Rams rally from down 25 in thrilling win over Lewis Central

In boxing terms, Glenwood was on the ropes.

The Rams wobbled in the opening rounds, getting off to a dreadful start while going down 31-6 to Council Bluffs Lewis Central with 6:35 to go in the first half.

But the fight was only starting.

Glenwood rattled off 20 straight points to close the opening half, took their first lead of the game late in third quarter and pulled away for good on Scott Reed’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 8:09 to go in the game on its way to a thrilling, come-from-behind 41-38 victory over the Titans Friday in Council Bluffs.

In his three decades as a player and coach, Glenwood coach Cory Faust said after the game he’s never been part of a bigger comeback. The 25-point margin is believed to be the largest comeback in school history,

“I’m just really proud of our character,” Faust said. “We didn’t fall apart last week but I wasn’t sure how we’d handle adversity again this week. I didn’t think it would be that kind of adversity but I’m super proud of the way our guys battled back.”

Battle back the Rams did after a less-than-ideal start.

The Titans scored on all four of their first quarter possessions to take a 24-0 lead early. The Rams turned the ball over once and compiled just three first downs in the opening frame.

Things began to change for both teams in the second quarter.

After quarterback Ben Carlo finally got the Rams on the board when he connected with Kaden Crouch on a 4-yard TD, Lewis Central answered with a seven play, 62-yard drive to make the score 31-6 with just over six minutes to go in the half.

Glenwood closed the half with three straight touchdown drives. The first coming on a Reed 14-yard TD scamper and the next two – thanks to a pair of nifty back-to-back on-side kicks – coming via a 43-yard Reed touchdown run and a 6-play, 45-yard drive capped by another Carlo to Crouch hook-up, this time from five yards out.

 The onside kicks that caught the Titans off-guard both times and set up both of the final two TD drives of the fan flipped the momentum heading into the break. Faust was quick credit special teams coach Jason Gibson for the onside calls. 

“That really gave us some momentum,” Faust said of the calls that helped flipped the Rams offensive momentum. “And obviously our offense being able to go 400 yards and our offensive line and Scott Reed being able to rush for so many yards.”

The two teams traded punts to open the third quarter before the Rams’ took over at their own 17 and marched inside the Titans’ 10-yard line. Carlo’s third touchdown pass of the night, an eight-yarder to Ethan Eisman, and the two-point conversion gave Glenwood its first lead of the game with 2:32 to go in the frame.

But Lewis Central (2-3), who began the season ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, would answer. Quarterback Brody Chubb engineered an eight play, 67-yard drive to retake the lead at 38-34 with just over 11 minutes to go in the game.

As they did all game long – the Rams responded.

Three straight carries by Reed moved Glenwood from their own 30 in the red zone. His one-yard TD and the extra-point put the Rams ahead for good at 41-38.

The Rams’ Tristan Ludwig picked off Chubb on the Titans’ ensuing drive, and following a Glenwood punt, the defense held once again sacking Chubb for a 3-yard loss on fourth down with three minutes to go.

Glenwood gained one first down on its final drive to run out the clock and end its eight-game losing streak to the Titans. 

Faust attributed his team’s slow start to a scheme change where maybe he and his coaches outthought themselves.

“We thought if we just played a little bit different front on defense that would match up better,” he said. “Then they actually did something a little different with their personnel and it was just kind of the right mesh of me maybe being too cute and we just didn’t quite fit some of the stuff the right way. As the game went on, we just went back to our base defense with one big adjustment, and our players just made plays. So, really proud of them.”

For the game, the Rams’ tallied 449 yards to the Titans’ 340. Not bad returns considering Glenwood was outgained 167-63 in the first quarter alone.

“Credit just to everybody,” Faust said. “It was a total team effort. We had balance running and throwing. Coach (Alex) Williams and the rest of the coaching staff did a really nice job.”

Reed was a monster for the Rams’ all night. The 200-pounder carried a season-high 33 times for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Carlo finished his night 13-of-23 for 197 yards and three TDs. Crouch hauled in two TD among his four grabs for 48 yards.

Chubb was 6-of-15 throwing for 166 yards and Doss ran for 152 yards and TD to lead the Titans.

The win gives the Rams the all-important 1-0 start in District 6 play with a homecoming match up with Denison (0-5) coming Friday and a looming home game with state ranked ADM (4-1) the following week.

“I think it’s big for our players just to have confidence that we can beat anybody,” Faust said of how the win could impact his team moving forward. “It’s been a while since we beat Lewis Central. I think it’s a big confidence booster. I’m not really surprised. I hope they’re not surprised. I knew we could play with anybody. 

“We’ve got good teams left on our schedule still, so we need to continue to get better. We can celebrate for 24 hours but then we got to get back and play the next game of the season.”

The Rams’ homecoming game will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at the Glenwood Activities Complex.

Scoring Summary

G              00 26 08 07 41

LC           24 07 00 07 38

Game Summary

C – Jacob Jefferis, 20 run (kick good).

LC – Jimmy Scott, 36 field goal.

LC – Brody Chubb to Peyton Phippen, 59 pass (kick good).

LC – Chubb to Phippen, 54 pass (kick good).

G – Ben Carlo to Kaden Crouch, 4 pass (two-point conversion no good).

LC – Braydan Doss, 2 run (kick good).

G – Scot Reed, 14 run (two-point conversion failed).

G – Reed, 43 run (two-point conversion good).

G – Carlo to Crouch, 5 pass (two-point conversion failed).

G – Carlo to Ethan Eiseman, 8 pass (two-point conversion good).

LC – Chubb to Leonardo Tatum, 11 pass (kick good).

G – Reed, 1 run (kick good).