The effort and physicality were there, but unfortunately for Aberdeen Central so were a few first-game issues Saturday evening at Brownell Activities Complex.

The Golden Eagles held defending Class 11AA state champion Pierre scoreless in three different quarters, however the other period proved to be the difference in a 20-14 setback to the Governors in Eastern South Dakota Conference football action.

“Like I told the guys, physically we played very well, we played hard, we played all four quarters. We just need to eliminate our mental mistakes, things that you see, first game of the year kind of stuff,” said Central coach Justin Briese. “We had too many of them. We talked about teams that make more mistakes are probably not going to win the game, and that’s kind of way it fell tonight.”

The good news for Golden Eagles, according to Briese, is that all of the mistakes are fixable.

“We played hard,” Briese said. “The potential is there for us, because I think a lot of the things that we made mistakes on are our own and we can solve those, we can fix those problems.”

Central got on the board first when Brenner Waldrop fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to Colby Dauwen with one minute left in the opening quarter. It was the first of two TD connections between the duo on the evening.

“Right away they were going to play man coverage,” Dauwen said, “so we got to get our receivers the ball, and that’s what we came in doing.”

However, the second quarter belonged to the Governors who scored 20 unanswered points, including a backbreaking touchdown on the final play of the first half to give Pierre a two-possession lead. It came two plays after Pierre had converted a fourth down play.

“You can see the guys when we came in the locker room. Like man, we were there and then we gave that up,” Briese said. “It’s hard to come back from that. …. They’re a good team and they’re well coached. It made it tough to come back in the second half.”

The Golden Eagles definitely held their own in the final 24 minutes, keeping Pierre off the scoreboard. Central made it difficult for the Governors to run the ball throughout the entire game, holding them to 66 yards on 37 carries.

Central senior Brandon Schwan played a key role in that, finishing with five tackles. He said time spent in the offseason paid dividends.

“What we worked on all summer, just put in work all the time, just getting better and try not to make mistakes,” Schwan said.

While the Eagles contained Pierre’s run game, it had a hard time with the passing attack as the Governors found Cooper Terwilliger early and often. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound sophomore tight end, who has already been offered by the likes of Georgia and Auburn, finished with 116 yards on nine receptions.

“We just try to prepare the best we can,” Schwan said. “He’s big, he’ll make some plays, so we just have to try our best.”

With his size and athleticism, the Governors definitely know how to use Terwilliger in their offense.

“He’s a good athlete. … It’s going to be battle all year with him,” Briese said. “They’re going to find ways to get him the ball.”

While Central shutdown Pierre’s running game, the Eagles had a tough time moving the ball on the ground as well, managing just 46 yards. Central had a first-and-goal at the Pierre 5-yard line in the fourth quarter and gained just two yards in four plays.

“They were doing a good job of blocking the A’s and B gaps,” Briese said. “We need to find better options outside of the inside run game. They were plugging it really well, and no luck there tonight.”

Instead, the Eagles found success through the air, where Dauwen racked up 105 yards receiving on just five catches. The senior also gave his team solid field position with some special teams plays.

“I just want to be a ball player,” Dauwen said. “Whenever I can get the ball, I want it, so whenever I get, that’s mine.”

While it was still a home-opening loss, the Golden Eagles said there were positives to take away from the contest. Like the passing game which produced 165 yards, and two touchdowns, the final of which came with 1:26 remaining.

“We definitely took a lot out of it. Our receivers really helped us,” Dauwen said. “That’s what we’re going to take away, what we can do through the air.”

Last year, the Governors ran up and down the field in a lopsided win over Central. This time it was a much different scenario.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better over this past year, from putting in work all offseason,” Schwan said, “and I think it shows.”

Central, which plays at Tea Area on Friday, features a lot of new players in key roles this season. Schwan said the squad will get better as the season progresses.

“Some of the newer guys need to get some reps on the field to get the feel of things,” Schwan said.

Pierre (1-0) 0 20 0 0 – 20

Aberdeen Central (0-1) 7 0 0 7 – 14

First Quarter

AC – Colby Dauwen 15 pass from Brenner Waldrop (Joey Dallman kick), 1:01.

Second Quarter

P – Trevor Rounds 1 run (kick blocked by Felipe Gonzalez), 9:08.

P – Cooper Terwilliger 17 pass from Kaleb Lounsbury (Carter Templeton kick), 3:28.

P – George Stalley 2 run (Templeton kick), :00.

Fourth Quarter

AC – Dauwen 7 pass from Waldrop (Dallman kick), 1:26.

OFFENSE: Pierre, rushing 37-66 (Rounds 25-70, Stalley 4-13), passing 22-36-0 for 241 (Lounsbury 22-36-0 for 241, receiving (Terwilliger 9-116, Elijah Boutchee 2-43, Lincoln Dilges 2-32, Ayden Behm 2-20, Stalley 1-12, Carter Schiefelbein 2-10, Max Stangeland 1-10), first downs 19; Aberdeen Central, rushing 18-46 (Dauwen 1-21, Ridley Waldo 9-16, Carter Lust 2-15, Dallman 5-7, passing 13-28-2 for 165 (Waldrop 13-28-2 for 165), receiving (Dauwen 5-105, Brody Aesoph 5-24, Lust 1-21, Dallman 2-15), first downs 10.

DEFENSE: Pierre, Colter Babcock 6 tackles and 2 interceptions; Aberdeen Central, Cordel Rychlik 8 tackles, Brandon Schwan 5 tackles, Felipe Gonzalez 4 tackles and blocked PAT kick, Evan Sichmeller 3 tackles.