Raider season ends, 34-18
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7th ranked Chargers comeback to sideline Raiders
If football games were scored by the total points scored in the first and last quarters, the Mount Ayr Raiders would be moving on in the Class A football playoffs. However, everyone knows that the sum of the total points in all four quarters is used, thus a proverbial Raider lead of 18-7 in those quarters is non-sequential to the final of last
Friday’s first-round playoff game between the Raiders and No. 7 AC/GC.
The Chargers would outscore the Raiders 27-0 combined in the second and third quarters to help aid in a 34-18 victory.
The loss ends Mount Ayr’s season with a 4-5 record. Mount Ayr was making their sixth straight playoff appearance and 21st overall in program history last Friday.
“We gave them short fields off of two fumbles and they took advantage of that,” said Mount Ayr head coach Ryan Victor.
Victor said that only one team gets to hoist the championship trophy each season and that the other teams in Class A, will all face a loss to end their season.
“It’s part of the game and that’s how life goes sometimes. We did a good job of playing hard, but couldn’t get a big play when we needed it. We bring back a lot of guys, but just because you are a year older doesn’t mean you are better. We have a lot of work to do to keep getting better,” he said.
Mount Ayr outgained the Chargers in total offense 319 yards to 307 yards. The Chargers however had more first downs 16 to 10 and all of their yards were on the ground as the Raiders shut down pass opportunities by AC/GC.
Mount Ayr scored the game’s first points when Tyler Martin rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown with 8:46 left in the first quarter. A PAT kick by Martin was no good, but the Raiders led 6-0 lead.
AC/GC would answer right back with a touchdown just over two minutes later on a Jathan South 19-yard run to take a 7-6 lead. Mount Ayr would score their second touchdown of the game and quarter with 1:02 left in the opening quarter on a 77-yard touchdown run by Jackson Ruggles to give the Raiders a 12-7 lead.
The second quarter saw two touchdowns, both from AC/GC and both short-scoring runs.
A 3-yard run by Anthony Solorzano and a 1-yard run by Mike Fuller gave the Chargers 14 more points, their first lead of the game, and a lead at halftime, 21-12.
The Raider defense played well in the third quarter, but they couldn’t keep AC/GC completely out of the endzone as the Chargers scored on back-to-back possessions to extend their lead to 34-12 after three quarters.
The score would stand and the hopes dashed of a Raider comeback in the fourth quarter. Mount Ayr would score a parting shot against the Chargers late in the game when Jackson Ruggles connected with Trevin Victor on a 50-yard touchdown pass to get the score to its final of 34-18.
“We came out and started fast and did what we wanted to do. We couldn’t have had a better first quarter in a way. On defense, we made them earn their first two drives, and that was a goal of ours where if they were going to score we wanted them to earn it,” said Victor.
In the Raider’s regular season loss to AC/GC, the Chargers had many quick scoring drives in a 42-18 win in week 7.
“We did force them to run some formations that they didn’t last time, and that is a tribute to our defense early, however, overall in the game, they did run lot of the stuff they did last time we played. They are a very good football team, and we are too. It just wasn’t our night,” said Victor.
Jackson Ruggles passed for 157 yards on nine completions with a touchdown. It was the third time this season Ruggles topped the 100-yard mark in a game this year.
Ruggles also rushed for a team-high 86 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Tyler Martin also rushed seven times for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Tate Dugan was the top Mount Ayr receiver catching five passes fro 81 yards. Trevin Victor had a 50-yard touchdown catch.
Defensively, Tate Dugan and Tyler Martin led the Raiders in tackles with nine each. Matt Larson added 7.5 tackles. Dalton Barnes recovered a fumble, had 5.5 tackles, and a half of a quarterback sack. The Raider defense did not allow a passing yard in the ball game.
AC/GC rushed for 307 yards on 57 carries and five rushing touchdowns. Two running backs went over 100 yards. Senior Anthony Solorzano led, rushing 20 times for 125 yards and two scores. Jathan South rushed 18 times for 111 yards and two scores. Defensively, AC/GC was led by Solorzano, South, and Tegan Slaybaugh with four tackles each.
Class A No. 7 AC/GC advanced and will host Class A No. 9 Lynnville-Sully. Lynnville-Sully advanced with a 28-6 win over Pekin in the first round. Other scores were Central Decatur 14, Earlham 13, and Madrid 45, IKM-Manning 7.
The Raiders will say goodbye to seniors Preston Fleharty, Keye Willis, Matt Larson, Colton Dredge, Dalton Barnes, Tucker Knox, and Aidan Murphy. The senior class was part of 26 wins over their careers and four playoff runs.
“This program is going to go on. It’s a prideful program. We have to look at the growth and there is only one team that wins a title. We had a ton of growth and we played in a tough district where four of the teams were ranked on our schedule and CD was tough, and top to bottom was solid,” said Victor. “Our guys fought for the playoffs even when the district title was out of the picture and I am proud of them for that,” said Victor.
AC/GC 34, Mount Ayr 18
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 12 0 0 6 18
ACGC 7 14 13 0 34
Team Statistics:
MA ACGC
First Downs 10 16
Rush attempts 22 56
Rush yards 162 307
Pass C-A-I 9-17-0 0-2-0
Pass yards 157 0
Total Offense 319 307
Punts-Ave. 1-6.0 2-42.0
Penalties 5-30 6-45
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (8:46) – MA – Tyler Martin 40-yard run (Tyler Martin kick no good)
1st Qtr (6:01) – ACGC – Jathan South 19-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
1st Qtr (1:02) – MA – Jackson Ruggles 77-yard run (Tyler Martin run no good)
2nd Qtr (7:02) – ACGC – Anthony Solorzano 3-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
2nd Qtr (1:00) – ACGC – Mike Fuller 1-yard run (Olivier Wetzel kick)
3rd Qtr (5:28) – ACGC – Anthony Solorzano 1-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick blocked)
3rd Qtr (1:22) – ACGC – Jathan South 1-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
4th Qtr (0:16) – MA – Trevin Victor 50-yard pass from Jackson Ruggles (Ruggles pass failed)
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: MA – Jackson Ruggles 11-86, Tyler Martin 7-71, Dyson Thompson 4-5. ACGC = Anthony Solorzano 20-125, Jathan South 18-111, Jackson Pfrang 7-38, Nate Chance 6-40, Mike Fuller 6-40.
Passing: MA – Jackson Ruggles 9-for-16 157 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT’s. ACGC – Jathan South 0-for-2 0 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.
Receiving: MA – Tate Dugan 5-81, Dyson Thompson 2-15, Trevin Victor 1-50, Louden Main 1-11. ACGC – none.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles: MA – Tyler Marten 13, Tate Dugan 13, Matt Larson 11, Dyson Thompson 9, Dalton Barnes 7.5, Tucker Larson 4, Colton Dredge 4, Jackson Ruggles 3, Trevin Victor 2, Louden Main 2, Kash Wasteney 2, Rowan Sacket 1.
ACGC – Tegan Slaybaugh 4, Anthony Solorzano 4, Jathan South 4, Ben Franzeen 3.5, Treyton Schneider 2.5, Carter Richter 2, Payton Jacobe 2, Jackson Pfrang 1.5, Taytum Bates 1.5, Oliver Wetzel 1, Joe Crawford 1, Nate Chance 1, Brexton Schneider 1, Charlie Christensen 1, Oliver Wetzel 1.
Tackles For Loss: MA – Matt Larson 1, Dalton Barnes 1. ACGC – Ben Franzeen 2, Carter Richter 1, Treyton Schneider 1, Payton Jacobe 1, Jackson Pfrang 0.5, Anthony Solorzano 0.5.
Fumble Recoveries: MA – Dalton Barnes 1. ACGC – Payton Jacobe 1.
Interceptions: MA – none. ACGC – none.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: MA – Tyler Martin 2-81 yards, Tanner Streit 2-49 yards. ACGC – Oliver Wetzel 5-164 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: MA – Tate Dugan 2-19, Jackson Ruggles 1-27, Rowan Sacket 1-4. ACGC – Nate Chance 2-30, Anthony Solorzano 1-20, Xander Harwood 1-0.
Punts: MA – Tate Dugan 1-6 yards. ACGC – Treyton Schneider 2-84 yards, 42.0-ave.
Punt Returns: MA – none. ACGC – none.
PAT’s: MA – Tyler Martin 0-for-1. ACGC – Oliver Wetzel 4-for-5.
A host of Raider tacklers take the AC/GC runner to the ground in the playoff contest in Guthrie Center Friday evening. The Raiders came out on the short end, 34-18. PHOTO BY DARLA SOBOTKA.
