Huron rides near-perfect first half to 44-22 playoff win over Bryan

HURON — Huron played a near-perfect first half Saturday night, which was more than enough to secure the Tigers' first football playoff victory since 2014. The Tigers, seeded No. 3 in Division IV Region 14, scored the game's first 37 points at Huron Memorial Stadium and cruised to a 44-22 win over 14th-seeded Bryan. Huron will host defending state champion Clyde next Saturday night in a regional quarterfinal matchup. Moving on was as easy as 1-2-3. The Tigers' quick, swarming defense dominated Bryan's big offense in the first two quarters, holding the Golden Bears to one first down and two total yards while forcing three turnovers. "You couldn't have scripted it any better for us," Huron coach Sam Hohler said of the first half. "All three phases had a great start." Huron, which piled up 272 yards of offense in the first half, turned three early takeaways into touchdowns to clinch its seventh win in seven games this season after a bye week in the first round. With his team leading 10-0 in the second quarter, Huron defensive back Kaden Staley jumped high to intercept an Ethan Wasson pass. The Tigers drove 63 yards, scoring on Cole Parker's 11-yard run to make it 17-0. Bryan fumbled on the next play and Huron's Kaydn Yates recovered. Parker scored five plays later on a 1-yard run. Bryan fumbled again on its next possession and the Tigers extended their lead to 30-0 when JJ Holliday scored on a well-blocked 42-yard screen pass. "I was just running," Holliday said. "I saw Hudd (tackle Joey Huddleston) and he carried me into the end zone." Holliday, who scored the game's first touchdown on a 29-yard run, had not scored an offensive touchdown this season until Saturday. He finished with 73 yards on 12 carries and recorded a quarterback sack. Jacob Lamb and Noah Ontko also recorded QB sacks in the first half. Lamb scored on a 34-yard pass from Parker with 50 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 37-0 at halftime. Bryan, which fell to 5-3, had eight yards passing and minus-6 rushing in the first half. Wasson completed 12 of 24 passes for 117 yards in the game, but five completions went for five yards or fewer as the Tigers capitalized on their speed advantage. "We pride ourselves on our athleticism," Lamb said. "We might not be the biggest, but we have that swarm mentality to make plays and that's what we did." The second half started with the running clock, but three Huron turnovers gave Bryan opportunities to score. The Tigers finished with 331 yards (59 in the second half). "The coach in me wasn't happy with the second half and the turnovers, but we were trying to rotate people in," Hohler said. Huron finished with four turnovers and Bryan had five. Parker completed 7 of 13 passes for 180 yards and two scores — all in the first half. Staley caught three passes for 85 yards and Lamb had two receptions for 46 yards and a TD. The Tigers' only second-half score came when Lamb returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown after Bryan scored early in the third quarter. "I was mad that they scored after I thought we earned a shutout," Lamb said. "I got some good blocks and once I saw the hole I was gone." Bryan 0 0 8 14 — 22 Huron 10 27 7 0 — 44 H — JJ Holliday 29 run (Abram Fortune kick) H — Fortune 31 field goal H — Cole Parker 11 run (Fortune kick) H — Parker 1 run (kick failed) H — Holliday 42 pass from Parker (Fortune kick) H — Jacob Lamb 34 pass from Parker (Fortune kick) B — Caleb Kepler 2 run (Korbin Shepherd pass from Ethan Watson) H — Lamb 78 kickoff return (Fortune kick) B — Kepler 3 run (pass failed) B — Mikey Wolff 4 run (Kepler run)