GOVS Football online game centeR
Sioux Falls Lincoln Patriots 21, Pierre Governors 14
Friday, September 14th
Phil Trautner Stadium at Hollister Field -- Pierre, SD
GOVERNORS HOMECOMING 2001

Game Preview
Governors miscues again cost them

The Pierre Governors rallied behind Homecoming 2001 ready to play some football, but so did Sioux Falls Lincoln, and the Patriots had just enough to upend the Governors Friday night, 21-14.

Heralded quaterback Tom Flyger of Lincoln couldn't throw that much in the 55-degree weather with rain falling. He only threw seven times, completing only two...both for touchdowns.

Pierre was impressive on the opening drive of the game, scoring and taking a 6-0 lead. Lincoln got the ball and they started their drive. On a 2nd-and-eight at the Pierre 47, Flyger saw man-to-man coverage on his wide outs, and audibilized at the line of scrimmage. Then he threw a fade pass to Paul Zimmer, who tight roped the sidelines long enough for Tyler Prue to go sliding by trying to make the stop, and Zimmer ran all the way for a Patriot score.

Pierre's special teams, especially the punt game, continued its struggles, as a high snap landed inside the twenty, with little for Craig Schochenmaier to do but try to run and get nothing. Three plays later, Flyger rolled to his right and lobbed a pass to the end zone for Bryan Voss, with three Governors in the area. Drew Palmer batted the ball in the air, and it wobbled into the hands of Zimmer in the back of the zone, for another touchdown, a 15-6 Lincoln lead.

Pierre went 60 yards in 3:03 to get back in it, a nice drive capped by a Prue touchdown run, cutting the lead to 15-12. The score remained that way at half.

In the third quarter, Brad Wire, the Homecoming Governor himself, came out to punt, and boomed one 49 yards, downed inside the one-yard line. Lincoln couldn't move the ball on three plays, so Mike Kleindinst again proved that he wasn't afraid of the Governor offense, by taking a safety rather than trying to punt with little room. A smart decision this would turn out to be. On the play, Wire hurt his knee, something that would also come back into play.

Pierre and Lincoln exchanged possessions, then the Govs had to punt with about 7:30 left. Wire's injury brought Schochenmaier back into punt, and with the conditions Schochenmaier failed to kick the ball, and although Pierre recovered, it was Patriot ball at the Governor 15-yard line. Four plays later, on 3rd-and-Goal, with the pocket collapsing, Flyger snuck outside the corner and into the end zone, scoring the game's final points.

Pierre played a good football game defensively, and Andy Hanson's 5-of-14 doesn't look pretty, but when you consider he was 4-of-9 on the final drive, it looks a little better. Prue continues to run terrifically, his third-straight 100-yard performance. Dan Swenson's return to the middle of the defense and the extra fullback sparked the Govs, giving them better run protection and also improving their overall running game.

However, Pierre still has special teams holes to fill, as for the last three weeks now Pierre has either allowed punt returns for scores, bad snaps or bad punts. If the Govs can patch the speciality holes, Chad Gusso's squad is anything but out of the running. They go to Mitchell for a Saturday game, a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Game Box Score