Glenwood holds off SC East, 28-24

Glenwood’s defense bent a few times but didn’t break when it mattered most Friday night as the Rams held off Sioux City East, 28-24, at the Glenwood Activities Complex.

East was denied points on three separate occasions in the second half after the moving the ball inside the Glenwood 10 yard line. The Rams’ final goal line stand of the night sealed the victory with 1:37 to play.

“Our defense gave up some plays but we had some big stops, too,” Glenwood Coach Cory Faust said.

The season-opener for both teams was a tale of two halves. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively and score points in the first half but moved the ball up and down the field for much of the third and fourth quarters.

Glenwood scored the first points of the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by Trent Patton with 2:50 to play in the second quarter.

East responded on the ensuing possession as a 45-yard pass completion gave the Black Raiders a first-and-goal at the Glenwood 8 yard line. East running back Richard Stewart darted to the end zone two plays later. The scored was tied 7-7 at halftime.

The Rams and Black Raiders took turns taking the lead in the second half. East scored first, to go ahead 10-7, on a 22-yard field goal by Jacob Borrall.

Glenwood answered with a scoring drive of its own, fueled by a pass completion from quarterback Kayden Anderson to wide receiver Jack Johnson. The Rams were aided by two offside penalties against East before Patton culminated the drive with a 4-yard blast to the end zone.

Leading 14-10, it appeared the Rams had reclaimed the momentum, but on East’s next possession, Jepsen teamed up with running back Myles Wegher on a screen pass that went 88 yards for a touchdown.

East’s 17-14 lead was also short-lived, however. Glenwood responded with its third touchdown drive of the night, kept alive by a critical third-down, 16-yard pass completion from Anderson to wide receiver Payton Longmeyer. A couple plays later, Patton went 55 yards to the end zone after hauling in a short pass from Anderson.

Glenwood was leading 21-17 late in the third quarter when it appeared the Black Raiders were about to reclaim the lead after picking up a first down at the Rams’ 3 yard line. The Glenwood defense answered the call, however, by denying East the end zone on four consecutive plays.

The fourth quarter started with East recovering a Glenwood fumble at the Rams’ 11 yard line. The Black Raiders scored just a few plays later on a 3-yard run by Wegher and went ahead 24-21.

The Black Raiders’ third lead of the night didn’t last long as the Rams responded with their fourth touchdown drive of the night. The key play of the drive came on third-and-7 at the Glenwood 37 yard line. Anderson rolled out, but unable to find an open receiver, he was forced to scramble for the first down yardage. He picked up the yardage he needed and more – finally being tackled at the East 25 yard line. From there, the Rams found paydirt. Longmeyer went the final 12 yards on a sweep to give Glenwood the lead for good.

Glenwood’s defense rose to the challenge in the final minutes of the game, ending Black Raider drives twice on fourth down twice inside the 15 yard line. East’s final offensive play of the night was a fourth-down slant pass that fell incomplete in the end zone.

Ram players and coaches were visibly happy to open the season with a win. Faust said the team had a “weird week” leading up to the game. Because of the unusually hot weather conditions last week, some practices were held at night or early in the morning and some workouts even took place indoors.

“Going indoors isn’t ideal,” Faust said.

With several new players in the lineup, Faust said he was pleased with the overall performance of his squad, both offensively and defensively.

“We were struggling to find a rhythm at times,” he said. “We’re looking for consistency and that will come.”

Glenwood finished the night with 401 yards of total offense – 182 rushing and 219 passing. Patton was the Rams’ leading rusher with 56 yards on 13 carries. Anderson completed 15 of 27 passes and Longmeyer hauled in seven receptions for 65 yards.

On defense, linebacker Brodie Schafer recorded a team-high eight tackles for the Rams. The Black Raiders finished the game with ??? yards of total offense.

Glenwood is on the road the next two weeks with games at Atlantic and Harlan. The Rams won’t be home again until a Sept. 15 homecoming matchup with Denison.

SIOUX CITY EAST    00  07  10  07 – 24
GLENWOOD               00  07  14  07 – 28

GLN - Trent Patton, 1 run (Jose Diaz kick).
SCE – Richard Stewart. 8 run (Jacob Borrall kick).
SCE – Borrall, 22 FG.
GLN – Patton, 4 run (Diaz kick).
SCE -   Myles Wegher, 88 pass from Cal Jepsen (Borrall kick).
GLN – Patton, 55 pass from Kayden Anderson (Diaz kick).
SCE – Wegher, 3 run (Borrall kick).
GLN – Payton Longmeyer, 12 run (Diaz kick).