The Greene County Rams improved to 7-2 on the gridiron and advanced in post-season play with a 24-0 win over the Clarinda Cardinals in Jefferson Friday. It was the second time the two teams played this season. The first meeting was a 22-15 win for the Rams. The Cardinals finished their season with four wins and five losses.
The game was remarkable in that there were no penalties against either team. The Rams received a sideline warning early in the game, but there were no flags thrown. Without penalties, the game was finished in only two hours.
The weather was unseasonably cold, with the actual temperature at 34 degrees and the apparent temperature at only 23 degrees when the game started. A brisk northwest wind made it a night for a running game, and that’s how the Rams played. Junior running back Nate Black rushed for 186 of the Rams’ 239 yards of rushing, a career high for him. Junior quarterback Bryce Stalder rushed for 47 yards and junior Jackson Morton rushed for 15 yards before an injury took him out of the game.
The Rams scored in every quarter. A highlight of their first drive was a 25-yard Stalder pass to Jaxon Warnke that moved the ball from the Rams’ 37 yard line to the Cardinals’ 36. The Rams got as close as the Cardinals’ 10 before Stalder was sacked for a seven yard loss, putting them at third down with 15 yards to go. On fourth and 15 the ball got lose at the snap. Stalder managed to fall on the ball before a Clarinda player could claim it and the Cardinals started their first possession on their own 26 yard line.
The Cardinals were on the Ram 39 at second down and 6 when they fumbled the ball. Bradyn Smith recovered the fumble and the Rams had the ball on their own 45. That set up a seven play, 55-yard scoring drive for the Rams. The drive included a 17-yard pass to Warnke and ended with a 21-yard pass to Jesse Miller in the end zone with 2:52 to play in the first quarter. Nathan Behne kicked the PAT and the Rams led 7-0.
The Cardinals’ next possession ended when Sawyer Schiltz recovered a fumble on a third down and 4 play from the Ram 46 yard line. The Rams started on Clarinda’s 40 yard line. They made it to the 2 yard line at first down, but couldn’t get the ball across the line. At fourth down and goal from the 4 yard line, freshman kicker Behne kicked the first field goal of his high school career, a 21-yard kick with the wind at his back. With 6:06 to play in the quarter, the Rams were ahead 10-0. That was the score at half-time.
The Rams’ third quarter scoring drive came on their first possession of the quarter. The Rams started on their own 20 yard line and the offense clicked. Rather than passing into the wind, the Rams kept the ball on the ground, with Black getting all the blocks he needed to pick up all 80 yards to the end zone, with the final 23 yards in one run. Behne kicked the PAT and with 3:19 left in the third quarter the score was 17-0.
The cold weather made it difficult to hold on to the ball. The Cardinals’ next possession ended with a fumble on their 43 yard line recovered by sophomore Patrick Daugherty with 1:49 left in the quarter. Seven plays later, and into the fourth quarter, the Rams were at first down and goal on the Clarinda 8 yard line. Stalder kept the ball on the first play and picked up five yards. Black took the ball to the 1 yard line for third and goal. The Rams fumbled, but Black recovered it. Black carried the ball on the next play but came up short for a TD. The Cardinals had the ball on their own 1 yard line. Despite their close quarters, they didn’t turn the ball over, but ended up punting into the wind at fourth and 8 yards from their 3 yard line.
The Rams started their final possession of the game on the Cardinals’ 33 yard line. They got the first 15 yards in two plays, courtesy of Black and his blockers. It took them seven more plays to get the remaining 18 yards. The drive ended with a pass to Warnke on a fourth and goal play from the 4 yard line. Behne’s PAT was good and the Rams were up 24-0 with 1 minute left in the game. That was the final score.
The Rams compiled 327 yards of offense. Stalder completed five of nine passes for 88 yards. Warnke received for 46 yards and Miller received for 42 yards. Daugherty and Smith were credited with five tackles each, with both of them having two solo tackles. Stalder and Miller had three solo tackles each.
The Cardinals totaled 150 yards of offense. Sophomore quarterback Wyatt Schmitt completed three of nine passes for 45 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 105 yards, with sophomore Tadyn Brown accounting for 67 of them.
The Rams will play the PCM Mustangs in Monroe Friday, Oct. 30. Game time is 7 pm. The Mustangs are 8-0 on the season. The Rams play the Mustangs in Heart of Iowa basketball, but this will be their first meeting on the gridiron.
