Raiders earn home playoff game after win over SWV
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Mount Ayr 33, SWV 14
It was a colder night Friday as we hit the second week in October, but the Raiders were hot on the field, defeating the Southwest Valley Timberwolves 33-14, after battling through some first half adversity.
The Timberwolves struck first, despite the Raiders winning the coin-toss and electing to receive.
On the return, the Raider return-man was hit and fumbled, putting the Timberwolves in great position to score.
Southwest Valley found their guy in the endzone for a six-yard touchdown completion, the only completion for Southwest Valley’s Evan Timmerman, on the night.
The point after was blocked by Matt Larson and Southwest Valley wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter, despite the Raiders coughing up the ball three times in the first half.
“We’ve got to make sure we finish though, and credit to Mount Ayr. We had a lot of opportunities and we have to shore those up,” said Southwest Valley head coach Anthony Donahoo. “We have to make sure we have a great week of practice and focus on things we can get better on.”
The Raiders answered right back on the first score, however, with Braydon Pierson taking the ensuing kick 77-yards to the house, with Jaydon Knight kicking the go-ahead point after.
After a goal-line stand at the five-yard line, the Raiders had their first offensive opportunity that had a “had to see it to believe it” play that saw Jaixen Frost call his own number.
During the run, Frost was hit low, a hit that flipped him through the air, but he managed to stick the landing and continue running, for a gain of 18-yards.
The drive would faulter, however, with a fumbled snap at the Southwest Valley 34.
Southwest Valley wasn’t without their mistakes, giving up a fumble early, that saw Tate Dugan score on a 43-yard scoop and score, one minute into the second quarter that, after the PAT by Knight, saw the Raiders ahead 14-6.
Heading into the second half, the Raider offense had yet to find the endzone, scoring on special teams and defense in the first half of the contest.
It took the first 10 minutes and defensive stands by both teams, but the Raider offense found paydirt on a 50 yard drive that finished in a two-yard touchdown run by Pierson.
Pierson led the runningbacks throughout the night, carrying the ball 20 times for 85 yards and the touchdown.
Pierson scored on all facets of the game, once on a kick-return, one rushing touchdown and one interception returned for a touchdown.
Pierson also caught one pass for 11-yards.
Pierson showed a lot of maturity, throughout the night, owning two fumbles, but credits the team with keeping his head up.
“I’m feeling great, but I had a lot of adversity early in the game but you have to stay with your brothers and can’t let that stuff beat you,” said Pierson. “I’ve got family around me that are supporting me and they are by my side every second.”
The Raiders would score on a Jaydon Knight 19-yd rush in the fourth quarter, followed by a Pierson 61-yard interception returned for six.
Knight carried the ball eight times for 65 yards and a score, while also catching five passes for 54-yards.
Knight was also a force on defense with nine tackles, two of which were for-a-loss.
“We have a saying out there, be a stonewall,” said Knight. “That’s what we live by and I feel great. We are playing our best football yet.”
Mount Ayr head coach Ryan Victor shared the same sentiment that the defense stepped up.
“Our defense is hungry and that’s one thing that they want to prove that we are one of the top defenses in the state,” said coach Victor. “We knew Southwest Valley was going to battle us in a phone booth and that’s what we got. It shows we can play with tough teams. We had some tough goings, especially against Avoca and we continue to learn. We went from not talking to talking about everything in our meetings with the seniors. We feel we give them tools to be successful, not just here, but outside of football.”
The Raider defense forced five punts, while allowing 161 yards of total offense.
Through the air, Southwest Valley was one-for-12 for 28 yards with two interceptions and on the ground they rushed for 133 yards on 40 carries, while losing one fumble.
Coming into the season, eight weeks ago, Mount Ayr was looked at as being a bottom team in Class A District 7, which the players and coaches have all taken personally, with Jaydon Knight stating anyone can “bet on us”.
Coach Victor see’s the team as an entirely different team since week one.
“We are a completely different team. We have gotten a lot tougher up front and we have come together as a family,” said Victor. “Every team from here on out is a tough playoff team and we can control us and how we handle things and if we can do that we can give people fits in this playoff run. We are excited.”
The Raider victory, earned Mount Ayr the right to host the first round of playoffs this Friday against the Ogden Bulldogs.
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
SWV 6 0 0 8 14
MA 7 7 7 12 33
Scoring
1st Quarter
6:41 – SWV – Timmerman to Knapp 6-yd pass. PAT Blocked.
6:23 – MA – Pierson 77-yd kick return. PAT Good.
2nd Quarter
11:02 – MA – T.Dugan fumble recovery. PAT Good.
3rd Quarter
2:02 – MA – Pierson 2-yd rush. PAT Good.
4th Quarter
9:00 – MA – Knight 19-yd rush. PAT no good.
7:52 – MA – Pierson 61-yd interception. PAT no good.
0:39 – SWV – Grantz 1-yd rush. 2pt Good.
Team Statistics
1st Downs MA SWV
Total 16 7
Rushing 13 6
Passing 3 0
Penalty 0 1
Rushing
Attempts 38 40
Gained 243 141
Lost 21 8
Net 222 133
Passing
Completions 7 1
Attempts 13 12
Percentage 54 8
Intercepted 1 2
Net 77 28
Total Offense 299 161
Punts 0 5
Average 0 33.6
Return Yards
Punt Return 12 0
Kickoff 80 106
Int. Returns 84 22
Fumble Ret. 43 0
Fumbles 4 1
Fumbles lost 4 1
Penalties 8 2
Yards lost 66 30
Individual Statistics
Passing
Comp Att Yds
Frost 7 12 77
Knight 0 1 0
Receiving
Rec Yds Avg
Ehlen 1 12 12
Pierson 1 11 11
Knight 5 54 10.8
Rushing
Att. Gain Avg
Pierson 20 85 3.9
Frost 8 88 936
K.Dugan 2 5 2.5
Knight 8 65 8.4
Tackles
S A Loss
Ehlen 2 0 0
Pierson 3 2 0
Frost 1 1 0
K.Dugan 2 4 0
Knight 5 2 2
Yoder 1 0 0
Shiflett 4 0 1
Larson 8 3 2
Dredge 0 0 1
Barnes 1 1 0
KNox 1 1 0
Fooken 0 2 0
Ruggles 1 0 0
T.Dugan 0 1 0
Main 1 1 0
Kick-Offs
Kicks Yds
Pierson 6 237
Kick Return
Returns Yds
Pierson 2 77
Dugan 1 3
Fumble
REC Yds
T.Dugan 1 43
Interceptions
NO Yds
Pierson 1 61
Ehlen 1 23
Blocked Kicks
NO Yds
C.Larson 1 0
