BROOKINGS – Aberdeen Central’s defense paved the way to victory Friday night.

The Golden Eagles held off Brookings for a 13-0 Eastern South Dakota Conference football win at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.

It was a first half filled with mistakes by both squads as the teams combined for six turnovers, including four by the Bobcats. Central head coach Justin Briese said it took his team time to get settled into the game.

“In the first half I think we just came out a little bit flat,” Briese said. “We moved the ball well at times, but helped that our defense played some pretty stout ball tonight.”

Central’s defense was a menace for Brookings the entire game. Overall, the Golden Eagles forced eight Bobcat turnovers, six of which were interceptions. Brayden Comstock had a hand in four of those interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“Brayden, he’s an athletic kid. He’s kind of a typical DB, a little bit confident, borderline cocky sometimes, but he’s in good position,” Briese said. “He knew that once we got up by a couple of touchdowns, they were going to start throwing the ball around a little bit more. That can help our corners and our secondary back up a little bit and be able to stay in better position.”

With both offenses struggling, Briese said it was important to control the ball and win the battle for time of possession.

“It’s big because they want to do the same exact thing, so if we don’t take our opportunities to take care of the ball and hold the ball and move the ball and change the field position game, they’re going to do the same thing,” Briese said. “If they don’t score, we can’t lose.”

The Golden Eagles got on the scoreboard first as Cooper Eisenbeisz made a tipped acrobatic catch on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Brenner Waldrop, putting Central up 7-0. Eisenbeisz added a seven-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 13-0 advantage.

Briese noted that the team has confidence in Eisenbeisz when the ball is thrown his way.

“We see who he’s matched up with and if we like that matchup, it’s worth taking shots with him,” Briese said.

Central finished with 110 rushing yards, 94 by Avery Ligon, while Brenner Waldrop passed for 58 yards,  and two touchdowns. Eisenbeisz finished with 3 catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

Central (4-3) will return home to host Yankton on Friday, and Briese knows his team will need to be prepared for the Bucks.

“We need to play a really good game. They’ve got a really good quarterback, they’ve got a couple of good receivers, they’ve got a really stout defense,” Briese said. “We need to come out and play a really complete game. It’s going to be a battle for us.”

Aberdeen Central 7 0 0 6 – 13

Brookings 0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

AC – Cooper Eisenbeisz 34 pass from Brenner Waldrop (Joey Dallman kick), 9:12.

Third Quarter

No scoring

Fourth Quarter

AC – Eisenbeisz 7 pass from Waldrop, 11:16.

OFFENSE: Aberdeen Central, rushing 38-110 (Avery Ligon 28-94, Austin Erickson 4-25), passing 5-10-1 for 58 (Brenner Waldrop 5-9-1 for 58), receiving (Cooper Eisenbeisz 3-50); Brookings, rushing 32-82 (Gavin Hammrich 21-83), passing 6-16-6 for 66 (Jones Huntimer 6-16-6 for 66), receiving (Bergan Tetzlaff 3-33, Will Conrad 2-25).

DEFENSE: Aberdeen Central, Brayden Comstock 4 interceptions, Cordel Rychlik 2 interceptions, Andrew Jorgenson fumble recovery, sack, Jett Carlson fumble recovery, Bryce Beitelspacher sack; Brookings, Hammrich interception, Egan Jensen sack.