Rams’ Reed smashes record, Panthers in 59-13 victory

A little bit of Scott Reed went a long way in Glenwood’s home opening football game Friday.

The senior running back that missed most of last season with a knee injury needed just 18 carries to rush for a school-record 327 yards and touchdowns in the Rams’ dominant 59-13 win over Creston.

“I’m really proud of Scott,” said Glenwood coach Cory Faust after the game. “He’s obviously super talented at football but more than that I’m just proud of how he’s come back.”

Reed tore his ACL in last year’s opener and missed most of his junior season. But this year, Faust said the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder came back stronger and more prepared.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t come back from that (injury). He didn’t get a chance to play a lot of varsity before that. And not only did he come back stronger as an athlete – bigger, stronger, faster – his character development, his leadership development has been great. I’m so thankful for that.”

On the Rams’ seven first half possessions, Reed rushed for 209 yards on 10 carries that included a 55-yard scamper through a handful of Panther defender arm tackles to give Glenwood a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter. A pick-six touchdown on a tipped interception by Ram linebacker Korbin Pelzer and the ensuing extra-point made it 24-6 at halftime.

Glenwood – and Reed – didn’t take the foot off the pedal in the second half.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Rams capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown scramble by Ben Carlo.

A three-and-out by the Panthers set Glenwood up at the 47 yard line. Reed carried three straight times on the ensuing drive for 43 yards and Carlo capped on a QB keeper from 10 yards out to put Glenwood firmly in control at 38-6.

Haze Stephens added a 5-yard TD run and fullback Jacon Aust rumbled in from nine yards out to cap a 28-point third quarter and a 52-6 lead.

Reed carried 10 times for 117 yards after halftime. His record-setting rush coming on a three-yard run mid-way through the third quarter to snap Spencer Smith’s mark of 281 yards set in 2013. On the very next carry, Reed raced 43 yards to smash the record before spending the rest of his night on the bench.

Faust said Reed would likely be the first to thank his offensive line on his record-breaking night.

“Any time someone sets an individual record, they have a really good group around them and that’s definitely the case,” Faust said. “Our offensive line is really good, and we have some threats on the outside that lighten the box a little bit and helped block on long runs.

It’s a team effort.”

Glenwood finished the game with 486 yards rushing on the night. Carlo completed 6-of-7 passes for an additional 60 yards. Their 59 points were the most since a 69-7 win over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in 2022.

Defensively the Rams forced two turnovers and while they allowed 209 yards on the ground, nearly half of those yards came on the Panthers’ first three offensive drives. Faust said his team adjusted – perhaps slower than he’d have liked – to Creston’s outside zone run game. But when they did, they were in control.

“We got better at being aggressive,” Faust said. “Our perimeter people have to get better at striking blockers; that’s part of football. They’re playing too much pass coverage, and they need to come down in run support.”

The Rams return to action Friday in their Class 4A, District 6 opener against Sergeant Bluff-Luton (2-1). The Warriors, coming off a 62-14 win over Thomas Jefferson Friday, were state semifinalists a year ago and return a strong core from that team, according to Faust.

“Their only loss is to a really good (Sioux City) Heelan team, and they beat (Council Bluffs) Lewis Central last week,” Faust said. “They’re a really good team and they’re going to challenge us at that thing we’re a little weak at as far as taking on blockers on the perimeter.

“They’re a really good running team and the run a non-traditional offense, it’s under center with a lot of jet motion and quick things. They’ll be different than anything we’ve seen, we’ll have to be ready to play for sure they’re a really good program.”

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday at the Glenwood Activities Complex.

Scoring Summary
G    10  14  28  07   59
C    00  06   00 07   13

Game Summary
    G – 31 field goal by Aaron Christian.
    G – Haze Stephens, 46 run (kick good).
    C – Tanner Ray to Jameson McDonald, 19 pass (two-point conversion failed).
    G – Scott Reed, 55 run (kick good).
    G – Korbin Pelzer, 6 interception return (kick good).
    G – Ben Carlo, 14 run (kick good).
    G – Carlo, 3 run (kick good).
    G – Stephens, 5 run (kick good).
    G – Jacob Aust, 9 run (kick good).
    G – Trey Williamson, 33 run (kick good).
    C – Mason Wilson, 4 run (kick good).