ACKLEY – AGWSR quarterback Nathan Karsjens had a hand in five touchdowns and the Cougars made an impressive debut in 8-man football, beating Colo-NESCO 55-28 in Friday’s season opener.

Karsjens had touchdown runs of 1, 12 and 8 yards, and he also connected with Mason Eilderts on a 27-yard scoring strike and with Tate Hofmeister for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

The Cougars (1-0) trailed 20-19 midway through the second quarter but scored five-straight touchdowns to put the visiting Royals (0-1) away.

Liam Stubbe added touchdown runs of 5 and 15 yards, and Eilderts had a 22-yard dash to paydirt to help AGWSR prevail.

Colo-NESCO was led by 8-man’s top returning rusher Garret Tiarks, who finished with 29 carries for 177 yards and all four Royals touchdowns. He sprinted to the end zone from 42, 41, 13 and 4 yards out in the loss.

Tiarks also completed 7-of-9 passes for 48 yards with an interception. Philip Bower was 0-for-3 with an interception.

Garrett Packer contributed 54 rushing yards on eight carries for the Royals, while Parker Eley led the receivers with two catches for 19 yards.

Tiarks paced the defense with eight solo tackles and 10 assists. Packer had five solo stops and 12 helpers.

Hudson 8, East Marshall 7

LE GRAND – Cameron Fulcher capped a 98-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, and his two-point conversion carry helped Hudson rally past East Marshall 8-7 in Friday’s season opener.

The Pirates scored their only points with 2 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the game, and East Marshall could not answer.

The Mustangs’ only score came on a 79-yard pass from Tyler DeBondt to Zane Johnson, and Johnson’s extra-point kick made it 7-0 with 3:12 left in the first period.

DeBondt finished 19-for-32 passing for 197 yards with an interception. Johnson led the receiving corps with six catches and 121 yards. Logan Nicholson had four grabs for 23 yards. Dillon Lee gained 56 yards on 15 carries.

Noah Bandstra led the Mustang defense with 10 solo tackles and five assists.

GMG 12, BCLUW 6

CONRAD – Brock Baldazo and Cade Bovenmyer had rushing touchdowns and the GMG football team opened its season with a 12-6 win at BCLUW.

The Wolverines led 12-0 at the half before BCLUW scored its lone touchdown with 1:45 left in the game. Jack Garber hauled in a Brad Barkema pass for the Comets.

Levi Duden and Conner Stonewall led the GMG defense, while Garrett Groth had an interception and a fumble recovery. Bryce Anderson also recovered a loose ball for GMG.