Friday area football roundup: Panthers fall to Glenwood, 'Back Forty Battle' goes to Lenox

Creston/O-M football lost a heart-breaker to Glenwood Friday night 21-14, with the game shifting in the final minutes on a blocked punt, leading to a scoop and score.

With 1:34 left in the game, after a holding call pinned Creston/O-M deep in its own half of the field, the Panthers were set against a 4th and 16.

Electing to punt, the Panthers' Derek Paup had his punt blocked inside the 10-yard line by Glenwood's Sully Woods. Woods broke through Creston's middle three blockers to put his hands on the ball.

The blocked punt allowed for the Rams to pick up the ball on the far-side of the field and run it in for a touchdown due to the Panthers being backed up near the goal line.

The score broke what was a tie ballgame since 8:35 in the fourth quarter, when the Rams scored on a 43-yard touchdown reception by Ryan Blum.

It was Blum's second receiving touchdown, with the first being a 65-yard catch in the second quarter. The score at the time tied the game at 7-7, matching a 23-yard receiving score from Creston/O-M's Colby Burg in the first quarter.

"The entire game, we played well," said Creston/O-M head coach Brian Morrison. "We played hard. (Blum) is a god player, a good athlete, he made a few plays that decided the game. Our kids played hard and I thought we improved at all facets. Very proud of how the kids played."

The Panthers had a desperation down of trying to connect on passes with three timeouts and a minute of game clock left. The Panthers were unable to get to the first down marker, and turned the ball over to close out the game.

With a well-calculated rushing attack established in the first half, the Rams adjusted and held strong against Creston/O-M's three-man stable of running backs. After Briley Hayes' 1-yard rushing score in the second quarter to give Creston a 14-7 lead, the Panthers didn't get another clear shot to score in the redzone with their legs.

"That's what we work on in practice," said Morrison on moving the chains with the run. "We had a great week of practice and I think it showed against a quality defense."

Glenwood, a team that is ranked by some polls (receiving votes in Associated Press, ranked No. 10 in Des Moines Register), bent but did not break against Creston/O-M. The Panthers' ability to retain the ball and chew the clock in the first half limited the Rams' chances of making a strong drive.

The Rams went three-and-out to start the game on back to back drives, allowing for Creston to eat away much of the time before halftime.

"[We] should have won it. I know the kids are disappointed, but that's a game we should have won," said Morrison. "A couple of plays here and there, going in our favor, it'd be a different story. That's football, and our kids definitely responded from last week and improved as a football team."

Creston falls to 1-3 on the season. Glenwood improves to 3-1.

The Panthers get Denison-Schleswig (0-4) next Friday night, in Dension, at 7 p.m.

Editor's note: This is a live article, and will be updated when official stats are available.

Area scores

Lenox 46, Bedford 6

LENOX – Lenox (4-0) continued to dominate the "Back Forty Battle" Friday night, knocking off rival Bedford (0-4) in a 46-6 blowout.

The Tigers didn't waste any time getting out in front. A heavy dose of rushes and long pass from Cullen Wood to Brad Larson after taking the opening kickoff was capped off with a touchdown run by Isaac Grundman, giving Lenox a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game.

Bedford went three-and-out on its first possession, but on the punt, a big hit forced a fumble. The Bulldogs recovered and scored on a 4th-and-4. A near 30-yard pass to Silas Waldron gave Bedford its only points of the game at 6:37 in the first quarter.

Continuing the run-heavy offense, Lenox capitalized with a play-action pass after a penalty on second down to push the score to 14-6 with a successful two-point conversion.

The defense made its mark in the first quarter, stopping a Bedford drive in the Tigers' territory. On the ensuing drive, Lenox drove the length of the field. Wood scored on a quarterback keeper to extend the lead to 20-6 three seconds into the second quarter.

The defense continued to make adjustments, stopping Bedford when the Bulldogs were able to move the ball down the field. Bedford quarterback Tristen Cummings' scrambles were the main source offense, along with quick screen passes, but Lenox was able to snuff the two out in the second half.

Wood scored again before the half, picking up a low snap and following blockers to the outside into the end zone. Lenox led 28-6 at the half.

Wood rushed for two more touchdowns in the second half as the offense methodically moved its way down the field. He also connected with Keegan Christensen for a touchdown pass.

Streaking down the middle of the field, Christensen made the catch, breaking a pair of tackles and found his way into the end zone to give Lenox its 46-6 final score and start the clock rolling with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

Lamoni 32, Murray 30

Greene County 22, Nodaway Valley 19

Mount Ayr 57, Colfax-Mingo 8

St. Albert 31, Southwest Valley 7

East Union vs. Fremont-Mils (cancelled due to COVID-19)