Rams force seven turnovers, bury Atlantic

By TYLER ANDERSON tanderson@iowainformation.com

Everything went right for the Greene County football team, when it came to their latest outing at Linduska Field in Jefferson.

Even though the offense had a few speed bumps, the black-clad defenders played their part and did so convincingly.

When the dust settled last Friday at Linduska Field in Jefferson, the Rams won the turnover battle and used big plays to rout Atlantic in a nondistrict contest with a 41-6 victory.

The Greene County defensive unit completely flustered the Trojans, forcing four fumbles and three interceptions. This allowed senior quarterback Gabe Ebersole to punish Atlantic with his arm and his feet, going 8-of-13 for 136 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another two touchdowns and 35 yards on just three carries. 

With the victory on Mini Cheer and Cancer Awareness Night, the Rams now go into the Class 2A-District 8 portion of their schedule with a 2-1 record. 

The Trojans lost their second consecutive contest, dropping down to 1-2 overall.

Greene County will look to continue their positive momentum, traveling to Saydel to face the Eagles. Kickoff between the Rams and Saydel will take place at 7 p.m. at Saydel Stadium.

The Eagles (1-2) dropped a 20-14 heartbreak to Colfax-Mingo last Friday in Colfax.

The Rams didn’t hesitate to get things going, as Ebersole tossed a sweep over to senior Trey Schilling for a 25 yard touchdown at the 10:22 mark. Greene County would take advantage of two Trojan fumbles, which led to a 25-yard field goal from senior Nathan Behne and a six-yard touchdown scamper from junior Nick Stream with 1:54 to go in the opening period. 

Going into the second half quarter, the Rams already established a 17-point lead on Atlantic.

Things slowed down a bit in the second stanza, until Ebersole rolled into the endzone from 14 yards out to push the Rams’ lead to 24-0 with 3:14 remaining until halftime. The Trojans did response, thanks to a one-yard touchdown dive from Gavin McLauren with 34 seconds left to prevent the shutout.

At the break, the Rams held a pronounced 24-6 advantage.

Returning to the field, Greene County stomped on the accelerator once more. The 17-point flurry of points came from a 48-yard touchdown connection between Ebersole and senior receiver Jack Hansen, a 39-yard field goal from Behne and a 14-yard touchdown run from Ebersole.

These points prompted the running clock, with neither team scoring in the final stretch.

Along with Ebersole, Hansen had himself a night with four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, while picking up an interception on the defensive side of the ball. Senior Cody Allen, teammate Jack Turner, junior Bryce Habben and senior Michael Rumley also recorded fumble recoveries for the winning cause.

Sophomore Brock Stream and senior Gavin Scheuermann snagged interceptions against the Trojans.

Nick Stream led the backfield with 55 yards and a trip to the endzone on 14 carries, and sophomore Christopher Daugherty racked up eight tackles.

Schilling recorded 25 receiving yards, a touchdown and four and a half tackles for Greene County. Behne continued to impress, going 5-of-5 in field goals, splitting the uprights on two of three occasions — with his longest being from 39 yards — and accumulating 450 yards from the kickoff tee.

In other district action last weekend, a goal line stand in overtime lifted Kuemper Catholic over No. 6-ranked (Class 1A) AHSTW with a final score of 21-14. Roland-Story picked up a 29-20 victory over South Hamilton held in Gilbert.

The Knights (1-2) and Norsemen (2-1) will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.

Des Moines Christian also jumped into the win column by outpacing Clarke in a 44-35 shootout in Oseola, while Southeast Valley took a 28-20 victory over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on Homecoming at the Southeast Valley Athletics Complex in Gowrie.

The No. 5-ranked Jaguars (3-0) and the Lions (1-2) will meet at Lions Field on the campus of Des Moines Christian School in Urbandale.

Greene County 41, Atlantic 6

Atlantic 0 6 0 0 — 6

GCHS 17 7 17 0 — 41

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

GCHS — Trey Schilling 25 pass from Gabe Ebersole (Nathan Behne kick), 10:22.

GCHS — Behne 25 field goal, 6:23.

GCHS — Nick Stream 6 run (Behne kick), 1:54.

Second Quarter

GCHS — Ebersole 14 run (Behne kick), 3:14.

ATL — Gavin McLauren 1 run (kick failed), 0:34.

Third Quarter

GCHS — Jack Hansen 48 pass from Ebersole (Behne kick).

GCHS — Behne 39 field goal.

GCHS — Ebersole 14 run (Behne kick).

Fourth Quarter

No scoring.

TEAM STATISTICS

ATL   GCHS

Rushes Yards 42-144 27-163

Passing Yards 196 110

C-A-I 16–29-2 5-7-0

Total Yards 340 273 

Punts-Avg. 2-49 3-36

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS (GREENE COUNTY)

Rushing — Nick Stream 14-55, 1 TD; Gabe Ebersole 3-35, 2 TDs; Camden Strennen 6-19; Cody Allen 5-3; Christopher Daugherty 2-3.

Passing — Ebersole 8-13-0, 136 yards, 2 TDs.

Receiving — Jack Hansen 4-78, 1 TD; Trey Schilling 1-25, 1 TD; Strennen 2-21; Kendall Freeman 1-12.

Defensive Leaders — Hansen 1 INT; Gavin Scheuermann 1 INT, 1 TFL; Broc Stream 1 INT; Jackson Turner 4 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery; Cody Allen 4 tackles, 1 fumble recovery; Michael Rumley 2.5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 fumble recovery; Bryce Habben 1 fumble recovery; Daugherty 8.5 tackles, 1.5 TFLs; Schilling 4.5 tackles; Noah Cornell 3.5 tackles, 1 TFL.

Special Teams — Nathan Behne 5/5 PATs, 2/3 field goals (39 longest), 450 kickoff yards; Ebersole 2 punts, 41 yards.