Despite an outstanding defensive effort, the Briar Cliff football team fell at Doane Saturday in the Chargers' season opener in Crete, Nebraska. Although the Chargers held the Tigers to just 13 points, they could only put up six points of their own and fell on the road. 
 
The sides played to a scoreless first half and followed that up with a low scoring second half as well. 
 
The Chargers were the first team on the board with a touchdown pass from John Bell to Kreggor Clark with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter. The 13-play scoring drive saw Bell lead his team 97 yards down field and into the end zone, but BC's point after attempt was no good and left the Cliff's lead at 6-0.
 
Doane did not crack the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. The home team scored a touchdown with 11:03 on the game clock but had its PAT attempt blocked by Mark Snorton to keep the contest tied at six. The Tigers found the end zone again with 2:23 remaining and converted the point after for the 13-6 lead.
 
The Chargers moved the chains a few times in an effort to mount a comeback but fell short, failing to convert a fourth down at the Doane 28-yard line. Doane was able to run the final 34 seconds off the clock and secure the win.
 
"This was a very disappointing loss for us," said head coach Dennis Wagner. "I thought our defense played well enough to win, but as we got tired our tackling was not good enough."
 
Asi Tupua led the BC team with 11 total tackles, followed up by Kadeem Muhammad with 10. 
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Bell was 14-for-28 with one interception and 139 total yards. Mar'Kaybion Wallace was the top rusher for the Cliff, netting 70 yards on 20 carries. Jalen Bowman led the Charger receivers with four catches for 51 yards and Dawson Forcella added four receptions for 33 yards.
 
"We left a lot of offense on the field today," Wagner added. "With poor throws and dropped balls, we just had to be better. We need a big week of preparation for Concordia. It will be great to come home to Memorial Field to get back on track!"
 
The Charger loss puts them at 0-1 on the season and in GPAC play while Doane moves to 1-1 (1-1). The Cliff will return to Sioux City to play its home opener next week at Memorial Field. Kickoff against Concordia is set for 1 p.m. on Homecoming Saturday.