The Greene County Rams are done with the toughest part of their season, playing four outstanding teams, two of them ranked, to start their season. They lost their fourth game 40-18 against the Class 3A fifth-rated Webster City Lynx in Jefferson Sept. 14, despite a valiant effort on both sides of the ball.
The loss puts the Rams at 0-2 in Class 3A District 2. The Lynx are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in District 2.
The Rams won the toss and elected to receive the ball. The kick off went into the end zone so the Rams started on their own 20 yard line. There was a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and the Lynx had the ball on the Ram 20.
The defense played hard, and it took the Lynx until their third possession to score, finally crossing the goal line on a 41-yard pass play from Dylan Steen to Jordan Tanner with 4:19 to play in the first quarter. The point after touchdown was good and the Lynx had the lead 7-0.
The Rams went out on downs in their next possession and after an Austin Delp punt the Lynx had the ball on their own 45 yard line. It took the Lynx only four plays to make their next TD, and with 3:20 to play in the first quarter the visitors were up 14-0.
During the first quarter the Rams’ only first down came via a 5-yard penalty against the Lynx. Their own 33 yard line was the farthest the Rams made it down the field.
During their first possession of the second quarter the Rams earned a pair of first downs, one on a Colby Kafer 15-yard run, followed by another on a 13-yard run by junior QB Clint Dennhardt. The Lynx punted on their next possession, their first punt of the game, and junior Nick Breon returned it to the Lynx 46 yard line. There was again a fumble on the first play from scrimmage, and again, it was recovered by the Lynx on their 49 yard line. They scored six plays later. The PAT was not good and the Lynx led 20-0 with just less than 6 minutes to play in the half.
The Rams made a first down on their next possession, but ended up punting on fourth and 5. Delp put the ball all the way down on the Lynx 20 yard line, but Zane Williams proved why he’s the leading rusher in Class 3A. He ran 80 yards to score on the first play from scrimmage. After the PAT the Lynx were ahead 27-0.
The Rams got on the board with 1:39 to play in the half. The Rams took possession on their own 36 yard line. The Rams kept the ball on the ground, and between Kafer and Dennhardt they made it to the end zone in five plays. The Rams set up for a kick after the TD, but kicker Leo Marques dropped the ball. Jordan Patterson picked it up and passed it to Jake Berns in the end zone for a 2-point conversion. The score was 27-8.
The Lynx took possession of the ball on their own 33 yard line. On their second play Steen completed a 65-yard pass to Trace Keppler for their fifth touchdown of the game. The score was 33-8 with 1:17 to play in the half.
Unofficially the Webster City Lynx had 351 yards of offense in the first half, compared to the Rams’ 130 yards.
The Lynx opened the second half with an eight play 80-yard drive that was capped with a 67-yard Williams run. With the PAT the score was 40-8 with about nine minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Rams built a cushion between themselves and a continuous clock with another touchdown similar to their first. They covered 81 yards in seven with Kafer and Dennhardt again toting the ball, with the longest run being 43 yards by Dennhardt. The drive ended with a 2-yard Dennhardt run into the end zone. The Rams added two points with a pass to Patterson in the end zone. The score was 40-16 with 3:29 to play in the third quarter.
The Lynx had their first turnover of the game on their next possession, a fumble recovered by Berns on the Ram 29 yard line with 1:03 in the third quarter. That possession ended with a Ram punt that put the ball back to the Lynx’ 23 yard line. The visitors made it to the Ram 38 yard line but the Ram defense held them on downs and took over the ball with about 6 minutes to play in the game.
The Rams put together a good offensive drive with Dennhardt and Kafer rushing again, and Berns and Trey Hinote receiving passes. The Rams were fourth and goal on the 3 yard line but Dennhardt didn’t make it across the goal line, and with 2:35 to play the Lynx had the ball on their own 3 yard line. The Ram defense was tough and held the Lynx. They attempted to punt but the kicker bobbled the snap and the ball went out the back of the end zone to score a safety with 1:02 to play. The score was 40-18, and that was the final score of the game.
The Rams had 325 yards of total offense, more than in previous games this season, and more than three times the offensive yardage they had a week ago against Dallas Center – Grimes. They had 203 yards rushing, with Dennhardt at 109 yards in 27 attempts and Kafer at 94 in 15 attempts. yards. Dennhardt passed for a total of 122 yards, completing 12 of 25 passes. Trey Hinote was the leading receiver with 60 yards on five catches and Kafer had 32 yards on three catches.
Berns and Joe Towers were credited with five solo tackles and 12 assists each; two of Towers’ solo tackles were for a loss. Charlie Gunn and Xavier Hayes had eight tackle assists each and Kyle Peters had six.
Webster City’s Zane Williams had one more yard of rushing than the Rams’ total offense. The Lynx had 549 yards of offense all together, with 412 rushing and 137 passing.
The Rams travel to Iowa Falls-Alden next Friday. Iowa Falls-Alden was 1-3 going into Sept. 15 play.
