Quick start carries Rams to road win

Ben Carlo wasted little time in his first start at quarterback.

The Glenwood Junior connected with Kaden Crouse on a 78-yard touchdown strike on the game’s second play from scrimmage and tossed two more scores before halftime in the Rams 32-7 win Friday.

The Rams built a 26-0 lead at the half in the season-opening victory.

“Overall, this was a really good start to our regular season schedule,” said Glenwood coach Cory Faust. “Atlantic has good players and we were able to control the game throughout.”  

Carlo was sharp all game long. He connected on 11-of-18 passes for 206 yards with touchdowns going to three different players. Jack Johnson hauled in a TD and Ethan Eisman another. Scott Reed led the team in rushing with 66 yards on 16 carries.

For the game, Glenwood outgained the Trojans 307 to 112.

Faust credited his defense in the win, especially along the line. The coach singled out the play of Josh Taylor, Drake Buthe, Mason Koehler, and Jacob Aust as being “dominant” along the defensive front as they limited the Trojans 92 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.3 yards per carry) while helping to force seven turnovers and wrapping up 10 tackles for loss.  

“Their ability to control the line of scrimmage enabled our back end to fit off of them against both the run and pass,” Faust said. 

The Rams also had a strong day on special teams with Aaron Christian hitting on all four of his field goals and 2-of-3 points-after touchdown.

As good as his team was in all phases, Faust seems rooms for improvement.

“There's plenty to improve upon, including eliminating our own two turnovers, 140 yards of penalties, and some other lapses in effort, physicality, composure, and execution of fundamentals,” he said.  

The Rams head back on the road Friday for a showdown at Class 3A, No. 8 ranked Harlan. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.