Entering Friday night’s high school football non-district season opener, ACGC and Greene County felt like  the 2021 season would be good for both. After the Chargers’ 29-27 overtime victory vs. the Rams, they still do. The game was heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. The contest was dominated by the Chargers for the first two quarters with the exception of the last play from scrimmage before halftime. A 21-0 lead shrunk to 21-7 when quarterback Bryce Stalder hit Max Riley for a 39 yard touchdown pass with less than a second to play before intermission.

Greene County made it a 21-14 contest when Stalder had a seven yard TD run, then the Rams tied the game with 2:45 remaining in regulation on a Stalder to Brenner Gallagher TD pass covering seven yards on third and goal.

In OT, the Rams had the ball first and scored on the first extra session play on Stalder’s 10 yard run. The Chargers answered with a Gavin Cornelison six yard TD run on second down. Cornelison scored the game-winning points on a conversion run and ACGC started the season at 1-0 while the Rams are 0-1.

ACGC quarterback Brock Littler threw for one touchdown and ran for two others as the Tigers built the 21-point first half lead.

The Rams had nearly all their first half 43 yards of offense on the late TD pass to Riley, yet put of 240 second half yards. Greene County won the turnover battle by a 3-0 margin with fumble recoveries by Riley and Jackson Morton, and a Patrick Daugherty pass interception.

Cornelison led the Chargers with 195 yards on 31 carries as ACGC had 70 running plays. Stalder led the Rams with 128 yards and 12 carries, including a 78 yard run to the ACGC 13, in a possession that produced no points. Riley topped receivers with two catches for 95 yards.

Legs cramps were an issue for both teams on a hot and humid evening.

Next up is the home opener vs. Perry on Sept. 3 at Linduska Field. The Battle for the Cowbell starts at 7 p.m. with coverage at 6:15 p.m. on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. The Blue Jays lost at home to Ogden 33-0, and the loss was the 27th straight for the Perry program.