STURGIS – So close and yet so far.

Aberdeen Central rallied for a late lead, relinquished it and then had several chances in the closing seconds come up empty in an 18-13 non-conference football setback to Sturgis at Waddle Field Saturday night.

“Tough loss for the Golden Eagles tonight,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “The boys played hard.”

After trailing the entire game, Central took the lead with just over five minutes remaining when Karson Carda scored on a 2-yard run. He had bolted for 60 yards two plays earlier to set up the Eagles just outside the Sturgis end zone.

However, the Scoopers had an answer.

Sturgis moved the ball out to midfield and then connected on a 50-yard touchdown pass as Gavin Ligtenberg hauled in a strike from Owen Cass with 2:07 remaining.

The Eagles still had a chance and quickly moved into striking distance when Drew Salfrank caught a 30-yard pass from Dustin Hermansen and was tackled at the Sturgis 6-yard-line in the final minute. However, Central was penalized for a false start and had two incomplete passes before a defensive pass interference call moved the ball back to the 6-yard line with 15.5 seconds left.

A quarterback scramble resulted in zero yards and another false start moved the ball back to the 11-yard line setting the stage for one final attempt. However, a pass into the end zone fell incomplete.

“We’re still looking for consistency on both sides of the ball, especially offense,” Briese said. “We made too many mistakes. We can’t have them and expect to win close games.”

Central struggled to move the ball until midway through the third period when the Eagles converted a fake punt for first down which eventually led to Salfrank breaking four tackles on a 45-yard touchdown run.

Carda finished with 148 yards rushing, while Salfrank had 103 yards from scrimmage as well as more in return yardage. Jalen Holt had six tackles including a pair of sacks.

“Casey Vining and Jalen Holt stood out on defense with a couple of sacks, quarterback hurries, TFL (tackles for loss),” Briese said. “Drew Salfrank strode out on offense with a great long TD run, long kickoff return and several catches. Karson Carda had a great run to set up the go-ahead TD.”

Yet, despite those accomplishments the Eagles still came up just short in a quest for their first win of the season.

“It comes back to consistency,” Briese said. “We need to play at the high level that we are capable of for four quarters.”

Central, 0-3 on the season, returns home where it will host Mitchell at 7 p.m. Friday at Brownell Activities Complex.

“I’m looking forward to Homecoming Week next week,” Briese said. “It’s always a great week for our kids and I love the energy our crowd brings.”

Aberdeen Central (0-3) 0 0 7 6 – 13

Sturgis (2-1) 6 6 0 6 – 18

First Quarter

S – Gunner Rohloff 3 run (kick blocked), 4:38.

Second Quarter

S – Jake Vliem 14 pass from Owen Cass (kick blocked), :18.5.

Third Quarter

AC – Drew Salfrank 45 run (Tayden Brownson kick), 3:32.

Fourth Quarter

AC – Karson Carda 2 run (pass failed), 5:19.

S – Gavin Ligtenberg 50 pass from Cass (pass failed), 2:07.

OFFENSE: Aberdeen Central rushing 41-213 (Carda 25-148, Salfrank 3-62, Austin Erickson 6-11), passing 8-22-1 for 82 (Dustin Hermansen 8-21-0 for 82), receiving (Salfrank 2-41, Spencer Barr 5-35), Tayden Brownson 1-6), first downs 16; Sturgis rushing 20-77 (Rohloff 10-53, Owen Udager 6-12, Cass 5-12), passing 21-34-1 for 210 (Cass 21-34-1 for 210), receiving (Ligtenberg 6-121, Reese Jacobs 6-43, Vliem 2-24, Tyan Buus 3-22, Rohloff 1-6), first downs 16.

DEFENSE: Aberdeen Central, Brownson 7 tackles, Jalen Holt 6 tackles 2 sacks, Chandler Gardner 5 tackles, Max Leberman 3 tackles, Will Heinert 3 tackles, Aiden Heimann 3 tackles, Parker Lemer 2 tackles 1 INT.