Raiders outlast Roadrunners
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Adler Shay stretches to make the catch Friday night against the Roadrunners. Shay had three receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 43 yards on five attempts.
Mt. Ayr 20, CD 14
The Raiders hosted Interstate-35 in their second meeting this season.
Receiving the kick, the Raiders went three-and-out, followed by a Roadrunner three-and-out.
The Raiders struck paydirt on a Payton Weehler rush down the sideline for 34 yards.
It was awhile before the next score of the contest, after the defenses held eachothers offenses to short yards.
Mount Ayr found success on a five minute drive, on an Adler Shay 21 yard catch from Jaixen Frost.
Interstate-35 found traction, however, and was able to score with less than a minute on the clock after moving the ball with ease against a backpeddling Raider defense.
At halftime, the Raiders led the Roadrunners 14-7, however, Interstate-35 had momentum and would receive the second-half kick.
“It was kind of a punch to the gut when they came back and answered us,” said senior Payton Weehler. “We knew if we kept fighting and winning every play, we would come out on top. We want to keep playing, that’s all we want to do.”
Coach Lambert gave a speech at halftime, but allowed someone else to say a few words.
Tessa Kniep, one of the teams managers and arguably biggest Mount Ayr Raider fan out there, gave a passionate speech, letting the Raiders know this was their game.
“Tessa came up to me at halftime and said I really want to talk to them and we had a lot of stuff we needed to talk about, offensively, defensively, and I told her we were kind of running behind, but I said you know, Tessa get up here and get them going,” said coach Lambert. “It’s neat because our kids just treat her like one of the guys. She always gives positive feedback and works hard keeping waters filled.”
Coach Lambert told the Raiders to go out there and win it for that girl.
“I didn’t need to say anything after that,” said coach Lambert.
“Tessa is a great girl,” said Weehler. “Her family, they always support the school. When you’re down, she is always positive and it helps a lot. She is a great girl and means a lot to us.”
Interstate-35 was able to tie the game up after a nine minute drive on the ground, leaving only 2:45 left in the quarter.
The Raiders got the ball back, but on a Frost run, the ball popped loose.
It looked as though the Roadrunners would take a late lead, keeping the ball on the ground.
Interstate-35 elected to pass, which provided Mount Ayr with an opportunity.
Trae Ehlen picked off the pass and returned it 32 yards, putting the Raiders in great position as the fourth quarter started.
The Raiders couldn’t get the ball down the field and faced a fourth and 15 after a big sack and stared down a 50-yard fieldgoal, so elected to punt.
Interstate-35 took over at the seven yard line after a nice punt by Brayden Pierson.
The Raider defense held the Roadrunners with 6:39 left in the contest.
The Raiders marched down the field and with 3:32 left on the clock, Weehler took the ball into the endzone from two yards out. The ensuing point after saw a muffed hold and the PAT was no good.
The Raider defense charged through the Roadrunner offensive line and saw multiple tackles for losses. On a fourth and long attempt, the Raiders stopped the Roadrunners to take possession with 1:33 remaining.
Jaixen Frost and company got into victory formation and knelt it out to defeat Interstate-35 once more.
The Raiders will move on to face the Underwood Eagles, in Mount Ayr on Friday, October 30 at 7 p.m.
In the win, the Raiders rushed for 149 yards on 33 attempts and had four completions for 48 yards. The Raiders gained 197 yards of total offense.
The Raiders played a clean game, committing only two penalties for 15 yards.
Interstate-35 gained 224 yards on 53 rushing attempts and were three-of-five through the air for 14 yards and one interceptions for a total of 238 yards of total offense.
The Roadrunners committed eight penalties for 65 yards.
The win put Mount Ayr into the next playoff POD for the 2020 season, pitting them against Underwood.
Mount Ayr will host the Underwood Eagles, Friday, October 30 at 7 p.m.
The winner of that game will advance to take on the winner between Pella Christian and Van Meter.
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 7 7 0 6 20
CD 0 7 7 0 14
Scoring
1st Quarter
8:58 – MA – Payton Weehler 34-yd run. PAT by Peyton Stull good.
2nd Quarter
2:43 – MA – Jaixen Frost to Adler Shay 21-yd pass. PAT by Stull, good.
0:58 – I35 – Logan Cassady 7-yd run. PAT by Cristian Roquet good.
3rd Quarter
2:45 – I35 – Cassady 2-yd run. PAT by Roquet good.
4th Quarter
3:32 – MA – Weehler 2-yd run. PAT no good.
Team Statistics
1st Downs MA I35
Total 13 15
Rushing 10 15
Passing 2 0
Penalty 1 0
Rushing
Attempts 33 53
Gained 176 253
Lost 27 29
Net 149 224
Passing
Completions 4 3
Attempts 8 5
Percentage 50 60
Intercepted 0 1
Net 48 14
Total Offense 197 238
Punts 3 4
Average 40 31
Return Yards
Punt Return 32 3
Kickoff 26 63
Int. Returns 32 0
Fumble Ret. 0 0
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 2 8
Yards lost 15 65
Individual Statistics
Passing
Comp Att Yds
Frost 4 8 48
Rushing
Att. Gain Avg
Frost 6 0 0
Weeler 9 66 7.3
Shay 5 43 8.6
Swank 7 27 3.9
Knight 4 10 2.5
Cole 2 3 1.5
Receiving
Rec Yds Avg
Shay 3 43 14.3
Swank 1 5 5
Tackles
S A
Ehlen 7 4
Weehler 8 6
Shay 4 3
Knight 7 2
C.Larson 4 1
Shelman 4 2
R.Larson 2 4
Strange 0 2
Trujillo 8 3
Shaha 1 1
Pierson 0 1
Swank 0 1
Kick-Offs
Kicks Avg
Stull 4 43.3
Kick Return
Returns Yds
Shay 1 0
Shelman 1 16
Trujillo 1 10
Punts
Kicks Avg
Pierson 3 40
Punt Return
Returns Yds
Pierson 1 32
Interceptions
INT Yds
Ehlen 1 32
