The high school football season for the Greene County Rams began on Saturday night vs. ACGC at Ogden High School due to sod issues at Linduska Field in Jefferson. The neutral site contest saw the Rams win by a 20-14 final in a game that saw both teams hold leads and the Rams stopping the Chargers on fourth and two inside the 10 yard line to preserve the victory with 18 seconds left in the contest.

The scoring began after the Rams had a 27 yard field goal blocked in the first quarter and the Chargers followed with an 80 yard, 16 play drive, all on the ground. The extra point was missed. The Rams answered with a 10 play, 64 yard drive resulting in a 29 yard touchdown pass from Gabe Ebersole to Jesse Miller. Nathan Behne’s extra point gave the Rams a 7-6 lead. The Rams had another scoring opportunity, but were stopped inside the ACGC five yard line late in the first half.

Richard Daugherty returned the second half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to expand the lead to 14-6 after Behne’s PAT. ACGC tied the game on a drive of 12 plays and 72 yards with 1:22 left to play in the third quarter. The go ahead score came from quarterback Gabe Ebersole on a run of three yards capping a drive of 11 plays and 66 yards with 7:24 to go. A high snap from center threw off the timing on the PAT, which wobbled wide left and the Greene County lead was six points at 20-14.

ACGC drove the ball in the closing minutes from its 25 yard line to inside the Rams’ 10 on 18 plays, but they came up short on fourth down and Greene County took possession, took a knee one time, and the clock ran out.

Ebersole ran for 76 yards and Patrick Daugherty ran for 75. Ebersole was 4-11-0 for 85 yards and the TD pass to Miller. There were 236 total yards of offense for Greene County and 211 for the Chargers. Michael Rumley recovered a fumbled center snap on the first play of scrimmage on the night and that was the only turnover for either side.

Forecasted rain held off until it lightly sprinkled as the contest was nearing its conclusion. Heavy rain followed as fans exited and drove home.

Next up for Greene County is a trip to Dewey Field in Perry to take on the Blue Jays (0-2) in the renewal of the annual “Battle for the Cowbell.” The game can be heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com this Friday night at 7 o’clock.