The cast of characters may be different, but the results were still the same for the top-rated Pierre Governors Friday might.

The six-time defending Class 11AA state champions grabbed a 32-0 win over Aberdeen Central in Eastern South Dakota Conference football action at Golden Eagles Field.

“They still have a bunch of good, athletic kids that played well,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “They’re well-coached, with their athleticism. They’re a good team.”

While their method of scoring may be new, the success remained the same for the Governors, who racked up 478 yards from scrimmage.

“We’re definitely different. We’ve got a lot of different pieces,” said Pierre coach Steve Steele. “We look very different offensively, but we think we can still be pretty good.”

Cade Kaiser moved from receiver to quarterback this season to replace Lincoln Kienholz, who moved on to Ohio State. All Kaiser did was rush for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and throw for 190 yards and three more touchdowns.

“The best thing about him is he’s trying to be himself. That’s the biggest key we looked for this off season in kind of looking at the quarterback position was, who’s going to own it and make it their own and not try and be Lincoln?” Steele said. “I think he answered that today. He did an outstanding job of just being himself and letting that be enough, and it was.”

Kaiser commanded the Pierre offense as he hurt the Eagles with his feet and his arm. He produced the first points of the game on a five-yard keeper in the final minute of the opening quarter. He then tossed a seven-yard TD pass to Cooper Terwilliger with just under four minutes left in the half.

Central had a chance to turn things around, getting inside the Pierre red zone thanks to a 25-yard run by Avery Ligon. However, Carson Stoeser intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 74 yards to put the Governors within scoring distance. That’s all Kaiser needed, firing a 34-yard scoring strike to Jett Zabel right before the half to put Pierre in total control.

“Obviously, we graduated an amazing group of seniors last year and it left big shoes to fill, but I’m super proud of our guys,” Kaiser said. “We stepped up tonight. We made a statement that we’re still going to be the top team in South Dakota. I couldn’t be more happy with how we executed tonight.”

The Northern State recruit was back at it in the second half, getting out in space on the way to a 49-yard touchdown run, before throwing another TD pass to Zabel in the final quarter.

While Kaiser has played some quarterback in the past and looked like a natural at the position, he is looking forward to getting back to catching passes instead of throwing them when he comes to NSU.

“I will be back at wide receiver,” Kaiser said with a smile.

Zabel finished with 130 yards receiving on the night.

Meanwhile, the Governors were able to limit the Central offense to just 81 yards from scrimmage and five first downs.

“Unbelievably proud of our defense, throwing up a shutout the first night,” Kaiser said. “Last year we had one shutout; this year our first game was a shutout.”

A bright spot for the Golden Eagles was the punting of Jett Carlson. The senior, who also led Central in tackles, twice pinned Pierre inside its own 10-yard line.

“Coach (Kurt) Holinka does an awesome job with our special teams,” Briese said. “He emphasizes it and we emphasize it as a team. We work on our special teams every single day.”

Carlson had to deal with a steady breeze out of the north. He said he tried not to think about the conditions too much, whether kicking with the wind or against it.

“It definitely gives you a little bit to think about,” Carlson said, “but if you think about it too much it just clouds your head.”

Carlson tried to put the setback in perspective as the season gets underway.

“I heard this quote, it says: I’d rather get punched in the mouth in August than get knocked out in November,” Carlson said. “It’s a learning process. There’s a long road. We’ve got a long ways to go.”

The journey continues next week when the Golden Eagles play at second-rated Tea Area.

“They lost a fair number of seniors,” Briese said, “but they also have a pretty good tradition much like Pierre, of playing really well and having some good athletic guys on the team.”

Pierre (1-0) 6 13 6 7 – 32

Aberdeen Central (0-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

P – Cade Kaiser 5 run (kick failed), :41.4.

Second Quarter

P – Cooper Terwilliger 7 pass from Kaiser (kick failed), 3:54.

P – Jett Zabel 34 pass from Kaiser (Ryann Berry kick), :17.6

Third Quarter

P – Kaiser 49 run (kick failed), 5:40.

Fourth Quarter

P – Zabel 14 pass from Kaiser (Berry kick), 5:32.

OFFENSE: Pierre rushing 36-288 (Kaiser 16-191, Brock Moser 11-48), passing 15-22-0 for 190 (Kaiser 15-22-0 for 190), receiving (Jett Zabel 10-130, Terwilliger 3-46, Keenan Scott 1-10), first downs 22; Aberdeen Central rushing 29-52 (Avery Ligon 14-28, Parker Lemer 12-24), passing 4-9-1 for 29 (Lemer 4-9-1 for 29), receiving (Cooper Eisenbeisz 1-14, Brody Aesoph 2-11, Austin Erickson 1-4), first downs 5.

DEFENSE: Pierre, Lucas Chamberlain 7 tackles, Emmit Andersen 4 tackles, Chance Carda 4 tackles, Carson Stoeser 1 interception; Aberdeen Central, Jett Carlson 9 tackles, Mason Schrempp 8 tackles, Cordel Rychlik 6 tackles, Jayden Biegler 3 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.