Senior Night at Linduska Field in Jefferson was last night and the Greene County Rams lost 26-21 to Southeast Valley (Gowrie) when a late apparent touchdown pass was called back with 43 seconds on the clock by a holding penalty on the far side of the field from where the catch was made. The next play resulted in a pass interception and the Jaguars had the victory and took a step toward a playoff berth from Class 2A District 8. The Rams still have a slight chance to make the playoffs with one game left in the regular season after falling to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the district. SEV is 5-2, 2-2.
The game was heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. Game time temps were around 50 with strong northwest winds. The game went back and forth with SEV scoring the first, third, fifth and seventh touchdowns and the Rams getting the second, fourth, and sixth TDs, and having what would have been a late go-ahead score called back.
Trey Schilling had two long touchdowns, one on a kickoff return of 87 yards and the other on a 66 yard pass play. Jack Hansen caught a TD pass covering 35 yards and Nathan Behne went three for three on extra point kicks for the 21 points. Behne missed a 44 yard field goal try on Greene County’s first possession of the game. Quarterback Gabe Ebersole was 15-26-2 passing for 259 yards and two scores. The Rams totaled just 48 rushing yards for 307 total yards of offense. SEV had 361 total yards with 144 passing and 217 on the ground. Quarterback Cole Vansickle had all the passing yards and 128 of the rushing yards to go with two rushing TDs and one through the air.
The game was the last at home for the Rams this season and the last at home period for the seniors. The loss was the third straight, the first time in Coach Caden Duncan’s five seasons that Greene County has dropped three in a row.
All that’s left on Greene County’s regular season schedule is a trip to Des Moines Christian High School in Urbandale on Oct. 13. The Rams need a win vs. DMC to keep hopes alive of capturing the fourth and final playoff spot from district 8. Kuemper Catholic has the District 8 title clinched and that’s who SEV has left to play. Roland-Story (Story City) has second place in the district all but clinched and they play Saydel (Des Moines), who is winless in the district. If the Rams, Lions, and Jaguars all end at 2-3 in the District, the last two playoff spots would come down to tie-breaking criteria, and one of those three teams would be left out of the post season. The game at DMC can be heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com with coverage at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff at 7 o’clock.