After being shut out in week one of the high school football season, Greene County was hoping for some early points on Friday night in Harlan and they got their wish, but it was too much Cyclones in the end and Greene County lost 42-19 to Harlan Community in non-district play at Merrill Field. Hall of Fame Coach Curt Bladt’s team rolled up 584 yards of offense and 31 first downs on the night to 337 for Greene County in a game that took just over 2-1/2 hours to play on KG98 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.

The Rams scored with 8:18 to play in the first quarter when senior Logan Lansman turned a short pass into a 79 yard touchdown play and Nick Schroeder extra point kick made it 7-0 Greene County. It stayed that way until Harlan’s offense exploded for 28 points in the final 5:37 of the first half. A two yard run for Nick Tarney and three TD passes for quarterback Deren Schmitz gave the Cyclones a lead they would not relinquish. Schmitz found Dillon Sears for a 35 yard strike with 2:37 to play in the half for a 14-7 Harlan lead. The Rams made it 14-13 when Trey Tucker recovered quarterback Clint Dennhardt’s fumble and raced 73 yards to the end zone. A bad snap on the extra point try left Greene County a point short of a tie score. The Cyclones scored with 1:16 to play before intermission when Schmitz found Sears on a 58 yard pass play to make it 21-13, then with :01.4 remaining it was Josh Cheek catching a 25 yard Schmitz and Harlan led 28-13 at the break.

The Cyclones scored with 7:44 to go in the third quarter on a Schmitz run of seven yards for a 35-13 lead. The final Greene County points came with 11:14 to play in the final period when Dennhardt scrambled, reversed direction and found senior Chase Stoline for a 14 yard TD pass on fourth and 10. Stoline on the side of the end zone in traffic caught the ball and was able to get a foot down in bounds. The extra point was blocked to snap a string of 61 straight successful extra point kicks by Schroeder.

The two TD passes were the first of Dennhardt’s young career and Tucker had a career high 161 rushing yards.

Top 10 ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (1-1) visits Linduska Field on Sept. 9 for the Rams’ home opener and the Class 3A District 2 opener on KG98 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs lost on Friday night to number one ranked and two-time defending 3A champion Pella.