Brother of slain Iowa student leads prep team to victory

Published

LISBON, Iowa (AP) — A brother of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts played through his grief and led his high school football team to victory in the season opener.

The Des Moines Register reports that Scott Tibbetts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom High School beat Lisbon High 35-24 on Friday night in Lisbon. The win came less than 48 hours before a memorial service Sunday for his 20-year-old sister.

Authorities say a 24-year-old suspect, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, led investigators to her body in a cornfield last week about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. She had been missing since July 18.

Lisbon officials complied with their opponents' wishes that there be no displays or tributes regarding Mollie Tibbetts. The visitors wore jerseys with a small honor: teal wings with the initials "MT" in a heart. The wings will remain there all season.

Scott Tibbetts declined to comment after the game.