Rams blank Monarchs in regular season finale

Glenwood got a dominating performance from its defense in a 34-0 shutout of Denison in Friday’s regular season finale.

The Rams (5-2) forced and recovered three fumbles and got interceptions from Zander Hayes, Silas Bales and Logyn Eckheart while holding the Monarchs (1-5) to 170 total yards of offense. The shutout is the Rams second this season.

Glenwood coach Cory Faust said he’ll take the win on the scoreboard but he wasn’t as pleased with how his team played on the field.  

“We had a lot of unforced errors and mistakes in the form of penalties and missed assignments,” Faust said. “However, I thought our guys played hard and certainly made a lot of plays.”  

Tate Mayberry orchestrated a balanced Ram offense that tallied 403 total yards (231 passing, 171 rushing). The sophomore signal-caller completed 14-of-25 passes for 231 yards and touchdown tosses to Ryan Blum and Silas Bales and ran for a team-high 68 yards on 12 carries and scored on a five-yard keeper.

Blum finished with six grabs for 94 yards and Bales hauled in two for 77.

Bales, Hunter Hauger and Sully Woods led the defense with 6.5 tackles each.

Faust was quick to point out the all-around play of Bales on both sides of the ball as “a runner, pass receiver, blocker, pass defender and tackler,” the coach said.  

“It’s nice to have him back and healthy,” Faust said.

The Rams will open post-season play Friday hosting Norwalk (1-5), the very same team that defeated Glenwood 42-28 in last year’s state playoff opener.

“Norwalk has a really good team,” Faust said. “Their record is deceiving. They have scored a lot of points this year against some of the best teams in the state.

“We know they have a ton of depth and are well coached.  It will be a big but fun challenge.”

Kick-off at the Glenwood Activities Complex is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.