The Greene County Rams once again lost a football game in which they had more total offensive yardage than their opponent. The final score in Friday night’s game in Carroll vs the Knights of Kuemper Catholic high school favored the Knights, 16-14, although the Rams unofficially had 211 yards of offense with nine first downs, while the Knights had 166 yards and only four first downs.
| photo by Scranton Journal
The Knights scored first with 6:55 to go in the first quarter. The Knights were on the Rams’ 1 yard line but didn’t score. With the Rams in possession of the ball, a penalty against them moved the ball even tighter to the goal line and the Knights were able to score a safety for two points on the next play. The score was 2-0 in favor of the Knights.
The Knights’ next possession ended with a punt that gave the Rams the ball on the Knights’ 20 yard line. The Rams put together a nine play, 79-yard drive that senior Dylan Hamilton finished with a 10-yard carry to score a touchdown with less than a minute to go in the first quarter. Sophomore Nick Schroeder’s kick was good and the Rams were up 7-2.
The lead held up for about three minutes. On the next series, the Ram defense held the Knights. With the ball on the Knights’ 46 yard line they attempted a punt. The snap to punter Adam Schleisman was high, but Schleisman grabbed the ball and ran 86 yards (total) to score a touchdown. The PAT was good and the Knights were up 9-7 with 10:12 left to play in the second quarter.
The Knights scored again with a nine play, 43-yard drive with 1:45 left to play in the half. The PAT was good and the score was 16-7 at halftime.
The Knights started the second half on offense. Kuemper ended that possession with a 63-yard punt. The Rams’ next nine plays included two successful passes by quarterback junior Daric Whipple, a 21-yard pass to senior Jake Carey, and a 35-yard touchdown pass to junior Max Neese. It was Whipple’s first touchdown pass for the season. Schroeder was good on the PAT kick and the score was 16-14 with six minutes to play in the third quarter.
The rest of the game was primarily a defensive match-up. Each team had one first down. The Rams’ last possession came with 2:24 to play and the Rams at mid-field. Hamilton was dropped for a loss of three yards, then picked up eight yards on the next play, putting the Rams at third and 5 on the 48 yard line. The Rams punted after a pair of incomplete passes and the game ended with the Knights in possession of the ball and a two point victory.
The Rams are now 0-2 on the season. They begin district play next Friday with a home game vs Algona.
