Linton-HMB quarterback Justin Purintun wasn’t enjoying the best of nights through 46 and a half minutes of football on opening night in Mobridge on August 29, but the senior all-stater saved his best for last, as he led the Lions on a 65-yard scoring march in the game’s final minute, and Linton-HMB pulled out a 22-16 victory over Mobridge-Pollock (SD).

Purintun, who was under tremendous pressuure all night, connected on 3 of 6 passes for 65 yards on the final drive, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Alex Deis for the game-winner with just :30 left.

Linton-HMB had its hands full from the onset, especially on offense in the first half, where the Lions mustered just 82 total yards and turned the ball over 3 times. Mobridge-Pollock was not doing much against the Lion defense, either, but the Tigers used their defense to put the first points up on the board.

Linton-HMB had put together an impressive march, moving from its own 4 to the Tiger 41 late in the first quarter, but Purintun was sacked for a 5-yard loss on first down, and then he was hit as he let go of a pass on second down, and Tiger linebacker Dayton Jensen picked off the fluttering pass at his own 45 and found nothing but daylight all the way to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown. Steve Piatt added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 2:37 left in the opening quarter.

Linton-HMB tried to answer on the ensuing possession, but after entering Tiger territory, Austin Ohlhauser coughed up the football and Tiger safety Cody Stotz recovered at the 42 to end the threat. The Lions got the ball right back when linebacker Drew Moch intercepted Bailey Friesz’s pass and returned it 10 yards to the Tiger 31, but the Lions could gain just a single yard in four plays and turned the ball over on downs at the 30 with 9:30 left in the first half.

From there, Mobridge-Pollock put together a 15-play drive that covered 64 yards and ate nearly 8:00 off the clock. The Tigers stayed on the ground the entire way, and they got as far as the Lion 6, before Piatt kicked a 24-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 with 1:45 left. Mobridge-Pollock would get another chance to score when Linton-HMB turned the ball over on the first play of the ensuing possession.

After the kick-off went out of bounds, Linton-HMB took over at its own 35, and on the first play, Purintun tried to go deep as his intended receiver had broken free down the right sideline. However, Purintun was drilled by a defender as he let the pass go, and Tiger cornerback Cordell Good Shield picked off the underthrown pass at his own 35, and returned it 46 yards to the Lion 19 with 1:15 left in the half. Three plays later, Mobridge-Pollock picked up a first down at the 7, but just :39 remained, and the Tigers were out of timeouts. The Lions dropped Ashton Norder for a 6-yard loss on the next play, and then Lion cornerback Colin Hulm picked off Friesz’s pass near the right pylon to end the threat and the half.

Linton-HMB had to make something happen offensively at the onset of the second half, and the Lions wasted little time, taking the opening possession of the third quarter from their own 30 to paydirt. Linton-HMB stayed on the ground for all but 2 of the 11 plays on the drive, but Purintun’s 23-yard strike to tight end Trent Roemmich on a 2nd and 15 play gave the Lions a first down at the Tiger 10. Two plays later, Purintun scrambled to the right and scampered 7 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-6 with 6:28 left in the third period.

The Lions dodged a bullet on the ensuing possession by causing one of the Tiger’s 5 turnovers on the night after Mobridge-Pollock had moved within striking distance. Norder’s 42-yard run had set Mobridge-Pollock up with a first down at the Lion 14, but Stotz fumbled the hand-off on a reverse on the very next play, and Deis fell on it for Linton-HMB at the 21.

The ensuing drive stalled near midfield, but the Lions got another golden opportunity when Tyler Schaefbauer muffed the punt, and Scott Roemmich recovered for Linton-HMB at the Tiger 34. After a sack and an incomplete pass left Linton-HMB in a 3rd and 20 situation from the 44, Moch busted through the middle on a draw play for a 29-yard gain before being brought down with a first down at the Tiger 15. Ohlhauser took the next play just inches short of a first down, and then Moch finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Linton-HMB its first lead of the night. Purintun hit Trent Roemmich for the 2-point conversion for a 14-10 advantage.

Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions, but after Mobridge-Pollock stopped the Lions on downs at its own 35 with 3:05 left, the Tigers launched a drive that would put them back on top. Stetson Wagner’s 19-yard run on the first play put the Tigers in Lion territory at the 46, and two plays later, Friesz picked up 4 yards on a run for another first down at the 35. Four plays later, Mobridge-Pollock faced a 4th and 2 from the 27, when Friesz ran an option to the right, and then cut through the middle and through the defense for a 27-yard touchdown that put the Tigers ahead, 16-14, with just 1:11 left.

After the ensuing kick-off went out of bounds, Linton-HMB took over at its own 35, and the Lions would prove to have more than enough time to strike back. The Lions had just one time-out left at the start of the drive, but they would not even use it, as the clock stopped on first downs, and Purintun spiked the ball after each first down to preserve time.

After misfiring on first down, Purintun hit Trent Roemmich for a 14-yard gain and a first down at the Lion 49, and after a spike, he hooked up with Deis down the left sideline for a 26-yard gain and another first down at the Tiger 25. Another spike stopped the clock with :40 left, and then Purintun, who appeared to be bottled up with a heavy Tiger rush, scrambled out of trouble, rolled to the right and then found a wide-open Deis, who hauled in the pass at the goal line for a 25-yard score. Purintun’s pass to Trent Roemmich on the 2-point conversion extended the lead to 22-16 with :30 remaining.

Mobridge-Pollock started its final possession at its own 24 after a 10-yard return by Stotz, but the possession lasted just one play, as Friesz’s underthrown pass was picked off by Hulm at the Tiger 48 with just :17 left.

Linton-HMB racked up 294 total yards, including 212 in the second half. Purintun finished 7 of 19 for 133 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions, and he added a touchdown on the ground. Deis had a game-high 4 receptions for 77 yards and a score, and Roemmich grabbed a pair of passes for 37 yards with a pair of 2-point conversions. Moch finished with a game-high 105 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries, and Ohlhauser picked up 55 yards on 15 carries.

Friesz gained 68 yards on 10 rushes with a touchdown, and he hit on just 2 of 8 pass attempts for 12 yards and 3 interceptions (2 by Colin Hulm). Wagner (13 carries) also rushed for 68 yards, while Norder (7 carries) and Schaefbauer (6 carries) rushed for 47 and 44 yards, respectively, for Mobridge-Pollock.

Scoring Summary

Linton-HMB 0 0 6 16 22

Mobr.-Pollock 7 3 0 6 16

M-P: Dayton Jensen 55 interception return (Steve Piatt kick)

M-P: Piatt 24 field goal.

L-HMB: Justin Purintun 7 run (pass failed)

L-HMB: Drew Moch 5 run (Trent Roemmich pass from Purintun)

M-P: Bailley Friesz 27 run (kick failed)

L-HMB: Alex Deis 25 pass from Purintun (Roemmich pass from Purintun)

Team Stats

LHMB M-P

Total Yards 294 236

Rushes-Yds. 37-161 40-224

Passing Yds. 133 12

Return Yards 80 164

First Downs 16 11

Turnovers 3 5

Sacks By-Yds. 0-0 2-15

Penalties-Yds. 4-35 9-95

Punts-Avg. 3-28.0 3-40.3

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Linton-HMB: Drew Moch 11-105, Austin Ohlhauser 15-55, Justin Purintun 10-5, Alex Deis 1-minus 4. Mobridge-Pollock: Stetson Wagner 13-68, Bailley Friesz 10-68, Ashton Norder 7-47, Tyler Schaefbauer 6-44, Cody Stotz 4-minus 3.

Passing: Linton-HMB: Purintun 7-19-133-2. Mobridge-Pollock: Friesz 2-8-12-3.

Receiving: Linton-HMB: Deis 4-77, Trent Roemmich 2-37, Moch 1-19. Mobridge-Pollock: Schaefbauer 1-7, Norder 1-5.