Orioles top Canton 22-14 in Homecoming Black and Blue Bowl
The Lennox High School football team celebrated Homecoming with a 22-14 victory over Canton Friday, Sept. 18, in the annual Black and Blue Bowl match-up.
The victory improved the Orioles to 3-1 on the season and handed Canton its first loss of the year.
Lennox opened the scoring in the first quarter when Cayden Huls connected with Drake Mikkelsen on an 8-yard touchdown pass. The Orioles were unable to convert the ensuing two-point attempt, taking a 6-0 lead.
Lennox extended its lead in the second quarter when Levi Simonsen scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. The Orioles converted the two-point attempt to take a 14-0 advantage with under 5 minutes in the first half.
Canton, however, answered with two touchdowns before halftime. The C-Hawks scored on a 35-yard run, followed by an 8-yard touchdown pass, with both extra points converted to tie the game at 14-14 heading into halftime.
The Orioles regained the lead in the third quarter when Huls broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run. Lennox added the two-point conversion to take a 22-14 lead.
The Orioles’ defense held Canton scoreless the rest of the way to secure the eight-point victory.
Lennox finished the game with 406 total yards compared to 175 for Canton. The Orioles recorded 218 passing yards and 188 rushing yards while Canton had 94 passing yards and 81 rushing yards.
Huls completed 15 of 23 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. He also had 53 yards rushing on 13 carries and a touchdown.
Shayden Olean carried the ball 26 times for 90 yards, while Simonsen added 37 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Bennett Hanssen had one rush for eight yards.
Mikkelsen led the receivers with seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Brennen Juffer added two catches for 65 yards, including a long of 57 yards. Maxon Flanagan caught three passes for 34 yards, Hanssen had two catches for 12 yards and Olean added one reception for seven yards.
Defensively, Lennox was led by Jevyn Lefers with eight total tackles, including five solo tackles and three assists. Noyln Spielman recorded seven tackles, while Mikkelsen had six.
Leif Karlson recorded two sacks in the game, bringing his career total to 37. This total establishes a new state record in South Dakota for career sacks across all classes.
The Orioles will travel to Milbank Friday, Sept. 25, to take on the 2-2 Bulldogs. Milbank sits at 2-2 on the season with losses to Dell Rapids (43-7) and West Central (56-6) and wins over Vermillion (20-9) and Tri-Valley (27-15). Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at A.B. Campbell Stadium.