March 29, 2024

Raiders ready for showdown at home

Mount Ayr hosts Underwood for a chance at the dome

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The days of 20-point wins seemingly have come to a close for Class 1A No. 9 Mount Ayr, as the Raiders head into a showdown with Class 1A No. 7 Underwood Friday in the Round of 16.

Mount Ayr took an early exit out of the playoffs last season, falling to 56-22 to South Central Calhoun in the first round of postseason play. The Titans eventually fell to Van Meter 10-6 in the quarterfinals. Underwood also lost in the first round of the playoffs. West Sioux routed the Eagles 42-7, giving Underwood a chip on its shoulder throughout the 2020 season.

A win Friday will put Mount Ayr or Underwood against the winner of Pella Christian (6-3) – who Mount Ayr beat 28-7 Sept. 25 – and Van Meter (8-0).

At home, Mount Ayr is 11-2 since 2018 – the 2020 seniors’ sophomore campaign – outscoring opponents 380-184. This season, Mount Ayr is 4-0 at home, beating opponents by an average of 26 points per game.

With a chance to advance to the UNI dome, Mount Ayr and Underwood square off in Mount Ayr at 7 p.m. Friday.

Season breakdown

Both teams enter Friday’s contest with one loss on the season. Underwood (8-1) fell to Class 1A No. 1 OABCIG (8-0) 49-22, and Mount Ayr (7-1) lost to Pleasantville (5-3) 13-7. OABCIG is facing Western Christian Friday, while Pleasantville’s season came to a close Friday, Oct. 23 in a 56-38 loss to ACGC.

Mount Ayr will bring its ground-and-pound, physical play against an Underwood defense that has only allowed more than one touchdown in a game once this season.

The Eagles’ opponents are averaging nine points per game. A rushy-heavy Raider attack will have its hands full moving the ball on the ground. Underwood has allowed 755 rush yards all season – 347 came in the loss to OABCIG – 408 yards rushing in wins.

Time of possession and wearing down opponents is a key facet Mount Ayr has lived by all season. Wearing down opponents with long drives, using a bevy of running backs and utilizing athletic quarterback Jaixen Frost are a staple of what head coach Derek Lambert has the Raider offense run.

Mount Ayr enters Friday boasting 1,825 yards on the ground this season, averaging 228 per game. The Raiders have three running backs above 250 yards – Jaydon Knight (256 yards), Dawson Swank (279 yards) and Adler Shay (282). Frost has rushed for 301 yards, and Payton Weehler leads the backfield with 496 rushing yards.

This week, time of possession will be more important than ever against Underwood’s explosive offense.

Underwood’s offense averages 43 points per game, staying balanced using the run and pass game efficiently.

The Eagles have passed for 1,628 yards on the season with sophomore quarterback Alex Ravlin completing 52.2% of his 203 pass attempts. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns on the season, while fellow sophomore Maddox Anderson has thrown for 98 yards and three touchdowns.

Brayden Wollan is the leading receiver for the Eagles, catching 33 passes for 630 yards and eight touchdowns. Blake Hall and Quinn Kuck have been reliable targets, catching a combined 49 passes for 316 and 263 yards, respectively.

Underwood, like Mount Ayr, doesn’t rely on a three-down running back. The Eagles have three reliable backs who contribute.

Joey Anderson leads the way for the Eagles. He has 99 rushes for 648 yards and nine touchdowns. Underwood also has two backs over 400 yards. Hayden Goehring has racked up 445 and 11 touchdowns. Alex Ravlin is the next leading rusher for the Eagles, running for 430 yards and six touchdowns.

Scott Pearson (40 1/2) and Tyler Johns (40) lead the way for the defense in tackles. The duo has combined for 12 tackles for loss. Finding a way to blocks the duo is going to be a key to get Mount Ayr’s rushing game going.

Stopping Underwood is going to be a tall task for the Raiders, like it has been for all nine Eagle opponents this season, but if Mount Ayr can control the clock, keeping Underwood and Ravlin off the field, the Raiders have a chance.

Short-yard situations on third down that take time off the clock and make things easier for Frost are going to be key. Look for Weehler to potentially take a few snaps at quarterback after running the system until this season. A new look could be the difference in confusing the defense for a big play.