A Homecoming Win For The Rams
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By Sara Smith
The Rams played their homecoming game at Queen City on September 27, 2024, versus the visiting Knox County Eagles. These opponents have met six times in 8-man football format, with the Rams winning the last four, one of which was during postseason play last year.
The Rams came into the game at .500, 2-2, fresh off a 60-26 victory at Keytesville, while the Eagles were still struggling to find their first win. The Eagles narrowly lost in Concordia during the first week to St. Paul Lutheran 30-37. In week two they fell to Plattsburg 32-68. The following week they lost to #4 Bishop LeBlond 28-52. Then in week four, they had a bye. So the Eagles would be coming in fresh, but not injury-free, they would be playing without junior Grayson Miller.
The injury report for the Rams was also pretty short, sophomore Casey Starrett, still looks to be out for a while with a knee injury. Senior Isaiah Arnold returned to the lineup after going out during the Plattsburg game in week three and then missing the Keytesville game in week four. However, he did not play in the first half.
The Rams have proven to be a physical, rushing team this season. Win or lose, both teams come away feeling the result of the game. This game would prove to be no different, as both teams scored season-high totals.
For the Rams, last week’s season-high victory over the Thunder, 60-26, was bested by two points. The Eagles scored 12 more than their season-high, in the week two loss at Plattsburg, 32-68.
The final score of the game was 62-44 in favor of the hometown Rams. Here is how it broke down.
The Rams won the toss and took the ball first. 8-man football can be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, sometimes, getting on the board first can make all the difference.
The Rams took possession at their own 17-yard line, two plays later Elliott Sevits set the tone for the night when he rambled off a 50-yard touchdown run. He was almost caught by the Eagles’ Cooper Clair, but he managed to get just enough of a boost at the end to make it across the goal line. The 2-point conversion was good, and the Rams took an early 8-0 lead. This 3-play drive took less than two minutes.
The Eagles, on the other hand, took their time on the ensuing drive, which lasted for 13 plays and over 6 minutes. The Rams had two offsides penalties during the drive to help the Eagles sustain the drive, the end result was a touchdown and 2-point conversion tying the game 8 all with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
Colin Oliver returned the kickoff for a touchdown, unfortunately, the touchdown was no good due to a holding penalty by the Rams. Despite that setback, the Rams had another quick response, this time on the second play of the drive Sevits broke some tackles and had a 54-yard touchdown run, his longest run of the night. The successful 2-point conversion put the Rams up by eight again, 16-8, and it took them less than a minute to do so.
The Eagles needed to respond, but their drive was halted on the second play of their answering drive when Brody Weaver put his tip-ball-drill training to work and intercepted a ball off the hands of an Eagles’ receiver. This turnover ended up being one of the turning points of the game.
The Rams needed to take advantage of the turnover, which wo uld give them a bit of a cushion and gain them a two-score lead. In another quick strike, the Rams did exactly that. The Eagles were looking to take away the inside rush so they were stacking seven players in the box. However, Sevits is not afraid of a little contact. On the third play of the drive Sevits broke through some tackles for a 20-yard touchdown, the conversion was no good, but the Rams were now up 22-8 with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles started the next drive from their own 30 yard-line, in five plays they scored an answering touchdown by Clair, the conversion was good and they inched closer, 22-16 with 10:02 left in the half.
At this point the Eagles changed their kickoff strategy, possibly to prevent Oliver from being able to return another kick. The Eagles started doing a short kick, into no-man’s land. Not short enough to be an onside, but not long enough for a genuine return. On this drive the Rams took their time, they used Sevits more as a decoy and as a lead blocker to get quarterback Brody Weaver and wingback Mason Windy, some rushes on this 10-play drive that would eat nearly five minutes off the clock. Twice during this drive the Eagles forced the Rams into fourth down conversions, both times the Rams made the play they needed to make. The first of these opportunities came on the 6th play of the drive, at fourth and four, Windy was hit behind the line of scrimmage but was still able to power his way through for a five-yard gain and a first down from sheer power and determination. On the tenth play of the drive, at fourth and one from the Eagles 27-yard line, Weaver pitched the ball to Sevits from the shotgun formation for a 27-yard touchdown run. The conversion added another two points and the Rams regained a 2-possession lead at 30-16 with 5:16 left in the half.
The Eagles, once again, answered with a scoring drive of their own dependent upon Clair and Carrsen Hayes to keep their drive alive. Their 7-play drive resulted in a touchdown. The 2-pont conversion was unsuccessful but entertaining, on a roll-out pass by Hayes, Gus Williams tipped the ball, Hayes ended up catching his own pass, but with nowhere to go he tried passing again. The penalty for an illegal forward pass would leave the score at 30-22, with only 1:22 remaining.
Down by just one score, the Eagles were in a decent position because they would get the ball to start the second half. However, there was a catch, they had to keep the Rams from scoring in the remaining 1:22 of the half.
The Rams would start the drive on their own 27-yard line. A pitch to Sevits and a pass in the flat to Sevits would gain the Rams 12 yards and a first down. From there Weaver’s QB keeper to the outside netted the Rams another 17 yards. They were now on the Eagles’ 23, just outside the red zone. To cap off the drive Weaver threw an absolute dime to Sevits for a touchdown. The drive took 28 seconds and put the Rams back on top by two scores, 38-22.
The Eagles were not able to answer in the remaining 54 seconds. Both teams were likely to hear from their coaches about costly penalties during the intermission.
After the halftime field show and the coronation ceremony, the Eagles were ready to receive the ball and return to within one score. In a 7-play drive that took about four minutes off the clock, the Eagles scored another touchdown off of Clair’s legs. However, the conversion attempt was no good, as Clair cut back on the field and slipped due to wet grass on the field. This would end up being a bit of an issue for both teams in the second half as night fell and dew formed. Be that as it may, the score was now 38-28. With a 10-point deficit, it was still a two-score lead for the Rams.
After the low, line-drive kickoff by the Eagles, the Rams would take over on their own 20. Sevits highlighted the action with four rushes during the 6-play drive. Windy put together an impressive stiff-arm run during the drive as well. Weaver finished off the drive with a quarterback keeper up the middle. The blocking was so good he was untouched. Sevits put together a tremendous effort on the 2-point and stretched for the conversion making the score 46-28 with 5:15 left in the third.
On the ensuing kickoff, Clair weaved his way through the center of the field, reading the blocks perfectly. He went untouched on his kickoff return for a touchdown. With the swinging gate 2-point conversion, the point differential was back to 10, 46-36, with 5:02 still to play in the third.
The Rams would start to burn the clock to finish the third quarter. Their answering 10-play drive took them into the fourth quarter and resulted in another touchdown for the Rams, once again on a quarterback keeper up the middle, Weaver scored, untouched, from the 1-yard line. Windy made good on the 2-point conversion and the Rams would go up 54-36 with 11:22 remaining in the fourth. After the 2-point conversion, The Eagles’ junior lineman, Alious Hunolt, was penalized for a personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct, for taking a swing at a Rams player. Hunolt was ejected from the game.
Despite that setback, the Eagles continued to give it their all. This time it was the Rams that changed their kickoff tactic in the form of an onside kick from the versatile, Caden Veatch, who also plays center. The Eagles recovered after a big Schuyler bounce on their own 25. The drive was pretty sloppy on both sides with penalties moving the ball back and forth. However, on the fourth snap of the drive, Clair rolled out for a pass to Creighton Karhoff. Unfortunately for them, Oliver read the route and intercepted the pass.
With the turnover, the Rams were back in control with 10:00 left to play. Even the local Amish were interested in the goings on, as they watched from their buggy on the side of the road. The ensuing drive resulted in the Rams’ first punt of the night as a Rams holding penalty put them in fourth and long, however, it did run nearly three minutes off the clock, 7:08 remaining.
The Eagles got right back at it but were unable to answer quickly. They scored on a handoff to Hayes from the Rams’ 6-yard line on the eighth play of the drive. With the additional 2-points from the conversion, they got back to within 10, 54-44, with 4:17 left in the game.
To run off some time and add a little insurance to the scoreboard, the Rams scored after a 42-yard drive that lasted for only four plays, but took almost two minutes. The touchdown came on a run up the middle from Sevits followed by a 2-point conversion by Windy. This action would bring the game to the final score of the night, 62-44.
With 2:38 on the clock, and the ball on their own 30, the Eagles tried to answer, there was no quit in their game. But a couple of penalties stalled out their drive, the Ram defense kept their gains short, and the game came to an end.
Both sides had costly penalties. The Rams had eight penalties for 65 yards, and the Eagles had nine penalties for 75 yards. However, both of these teams put together an incredible amount of offense. The Eagles had 254 yards of total offense, 84 passing yards, and 170 rushing yards. However, they also had two turnovers, one would be a turning point in the first half that swung the tide firmly in Schuyler’s favor, and the other one would be a time killer in the second half when they especially did not have time to spare. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Terry Ogden had an incredible 22 tackles. He kept his eye on Sevits all night long and seemed to be about the only one able to take him down.
For the Rams, Sevits with still managed a career-high 289 yards on 25 carries. This astounding effort resulted in five rushing touchdowns. He also had 29 receiving yards and another receiving touchdown. His total for the night was a jaw-dropping 318 total yards with six touchdowns to his credit. In the first half, Sevits played like a man on fire, but in the second half, he was more patient, hesitating at the line and waiting for blocks to develop in front of him. His rushing total is evidence of his versatility as a runner, and as a senior playing in the last homecoming game of his high school football career, he left it all out on the field.
Weaver had 10 carries for 85 yards and two rushing touchdowns, he completed ¾ of his passing attempts for 29 yards and a touchdown. Windy also had 8 carries for 25 yards, plus two 2-point conversions, which were crucial in the point differential.
On defense, Sevits led the team in tackles with 20, followed by Williams with 17. Senior Ace Akers had nine tackles in addition to his block effort on the offensive line which is not represented in personal stats but in stats for others. Despite playing for just the second half of the game, senior Isaiah Arnold still managed to rack up seven tackles, his brother, Isaac matched that number with seven tackles himself, one for a loss. Brody Bragg had six tackles and an interception. Colin Oliver had five tackles and was responsible for the fourth-quarter interception. Brody Weaver had four tackles and an interception in the first quarter.
After the game Weaver was interviewed by Kevin Wheeler from KMEM, he was asked about his passing and rushing touchdowns. He humbly replied, “I had a really great line which helped creat a lot of opportunities, and you know Elliott (Sevits) being the athlete that he is, he’s an amazing kid, and I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Coach Ockenfels also noted the positives of the game along with the penalty issues. Overall, he felt like the team prepared well despite the distractions that came along with homecoming week. He also gave a tip of the hat to Knox County as a worthy opponent saying, “We knew that Kox was coached really well, we knew they were going to take away part of our run game, and they took away our inside run really well. We adjusted and stuck to the outside runs and some traps inside. We just stuck with what went well and we kept going, and we scored a lot of points. I’m really proud of these guys.”
Next week, on October 4th, the 3-2 Rams will face the 0-5 Southwest (Livingston Co.) Wildcats in game two of their three-week homestand.
