By Andrew Holtan
The Brookings Beacon
BROOKINGS – The Brookings Bobcats fell 28-14 to Aberdeen Central on Thursday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in the final game of the season.
With the loss, the Bobcats finished the season 0-9. The win for the Golden Eagles was their first of the season.
The Bobcats got off to a fast start as they scored the first two touchdowns of the game. Brookings forced a punt on Aberdeen Central’s opening drive and then marched down the field to take the lead. Cooper Drawdy capped off the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Jones to make it 7-0 with just over five minutes left in the first quarter.
Delton Brownell then intercepted a screen pass early in the second quarter and the Bobcats had the ball in Aberdeen Central territory. Brookings would capitalize on the turnover as Colten Walsh had a 15-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 7:51 left in the first half.
“I think for the first time all year, maybe other than Spearfish, we came out and we were the aggressors early,” said Brookings head coach Carter Gordon.
Aberdeen Central then got its offense going and Paden Appl had a 42-yard touchdown run to cut the Bobcats’ lead in half with 7:51 to play in the first half. Brookings would muff the ensuing kickoff and the Golden Eagles hopped on it, setting them up with good field position. It didn’t take long for them to score as four plays later Jackson Berry found Caden Forred for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 14-14 with 6:09 to play in the first half.
Neither team scored the rest of the first half. Gordon said he felt like his team didn’t handle success very well after getting out to the early lead.
“We haven’t really been in that situation too much,” Gordon said. “So, you don’t know how to deal with that success until you’ve experienced it a handful of times. It felt like for a portion of time there after we got up two scores that we felt like this was going to be the easiest game of the year, and it wasn’t. [Aberdeen Central] came out and showed how physical they were and they out physicalled us tonight.”
The Bobcats moved the ball near midfield on their first drive of the second half. However, they ended up having to punt and that punt was blocked, setting up Aberdeen Central with another short field.
The Golden Eagles scored two plays later as Appl ran to the end zone from 42 yards out to make it 21-14 with 8:18 left in the third. After a three-and-out by the Bobcats, it looked as though the Golden Eagles were going to extend their lead later in the quarter. But that’s when Appl fumbled inside the Bobcats 20 yard line and Jacksen Bastemeyer recovered it with just over three minutes left in the third.
Brookings faced a third and eight at the Aberdeen Central 46 just before the end of the third quarter. Drawdy completed a pass to Ezra Eidem but he was short of the sticks and the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs.
Aberdeen Central then scored with 9:52 to play as Carter Lust took a reverse 11 yards to the end zone to make it 28-14. On the ensuing drive, Brookings had a bad snap and Aberdeen Central’s Oaklee Wurtz fell on it. That was the dagger for the ‘Cats.
Gordon said there were some mistakes in the second half that led to the Bobcats needing big plays on third and fourth down because they were backed up.
“There’s off time plays or untimely penalties. We dropped a couple snaps. There were things that got us behind the chains and then we’re kind of scrambling to make up for it. Sometimes when we’re so young, we think we need to regain all that ground on the next play. When in reality, we don’t. … We definitely missed some opportunities to play our brand of football tonight,” Gordon said.
Despite not winning a game in 2026, Gordon said he was proud of how his team showed up each day, whether it was practice or games, and kept fighting.
“The attitude and the effort was always there,” Gordon said. “In practice, going up against Aberdeen, or going up against Pierre. They would show up and give everything they had, and that’s very valuable. … I’m very proud of the fact that the boys never quit,” Gordon said.
The Bobcats had just nine seniors on their roster. Gordon said it was a special group that hopefully set some foundation for a turnaround for Brookings.
“[The seniors] mean a lot,” Gordon said. “I coached all of them when they were sophomores on JV, so I got to know a lot of them very well. Last year, they were my first group and a part of my first team, and they didn’t really have to be in a leadership role. This year, they were pushed into a leadership role, and early on it wasn’t really there.
“Then we challenged a handful of them, and they went above and beyond what we could have ever asked for on and off the field. They were great leaders and teammates. It’s something that we’re trying to build a foundation and continue to build our culture. So, they’re a very pivotal part of building that base, that foundation of what it means and what it takes to be a Bobcat football player.”
Brookings played a lot of young guys in 2026, whether it was due to injuries or just how the roster was made up. Gordon said those guys gained experience, but the experience doesn’t mean anything if you don’t improve going into next season.
“We have a lot of young guys, and we got a lot of guys some valuable experience this year and the varsity level. I told them, and I’ll keep reminding them or challenging them that the experience doesn’t mean anything unless you’re willing to continue to work hard to turn this season from what it was into a winning season next year,” Gordon said.
