Big second half propels Raiders to 2-0
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Twenty-nine unanswered second-half points helped the Mount Ayr Raiders win their second contest of the season last Friday, a 42-0 shutout over Wayne.
The victory was the second straight to open the season and it also was the first district game of the season.
The Raiders have now combined to score 81 points in two games and combined to only give up 12 in that same number of games.
The Raiders will play at home for the first time this season on Friday when they host 2-0 Madrid in district play.
Mount Ayr football coach Ryan Victor said he is happy with his team’s execution against the Falcons.
“First to second week we took care of the football better and didn’t have as many turnovers. I also think we did better not with having as many penalties,” he said.
Victor said that the Raiders running game came alive in the game.
“We had to clean up some execution stuff in the run game from week one and we made some adjustments on the offensive line. We started slow, but they came out in the second half and were able to grind the football on the ground,” he said.
The Raiders established a dominant running game in the contest, one that yielded a 4.8-yard average over 60 carries.
The Raiders ran 75 offensive plays that accounted for the six Mount Ayr touchdowns. Mount Ayr rushed for 285 yards as a team by four different runners.
Sophomore Tate Dugan topped the 100-yard mark in the game for the first time, leading Mount Ayr in rushing with 112 yards on 31 carries. Tyler Martin was close behind with 87 yards on 14 carries and four rushing touchdowns. Freshman Dyson Thompson added 73 yards on nine carries and a touchdown.
Mount Ayr has won the last five games between the schools dating back to the 2008 season. The game last Friday was the first time the two schools had played since September 2011.
The Falcons came into the game having stopped a 22-game losing streak, one that dated back to the final game of the 2020 season and spanned three complete seasons, with a 42-8 win over Colfax-Mingo in week 1.
“People are underestimating Wayne. They played physical. They made us earn what we wanted to do. They slowed us down in the third quarter. They are scrappy,” said Victor.
Sophomore quarterback Jackson Ruggles led the offense and passed for 110 yards on 8-of-15 completions with a touchdown and an interception. Thompson and Martin were two of the four receivers to catch two or more passes. Thompson led Raider receivers with four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Mount Ayr totaled three sacks and six tackles for loss in the game, causing havoc for the Falcons offense. The Raiders held the Falcons to only 46 yards of total offense for a team that just a week ago had 383 yards of total offense including 267 yards on the ground. Friday, Wayne rushed for 26 yards and passed for 20 yards in the game. Jaize Frost had a fumble recovery and Jackson Ruggles intercepted three passes in the game. The Raiders were led in tackles by Tyler Martin with 5.5 and Frost with 3.
“Our defense played well against Wayne and they have played well through two weeks. Wayne put up a lot of yards in week one and had a player rush for 161 yards and another 98. They had our attention,” said Victor.
“Our rotation of defensive linemen – Dalton Barnes, Bracken Collier, Tucker Larson, Ethan Jones, Kash Wasteney, Colton Dredge, Tucker Knox, Ethan Johns, and Aidan Murphy – clog up the middle and let our linebackers do their jobs,” Victor said.
Mount Ayr led 13-0 at halftime after Tyler Martin scored touchdowns on runs of three and four yards in the first quarter. Wayne held the Raiders out of the end zone in the second quarter but trailed by two scores at halftime. Mount Ayr extended their lead to 29-0 after three quarters. A 33–yard touchdown pass from Jackson Ruggles to Dyson Thompson and Martin’s third scoring run accounted for the points. The Raiders put the game away in the final quarter, scoring 13 more points from touchdown runs from Martin and Thompson to finish off the Falcons.
Mount Ayr will host the Madrid Tigers on Friday night. The two teams played two years ago in the playoffs where the Raiders prevailed 34-20. This year’s Tigers squad is also 2-0 having beaten Woodward Granger by one point, 28-27 in week one, and by beating Martensdale-St. Mary’s last Friday, 48-18.
Tiger quarterback junior Preston Wicker is a two-way player, having passed for 159 yards with three touchdowns and having rushed for 259 yards on 33 carries with a team-high five touchdowns. Senior Tyler Fuller is the top rusher with 264 yards on just 16 carries for a 16.5-yard average to go with three touchdowns. All five Tigers who have caught a pass are seniors led by Kyle Kruckenberg and Jayce Fuson who have combined for 11 receptions, 131 yards, and three touchdowns.
The game with Madrid is the first of two straight weeks of home games. The Raiders will host Central Decatur on Friday, September 15 for homecoming.
Victor said that his team has a goal of winning the district. Currently, heading into week 3, Class A District 6, there are three unbeaten teams and three others with one loss.
“We want to win the district and to do that we have to beat good teams. That starts this week when we have Madrid coming in. They have good athletes and we have to be ready. There is no place like home, and we look forward to playing this week in front of the home crowd,” he said.
Mount Ayr 42, Wayne 0
Friday, September 1
At Corydon
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 13 0 1613 42
Wayne 0 0 0 0 0
Team Statistics:
MA W
First Downs 16 2
Rush yards 304 24
Rushes-ave. 60-5.1 18-2.6
Pass yards 110 20
Pass C-A-T 8-15-1 1-10-1
Total offense 395 46
Punts-Ave. 1-29.0 4-38.8
Penalties-yards 6-40 8-51
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (6:23) – MA – Tyler Martin 3-yard run (Tyler Martin kick)
1st Qtr (0:37) – MA – Tyler Martin 4-yard run (Tyler Martin kick no good)
3rd Qtr (5:23) – MA – Dyson Thompson 33-yard pass from Jackson Ruggles (Conversion pass)
3rd Qtr (0:24) – MA – Tyler Martin 2-yard run (Conversion run)
4th Qtr (7:42) – MA – Tyler Martin 6-yard run (Tyler Martin kick)
4th Qtr (3:12) – MA – Dyson Thompson 21-yard run (Tanner Streit kick no good)
Individual Statistics (Mount Ayr Statistics):
Rushing: Tate Dugan 31-112, Tyler Martin 14-87, Dyson Thompson 9-73, Jackson Ruggles 6-13.
Passing: Jackson Ruggles 8-for-15 110, 1 TD’s, 1 INT’s.
Receiving: Dyson Thompson 4-63, Tyler Martin 2-30, Jaize Frost 1-9, Tate Dugan 1-8.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles: Tyler Martin 5.5, Jaize Frost 3, Jackson Ruggles 2, Louden Main 2, Matt Larson 2, Bracken Collier 2, Kash Wasteney 1.5, Dylan Graham 1.5, Tate Dugan 1.5, Evan Weehler 1.5, Trevin Victor 1, Tanner Streit 1, Colton Dredge 1, Aidan Murphy 1, Adan Trujillo 0.5.
Tackles For Loss: Bracken Collier 2, Kash Wasteney 1, Colton Dredge 1, Dylan Graham 1, Tyler Martin 1.
Sacks: Kash Wasteney 1, Dylan Graham 1, Tyler Martin 1.
Fumbles: Jaize Frost 1.
Interceptions: Jackson Ruggles 3-9 yards.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: Tanner Streit 4-131 yards, Tyler Martin 3-90 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: none.
Punts: Tate Dugan 1-29 yards, 29.0-yard ave.
Punt Returns: none.
Class A District 6 Standings
School D6 Ovr. PF PA
Lyn-Sul. 1-0 2-0 102 13
Madrid 1-0 2-0 76 45
Mount Ayr 1-0 2-0 81 12
C. Decatur 0-0 1-1 30 25
N. Mahaska 0-1 1-1 22 54
Wayne 0-1 1-1 42 50
M-St M. 0-1 0-2 44 75
