Late turnover costly for Raiders in loss to No. 4 AC/GC

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By Ryan Stonebraker
MOUNT AYR – A costly turnover in the fourth quarter will haunt the Mount Ayr football team after falling by one score, 28-20 to Class A No. 4 AC/GC at home last Friday. The Chargers have won five straight over Mount Ayr including Friday’s game, and in each of the last two postseasons.
Mount Ayr fell to 1-3 overall with the loss while AC/GC remained unbeaten at 4-0 and tied for the district 7 lead with Riverside.
“We have played the fourth toughest schedule in Class A and have played better each week. Our record is not any indication of how we have played,” said Raiders head coach Ryan Victor.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with some turnovers, and that hurt. Our kids handled it well. They are a little sore but in good spirits. We played a good football team and played good football and they handled it well and they are ready to get going next week,” he said.
The Raiders fell to 0-1 in the district and 1-3 overall with the loss. Central Decatur comes to town Friday night. The Cardinals are 2-2 overall and 0-2 in district 7. Central Decatur beat Colfax-Mingo last week 64-12 to improve to 2-0 in non-district games.
Cardinal quarterback Asher Norman leads Class A and all classes statewide through four weeks with 1,264 passing yards. Senior receiver Brody Hamilton leads Class A and all classes statewide in receiving yards with 684 through four weeks. He is 12th statewide in receptions for all classes with 29. He has 29 catches for 7 touchdowns. He has a per catch average of 23.6 yards. Also senior receiver Paxon Applegate is second for CD, and in Class A in receiving yards with 451 through four weeks. He is 8th statewide in receiving yards among all schools. He is also tied for fourth statewide in total receptions with Clayton Williams from North Tama with 33.
Only one team scored in the second half of the game and it was the Chargers. Leading 21-10 after three quarters and for most of the final quarter, the Chargers got a break. Having to punt the football back to Mount Ayr with under five minutes left in the game, and with a potential of Mount Ayr driving for the winning score, the Chargers came up with a big turnover. The Raiders punt returner fumbled the football and the Chargers recovered deep in Raider territory. A few plays later, Angel Martinzen scored the go-ahead touchdown from 1-yard out to give AC/GC an 28-20 lead with 3:10 left in the game. The Raiders could not get the football in the endzoe as the game ended with the Chargers winning.
The Chargers scored twice in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. A 35-yard Joe Crawford run on the Chargers first drive and later a 1-yard Martinez score gave the Chargers their lead. Mount Ayr rallied and put points on the scoreboard before the first quarter ended on a 7-yard run by Jackson Ruggles.
Ruggles ran in the two-point conversion to set the score at 14-8 after one quarter.
Mount Ayr drew closer in the first minute of the second quarter when Ruggles scored his second rushing touchdown, this one from 18 yards out to get the score to 14-12 after a failed two-point try. ACGC scored a late first half touchdown with 3:37 left before halftime on Crawford’s second rushing score to give the Chargers a 21-14 lead. Before halftime the Raiders got a big turnover and score when junior Drew Graham scooped up a Charger fumble and returned it 71-yards for a touchdown. The two-point try was no good, but the Raiders were within one-point, 21-20 at halftime.
Mount Ayr quarterback Jackson Ruggles passed for 72 yards on two completions, both to Adler Reed. Ruggles led Mount Ayr in carries with 12 for 15 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Dyson Thompson led in yards with 35 on eight carries. Defensively, Trace Knapp led with 7 while Backen Collier had 6.5 and Ruggles and Logan Worthington each had 6.
The Raiders defense held the Chargers to there lowest offensive totals of the season. AC/GC rushed for 284 yards and had 285 yards of total offense. AC/GC was led by senior Joe Crawford who rushed 19 times for 164 yards and two scores. Angel Martinez also had 19 carries, but rushed for 55 yards and two scores. Defensively, AC/GC was led by Xander Harwood, Kade Sorensen, and Carter Richter with 5 tackles each.
“We have been talking about preparing for the last weeks with how we have played. We have to get the pass rush going with the front four and that can help with a team that likes to pass. I was happy with how they did a good job with that in past weeks,” said Victor.
“We (Mount Ayr coaches) saw a sense of urgency from them in practice this past week. Opportunities are getting limited as we are halfway through the season. We want to have the best week of practice we have had all year and take it one week, one game at a time,” he said.

AC/GC 28,
Mount Ayr 20
Friday, September 19
At Mount Ayr
1 2 3 4 Final
ACGC 14 7 0 7 28
MA 8 12 0 0 20
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (11:44) – AC/GC – Joe Crawford 35-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
1st Qtr (4:18) – AC/GC – Angel Martinez 1-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
1st Qtr (1:31) – MA – Jackson Ruggles 7-yard run (Jackson Ruggles run)
2nd Qtr (11:29) – MA – Jackson Ruggles 18-yard run (Dyson Thompson run on good)
2nd Qtr (3:37) – ACGC – Joe Crawford 2-yard run (Olivier Wetzel kick)
2nd Qtr (0:19) – MA – Drew Graham 71-yard fumble recovery (Jackson Ruggles pass no good)
4th Qtr (3:10) – AC/GC – Angel Martinez 1-yard run (Oliver Wetzel kick)
Team Statistics:
MA ACGC
First Downs 7 14
Rushes-yards 28-101 59-274
Pass C-A-I 3-3-0 1-2-0
Pass yards 76 1
Total Offense 138 241
Punts-Ave. 4-34.8 3-36.0
Return yards 113 80
Fumbles-Lost 4-4 3-2
Penalties-yards 2-15 5-45
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: ACGC – Joe Crawford 19-164, Angel Martinez 19-55, Brexton Schneider 7-50, Kade Sorensen 4-15. Mount Ayr – Jackson Ruggles 12-15, Dyson Thompson 8-35, Adler Reed 4-2, Tate Dugan 3-8, Drayden Thompson 1-2.
Passing: ACGC – Thomas Skram 1-for-2 1 yard, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s. Mount Ayr – Jackson Ruggles 2-for-2 72 yards 0 TD’s,
Receiving: ACGC – Joe Crawford 1-1. Mount Ayr – Adler Reed 2-72, Jackson Ruggles 1-4.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Xander Harwood 2-3 5, Kade Sorensen 5-0 5, Brexton Schneider 3-1 4, Jack Sheeder 1-1.5 2.5, Brennan Tunink 2-0.5 2.5, Kinnick Forehlich 1-1.5 2.5, Ryder Cline 1-1.5 2.5, Joe Crawford 1-0.5 1.5, Charlie Christensen 1-0.5 1.5, Thomas Skram 1-0.5 1.5, Ty Ganzer 1-0 1, Angel Martinez 0-0.5 0.5.
Mount Ayr – Trace Knapp 4-3 7, Bracken Collier 3-3.5 6.5, Jackson Ruggles 4-2 6, Logan Worthington 2-4 6, Tate Dugan 3-2.5 5.5, Drayden Thompson 4-0.5 4.5, Rowan Sackett 2-1.5 3.5, Drew Graham 2-1 3, Nathan Roemer 1-2 3, Dyson Thompson 2-1 3, Adler Reed 1-0 1, Evan Wheeler 1-0 1, Bryson Martin 0-0.5 0.5.
Tackles For Loss: ACGC – Kade Sorensen 2, Brexton Schneider 1, Carter Richter 0.5, Brennan Tunink 0.5. Mount Ayr – Logan Worthington 2, Rowan Sackett 1, Drew Graham 1, Jackson Ruggles 1.
Fumbles: ACGC – Kade Sorensen 2, Lante Stringer 1, Chase Slaybaugh 1. Mount Ayr – Drew Graham 1, Nathan Mederos 1.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Off Returns: ACGC – Brexton Schneider 1-22, Joe Crawford 1-15. Mount Ayr – Jackson Ruggles 3-66, Trace Knapp 1-22, Dyson Thompson 1-5.
Punt Returns: ACGC – Joe Crawford 2-47. Mount Ayr – Jackson Ruggles 1-20.
Kick-Offs: ACGC – Oliver Wetzel 5-254 yards. Mount Ayr – Drew Graham 3-118 yards, Bryson Martin 1-14 yards.
Punting: ACGC – Angel Martinez 3-111 yards, 37.0-yard ave. Mount Ayr – Tate Dugan 4-139 yards, 34.8-yard ave.
PAT’s: ACGC – Oliver Wetzel 4-for-4.
Two-Point Conversions: Mount Ayr – Jackson Ruggles 1.