed to 230-pound senior fullback Matthew Sheldon and the big Buck outran the defense for a 58 yard score.

The script repeated throughout the remainder of the first half. Huron was able to move the ball, but couldn’t mount a drive that was effective.

Yankton’s next score took place after its longest possession of the first half, running six plays and seeing Nelson cap the drive with a four-yard plunge.

A facemask penalty on the ensuing kickoff set Huron up at its 29 yard line. A 29 yard pass to Ellwein put Huron back in Buck territory as the first quarter ended. The drive stalled and Yankton took over on its 33 yard line. From there, Nelson tossed a 15-yard pass to Carson Ness, then Ness did the rest, evading the Huron defense for a 67-yard, one-play scoring drive.

Huron again moved quickly into Yankton territory on its next possession, as McNeil found Ellwein behind the Yankton defense, but a Buck defender managed to knock the ball loose and turned a big gain into a turnover.

Nelson scored on a 59 yard touchdown run, Sheldon scored from 59 yards out as well, and Evan Serck scored on an 84-yard run, and again on a four-yard run as time expired in the first half.

The second half was played with a running clock, and each team took the opportunity to play some second team players. Yankton scored the only touchdown of the second half, as backup quarterback Tate Beste scored on a five-yard run for the final score of the game.

Yankton rolled up 350 yards on the ground, nearly all of it in the first half, as Sheldon ran three times for 117 yards; Serck carried nine times, also for 117 yards, and Nelson gained 116 yards on the ground. He was also 5-6 for 104 yards and a touchdown through the air.

McNeil ended the night a respectable 16-27 through the air, for 228 yards, with a late interception. Huron’s Achilles heel was its inability to run the ball, as the Tigers registered negative yardage on the ground.

“Yeah, we have to find some way to run the football,” Strand said. “We had some successful big pass plays down the field, but we need to be able to run the ball to sustain drives and control the ball.”

Things don’t ease up for the Tigers, as they are back on the road next Friday, traveling to take on seven-time Class 11AA defending champion Pierre in a 7 p.m. start.

Score by quarters
Huron 0 0 0 0 — 0
Yankton 19 34 7 0 — 60

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter

2nd Quarter
9:38 — Carson Ness, 67-yard pass from Nelson. (Villanueva PAT)
7:47 — Nelson, 59-yard run. Conversion failed.
4:58 — Matthew Sheldon, 59-yard run. (Villanueva PAT)
1:21 — Evan Serck, 84-yard run. (Villanueva PAT)
0:15 — Serck, 4-yard run. (Villanueva PAT).

3rd Quarter
0 :57 — Tate Beste, 5-yard run. (Villanueva PAT).