The Greene County varsity football team retained custody of the cow bell, beating Perry 61-0 in Perry at the traditional “Battle for the Cowbell” Sept. 2. The Rams are now 2-0 on the young gridiron season while the Blue Jays are 0-3.
Ram junior Gabe Ebersole in his second appearance as varsity quarterback completed nine of 18 passes for 144 yards in the air and had no interceptions. Three of Ebersole’s passes were to senior Jesse Miller for a pair of TDs, and junior Jack Hansen caught three passes with one of them scoring. Richard Daugherty caught two passes, one for a touchdown, and sophomore Camden Strennen caught a pass.
Ebersole led in rushing with 86 yards rushing in six carries. Senior Patrick Daugherty rushed for 28 yards and junior Jackson Turner rushed for 26 yards. Strennen, QB on the junior varsity squad, rushed for 20 yards while junior Gavin Scheuermann rushed for 19. Senior Richard Daugherty rushed for only 1 yard, but it took him one yard over the goal line for a touchdown.
The Ram offense totaled 319 yards, with 175 yards through the air and 144 yards on the ground.
Defensively, junior Cody Allen led in tackles with 11.5, three of them solo tackles. Strennen had 8.5 tackles with four solos, and junior Gavin Scheuermann had 8 total tackles with five of them solos. Senior Patrick Daugherty had 7/5 tackles with two solos.
The Blue Jays had the first possession of the game. The returned the opening kickoff to their 20 yard line, but moved it only nine yards. They attempted to make the first down at fourth and 1 on their 29 yard line but were unsuccessful, giving the Rams good field position from which to begin their first possession. The Rams were aided by an offsides penalty against the Blue Jays and made it to the 14 yard line for a first and 10. The struggled to pick up yardage. At first and 12 on the Perry 16 yard line junior Nathan Behne kicked a field goal from 33 yards out. The Rams were ahead 3-0 with 8:29 on the clock.
The Rams scored again three minutes later after junior Gavin Scheuermann recovered a Perry fum ble, giving the Rams the ball on the Perry 24. Ebersole connected on a pass to Miller for the TD, and with Behne’s PAT kick the score was 10-0 with 6.22 to play in the first quarter.
The Blue Jays punted from their own 25 yard line on their next possession. Strennan received the punt but fumbled the ball, with the Blue Jays recovering on the Greene County 45 yard line. The Blue Jay offense punted at fourth and 3 from the Ram 39 yard line.
The snap was bad on the first play from scrimmage and the Rams lost eight yards. The Rams lost another three yards on the next play, moving the ball back to the Ram 27 yard line. (That was the closest the Blue Jays were to the Ram goal line during the entire game.) Ebersole punted the ball 37 yards and the Blue Jays had the ball on their own 41 yard line. Their offense clicked and they made a first down at the Ram 48 yard line, and then finished the quarter at second down and 7 on the Ram 45. The score was 10-0.
The Rams sacked Perry QB Caden Heck on the first play of the second quarter. At fourth and 16 Perry punted. Richard Daugherty returned the punt 17 yards and the Rams had the ball on the Ram 42. The first snap of the possession wasn’t good but the Rams still gained four yards. At second and 6 Ebersole ran the ball 19 yards to get a first down at the Perry 30. Ebersole threw two incomplete passes before connecting on a 29-yard pass to Strennan, putting the ball at first and goal on the one yard line. Richard Daugherty scored and with Behne’s PAT the score was 17-0
The next points on the scoreboard came from a safety. Perry punted at fourth and 2 from their own 22 yard line. The snap on the punt was bad, a Perry player recovered the ball in the endzone, and the Rams had the two-point safety for a 19-0 score with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
After the safety, the Blue Jays had to kick the ball from their 20 yard line. Strennan returned the ball to the 50 yard line. The Rams scored three plays later, including a 19-yard run by Patrick Daugherty followed by a 17-yard pass to Richard Daugherty. With the PAT the Rams were up 26-0.
The Blue Jays earned a first down on their next possession and had the ball at their 31 yard line when Scheuermann forced a fumble. Miller recovered the fumble and raced to the end zone for a TD. With the PAT again good, the Rams were up 33-0 with 2:37 to play in the half. That was the halftime score.
The Rams opened the second half with another touchdown. Strennen received the second half kick-off and raced 82 yards down the sideline for the score. Behne’s PAT put the scoreboard at 40-0, a point differential large enough for the clock to run continuously for the rest of the game.
The Rams scored again on their next possession, a drive that started from the Perry 37 yard line and included a 29-yard run by Ebersole, a 15-yard penalty against the Blue Jays, and an 8 yard pass to Miller to score. After the PAT the Rams were up 46-0.
The Blue Jays earned two first downs on their next possession as they moved the ball from their 20 yard line to the Ram 48 before turning the ball over with 15 seconds to play in the third quarter.
The Rams used only three plays to score – a pass to junior Jack Hansen that moved the ball to the Perry 44, a Strennen rush for 16 yards, and a second pass to Hansen. With the PAT the score was 54-0 with 10:40 left in the game.
The Blue Jays moved the ball consistently during the next possession, starting on their own 25 yard line and making it to the Ram 49. The drive included a 10 yard pass play. But, at first and 10 on the Ram 49 the Blue Jays fumbled and Cody Allen recovered. The Rams had the ball again with 6:20 on the clock.
The Rams scored their final touchdown with a six play, 51-yard drive that included a 19 yard Ebersole to Miller pass, a pair of Jackson Turner rushes, and Ebersole rushing the last four yards for the TD. The PAT put the score at 61-0 with 2:43 left in the game.
The Blue Jays moved the ball just two yards before taking a knee to end the game.
The 2-0 Rams travel to Carroll Sept. 9 to play the 2-0 Kuemper Catholic Knights. The Knights beat Logan-Magnolia 34-12 on the road in their first game of the season, and beat Atlantic 37-22 at home in their second game.
