Greene County's Nate Black (right) fumbles a hand-off during the Rams' 34-14 loss to OA-BCIG in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs Friday, Oct. 29 in Jefferson.  BRANDON HURLEY | JEFFERSON HERALDGreene County's Lamar Anders (left) and Richard Daugherty (11) attempt to tackle OA-BCIG's Griffin Diersen (35) during the Rams' 34-14 loss in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs Friday, Oct. 29 in Jefferson.  BRANDON HURLEY | JEFFERSON HERALD

FOOTBALL: OA-BCIG’s quick start ends Greene County’s run in the 2A second round

By BRANDON HURLEY

Managing Editor
news@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley

JEFFERSON – The DeJean family continues to torture the state of Iowa.

First-year starter Beckett DeJean, taking over for decorated older brother Cooper, tallied five total touchdowns and 341 yards of offense en route to yet another OA-BCIG playoff victory, this time dispatching the Greene County Rams in the 2A second round, 34-14.
While shaky in spots, the two-time defending state champions – now winners of 33 or their last 34 games – certainly looked the part.

Greene County fell into a 20-0 first quarter hole Oct. 29 thanks to three DeJean touchdowns - two passing and one rushing, the first of which came just 90 seconds into the contest on a 42-yard designed run.
The Rams managed to pull within two scores on two separate occasions, but could never quite climb back from first quarter deficit. The resilience was encouraging, but not quite enough to pull off the upset.

“The guys never gave up, which is what they showed all year,” Greene County head coach Caden Duncan said. “Even though things weren’t going well we kept playing and found a way to get back into the game.”
The Falcons flaunted their championship experience, compiling points in critical moments while the Rams sputtered multiple times in the redzone. Greene County’s offense twice stalled inside OA-BCIG’s 15 yard line in the first half, squandering an opportunity to trim the lead to a single touchdown.

The missed opportunities were plentiful in a game which featured the top-ranked team in 2A (OA-BCIG) and the fifth-ranked Rams, which stung even more as Greene County attempted to secure two playoff wins in a single season for a second consecutive year.

“You have to convert in the redzone in games like this,” Duncan said. “Against a quality opponent, you never know when you’ll get those chances again and we just didn’t execute the way we wanted to down there.

A wild first half allowed OA-BCIG to take a 28-14 lead, with the Rams desperately clinging to hope. Greene County blocked a second quarter punt but could not push across any points.
Despite that, the Rams kept fighting, waiting for a spot to pounce. They’d get it thanks to some impressive defensive fortitude.
Greene County’s Patrick Daugherty late interception of DeJean deep in their own territory set up a much-needed score, a five-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Stalder to Richard Daugherty as time-expired in the first half, flipping a potentially crippling 27-point deficit into a two-score game, trailing 28-14 at the break.

The Greene County defense did manage to hold the Falcons to just six second half points, though their own offense was held scoreless for the final 24 minutes.
The Rams, who’s eight-game winning streak was snapped, also turned the ball over six times throughout the contest in addition to several failed fourth down attempts, an unusual misstep from the typically disciplined Greene County Rams.

“You can’t turn the ball over 6 times and have any chance of winning a playoff game against a good team,” Duncan said.  “When we took care of the ball, we had some success moving it down the field. 
There are also a few moments when we had some great opportunities but we couldn’t quite make the play.”

The only two teams to defeat Greene County this fall have both advanced to the state quarterfinals. AC/GC (9-1) bounced South Central Calhoun, 34-13 in the 1A quarterfinals while OA-BCIG (9-1) advanced to the quarters for the third straight year.

The Falcons had only lost one game dating back to 2019, a September defeat to Southeast Valley this fall before losing again to the Jaguars in the state quarterfinals.
DeJean completed 21-of-39 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, often connecting with receivers after scrambling out of the pocket and firing off a pin-point pass. The junior quarterback also showed off his impressive elusiveness, tallying 102 rushing yards and three touchdowns for a per carry average of 5.4 yards.

OA-BCIG produced 386 total yards while Greene County managed to compile 299 total yards. Stalder led the way with 206 passing yards and two touchdowns, completing 17-of-32 passes though he did throw a trio of interceptions. The senior was also the Rams’ leading rusher with 46 yards on 15 carries. Richard Daugherty hauled in both touchdown passes, finishing with six catches for 64 yards. Bradyn Smith led Greene County with 7.5 tackles and a sack while Patrick Daugherty also snagged a fumble recovery in addition to his interception.
OA-BCIG will take on Southeast Valley Friday evening in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Stalder finished the year with 1,464 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to go with seven interceptions, completing 62 percent of his passes. Stalder also was Greene County’s leading rusher, tallying 719 yards (7.8 ypc) and 11 touchdowns. As a whole, the senior tallied 30 touchdowns, which currently ties Stalder for fifth in 2A. His 2,183 total yards are ninth-most in the state.

Jackson Morton was tops on the team with 36 receptions, 612 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, Smith, a senior, secured a team-best 54.5 tackles to go with 12.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore Michael Rumley led the Rams with 4.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. Richard Daugherty recorded a team-high four interceptions, aiding Greene County’s state-leading total of 20 interceptions.

The Rams led the state with 62 total touchdowns and a 42.6 points per game scoring average while they were sixth with 2,507 rushing yards in addition to 38 rushing touchdowns (third). Defensively, the Rams were first with a 8.9 points against average, leading to a 2A-best plus-33.7 differential.

The Rams fell short of an elusive trip to the dorm, but managed to capture Greene County’s first-ever district title as well as the program’s third straight year with at least one playoff victory, also securing at least seven wins for the fourth consecutive fall,
It was a successful run overall, Duncan said.

“This was a fun season and one that I think can help push the program farther toward our ultimate goals,” the coach said. “We were very explosive offensively and had a very stingy defense that forced a lot of turnovers.
We did a lot of really good things and I am very appreciative of this senior class’ efforts.  I’m excited about the direction of the program and think we’re on our way to breaking through to another level.”

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