April 19, 2024

Friday football update: Wolverines shut out Earlham, Mount Ayr closes out Roadrunners

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Payton Weehler gets around the outside, past an Interstate 35 corner for a touchdown Friday night. Mount Ayr won 20-16 over I-35, and will advance to the next round of the postseason next week.

Wolverines impose will for win

EARLHAM – Nodaway Valley won its second school playoff victory 26-0 Friday, imposing its will on Earlham defensively and capitalizing on turnovers offensively.

A fumble from the first play of scrimmage spelled the beginning of the end for Earlham. The Cardinals finished the game with eight fumbles and one interception. Nodaway Valley recovered four of the eight fumbles.

The Wolverines had the ball inside the red zone twice, going for a fake field goal on the second attempt before Tony Ayase pounded the ball into the end zone to give Nodaway Valley a 6-0 lead in the second quarter.

Nodaway Valley recovered a fumble near the 40-yard line before moving the ball down the field. On fourth-and-1, Earlham was penalized with an encroachment call to give the Wolverines a fresh set of downs. They capitalized, scoring again from Ayase and converting the two-point conversion on another Ayase rush to go up 14-0 with 4:05 left in the second quarter.

At halftime, Nodaway Valley's defense gave up 19 yards of total offense, 18 from passing. Entering Friday, Earlham had passed for 188 yards on 23 attempts and rushed for 1,759 on 322 attempts.

The second half started with Nodaway Valley taking 6:24 off the clock on a 10-play drive, ending with a Caelen DeVault touchdown off a misdirection.

With 3:34 in the fourth quarter, Adam Ayase scored after Nodaway Valley recovered Earlham's eighth fumble of the game to seal the win and advance to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history.

Raiders take down Roadrunners

Mount Ayr beat Interstate 35 in a 20-14 game, solidifying a spot for the Raiders in the next round of the postseason.

A cold, windy night in Mount Ayr saw the Raiders go three-and-out to start the game, but soon got the ball back and scored.

A 34-yard score from Payton Weehler, on the ground, made it a 7-0 game with 8:58 left in the first quarter.

The score remained that until a screen pass to I-35's Logan Cassady went for a 44-yard score. But, a block in the back pulled back the score, and led to an I-35 touchdown.

The called back score led to Mount Ayr capitalizing on the second chance opportunity, scoring on an Adler Shay catch from about 20 yards out. His score, with a good extra point, made it 14-0 with 2:43 left in the half.

Interstate 35 flexed its second-best in Class A rushing attack all night, proving a problem for the Raiders. The first score for I-35 came at 58.3 left in the half, and came off the legs of leading rusher Logan Cassady to make it 14-7.

A chance to score with under a minute left in the half was possible for the Raiders, but a sack and a stuffed run snuffed out the chance to extend the lead before halftime.

Again, I-35 showcased its running capabilities in the second half, getting the ball on its own 38 and running its way into the endzone on a Cassady 2-yard touchdown.

The drive leading to the score took close to 9 minutes off the clock as Mount Ayr got the ball for the first time of the half at 2:45 in the third quarter.

On the first play of their second half drive, the Raiders fumbled an option run, and the Roadrunners recovered. But, instead of capitalizing on the play, three plays later, the Raiders got the ball back on a Trae Ehlen interception that was brought to the Roadrunners' 38 yard line.

The interception led to a three-and-out, and the Roadrunners traded a punt with MA again. Getting the ball back, MA was the on the benefiting end of a personal foul and a facemask penalty, which pushed the Raiders into the redzone.

Three straight runs from Dawson Swank took MA inside the 10, where Weehler punched the ball in from 2 yards out. However, a fumbled snap on the extra point gave I-35 a chance to win the game with 3:32 left on the clock.

Sacks, tackled for a loss, and a flag on a would-be first down play kept Interstate 35 from getting the ball past its own 40-yard line, and with a big tackle for a loss on fourth down, the Raiders got the ball back and put the game on ice for the win.

Editor's note: Stats and yardage are unofficial. This article will be updated as more information is processed.

NOTE: Pairings for next week will be announced tomorrow (Saturday) at noon.