Rams can’t hold off Warriors

    The Glenwood Rams began their 2011 football season in disappointing fashion Friday night, dropping a 16-12 non-district decision to visiting Sergeant Bluff-Luton at Ram Memorial Field.

    Glenwood relinquished a five-point lead late in the second quarter and was shut out the rest of the way as the Warriors avenged a loss to the Rams in the 2010 season opener.
    “We just didn’t play real well,” Glenwood head coach Brian Albert said. “We made too many mistakes and we didn’t take advantage of our chance to get ahead early. If we score first, they’re playing catch-up and the outcome might have been different.”
    Glenwood did indeed have an opportunity to strike first. The Rams took the opening kickoff and were deep in Sergeant Bluff-Luton territory when Warrior linebacker Josh King intercepted a Grant Stivers pass on fourth down and returned it to the Rams’ 49-yard line.
    The Warriors promptly marched down the field but were denied paydirt when Rams’ defensive back Corey Bertini recorded his first of two interceptions on the night on the Rams’ 16-yard line.
    The Rams turned the ball over via interception on their ensuing possession. This time, the Warriors cashed in, driving 42 yards for a touchdown. Running back Ryan Gase capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown jaunt at the beginning of the second quarter.
    Trailing 7-0, and facing a third-and-13 on its next possession, the Glenwood offense got a spark from a first-down pass completion from Stivers to Kyle Kawecki. One play later, Stivers hooked up with Kyle Bowden on a 64-yard touchdown strike. The extra-point try failed, leaving the Rams down by one point.
    Glenwood did take the lead, 12-7, later in the second quarter when Stivers teamed up with Derek Jones on a 6-yard TD pass. That lead was short-lived, however.
    After being stopped on its ensuing possession, Sergeant Bluff-Luton got the ball back on the Glenwood 24 when Tyler Brodie picked off an errant Stivers pass. One play later, with two minutes left in the first half, Brodie scored on a 24-yard scoring toss from Warrior quarterback Kendall Hazel.
    The Warriors scored the final points of the game on a 28-yard field goal by Dillon Hiserote late in the third quarter.
    Sergeant Bluff-Luton controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the second half, but was denied the end zone on three trips inside the Rams’ red zone. A Bertini interception thwarted one Warrior scoring drive and a missed field goal late in the fourth quarter put a halt to another.
    Albert was disappointed in his team’s performance, but noted that 13 Rams were making their first varsity start against the Warriors. The Rams’ inexperience was a factor in the outcome of the game, he believed.
    “We made enough mistakes tonight, so we have places to improve,” Albert said.
    Glenwood outyarded the Warriors, 304-282. The Rams rushed for 102 yards and passed for 202. Levi Henderson, who was sidelined for most of the second half by exhaustion and a stomach injury, finished the night as the Rams’ leading rusher with 71 yards on 16 carries.
    Stivers accounted for all of Glenwood’s passing yardage, completing 14-of-26 passes. His leading receivers were Kawecki (six receptions for 70 yards) and Bowden (two receptions for 77 yards). Jones and Sam Jameson both hauled in two passes.
    Defensively, Bertini and Heath Loeffelbein both recorded seven tackles.  Clayton Giesting was in on six stops and Rhett Turner finished the night with five.
    The Rams are on the road this Friday night, traveling to Council Bluffs for their annual meeting against perennial southwest Iowa powerhouse St. Albert.

SCORING BY QUARTERS
SB-L 00 13 03 00 - 16
GLN  00 12 00 00 - 12

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
    SBL – Ryan Gase, 4 run (Dillon Hiserote kick).
    GLN – Kyle Bowden, 64 pass from Grant Stivers (run failed).
    GLN – Derek Jones, 6 pass from Stivers (pass failed).
    SBL – Tyler Brodie, 24 pass from Kendall Hazel (pass failed).
    SBL – Dillon Hiserote, 28 field goal.