Raiders Back in black
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Mount Ayr to compete in stacked Class A District 7
By Ryan Stonebraker
MOUNT AYR – The 2025 Mount Ayr football team will play in Class A District 7 this year and next year and many will recognize the teams. In the district are AC/GC, Central Decatur, Riverside, Southwest Valley, Nodaway Valley and AHSTW. AC/GC, AHSTW, Riverside and Mount Ayr were playoff teams last year, or four of the seven teams in the current line-up of district teams.
“We have a mix of teams we have played, teams from our conference in other sports, and teams that we haven’t played or haven’t played in a while,” Mount Ayr football coach Ryan Victor said.
“We are excited to get the season going, we are going to play some really good teams and we think that we are a really good football team. When you play teams like Madrid and ACGC, it’s a good opportunity to see where you’re lacking. We feel we’re going to really build off that 7-3 year and should be able to be a little bit better. What that means is yet to be seen, but we feel like we should be a better football team than we were last year,” said Victor.
Mount Ayr had 17 All-District picks last season after a 7-3 season that saw them return to the playoffs. It was the sixth time in the last seven years that the Raider program had at least seven wins in a season. The Raiders were the runners-up in district 6 with a record of 5-1 in district play. The Raiders advanced to the second round of the Class A playoffs. Mount Ayr won a 58-50 first round playoff game at home against Earlham before falling to state ranked AC/GC in the next round.
Of those 17, seven return in Jackson Ruggles, Dyson Thompson, Tate Dugan, Bracken Collier, Rowan Sackett, Trace Knapp, Drayden Thompson, and Isac Dugan. Ruggles was a first team quarterback pick while Dyson Thompson and Dugan were first team at running back and fullback/tight end. Collier was a first team defensive lineman. Sackett and Knapp were second team picks at linebacker while Drayden Thompson and Isac Dugan were honorable mention defensive back picks.
Ruggles was a dual threat both passing and running the football. Ruggles passed for 975 yards on 55 of 80 completions. He had 10 touchdown passes against 2 interceptions. Rushing, Ruggles was second on the team with 541 yards on 88 carries with a 6.1-yard average with 11 touchdowns. Dugan rushed for 336 yards on 68 carries with 4.9-ave. per rush with 5 touchdowns. Dugan also led the Raiders in rushing with 22 catches for 379 yards and 6 touchdowns. Thompson led the Raiders in rushing with 993 yards on 136 carries with 8 touchdowns and a 7.3-yard per carry average. He also caught nine passes for 223 yards and two scores. Wasteney was on the Raiders offensive line that collected over 3,600 yards of total offense including 2,423 rushing yards with a 6.0-yard average and 32 rushing scores. Collier had 28.5 tackles, a sack and 5.5 tackles for loss.
Sackett had 44 tackles and Knapp had 23.5 tackles. Drayden Thompson had seven carries on offense and 10 tackles on defense and one tackle for loss. Isac Dugan had five tackles on defense and caught one pass for 14 yards.
Gone is a senior class of nine. Seniors making the all-district team a year ago were Kash Wasteney, Trevin Victor, Tyler Martin, Garrett Walter on the first team; Tucker Larson, Ethan Johns and Jaize Frost on the second team; and Louden Main on the honorable mention team. Dylan Graham also garnered all-district honors after suffering an injury last year.
“We lost some guys that were huge contributors for a long time,” Victor said. “But we bring back a good core that understands our philosophy and what we want to do, which is play fast and physically. We’re really confident in the core group we’ve got and excited for some guys to step up.”
Mount Ayr will open the season at home on Friday, August 29 against Shenandoah. The four September games are on the road at Riverside, Pleasantville and Central Decatur. The lone September home game is on the 19th. Homecoming is Friday, October 3 against AHSTW and the Raiders are also at home in week 8 when they host Southwest Valley.
