The Greene County Rams advanced in the Class 2A playoffs with a 35-13 win Oct. 21 in Jefferson over the Union Knights of La Porte City. The Knights brought a 2-6 record into the game while the Rams, 2A District 8 champions, had a 7-1 record.
The next round has the Rams hosting the West Lyon Wildcats of Inwood Oct. 28, also at Linduska Field. The Wildcats bring a 7-2 record.
The Knights scored first after a long 13 play drive that covered 77 yards, and took almost seven minutes off the clock. The score came on a 24-yard pass play from Union quarterback Andrew Sadler to Joren Fisher. The PAT kick was good and the Knights led 7-0.
The Rams tied the score on their first possession of the game. Richard Daugherty returned the kickoff to the Ram 27, but a penalty for encroachment, the third for the Rams, gave the Rams a first down on the 22 yard line. Patrick Daugherty had his hands on the ball most of the ensuing drive, including a 20-yard pass play to put the ball in Knights’ territory. It was Patrick Daugherty who carried the ball the final four yards for the TD, and after Nathan Behne’s PAT the score was tied at 7 with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Both teams punted on their next possessions. The Knights then put together a drive that took them from their own 35 yard line down to the Ram 10. At fourth down and 7 yards to go Sadler put up a 27-yard field goal attempt. The kick didn’t clear the uprights and the score remained tied at 7 with the Rams in possession of the ball on their own 10 yard line.
The Rams weren’t able to get pas their own 22 yard line before punting on their next possession. The punt put the Knights on the Ram 48 yard line. A penalty for holding moved them back to their own 40 yard line at first and 22 yards. The Knights fumbled the ball and Ram Camden Strennen recovered the fumble.
The Rams battled penalties the entire first half, totaling seven, but a penalty against the Knights helped the Ram cause. After the fumble the Rams had the ball on the Union 41 yard line. Quarterback Gabe Ebersole threw a pass that was intercepted on the 10 yard line. However, a penalty against the Knights for pass interference negated the interception and the Rams kept the ball. Ebersole threw twice incomplete but used a pair of passes, one to Jack Hansen that gave the Rams a first down on the Union 19, and then a second pass to Hansen for a touchdown. Behne’s kick was good and the Rams had a 14-7 lead with 28 seconds left in the half.
On the second play of the Knights’ final possession of the half Patrick Daugherty intercepted a pass on the Knights’ 45 yard line and ran it to the 27 yard line. With two seconds to play Behne attempted a 44-yard field goal. The kick was a miss, wide to the left. The score at halftime was 14-7 in favor of the Rams.
The Rams scored twice in the third quarter while keeping the Knights from scoring. The first TD of the quarter came via a 75-yard, 10-play drive that culminated with Patrick Daugherty carrying the ball the last four yards over the goal line. With the PAT the Rams were up 21-7 with 4:03 to play in the quarter.
The next score would be in a Ram Highlights reel. The Knights had punted from their 49 yard line to end their possession. Strennen received the punt at the Ram 16 and ran the ball 84 yards for the touchdown. Behne’s PAT gave the Rams a 28-7 advantage with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
The Knights’ next possession also ended with a punt, this time a short punt that went only nine yards to the Ram 48. Patrick Daugherty took the ball the first 31 yards, Gavin Scheuermann added a yard, and on the third play Ebersole ran the ball from the Knights 20 yard line for the TD. Behne’s kick put the Rams up 35-7 with just less than eight minutes to play in the game.
The Knights went out on downs on their next possession when Sadler threw an incomplete pass at fourth down and 8 at the Knights 37 yard line. The Rams were penalized 10 yards on a holding call on their first play from scrimmage, moving the ball back to the Knights’ 47. With several less experienced players in the game, the Rams made it to the Knights 29 yard line before setting up for a field goal. The Rams were penalized for delay of game, stretching the field goal attempt to 51 yards. The kick was no good and the Knights had the ball on their own 29 yard line with 3:36 left in the game.
The visitors scored on their last drive, covering 80 yards in seven plays. The TD came on a second and goal play from the Ram 1 yard line with Tyler Wilson taking the ball over the goal line. The PAT missed and the score was 35-13 with 30 seconds left in the game.
The Union Knights did not post statistics for the game to the Bound website.
Ebersole completed six of 13 passes for 60 yards with no interceptions. The Rams rushed for 337 yards – Patrick Daugherty was credited with 149 yards and Strennen with 107 yards. Ebersole rushed for 62 yards. Hansen was the top receiver with 34 yards. On defense, Cody Allen and Patrick Daugherty were credited with 6.5 tackles, with two solo tackles each. Hansen had six tackles with three solos and Richard Daugherty had six tackles with one solo. Jesse Miller had five tackles with three solos.
