Orioles dominate Custer in 66-13 victory

Drake Mikkelsen grabs one of his four touchdowns during the Orioles’ match-up against Custer.

The Lennox High School football team traveled west to face the Custer Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 5, and returned home with a commanding 66-13 win.

The Orioles’ offense exploded early, putting up 29 points in the first quarter alone. Ramsey Williams broke through with touchdown runs of 15 and 32 yards, while Cayden Huls connected with Cole Spieler for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Tate Gerdes added a nine-yard scoring run, followed by a successful two-point conversion.

Quarterback Jhaimann Huntington kept the momentum rolling in the second quarter, throwing three touchdown passes to Drake Mikkelsen—covering 7, 25, and 15 yards. Mavrick Stockwell later added a 22-yard touchdown run, giving Lennox a commanding lead at the half with Custer scoring only once in the first quarter. 

In the second half, Custer scored first in the third but the Orioles continued their dominance, capitalizing on a fumble return for a touchdown and another Huntington-to-Mikkelsen score from 31 yards out to seal the game.

In the game, Huntington finished with 129 passing yards and four touchdowns completing nine of 12 passes in the game. Huls went two of six and finished with 45 yards and one passing score. 

On the ground, Williams finished with 106 rushing yards on nine carries and two touchdowns, while Gerdes contributed 52 yards on four carries and a score. 

Mikkelsen led the receivers with 77 yards on five catches, with four of them touchdown catches. Gerdes had three grabs for 41 yards and Spieler had the lone 38 yard touchdown pass. Talen Eich also had one catch for 11 yards and Andrew Stensaas caught a pass for seven yards. 

As a team, Lennox racked up 381 total yards on just 40 plays, averaging nearly 10 yards per snap. Custer finished with 236 yards of offense. 

The Orioles’ defense also held strong, forcing three turnovers and limiting Custer to a 22% third-down conversion rate. Mikkelsen had an interception in the game and Jevyn Lefers led the team in tackles with nine. Williams finished with six and Nolyn Spielman finished with seven. Jayden Hopf had five in the game. 

With the win, Lennox improves to 2-0 on the season. They travel to Sioux Falls Christian this Friday, Sept. 12 in a 7 p.m. match-up. The Chargers also bring a 2-0 record to the match-up with wins over West Central (24-0) and Rapid City Christian (48-21) to open the season.