Glenwood runs wild in 49-13 win
For the second straight week Glenwood rushed for more than 400 yards and for the second straight week the Rams found themselves on the winning end of a lopsided Class 3A, District 7 clash.
Glenwood scored the first 29 points of the game and dominated from the opening kick off with 462 yards rushing in a 49-13 victory over Creston Friday.
“When something is working, you just keeping taking it,” said Glenwood coach Cory Faust. “We’ve got great blockers not just on the line but everywhere. Guys are working hard. That’s just how it’s worked out and I can’t say that (power running) is how we’re always going to do it. We’re constantly working on our passing game as well. We feel like we can do both when we need to.”
The Rams threw just three times in the game, completing two for 15 yards. Faust couldn’t recall coaching a game where his team threw just three times in a game in his more than a decade as head coach.
“We called a few more than three that became laterals on bubble screens but it’s really all just about doing what we have to do, move the ball and be successful,” Faust said.
And the Rams were successful. A lot.
After each team traded scoreless possessions and punts, the Rams got on the board midway through the opening quarter when Josh Ruth raced into the endzone from nine yards out.
Junior running back Noah Carter capped two more drives with touchdowns and Cooper Silvius darted in from 55-yards out with than less than five minutes to go in the opening half to put the Rams up 29-0.
The Panthers did manage to answer before the half when quarterback Eli Loudon connected with 63-yard touchdown pass to Michael Scherer on a 63-yard TD strike to make it 29-6 at the break.
Carter led the Rams with 167 yards and three TDs on 22 carries. Blum added 151 on the ground and another score.
“They’re both really good athletes and when you get them behind our line and our slots blocking really well, we feel like we’re really tough to stop from getting first downs,” Faust said. “Even if we run it three times in a row, with those big runners we have, we’re hard to stop.”
The Ram defense limited the Panthers to just 99 yards on the ground and defensive back Brett Mower stripped a fumble away and returned it 45 yards for Glenwood’s first defensive touchdown of the season.
With the win, the Rams host Winterset Friday in what appears to be a “make or break” game for both team’s playoff chances. Harlan holds the top spot in District 7 after Friday’s 7-6 win and a September win over the Rams, meaning the coveted second playoff spot will likely be decided in Glenwood Friday night.
“If we win, we’re in the playoffs. We don’t and it comes down to points for the wildcard and that’s something no team wants to do,” Faust said.
With all their goals in front of them, Faust said keeping his team focused shouldn’t be a problem.
“It comes down to the message we’ve talked about all year: playing nine one game seasons and playing our best game every Friday night and letting the chips fall where they may,” Faust said. “We do that and hopefully you don’t see the fluctuation in performance and effort week to week depending on if you’re favored or not. Football is meant to be played all out so hopefully our guys buy into that. We want this to be a normal week of all out preparation and give our all out on Friday.”
Quarterback Casey Kleemeier, who has thrown for 889 yards 10 TDs this season, leads Winterset.