Logan-Magnolia chews clock and Raiders in second round

MOUNT AYR - Although the time to change clocks at the end of Daylight Saving Time was still a week away, the Logan-Magnolia Panthers kept the clock, and their offense, moving in a 34-7 win over Mount Ayr Friday in second-round action of the Class A playoffs.

The Panthers finished the game with 345 yards on the ground in a ball-control offense that did not make the clock stop very often.

“We ran into a buzz saw of a team,” said Mount Ayr head coach Ryan Victor. “They are playing some really good football. If you know much about Logan Magnolia’s past, each game they are a little bit better and they are built for this.”

Mount Ayr had few opportunities to make a threat with their offense. The first time was on their first drive of the game. The Raiders were able to move the ball inside the Panthers 20. A third-and-7 play on the 17 had no gain and Mount Ayr decided to go for it on fourth. A pass play in the end zone was broken up.

That gave the ball to Logan-Magnolia with just under seven minutes left in the quarter. The Panthers’ offense took its time and choices of run plays to move the ball downfield. A fourth-and-short run play by Calvin Wallis gave them a first down. Gavin Maguire took off for about 50 yards to get to the Raider 33 with seconds remaining in the quarter.

Then on the first play of the second quarter, Dylan Oviatt scored on a 10-yard run and with the extra point, Logan-Magnolia was up 7-0.

Mount Ayr had trouble responding. On its ensuing possession, which turned into a three-and-out, a punt attempt failed giving the ball back to Logan-Magnolia on the Mount Ayr 34. The ground game again moved the ball for the Panthers when Carter Edney ran it in from 10 yards out at the 8:50 mark. The extra point gave the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

The Raiders offense still could not find rhythm, let alone an opening in the Panthers defense, and was forced to punt on its next possession. Logan-Magnolia started its on its own 42. Nearly seven minutes since its last score, the Panthers’ Maguire pushed it in from 1-yard out to extend the lead to 20-0. The extra-point failed making it a 20-0 game with 1:55 left in the first half. Maguire finished with 28 carries for 201 yards.

“Their offensive line was huge and physical,” Victor said about his defense matching up. The Panthers had an offensive lineman stand 6-5 and another at 6-8. “They bring a lot of leverage and power,” Victor said about the height. “It’s tough to pass protect.”

Mount Ayr quarterback Jaixen Frost finished the game completing eight of 14 passes for 66 yards. Hunter Case, Adler Shay and Jayden Knight each had two receptions. Shay had the most yardage with 29.

Mount Ayr’s offense showed some life before the end of the half. The Raiders were able to get the ball across midfield with less than 2 minutes remaining, thanks to a pass interference penalty, but their own penalties thwarted the possession.

“We had a lot of uncharacteristic penalties,” Victor said. Mount Ayr finished the game with six penalties for 46 yards.

The second half was no different than the first. Logan-Magnolia used the first possession to move the ball down field in more than four minutes ending with a Edney 18-yard scoring run. A two-point conversion made it a 28-0 Panthers game.

Mount Ayr came back with a yard-gaining offense highlighted by Jaixen Frost’s 50-yard run to the Panthers’ 15. But, like its first drive in the first half, the offense stalled and finished with an incomplete pass in the end zone on fourth down. Frost finished the game with 11 carries for 121 yards. As a team, Mount Ayr finished with 212 yards of offense.

Logan-Magnolia again moved the ball on the ground. Barely a minute into the fourth quarter, Brody West took off for 39 yards and a score. The missed extra-point made the score 34-0, avoiding the mercy-rule running clock with a 35-point lead. But the way the Logan-Magnolia offense produced, the clock did not stop often. The Panthers attempted only one pass during the game and it fell incomplete.

The Raiders avoided the shut out late. Frost was able to break free for a 44-yard scoring run, and added the extra point, with 1:41 left.

Mount Ayr finishes its season 7-3, and the first season at Mount Ayr for Victor. A month into the season, the Raiders were 2-2. A second-round playoff game sounded tough to achieve at that time.

“It says how resilient and tough our kids are,” Victor said. “When you don’t reach your goals, people kind of shut it down. We would like to think our guys are mentally tough and they responded. We rattled off five in a row against really good football teams. They responded. They got better each week. That’s all you can ask them to do. It was a great time in a great community.”

Logan-Magnolia (9-1) plays in the quarterfinal round 7 p.m., Friday at Woodbury Central (Moville) which is also 9-1. Woodbury Central defeated Southwest Valley 35-0 Friday in the second round.