ADAMS — In the end the No. 8-ranked Southland Rebels easily defeated Kingsland 28-6 Friday night in Adams, but it wasn’t without its bumps.

As a team the Rebels pounded out 318 yards on the ground, but they also put the ball on the ground four times, losing them all to the Knights.

“You can’t fumble the ball four times and put points on the board,” head coach Shawn Kennedy said after the game. “There is no excuse. You protect the ball.”

Although the Rebels (2-0 overall, 2-0 Three Rivers) started slow, the pounding run game eventually wore the Kingsland defense down, led by running back Mike Goergen who ran the 11 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

But it was the defense that really shined, holding the Knights to just one first down all night.

“Our defense saved our backsides tonight,” Kennedy said.

Southland’s first drive was trouble from the very beginning. They quickly committed two penalties — a false start and intentional grounding — that pushed them deep into their own end.

Then quarterback Decker Bendtsen threw an interception on third and 23 to Kingsland’s Jesse Crowson, who ran it back to the Southland 12 yard line.

Kingsland did little with their opportunity, turning the ball over on downs.

It wasn’t until late in the first quarter until the Rebels were able to kick-start their offense — literally.

A bad snap on a Kingsland punt attempt led to a block that saw Southland recover the ball deep in Kingsland’s end.

Running back Tyler Kressin carried the ball to the one-yard line which led to Bendtsen scoring on a dive up the middle, giving Southland the 7-0 lead.

Southland took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter starting with Goergen running back a punt return for 29 yards, followed by Bendtsen connecting with Kressin for a 38-yard reception.

Bendtsen threw for 98 yards on the night.

Fullback Ben Wolterman pounded it in from five-yards out for the score.

Southland didn’t score again until the end of the third quarter when Goergen scored on a 57-yard run with 44 seconds left. The play followed on the heals of a 26-yard run by Goergen the play before. Both runs were the same play to the same spot.

“It was all the line,” Goergen said. “There was a huge hole and it was just green grass.”

The final score was a 56-yard pounding run by Goergen early in the fourth quarter.

“You can’t coach heart,” Kennedy said. “There are two things you can control — effort and attitude, every single game.”

Goergen said the tale of two halves was just a simple adjustment.

“We just went back to fundamentals,” he said. “We focused on ball security a little more. The first half was a little sloppy and the second half was sloppy, but it was better.”

Kingsland 0   0   0   6 — 6

Southland 7   7    7   7  — 28

SOUTHLAND STATS

Rushing: 318 yards (Mike Goergen, 171 yards)

Passing: 98 yards (Decker Bendtsen, 98 yards)

Receiving: Tyler Kressin, 38 yards

Southland defense

Ben Wolterman, 9 tackles; Tyler Kloeckner, 6 tackles; Ezra Smith, 5 tackles, 2 sacks; Goergen, 4 tackles; Nick Schmitz, 5 tackles.

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