Dominant 2nd half lifts Tornadoes

Columbian needed some energy. It needed a spark. After a so-so first half trailing Huron 13-0, the Tornadoes came out for the second half like a totally different team, scoring on their first possession and blanking the Tigers to grab a much-needed 16-13 win Friday night at Frost-Kalnow Stadium."They're really good on offense and they played really well on defense. They're quarterback is outstanding, they have size and have skill … I thought we moved the ball well in the first half, but we just kept getting in our own way," TC coach Judd Lutz said. "They made some good plays too, but we also stopped ourselves, which was frustrating. "Defensively, we couldn't get off the field early, but obviously responded and did some great things. Good halftime adjustments and the D-line played outstanding. Only having to bring four and get home with those guys and then play coverage a little bit. Special teams was big too with a field goal and the kickoff returns … we just found a way."In the first half, TC (2-3) found a way to move the ball, but eventually each drive fizzled out after a negative play or a penalty would set it back. On the flip side, Huron (2-3) quarterback Landon Hohler made plays with his arm and his legs, extending drives and getting the Tigers into the end zone twice.But in the second half, Columbian played with a little more intensity and got after Hohler, shrinking the field and keeping him in the pocket, which was key."He's very elusive, but when you ask a kid like that to play like that every play of offense and every play of defense he can slow down just a bit," Lutz said. "Hopefully you have guys that come in fresh and match their speed. I feel like we did that. We didn't always contain him, but we definitely bottled him up, got some third and fourth down stops. Did a good job."Hohler plunged into the end zone from a yard out on Huron's opening drive that lasted 12 plays to put the Tigers up 7-0 early. Then he found Braxton Barrett on pass in the flat that he ran into the end zone for a 14-yard score, but the extra point was missed, making it 13-0 at the half.Then TC went to work. Behind a steady diet of physical running from Brock Siesel and a huge first down conversion on a third-and-14 on a 19-yard catch from Johnny Bremyer, Siesel got TC on the board with a 5-yard TD up the middle. Later in the third, Conner Reese drilled a 33-yard field goal to cut Huron's lead to 13-9 heading into the fourth quarter.Meanwhile the TC defense was getting off the field as Huron only tallied two first downs in the whole second half. "They definitely wrestled the momentum away from us in that second half," Tigers coach Sam Hohler said. "We talked to the kids, we had a great week of practice and preparation and the score of their game last week doesn't reflect who they were that's for sure. They have a nice team, nice athletes … I feel like our team played a really good first half, but they just took the momentum in the second half and ran with it. "We had opportunities, but just couldn't make the plays when we needed them. Credit to them, they cranked it up in the second half … it's hard to answer that some times when we don't have as many kids as a D-VI school. That's not an excuse, very proud of our kids, played hard and had chances, but they found a way to win."The big play of the night came early in the fourth quarter as Logan Gooding hit a crisp pass to Bremyer on a slant for 16 yards on a second-and-20. TC ran the same exact play again and Gooding hit Bremyer in stride again – but this time he took it to the house for a 64-yard score, giving TC a 16-13 advantage with 8:16 to play."Big-time catches … senior captain for a reason," Lutz said of Bremyer. "He's come up with some big catches this year and none more big than the ones he came up with tonight. He's a kid we have to get the ball to in different ways. He wants it and we know that, so we have to do that."Huron still had plenty of time to either kick a field goal or take the lead, but after getting the second first down of the half at its own 44, the Tigers had to punt it away.With Huron knowing the Tornadoes were just going to try to run out the clock, the O-line got some push and the physical running from Siesel produced three first downs to seal the win."His name is Brock Siesel, but his name is 'Bo Diesel' around here," Lutz said. "Outstanding player, plays hard, does everything right all year long and he's done a great job on defense and now we're putting the ball in his hands, but he's a high-trust kid. "Shout out to Cody Craig, he's somebody alumni would know that is really similar running between the tackles, can run someone over and likes contact a lot, but it's going to be by committee stuff. Due to injury we'll have multiple guys back there. I like where we're headed, but we have to keep going."