Raiders fall in playoffs
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By RYAN STONEBRAKER
GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa – It wasn’t meant to be. The Raiders fought hard, but could not get enough scoring to pull off the upset of third ranked AC/GC last Friday in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.
The Raiders fell behind 14-0 at halftime, and matched the Chargers only score in the second half, but could not get closer than the two-score final margin in a 21-7 loss.
The Raiders finished the season with a 6-4 record while AC/GC improved to 10-0 and will play Friday against West Sioux for a trip to the UNI-Dome and the Class A semifinals.
“It was a big game,
Mount Ayr coach Ryan Victor said. “When you play them so many times in three years you get a grasp of what they want to do. When you can pick them up it puts you in a position that you can have success. They played without fear and were free. I am proud of the fight they showed and the prep they did.”
The Raiders put together a remarkable season after starting 1-3 with losses to then state ranked Riverside, Pleasantville and AC/GC in that early season stretch. Mount Ayr responded with a four-game win streak to finish the regular season with a 5-4 record. The Raiders added a first-round playoff classic win over Council Bluffs St. Albert 55-47 for a five-game win streak.
“They responded with a 1-3 start and how they came back against St. Albert and how they played those early tough games,” Victor said. “It shows pride and resiliency. Mount Ayr has a standard and it’s our job (coaches) to help them hold that.”
The Raiders last three second round games in the playoffs ended with losses of more than three scores. Until last Friday.
Mount Ayr and AC/GC played in week four of this season in Mount Ayr in Class A District 7 play. The result was a 28-20 win in the closest game AC/GC has played this year. Their second closest game was the playoff game against the Raiders. All of the other eight game results from the Chargers have been three or more score games.
In the first half, Mount Ayr had five drives that produced 78 yards on 26 plays. The Raiders had three drives end in punts, a drive that ended in a turnover and another drive that they turned the ball over on downs. The best drive Mount Ayr had was an 8-play, 47-yard drive in the second quarter.
AC/GC had four drives for 25 plays with 143 yards in the first half. The Chargers scored touchdowns in two straight possessions in the game after punting after five plays on their first possession.
The Chargers broke a scoreless game late in the first quarter when Ryder Cline broke the Raiders heart on 3rd and 17 from the 48-yard line, by ripping off a 48-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead with 13 seconds left in the first quarter. The Chargers score in the second quarter came with 4:16 left in the first half on Cline’s second rushing score, this one from 1-yard out to extend their lead to 14-0.
“We had opportunities but were not able to take advantage of them,” Victor said. “Their (AC/GC) defense played well, but our kids also played well. We knew that any score would be big. They just got two in the first half.”
AC/GC extended its lead to 21-0 with 1:30 left in the third quarter on a Joe Crawford 12-yard scoring run. Mount Ayr would get their only touchdown in the final quarter with 4:22 left in the game on an 83-yard Dyson Thompson rushing score to set the game score at its final of 21-7.
Mount Ayr had 232 yards of total offense in the game with all but one-yard on the ground. The Raiders rushed for 231 yards on 41 carries with a touchdown and a per rush average of 5.4 yards. Thompson led the Raiders with 131 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. He averaged 9.4 yards per carry. Jackson Ruggles carried the ball 14 times, tying Thompson, and gained 73 yards. Adler Reed added 12 carries for 20 yards.
Defensively, three Raiders recovered fumbles, one each from Ruggles, Trace Knapp and Rowan Sackett. Tate Dugan and Sackett led Mount Ayr in tackles with 6.5 each. Sackett added 2.5 tackles for loss. Ruggles had five tackles while Reed and Bracken Collier had 4.5 tackles.
AC/GC had 357 yards of total offense with a majority of their yards also coming on the ground. The Chargers rushed for 341 yards on 40 carries with three rushing touchdowns and an 8.5-yard per rush average. The Chargers had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Brexton Schneider with 141 yards on 21 carries and Joe Crawford with 119 yards on seven carries. Cline added 71 yards on 10 carries.
Defensively, AC/GC was led in tackles by Xander Harwood with 10.5 and two tackles for loss. Carter Richter and Brexton Schneider added 4.5 stops each. Cline and Jack Sheeder each had fumble recoveries in the game.
There were eight games in the round of 16 for Class A. Scores from Pod A were MMCRU 37, Gehlen Catholic 0 and Woodbury Central 21, Madrid 0. Scores from Pod B were Saint Ansgar 53, West Fork 20 and North Linn 21, Pekin 3. Scores from Pod C were AC/GC 21, Mount Ayr 7 and West Sioux 31, Sibley-Ocheyedan 14. Scores from Pod D were Wapsie Valley 24, Maquoketa Valley 14 and Lynnville-Sully 51, BGM 26. The winners of the round of 8 on Friday will advance to play in the state semifinals next week at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
The senior class for Mount Ayr will depart with 25 high school wins in their time with three winning seasons and four playoff appearances. The Raiders had wins over Shenandoah, Central Decatur, AHSTW, Nodaway Valley, SW Valley and Council Bluffs St. Albert in the Class A Playoffs for their six wins. Seniors graduating for Mount Ayr will be Jackson Ruggles, Zech Ranker, Evan Weehler, Nathan Mederos, Tate Dugan, Tanner Streit, Rowan Sackett and Bracken Collier. The Raiders will have a senior class in 2026 of seniors-to-be Adler Reed, Dyson Thompson, Calvin Main, Tytan Gourley, Trace Knapp, Drew Graham, Tate Larson and Logan Worthington.
“It’s bittersweet,” Victor said. “It’s great to see them (seniors) mature, but it’s sad to see them go. They have played a lot of snaps and made many plays as Raiders. They have left a legacy though.”
AC/GC 21, Mount Ayr 7
Friday, October 31
At Guthrie Center
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 0 0 0 7 7
ACGC 7 7 7 0 21
Team Statistics:
MA ACGC
First Downs 9 13
Rushes-yards 43-231 42-298
Rush ave. 5.3 7.0
Pass C-A-I 1-5-1 1-1-0
Pass yards 1 16
Total Offense 232 314
Punts-Ave. 4-28.0 2-25.0
Return Yards 70 75
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-3
Penalties-Yards 3-25 5-30
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (0:13) – AC/GC – Ryder Cline 48-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
2nd Qtr (4:16) – AC/GC – Ryder Cline 1-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
3rd Qtr (1:30) – AC/GC – Joe Crawford 12-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
4th Qtr (4:22) – MA – Dyson Thompson 83-yard run (Drew Graham kick)
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: MA – Dyson Thompson 14-133, Jackson Ruggles 14-75, Adler Reed 12-30, Tate Dugan 3-7. AC/GC – Brexton Schneider 22-130, Ryder Cline 9-70, Joe Crawford 8-107, Thomas Skram 2-9, Oliver Wetzel 1-(-18).
Passing: MA – Jackson Ruggles 1-for-5 1 yard 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s. AC/GC – Thomas Skram 1-for-1 16 yards 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.
Receiving: MA – Adler Reed 1-1. AC/GC – Brexton Schneider 1-16.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Mount Ayr – Tate Dugan 5-3 8, Jackson Ruggles 3-4 7, Adler Reed 3-3 6, Rowan Sackett 2-4 6, Bracken Collier 3-2 5, Drayden Thompson 2-1 3, Dyson Thompson 1-2 3, Isac Dugan 2-1 3, Trace Knapp 2-1 3, Tate Larson 0-3 3, Drew Graham 1-0 1, Logan Worthington 1-0 1.
AC/GC – Xander Harwood 5-5.5 10.5, Brexton Schneider 4-0.5 4.5, Carter Richter 2-2.5 4.5, Jack Sheeder 2-2 4, Ryder Cline 2-1 3, Thomas Skram 2-1 3, Brennan Tunink 2-1 3, Angel Martinez 1-1 2, Morgun Nolte 1-1 2, Joe Crawford 0-2 2, Kinnick Froehlich 0-2 2, Charlie Christensen 0-2 2, Oliver Wetzel 1-0 1, Ty Ganzer 0-0.5 0.5, Lane Stringer 0-0.5 0.5.
Sacks: MA – none. AC/GC – Morgun Nolte 0.5, Carter Richter 0.5.
Tackles For Loss: MA – Rowan Sackett 2.5, Isac Dugan 1, Bracken Collier 0.5. AC/GC – Carter Richter 2.5, Xander Harwood 2, Angel Martinez 1.5, Jack Sheeder 1, Morgun Nolte 0.5, Brexton Schneider 0.5, Brennan Tunink 0.5.
Interceptions: MA – none. AC/GC – none.
Fumble Recoveries: MA – Jackson Ruggles 1, Trace Knapp 1, Rowan Sackett 1. AC/GC – Jack Sheeder 1-15 yards, Ryder Cline 1-1 yard.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Off’s: MA – Drew Graham 2-41 yards, 20.5-yard ave. AC/GC – Oliver Wetzel 4-195 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: MA – Drayden Thompson 2-34, Adler Reed 1-36. AC/GC – Joe Crawford 1-14.
Punts: MA – Tate Dugan 4-111 yards, 27.8-yard ave. AC/GC – Oliver Wetzel 1-35 yards, 25.0-yard ave.
Punt Returns: MA – N/A. AC/GC – Joe Crawford 2-38 yards.
PAT’s: MA – Drew Graham 1-for-1. AC/GC – Oliver Wetzel 3-for-3.
