~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
In a battle of two strong teams, the Class 1A AC/GC Chargers squeaked out an exciting 29-27 overtime victory over the Class 2A Greene County Rams to open the 2021 season Aug. 27. Both teams are expected to challenge for their respective district titles.
It was a tale of two halves. The Chargers owned the first half, running out to a 21-0 lead before the Rams managed to sneak in their first score of the season just before half time. Quarterback Bryce Stalder hit Max Riley for a 39-yard touchdown pass with less than a second to play before intermission. Nathan Behne made the PAT and the score was 21-7.
The second half belonged to the Rams. Greene County made it 21-14 when Stalder bullied in on a seven-yard TD run. The Rams tied the game with 2:45 remaining in regulation on a Stalder to Brenner Gallagher TD pass going seven yards on third and goal.
In the final possession in regulation, the Chargers drove to the Greene County 15-yard line in nine plays. AC/GC elected to kick a field goal with eight seconds showing on the clock. Cayden Jensen’s attempt was blocked and the Rams then took a knee to end the game in regulation.
In OT, the Rams had the ball first and scored on the first extra session play on Stalder’s 10-yard run. The PAT was blocked but Greene County held the lead, 27-21.
The Chargers answered in OT with a Gavin Cornelison six-yard TD run on second down. Cornelison scored the game-winning points on a two-point conversion run and ACGC started the season at 1-0 while the Rams are 0-1.
Stalder completed six out of 16 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Max Riley caught two aerials for 95 yards (one TD) while Richard Daugherty snared two passes for 58 yards. Gallagher caught a seven-yard TD pass. Nathan Black got in on the action with a three-yard reception.
Stalder was the leading rusher, scrambling 12 times for 128 yards, including a 78-yard run to the ACGC 13 in a possession that produced no points. Black ran seven times to gain five yards. Lander Anders carried the pigskin five times for one yard. Jackson Morton gained three yards on a carry.
Greene County totaled 163 yards in the air and 137 on the ground for 300 yards of offense. AC/GC netted 52 yards in the air but drove on the ground for 408 yards to total 460 offensive yards.
Cornelison led the Chargers with 195 yards on 31 carries as ACGC had 70 running plays.
Black topped the Ram defense with six solo tackles. Patrick Daugherty grabbed five solo tackles followed by Michael Rumley and Morton with four and Bradyn Smith with three. Riley and Morton recovered Charger fumbles and R Daugherty intercepted a Charger pass to pick up 25 yards.
Black kicked off four times for 151 yards. Stalder punted four times for 117 yards.
Friday night the Rams host rival Perry at Linduska Field. The Battle for the Cowbell starts at 7 pm. The Blue Jays lost at home Aug. 27 to Ogden 33-0. The loss was the 27th straight for the Perry program.
