Rams pitch a second half shutout in comeback win

After getting down 42-28 at the half, Glenwood held Creston scoreless while scoring 42 unanswered points of their own in a wild 70-42 win on the road at Creston Friday.

The two teams combined for 49 first quarter points, but it was the Class 4A, No. 7 ranked Rams who closed strong, scoring on four straight touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to secure their 3-0 start to the season.

“The first half Creston did a nice job on offense, and we gave them a few things we shouldn't have,” said Glenwood coach Cory Faust. “I was proud of the way our guys held together and didn't panic. We made a couple adjustments at halftime to help us keep the ball in front of us better and mixed that in with being more aggressive. We were able to get some stops in the second half.”

The Rams 70 points are believed to be a single game record, and their 611 yards of total offense are a season high. Through their 3-0 start Glenwood has averaged 521.6 yards and 53.6 points per game.

“Our success on offense starts with our really tough offensive line,” Faust said. “Nile Lundvall, Evan Kinney, Josh Taylor, Todd Schmitt, and Drake Buthe did a really nice job again this week on the O-line, and Brody May, Trey Williamson, and Lincoln Skarnulis also had some key blocks.”

Glenwood had a dominant performance on the ground, rushing for 370 yards on 45 carries. Haze Stephens and Joe Leick both eclipsed 100 yards and scored three TDs in the win. Leick led the way with 19 carries for 166 and Stephens carried 15 times for 159. 

“Our running backs are really good as well.  All three of our guys are really good football players.  The cool thing is how unselfish they are.  They all have roles on defense and special teams as well so it's been nice to be able to spread the work load out between them so they can be fresher.  All have big play making speed, and all are really good competitors.  They each have a little different style of running but are equally effective.”

Quarterback Ben Carlo was 14-of-23 passing for 241 yards with two TDs going to Myles Longmeyer, who hauled in eight passes for 150 yards.

“We've been able to pass the ball well enough to keep teams honest,” Faust said. “Going into the game I believe Myles Longmeyer was leading class 4A in receiving yards per game.”

The Panthers (2-2) tallied 503 yards of offense. Quarterback Tanner was responsible for five touchdowns, throwing for 274 yards and running for 165 more.

Glenwood heads out on the road for a big non-district Class 4A Top 10 match up with No. 3 ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton (3-0) on Friday.

Faust called the Warriors a “really tough” opponent.

“They have some elite players, are well coached, and run a unique offense that can be tough to prepare for,” Faust said. “Every week of high school football is special, and the recipe is basically always the same: treat this game like it was a season in and of itself, get better in practice, and give it our best shot on Friday night.  If we control all those controllable behaviors, that gives us the best chance of being successful on the scoreboard and with our bigger goals for the season.  

“It's especially exciting to get to face really good competition once again.  Our players have been really resilient.  We'll need to continue that this week.”