Glenwood pounds away but Titans pull away in 42-14 win

COUNCIL BLUFFS - The first two drives said it all.

Glenwood opened the game on a ground-and-pound, 15-play drive that ate up nine minutes of the clock but awarded them zero points after a failed fourth down play.

Council Bluffs Lewis Central countered with a two-play, 61-yard drive capped by a Mike Gittins’ 18-yard touchdown, that took just 20 seconds.

The Class 3A, No. 2 Titans added two more first-half TDs and led 28-0 before the Rams were able to answer in a 42-14 victory before a reporter-estimated crowd of 1,200 at Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs.

“You’re never satisfied when you don’t win the game,  but I am really proud of the way our guys played against a really good Lewis Central team,” said Glenwood coach Cory Faust. “We had more yardage than they did, and were the first team this year that they didn’t get into a running clock situation. We competed well with them for a lot of the game and still had a chance later in the fourth quarter.”

The Rams held a 344 to 320 advantage in total yards and in time of possession for the game but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard for much of the first two and a half quarter. But late in the third quarter, the Rams finally saw their physical play payoff when Cooper Silvius – who finished with a game-high 105 rushing on 11 carries – punched it in from three yards out. The point-after made the score 28-7.

After forcing a punt on the ensuing Titan possession, the Rams again drove down the field on an 80-plus yard drive capped by Noah Carter’s four-yard scamper to make it 28-14 with eight minutes to go in the game.

The Rams would continue to fight, forcing another punt and driving into Titan territory with three minutes to go. But an interception by Calvin Fricke ended the threat and set the Titans up at the 50.

The flip in momentum energized Lewis Central. On the very next play, quarterback Max Duggan raced 50 yards to the endzone to make it 35-14 with less than three minutes remaining.

Gittins added a touchdown late for the Titans to cap the scoring.

Offensively, Faust said his team did a good job eating up clock and keeping the game out of the hands of the hands of the Titans’ potent offense. But finishing drives with points was a battle.

“Our guys blocking on the interior - Parker Sell, Christian Baker, Dylan Hopp, Konner Peterson, Koltyn Eckheart, and Noah Clark - did a great job,” Faust said.  “Zach Carr made some really clutch plays running, throwing, and receiving, and the rest of our ball carriers - Noah Carter, Cooper Silvius, Dominic Robertson, and Colton Schutte - were also key with their blocking and hard running.”

The Ram defense kept Duggan, a TCU quarterback recruit, and the Titan offense in check much of the game. Duggan finished with 138 yards passing and two TDs on 8-of-12 passing and added 95 yards rushing and another TD. But the Titans, who entered averaging 56 points per game and winning by a average of 44 points per game, didn’t pull away in what was a two score game until late in the fourth quarter.

“I think we showed what we are capable of doing, and I look forward to having another week with this team,” Faust said. “We face a dangerous Creston team who is better than their record indicates. We’ll want to play our best game and send our seniors off with a win.”

The Rams (4-4) final game of the season kicks off at 7 p.m. in Creston Friday.