Greene County High School’s 2018 football season will continue in the postseason after Coach Mitch Moore’s Rams won the regular season finale in Jefferson on Friday night. The game was heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. The Rams handled OABCIG (Ida Grove) 49-6 to finish 4-1 in Class 2A District 9 and improve to 8-1 on the season. The Falcons fell to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the district.
Greene County travels to Van Horne on Friday, Oct. 26 for a first round playoff game vs. Benton Community. The Bobcats are also 8-1. They are ranked fourth while the Rams are rated anywhere from seventh to tenth. The two-hour drive is an easy one for Ram fans as Van Horne is located in the middle of Benton County, just two miles north of Highway 30, and much of it is on four-lane highway.
Kuemper Catholic (Carroll) won the district title and claimed the automatic playoff berth by virtue of a 16-8 win in Carroll on Sept. 28. Both teams went 4-1 in district play. The Rams claimed the fourth of five at-large playoff berths through the Ratings Percentage Index formula (RPI) used by the Iowa High School Athletic Association for the first time. OABCIG grabbed the last at-large spot, so District 9 has three of its six teams in the playoffs.
The Rams ran and passed their way through the OABCIG defense en route to 494 yards of offense, while limiting quarterback Kaden Ladwig and OABCIG to 212 yards, just over half of their normal total. The Rams had 292 passing yards with junior quarterback Brent Riley having 283 of those yards on 14 of 20 passing. He threw four touchdown passes and had no interceptions. The Rams gained 202 yards on the ground with both junior Colby Kafer and senior Clint Dennhardt running the ball 14 times. Kafer had 88 rushing yards and Dennhardt had 86.
Senior Lance Hughes also had a big night that started with a fumble recovery of a completed pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Hugh picked up the loose ball and went 25 yards to the Falcons’ five yard line on the return. Junior Cael Fisher kicked a 24 yard field goal for a 3-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Fisher booted a second field goal with 4:20 to play in the opening quarter, this one from 27 yards, for a lead of 6-0.
A 22-point second quarter put the Rams up 28-0 at intermission. A 90 yard, 13 play drive was capped by Dennhardt’s six yard TD run. Following a penalty on the extra point try, the Rams converted a two-point conversion on a Riley to Hughes pass for a 14-0 lead with 10:20 to go in the first half. It went to 21-0 with 2:11 to play before halftime on a 21 yard Riley to Hughes pass, followed by Fisher’s extra point. With just 16 second to go before intermission, Dennhardt scored again, this time on a one yard run and the extra point made it 28-0.
The Rams scored quickly in the third quarter to go up 35-0 and put the continuous clock into the effect, where it remained the rest of the game. Hughes scored on a 53-yard circus catch and run while being interfered and Fisher kicked the PAT. Junior Will Hansen recovered a Falcons’ fumble with :59 to go in the third quarter and the Rams quickly turned that into seven more points. Senior Trey Hinote took a short pass down the Greene County sideline and went 41 yards into the end zone. After Fisher’s extra point the score was 42-0.
The lone OABCIG points were on a 65-yard Ladwig to Cooper De Jean pass with 19 seconds to go in the third quarter. A try for two points failed.
The last TD was scored by Kafer on a short pass to Kafer who took it 40 yards into the end zone. Fisher PAT made it a 49-6 final.
The entire offensive line was named the Unsung Hero presented by Moo Meat of Scranton. Juniors Tyler Miller, Cole Betts and Joe Patterson, plus seniors Bryce Hoyle and Brock Wuebker, as well as sophomore Branden Hoyle, get most of the snaps in the trenches. The Player of the Game was Hughes, who had 164 yards, two receiving TDs, and a fumble recovery.
Coverage from Van Horne on Oct. 26 starts at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7 p.m. on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.