The unbeaten start to the football season for the Greene County Rams came to an end on Friday night. It was a happy Homecoming for Kuemper Catholic as the Knights led from start to finish and handed the Rams their first loss by a 16-8 final. Kuemper Catholic improved to 2-0 in Class 2A District 9 and 3-3 overall, while Coach Mitch Moore’s Greene County team fell to 1-1 in the district and 5-1 overall. The Rams were ranked anywhere from fifth to eighth in 2A, depending on the poll.

It was a game where the defenses dominated and the offensive numbers didn’t tell the whole story. A pair of first half interceptions, just moments apart, led to the two Knights’ touchdowns. Alex Heiman picked off Brent Riley in the first quarter and Corbin Borelli turned the trick early in quarter number two. Nate Wendl scored both TD’s on running plays, the first from 32 yards, and the second from the four yard line. Simon Wagner went one of two on PAT kicks, and the Knights led 13-0 with 11:40 to play before halftime. The last three Kuemper Catholic points came from Wagner on a 33 yard field goal to make it 16-0 with 9:36 left in the game. That was set up by the Rams failing to pick up a first down on fourth and one from the Greene County 39 yard line.

The only TD for the Rams came on a run of one yard by Clint Dennhardt with 8:31 left. Riley ran for the two conversion points. That was a five play, 64 yard drive that cut the score to 16-8. The Rams only had the ball one other time and went three and out. Four offsides penalties by the Greene County defense helped the Knights run out of the clock on the game’s final drive.

Greene County out gained the Knights 214-105. The Rams went 15-36-2 passing for 186 yards and they ran for just 28 yards. Will Hansen had 48 receiving yards and Carter Morton was right behind with 47. Kuemper Catholic had 71 rushing yards and 34 through the air.

The points, total yards, and rushing yards were season lows for the Rams, as were penalties yards (77 on 10). Greene County entered the game averaging 45 points and over 400 yards of offense. Morton intercepted a pass for the only turnover by the Knights.

Next up is the Rams’ Homecoming game on Oct. 5 with the Atlantic Trojans visiting Linduska Field. Game time on KG98 and streaming on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com is 7 p.m. with coverage at 6 p.m.