The Briar Cliff football team picked up their first win under head coach Shane LaDage Saturday, beating Mount Marty 36-28 in Yankton, South Dakota. 
 
"I'm really proud of how hard our guys competed today," said head coach Shane LaDage. "They embodied our "process" mentality and never flinched. We were able to make big plays in all three phases and our staff did a tremendous job having the guys prepared. Thank you to everyone in Charger Nation who provided a great game day environment on the road!"
 
A short punt from the Lancers put the Chargers in good field position near the end of the first quarter, with the Cliff trailing 6-0. The first of many big plays between quarterback Luke Davies and Kobe Johnson was a 46-yard completion, which put the Chargers in a first and goal situation on the nine-yard line. Three plays later Dawson Forcella found the end zone on a three-yard carry.
 
Jonathan Branner put the Cliff up 9-6 early in the second quarter, set up by a 42-yard rush from Asante Anglin. Mount Marty answered on the next possession with a 15 play, 81-yard touchdown drive. On the ensuing Charger drive, Davies found Johnson for a 38-yard completion to move into the red zone. Davies found Spencer Slyvester George for a 21-yard touchdown strike and Briar Cliff took a 16-13 lead into halftime. 
 
The Chargers put up two more touchdowns in the third quarter, highlighted by a 65-yard touchdown from Davies to Johnson. Looking to answer the Charger score, the Lancers moved into Charger territory on the following drive. Ahkil Muhammed put a stop to the Mount Marty momentum, intercepting Torren Devericks and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown. 
 
Mount Marty opened the fourth quarter with a 15-play, 93-yard drive reaching the BC two-yard line. On fourth and one, the Charger defensive line got the stop, with Asi Tupua and Lakey Martin making the tackle. Davies would find Johnson for one more big play in the fourth quarter, with fourth and three the duo connected for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Chargers up 36-20.
 
Davies completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Anglin gained 65 yards on the ground on 16 carries. Johnson totaled a game high 174 receiving yards on five catches. Spencer George added 68 yards on five receptions. 
 
MJ Montgomery had a busy day in the backfield for the BC defense, notching 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. Tupua, Zach Buick, Brayden Pommier-Williams and Brett Tinker had eight tackles apiece. Muhammed had four tackles and one tackle for a loss to go along with his pick-six. Christian Mendoza recorded two punts inside the 20-yard line, while Branner went 3-for-4 on PATs and converted his only field goal attempt for 29 yards. 
 
The Blue and Gold return to Memorial Field Saturday, October 2 for a Homecoming clash with Hastings. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. between the Chargers and Broncos.