sellis@journalnet.com

ABERDEEN - Aberdeen's defense smothered American Falls, and its offense capitalized on big plays as the Tigers beat the Beavers 20-0 Friday.

It wasn't a pretty game, Aberdeen football coach Cory Hollingsworth said, but the Tigers came up with enough big plays to beat their rivals in both teams' season openers.

"It was a hard-fought game, it just wasn't well-executed and pretty," he said. "We did make some huge plays, on offense and defense, and I think that was the difference."

Aberdeen fumbled the ball several times, losing it twice in the first half. But its defense held, and the offense came up big when it needed to.

American Falls coach Pat Patterson laid the blame on himself for his team's inability to move the ball consistently. The Beavers' offense is running a completely different system this year, he said, and it's clear they aren't at the level they need to be.

"It's a new formation, new terminology, new everything," he said. "It's my fault we didn't have the offense we needed to win the game tonight."

On the bright side, Patterson said, the team's defense played well enough to keep it a game.

"I thought our defense was flying around the field playing hard," he said. The offense played hard also, he added, but "our bread and butter plays were just not real effective against their defense."

Running back Greg Bartholoma got the Tigers on the board late in the first quarter after he broke a tackle and scampered 45 yards for a touchdown. A missed extra point made it 6-0.

Aberdeen increased its lead to 14-0 just before halftime when running back Wade Wahlen scored off a pitch from 2 yards out, stretching the ball across the goal line. Running back Austin George scored on a two-point conversion attempt.

That score was set up by a 23-yard pass from quarterback Cody O'Brien to Gerardo Gonzalez, followed by a 25-yard run up the middle by O'Brien.

Aberdeen running back Abel Villa brought the Tiger fans to their feet late in the fourth quarter when he muscled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out after banging out consecutive runs of 10 and 11 yards. The extra point attempt was blocked.

A 35-yard pass from O'Brien to George helped set up that score.

American Falls went for it three times on fourth down, falling short on each try.

Despite the 20-0 score, Hollingsworth said the team made a lot of mistakes and "it looked like a first game. We were way inconsistent; we have plenty to work on."

American Falls quarterback Devin Mock hurt his back with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter and didn't return.