Greene County defender Michael Rumley (top) jumps for a tackle of Kuemper Catholic running back Logan Sibenaller (with ball) during a second half play of the Sept. 9 game.

Rams to open football season on the road

By MARK SCHAFER sports@beeherald.com

Early tests will be a part of the football season in 2023. 

As the Greene County football season starts next year they will go to a familiar foe in two of their first three games. 

Last week the Iowa High School Athletic Association released the football schedule for the next two seasons. Greene County is in class 2A playing in district 8. For 2023 they will have four games on the road, and four regular season games at home. 

The season will kick off on Aug. 25 against Carroll on the road against the Tigers. 

Following that the Rams will be challenged with nearby foe, Perry in week 2. That game will be the first of back-to-back home games for the Rams in 2023. 

Following the contest against Perry, the Rams will take on Atlantic. 

Week four will feature the start of district play as the Rams will travel to play Saydel in Saydel. 

Week five has the Rams returning home to play Kuemper Catholic. 

It is back on the road for their week six game as the Rams will take on Roland-Story in Story City. The final home game of the 2023 season will come on Oct. 6 when Southeast Valley comes to town. 

The regular season will end on Oct. 13 with a road contest against Des Moines Christian. 

The Rams will have the same schedule in 2024, but will have all of their 2023 home games be road games in 2024, and vice versa. 

Greene County is coming off an 8-2 season where they were able to make the second round of the playoffs. 

Get to know the 2023 opponents:

at Carroll - Aug. 25

The Tigers and Rams have had a number of classic games throughout the years, but their rivalry has died off, as the two teams haven’t played since 2015. 

Carroll holds a recent edge against the Rams as Carroll was able to win the last five meetings against Greene County, dating back to 2008. Carroll won the 2008 game 15-5. The next year they were able to win 20-12. The two met twice in 2009, in early November the Tigers again defeated Greene County, this time 42-7. 

The two teams didn’t meet again until 2014 when the Tigers were able to win 14-0. In 2015, the last meeting between the two teams, Carroll won a 28-13 contest. 

Last season the Tigers finished 5-4 playing in class 3A. They finished their season with a win over Sergeant Bluff-Luton. Carroll was able to start off their season 4-1 after notching wins over Denison-Schleswig, Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, Storm Lake and Boyden Hull/Rock Valley. District play hurt Carroll as they fell to Bishop Heelan, MOC-Floyd Valley and Sioux Center in back-to-back-to-back weeks. 

Perry - Sept. 1

Since 2007 the Rams and Bluejays have met every season and in that time the Rams have gained a 12-4 advantage over Perry. The Rams have won five-straight games over Perry. Overall the Rams have won eight of the last nine contests. The only Perry win in that time, a 2017 game, came by three points for the Bluejays. 

Last year Greene County was able to control the game with 23 points in the second quarter. Eventually the Rams were able to win 61-0. 

The Bluejays finished last season, playing in 4A ball, with a 1-8 overall record, but that included three forfeits to end the season because of the lack of players available on the roster. 

Perry’s lone win last season came against Des Moines Hoover where they were able to win 27-21. The only other game that the Bluejays scored points in was a 68-7 defeat against Clarke. 

Atlantic - Sept. 8

The Rams and Atlantic have had some recent history. Greene County holds the historical series 2-1 over the Trojans in the Quickstats/Bound era. 

The first matchup between the two schools was in October 2018 when the Rams were able to win 35-21 over Atlantic in a district game. The next season Greene County was able to defeat Atlantic in a 26-0 contest. 

The last time that Greene County and Atlantic were able to play each other came in Sept. 2020 when it was Atlantic that won the game 31-18. Last season the Trojans were able to finish 5-4 overall, but they did not make the playoffs. Atlantic started the season 2-2 after falling in the first two weeks against Glenwood and Kuemper Catholic. They then notched wins over Shenandoah and Ballard. Atlantic then fell fell to ADM and Harlan in back-to-back games. The Trojans would beat Knoxville, Saydel and Creston to finish off their 2022 season. Since they were a 3A team the Trojans did not qualify for the playoffs. 

at Saydel - Sept. 15

The Eagles and Rams have a history of lopsided games in the favor of Greene County dating back to 2008. In 2008 the Rams were able to beat Saydel 45-0. The next year, in 2009, Greene County was able to win another lopsided game, 48-8. 

The two teams took nearly a decade off before they played again. In 2018 the Rams blanked Saydel 68-0. The following year it was a closer contest, but Greene County was able to win 48-7. 

Over the past two seasons the Saydel football team has gone 0-18.

Last season the Eagles were a 3A team and faced some of the tougher competition in the State. Saydel finished winless, and only scored 26 points the entire season. The defense for the Eagles gave up more than 44 points in every game. 

Kuemper Catholic - Sept. 22

Since 2008 the Rams and Knights have met 14 times, and the Rams have some things to forget about the most recent meeting. 

Last season the Knights and Rams played in Carroll where the Knights held Greene County scoreless in a 35-0 win. 

Historically Kuemper Catholic holds a 10-4 advantage over the Rams, but in recent history Greene County has won two of the last three meetings. The games against the Knights have been a variety. Some games have featured plenty of offense, such as the 2019 contest when Greene County won 45-22. Others have been low-scoring such as 2021 when the Rams won 13-3, or 2018 when Kuemper won 16-8. 

The Knights were a 1A team last season and finished 8-2. The only two defeats for the Knights came late in the season as they fell to Underwood in a district championship game. In the second round of the playoffs the Knights were defeated by West Sioux. 

Overall the Knights have a lot of their offense and defense returning to the field. 

at Roland-Story - Sept. 29

In the Quikstats/Bound era the Rams and Roland-Story Norsemen have met three times, with the Rams winning all three. The most recent game was when the Rams were able to win 55-14 in the first round of the 2021 class 2A playoffs. 

It was a close game throughout the first half as Greene County led 27-14 over the Norsemen at halftime. 

From there the Rams were able to blank the Norsemen throughout the second half. Not only did they hold the Norsemen scoreless in the second half they were able to score 28 points through the third and fourth quarters. 

The Norsemen have not scored more than six points against Greene County in the last three meetings.

Last season the Norsemen were able to finish 4-5 overall. That included a playoff appearance where they were eliminated in the first round. Roland-Story started the season 2-2 with wins over Albia and East Marshall. Back-to-back wins over Chariton and Iowa Falls-Alden helped the Norsemen climb in their district standings. However, the season ended with defeats against West Marshall and PCM. Still, the Norsemen made the playoffs, falling to Clarinda in the first round of the post season. 

Southeast Valley - Oct. 6

The newcomer to the Greene County schedule is Southeast Valley. The Jaguars and Rams have not met in the last 10 years and do not have a lot of history against each other dating back to the 2009 season. 

Southeast Valley had a disappointing 2022 season as they finished the season 3-5. The year before, in 2021 they were able to win the class 2A State championship. 

Last year the Jaguars started off on a high note as they were able to down Interstate 35 in the first week. One week later they moved to 2-0 as they beat Emmetsburg. Hampton-Dumont, OABCIG and Estherville-Lincoln Central then all recorded wins of the Jaguars to drop them to below .500 at the midpoint of the season. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows downed the Jaguars for a fourth-straight defeat. 

Things brightened up for the Jaguars as they were able to shutout Pocahontas Area 36-0 in week seven. 

The season ended on a sour note for the Jaguars as Southeast Valley fell 24-6 to Spirit Lake, ending the season. 

at Des Moines Christian - Oct. 13

Last season it was a battle for the Rams, but they were able to gain a 30-22 win over the Lions, to keep their perfect streak against Des Moines Christian in tact. 

The Rams have played Des Moines Christian three times, and have won all three contests. In 2021 Greene County was able to win 55-0 over the Lions. In 2019 the Rams defeated Des Moines Christian 35-21 in a playoff game. 

Last year the Lions finished 4-5 overall with a playoff appearance, but they were defeated in the first round against Centerville. The Lions started the season 1-3, but their game against the Rams seemed to wake them up as they would go on to win three of their next four contests to allow them to make the playoffs, but their season ended in the playoffs against Centerville. 

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