The Greene County Rams saw their football season come to an end last Friday night on Des Moines Christian’s home field in Urbandale in a 34-33 loss. The Rams ended their season 3-5 overall and a 1-4 district record.
Des Moines Christian kicked off the action, scoring on their first possession with a 10-play, 69 yard drive that ended when senior quarterback Tate Platte connected on a 30-yard pass with Jake Kistenmacher to score. The Lion’s PAT was good and they led 7-0 just 2-1/2 minutes into the game.
The Rams ended their first possession with a punt from their own 24 yard line.
The punt gave the Lions the ball at their own 47 yard line. Twelve plays later, at first and goal from the Ram 5 yard line, Ram Kamden Kinne forced a Platte fumble that Ram defensive back Gabe Ebersole, also QB when the Rams are on offense, recovered in the endzone.
After the fumble the ball was moved out to the Rams’ 20 yard line. The Rams scored a touchdown in just six plays, with a 31-yard pass play to Nick Stream and a 19-yard Ebersole race to the goal line accounting for more than half the yardage in the series. Ram kicker Nathan Behne made a rare miss on the PAT, putting the score at 7-6 with 1 minute left in the first quarter.
The Lions were unable to move the ball on their next possession and punted from the Ram 47 yard line, starting the Rams’ next possession back at their 5 yard line. The Rams scored in only six plays, again with the benefit of a 25-yard Ebersole to Strennen pass play, followed by Strennen in as a wildcat QB throwing a 38-yard pass to Jack Hansen. Behne’s PAT was good and the Rams led 13-7 with 9:30 left in the second quarter.
The Rams dominated, forcing the Lions to punt from their 44 yard line on their next possession. The Rams used just more than two minutes of clock time running six plays to cover the 80 yards needed for another TD. Ebersole rushed for 41 yards on the second play of the series, and six plays later, aided by a 15-yard penalty against the Lions, Ebersole ran the last 12 yards for a TD. The PAT was blocked but the Rams held a 19-7 lead midway in the quarter. That score held for the remainder of the half.
The second half started well for the Rams. Strennen started the half as QB as Ebersole struggled with a shoulder injury he sustained earlier in the season. He opened the half with a 38-yard kickoff return, followed by a 28 yard rush, giving the Rams a first and 10 on the Lions’ 30 yard line. Between Stream and Strennen they carried the ball to the endzone over the next four plays. The Rams intended to kick for the extra point, but a bad snap on the kick forced a pass that Chris Daugherty managed to catch to score the 2-point conversion. The Rams were ahead 27-6 with just a bit more less than 9 minutes left in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, that was the Rams’ last score for the quarter. A pass interception by Brock Stream was the Ram highlight for the rest of the quarter.
The Lions scored twice in the third quarter. They scored on their first possession of the quarter, a 92-yard, 10-play drive with a PAT put the score at 27-14 with 6:37 left in the quarter. They scored again on a short drive that started on the 50-yard line after Ram QB Strennen dropped the ball. It took Platte three short passes and a 35-yard pass to Kistenmacher to score again, and with the PAT the Lions trailed 27-21 at the end of the quarter.
The Rams scored on their next possession with a 9-play drive that started on their 29 yard line after Strennan returned the Lions’ kickoff. Ebersole was back in as QB, connecting with Nick Stream on a 15-yard pass and on a 23-yard pass play to Strennen. A short pass play to Hansen finished the drive. The PAT was blocked, but the Rams were ahead 33-21 with 8:37 left in the game.
The Lions outplayed the Rams the rest of the game. Platte’s passing was top notch on the next drive, accounting for all but 18 of the 80 yards in the 9-play drive. Platte mixed it up and kept the ball to run the last eight yards to score. The PAT narrowed the Rams’ lead to 33-28 with 6:36 left in the game.
The Rams’ next drive was short-lived. The Rams were at third down and 2 from the Ram 30 yard line. They picked up 18 yards but fumbled the ball, giving the Lions the ball on the Ram 48 yard line. The Lions scored five plays later. Their 2-point conversion failed but they had a one point lead over the Rams, 34-33. Three minutes remained on the clock.
The Lion defense bit hard on the Rams in their last possession, not allowing them past their own 15 yard line. At fourth down and 11 on the Ram 14 yard line coach Caden Duncan gambled and had the Rams run a play rather than punt. QB Strennen threw incomplete and the Lions had the ball on the Ram 15 yard line with 2:07 left to play. The Lions got as close as the Ram 5 but didn’t run up the score. The final score was 34-33.
The Des Moines Christian Lions ended the game with 513 yards of offense, 398 of them through the air. The Rams totaled 462 yards of offense, with 298 of them rushing.
Quarterback Gabe Ebersole led the team in passing yards with 125, Nick Stream receiving 79 of those yards. Camden Strennen had 131 rushing yards and Jack Hansen led in tackles with eight.
The loss was the fourth in a row for Greene County, and this is the first time since 2017 the Rams won’t make a playoff appearance.
Advancing to the playoffs from Class 2A District were Kuemper Catholic, Roland-Story, DMC and Southeast Valley.
Ending their Ram football career were seniors Jack Hansen, Nathan Behne, Trey Schilling, Gabe Ebersole, Gavin Scheuermann, Alexander Rall, Cody Allen, Jackson Turner, Noah Cornell, Logan Butler, Michael Rumley and Gavin Trecker.
Des Moines Christian 34 ~ Greene County 33
Passing: Camden Strennen 3/6 passing, 39 yards, 1 TD; Gabe Ebersole 13/19 passing, 125;36 left yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Jack Hansen 8 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs; Nick Stream 7 catches, 79 yards; Strennen 1 catch, 8 yards
Rushing: Stream 6 carries, 78 yards; Strennen 24 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD; Ebersole 7 carries, 89 yards, 2 TDs
Tackles: Hansen 6 solo, 8 tackles; N. Stream 5 solo, 6.5 tackles; Strennen 4 solo, 5.5 tackles; Camden Jacobs 2 solo, 4 tackles; Trevon Keely 1 solo, 2.5 tackles; Patrick Graham 1 tackle; Broc Stream 3 solo, 6 tackles; Ebersole 2 solo, 3.5 tackles; Drew Wolterman 3 solo, 3.5 tackles; Degan Miller 1 solo, 3 tackles; Christopher Daugherty 3 solo, 7.5 tackles; Jackson Turner 1.5 tackles; Noah Cornell 2.5 tackles; Michael Rumley 2 solo, 5.5 tackles; Kamden Kinne 0.5 tackle
Fumble recovery: Gabe Ebersole
~with Taylor Teays of The Scranton Journal
