Deadwood - Led by Dustin Fischer's 236 yards and two touchdowns, Hot Springs handed Lead-Deadwood a 39-26 setback in the 17th annual Prospector Bowl on Saturday at Ferguson Field.
The Bison took a 19-6 lead in the first half. All three scores were aided by Lead-Deadwood penalties.
"We lost our focus and showed a lack of discipline and lack of concentration on those penalties," said Lead-Deadwood coach Tony Biesiot. "Hot Springs wound up scoring on all three of those possessions."
Hot Springs entered the scoring column on Fischer's one-yard touchdown run at the 3:09 mark of the opening period.
The Bison upped their lead to
13-0 when Matt Harkless reached the end zone from three yards out on a quarterback keeper in the second quarter.
"We came out good and then went flat," said Hot Springs coach Ben Kramer. "The kids overlooked Lead-Deadwood at the start."
Lead-Deadwood shaved the deficit to 13-6 on Jared Mack's 25-yard touchdown run. The LDHS senior running back rushed for 127 yards in the contest.
"We had an opportunity to put them away early. We let them back in the game," said Kramer.
A 33-yard TD run by Fischer and 16-yard scoring strike from Harkless to Jake Johnson gave the Bison a 26-6 edge.
Leif Atkinson hauled in the first of three touchdown passes from quarterback Lucas Reller with 26 seconds left in the half. The 40-yard scoring play pulled the 'Diggers to within 14 points (26-12) at halftime.
Reller and Atkinson again hooked up for another score, this time with 6:42 remaining in the third period. The duo's heroics cut the Hot Springs advantage to eight points.
"We had the momentum on our side," said Biesiot However, Old Mo switched hands quickly. Ryan Wynia broke one tackle, en route to a 46-yard TD pass from Harkless in the closing seconds of the quarter. The Bison then iced the win on a 25-yard touchdown run in the final quarter.
Lead-Deadwood (1-3 overall, 0-2 BHC) finished the game's scoring on a 23-yard touchdown reception by Shane Dubray and two-point conversion pass to Tanner Adler.
"We did a good job of running the ball with Jared Mack," said Biesiot. "The offensive line did a good job of blocking."
Hot Springs (2-2, 1-2) rushed for 333 yards in Saturday's win. In BHC action next Friday, Hot Springs hosts Custer in the Bison homecoming while Lead-Deadwood visits Belle Fourche.
