The “Rock” to stay in Mount Ayr after wild Friday
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The trophy for the “Battle for the Rock” rivalry game will stay in Mount Ayr for the ninth consecutive year, as Nodaway Valley still chases their first victory in the event.
Mount Ayr 41, NV 13
Last week, the Raiders took on a 2A Blue Demon team with sophomore Jaixen Frost taking his place under center after senior Payton Weehler expressed his desire to switch to running back, and hand the torch to Frost, to utilize both players strengths and make the team the best it could be.
This past Friday, the Raiders were poised and ready to strike the Wolverines with Frost leading the team to victory to keep the “Rock” trophy in Mount Ayr, where it has stayed since its inception in 2012.
Friday didn’t quite go as planned for the Raiders, as Frost was unable to be with the team for the contest. Coach Lambert would have to lean on his former quarterback, Weehler, to lead the team.
Frost will be gone for an indeterminate amount of time.
“We got him plenty of reps at quarterback last week, this week he didn’t take any snaps,” said coach Lambert. “He did a great job, in fact, I told him that’s the best he’s ever ran the option. He was more patient and he just knew that he was going to have to play calm and cool and boy he did a great job.”
Weehler was in the middle of a pre-calc test when he found out, thirty minutes before the bus left, that he would be leading the team.
“It was a crazy afternoon, my whole mindset just changed,” said Weehler. “I was trying to calm myself down. We all believe in each other. It didn’t change much, but I told the guys that we just had to fight through adversity. We all called Jaixen and told him we were getting this one for him.”
The Raiders did just that.
Nodaway Valley started off quick, relying on slants from the arm of quarterback Nathan Russell.
The Wolverines marched down the field as the Raider coverage played deep, allowing the slant to gain five yards every play.
The tone of the game changed, however, after a pass to Caelen Devault was bobbled into the air. Raider back Eric Trujillo was there to scoop the ball out of the air for the turnover.
The Raiders marched down the field to take the lead.
Mount Ayr would lead 35-0 going into halftime after a 56-yard touchdown pass from Weehler to Trae Ehlen, a five yard run from Jaydon Knight, a one yard run from Weehler and a 15-yard pass from Weehler to Dawson Swank.
In the second half, the Raiders let off the gas a little bit.
“When we came out in the second half we felt like we had them down and had the momentum and we sat back on our haunches just a little bit,” said coach Lambert. “Part of that goes back to these guys were role players last year and now all of a sudden they are the guys being counted on and maybe didn’t know how to handle that (situation) and that’s on us. We need to coach them up at halftime and let them know we need to keep rolling in the second-half.”
The Raiders allowed two touchdowns, while only adding one of their own, bringing the final score 41-13 on a 20-yard run by Austin Cole.
Weehler would end the night going five-for-11 through the air for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground, the Raiders ran the ball 39 times for 179 total yards.
Mount Ayr was once again plagued by penalties, committing seven for 77 yards lost, including one penalty resulting in a first down for the Wolverines.
Mount Ayr will be on the road again Friday, September 11, this time traveling north to Pleasantville to face the Trojans.
The Trojans sit at 2-0 on the season, as does Mount Ayr as both teams look to stay undefeated Friday night.
The Raiders will host Colfax-Mingo on September 18, which will be homecoming for the Raiders.
Following the Colfax-Mingo contest, the Raiders will hose Pella Christian in what will be Mount Ayr’s final home game of the season and will then head to Interstate-35 and Central Decatur to close out the season.
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 21 14 0 6 41
NV 0 0 0 13 6
Scoring
1st Quarter
8:27 – MA – Weehler 1-yd run. PAT Good.
5:05 -MA – Weehler to Ehlen 56-yd pass. PAT Good.
0:47.2 – MA – Knight 5-yd run. PAT Good.
2nd Quarter
11:22 – MA – Weehler 1-yd run. PAT Good.
7:18 – MA – Weehler to Swank 15-yd pass. PAT Good.
4th Quarter
10:41 – NV – Russell to A.Ayase 13-yd pass. PAT no good.
5:39 – NV – Russell to Ayase 8-yd pass. PAT no good.
4:11 – MA – Cole 20-yd run. PAT no good.
Team Statistics
1st Downs MA NV
Total 15 12
Rushing 12 0
Passing 3 11
Penalty 0 1
Rushing
Attempts 39 14
Gained 194 24
Lost 15 41
Net 179 -17
Passing
Completions 5 18
Attempts 11 10
Percentage 45.5 45
Intercepted 0 1
Net 138 157
Total Offense 317 140
Punts 1 3
Average 38 26.7
Return Yards
Punt Return 88 0
Kickoff 7 78
Int. Returns 1 0
Fumble Ret. 0 30
Fumbles 3 1
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 7 4
Yards lost 77 10
Individual Statistics
Passing
Comp Att Yds
Weehler 5 11 138
Rushing
Att. Gain Avg
D.Ehlen 4 8 2
P.Weehler 8 38 4.8
A.Shay 7 19 2.7
D.Swank 10 63 6.3
J.Knight 3 9 3
A.Cole 7 42 6
Receiving
Rec Yds Avg
T.Ehlen 1 62 62
A.Shay 2 59 29.5
D.Swank 2 17 8.5
Tackles
S A
T.Ehlen 1 3
P.Weehler 3 2
A.Shay 2 2
D.Swank 5 0
J.Knight 1 2
A.Cole 1 0
C.Larson 2 0
S.Shelman 2 2
R.Larson 2 1
W.Larson 1 0
E.Trujillo 5 2
R.Maudlin 1 0
B.Shaha 1 0
X.Harmening 0 1
Kick-Offs
Kicks Yds
P.Stull 7 277
Punts
Kicks Yds
P.Weehler 1 38
Kick Return
Returns Yds
T.Ehlen 2 75
E.Trujillo 1 13
Interceptions
INTs Yds
E.Trujillo 1 1
