For the second week in a row the Greene County Rams were behind 14-0 before they scored, and for the second week in a row they claimed a victory. Last week it was a 22-19 win over Nodaway Valley in the Rams’ homecoming game. This week it was a 55-14 win over the Red Oak Tigers in the Tigers’ homecoming game.
The Tigers came into the game with a 16-game losing streak and averaging only five points a game this season. Their 14 points against the Rams all came during the first quarter. They had the first possession of the game and started on their own 21 yard line after returning Nathan Black’s kickoff 15 yards. They made no progress down the field and punted at fourth and 11 from their 20 yard line. The kick bounced off a Ram player and the ball was recovered by Red Oak on the Ram 46 yard line. The next series of downs ended with a punt at fourth and 21. The Rams fumbled on the punt return and Red Oak again collected the ball, this time at the Ram 33 yard line. Red Oak scored six plays later. The PAT kick was good and the Tigers were up 7-0 with 6:14 to play in the first quarter.
The Rams finally got possession of the ball after the Tiger TD. They started on their own 35 yard line and picked up a first down on a pair of rushes by Jackson Morton. They didn’t get the next first down, but instead punted at fourth and nine from the Tiger 46 yard line.
Red Oak began their possession on their own 35 yard line. At third and seven from the 38 yard line Red Oak freshman QB Max DeVries connected with Dawson Bond, who then ran 62 yards for a touchdown. After the PAT the Tigers were ahead on their home field, 14-0, with about four minutes to play in the first quarter.
Black returned the kickoff 45 yards to the Red Oak 35 yard line. Black picked up another 18 yards rushing on the first play from scrimmaged, but a penalty called against the Rams for holding negated the forward progress and put the Rams at first and 17 on the Red Oak 42. They were at third and 17 when Stalder completed a 30-yard pass to Zach Goff. Morton picked up nine yards rushing on the next play, and then finished the job with a three-yard rush to score. Nathan Behne’s PAT was good and the score was 14-7 with 1:35 to play in the quarter.
Once the Rams were on the scoreboard the momentum of the game changed. During the Tigers’ next possession they were at third and 12 on their own 42 yard line when Goff intercepted a DeVries pass on the Ram 35 yard line and ran it back to the Ram 48. The Rams were at fourth and four on the Red Oak 45 when Morton got loose and scored a second rushing TD with a 45-yard race to the goal line. Behne’s PAT kick hit the cross bar of the goal post and the Rams were still down, 14-13, with 9:13 left in the half.
Black’s kickoff went into the end zone and Red Oak started on their own 20 yard line. The Tigers punted at fourth and 15 from their own 15. Jaxon Warnke fielded the punt and ran the ball 48 yards to the Red Oak 20. The Rams punted at fourth and 11 from the Red Oak 19. The punt hit a Red Oak player and the Rams had the ball back. At first and 10 from the Red Oak 46 Stalder and Morton connected on a play that netted 31 yards to the 15 yard line. On the next play the ball was dropped on the snap and the Tigers claimed it, still on the 15 yard line. Spectators may have thought the game had changed from football to hot potato, as two plays later the ball was dropped on the snap (again). At fourth and 14 from the 12, Red Oak punted.
The Rams returned the punt to the Red Oak 40. It took them five plays, including a 29-yard pass to Morton, to score. Morton took the ball across the goal line at third and goal from the 4. After Behne’s PAT the Rams were up 27-14 with 1:06 to play in the half.
The Rams scored three times in the third quarter while the Tigers were unable to get much going offensively. The Tigers again had the ball to open the second half, this time starting on their three yard line. They punted at fourth and 2 from the 11 yard line. The Rams took possession on the Red Oak 323 and used four plays to score, with Black covering most of the yardage. He ran the ball the final 10 yards for the TD, and with the PAT the Rams were up 33-14 with 8:15 left to play in the third quarter.
The Tigers started the next series on their 30 yard line. They picked up a pair of first downs and made it to the Ram 41 before ending the series with an incomplete pass at fourth and 12. The Rams scored in eight plays, with Black again taking the ball across the line. After the PAT the score was 41-14 with 2:33 to play in the third quarter.
Red Oak started on their 20 yard line and punted at fourth and 16 from their 14 yard line. There was a penalty against the Rams for illegal participation on the punt, so the Tigers punted a second time, that time at fourth and 11 from the 20 yard line. The Tigers were penalized on the second put and they punted a third time, that time from the 15 yard line.
Warnke returned the punt to the Red Oak 35 yard line. Stalder completed a pass to Warnke on the first play from scrimmage and Warnke scored. Behne’s kick was good again and the Rams were up 48-14 with 42 seconds to play in the quarter.
The last scoring came with 5:37 to play in the fourth quarter. Red Oak had punted from their 32 yard line. Warnke returned the punt 25 yards to put the ball on the Red Oak 39. It took just three plays to get to the goal line, with Stalder rushing on two plays for 34 of the needed yards. The PAT was good and the Rams were up 55-14. The margin was large enough for the clock to run continuously for the rest of the game.
The Rams totaled 397 yards of offense. Stalder was eight of 14 passing for 153 yards. The Rams rushed for an impressive 244 yards, with Black tallying 107 yards in 11 carries and Morton adding 86 yards on nine carries. Stalder rushed for 36 yards.
Defensive stats were not posted on QuikStats as of Sunday evening.
The Tigers totaled 208 yards offensively, with QB Max DeVries making five of 10 passes for a total of 29 yards. Dawson Bond rushed for 86 yards and Riley Fouts rushed for 67 yards.
The Rams are 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in Class 2A District 9 play. They host Clarinda Oct. 2 and then travel to Shenandoah to finish the regular season Oct. 9.
