Returns boost Raiders over Earlham

MOUNT AYR — “Thank goodness we had a good start,” Mount Ayr football coach Ryan Victor said with a noticeable sigh, moments after his team held on for a wild 58-50 playoff victory over Earlham.

Mount Ayr’s explosive special teams came through with three returns for touchdowns — a punt return by Trevin Victor and kick returns by Tate Dugan and Dyson Thompson.

A return of a pass interception by Jackson Ruggles for a 58-yard touchdown provided a 14-point cushion (58-44) with 5:34 to play, which proved valuable as Earlham running back Caleb Smith scored his fourth rushing touchdown with 3:14 left to again make it a one-score margin.

“That (interception) was literally the difference,” Victor said. “It took the air of their sails and filled our sails back up.”

It was the sixth interception of the season for Ruggles, and third returned for a touchdown. Anticipation on the deep out route resulted in Earlham’s second turnover of the game.

“We’d been playing over the top on the deep corner all night because the deep pass was working very well,” said Ruggles, also the Raider quarterback who finished 7-of-8 passing for 76 yards and a TD along with 60 yards rushing for two scores. “I saw the flight out of the corner of my eye and I was able to read it well and pick it off.”

“The great thing about Jackson is that he’s a center fielder in baseball for us,” Victor said. “He just has great ball skills and he’s going to make plays.”

The Earlham rushing offense was looking unstoppable in the second half starting with a quick five-play on the first possession, capped by Smith’s 32-yard jaunt. Smith finished with 306 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries. The Cardinals amassed 516 yards of total offense and 50 points, but it wasn’t enough on this unusual night of big plays.

“Their back (Smith) kind of turned it up in the second half and I think their offensive line turned it up,” Victor said. “I’m assuming they had a pretty good talk at halftime. That’s a team that prides itself on running the ball and that wasn’t the Earlham team we’d seen on tape in the first half. They started pulling a lot of guys and getting guys on our linebackers.”

Strong start

Mount Ayr had bolted to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown drive ending in a 1-yard run by Ruggles and an 80-yard punt return by Trevin Victor. The Raider advantage was 24-7 early in the second quarter after a 7-yard TD run by Tate Dugan.

Earlham, which owns a 21-14 win over District 6 champion Madrid and a 28-21 loss to undefeated ACGC (Mount Ayr’s next opponent), rebounded behind its relentless running attack and closed the gap to 30-28 with 7:33 left in the third quarter.

Ruggles scored on another quarterback drive on Mount Ayr’s next possesion after Thompson broke free on a sweep for 45 yards to the Cardinal 5-yard line.

From there, the game was a series of TD marches on the ground by Earlham, countered by Mount Ayr’s quick-strike return game. In the final period Thompson returned a kickoff 83 yards for a score and Dugan went 58 yards to the end zone on another kickoff, in addition to the interception return by Ruggles. Each team scored 22 points in the final 12 minutes.

Earlham’s kickoff system relies mainly on onside kicks, hoping to disrupt the opposing receiving team and gain extra posessions. The Raider return game made them pay, especially on the deeper kicks.

“We recovered every onside, which gave us good field position, and we returned two longer kicks and a punt for touchdowns against an Earlham team that’s been very good on special teams,” Victor said. “That has to be a heartbreaker for them. Having been on the other end, giving up returns just kills you. But, we also had (two) turnovers that could have cost us.”

Victor, Dugan, Thompson and Ruggles gave the Cardinals several different Raider weapons to contain. Victor broke free from a collision with an Earlham defender about 30 yards from the goal line during his 80-yard punt return in the first quarter. Victor was the downfield blocker for Thompson’s 83-yard return early in the fourth quarter that broke a 36-36 tie. Dugan deftly used a stiff-arm to continue gaining outside leverage on his 58-yard return with 6:58 left in the game to provide a 52-44 lead.

“We’re pretty blessed to have the team speed that we have,” Victor said. “Trevin’s done a great job for us on the punts. On Dugan’s returns, he’s just a smooth athlete and he showed it on that run. Thompson fielded a relatively short deep kick by them, and we were able to get to the edge. When Dyson is able to get to the edge he’s dangerous, and he had a blocker in Trevin.”

Thompson also rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries. Victor had two catches for 32 yards and Tugan had three receptions for 27 yards and a TD. Linebacker Tyler Martin led the defense with a fumble recovery and19 total tackles, and Thompson had 11.

Playoff rematch

The Raiders travel to Guthrie Center Friday for a 7 p.m. rematch with ACGC, the District 7 champion that beat the Raiders 40-14 on Oct. 11. Ruggles did not play in that game during concussion protocol. ACGC rushed for 442 yards and five touchdowns in that matchup.

ACGC (9-0) is ranked second in Class A by the IHSAA and opened the playoffs Friday by shutting out Wayne, 28-0. (Wayne made the playoffs at 5-3 under head coach Jared Bevins, a Creston native.)

“We have to improve our ball control and take advantage of opportunities,” Victor said about the rematch.

In the other half of Pod B that will send one team to the semifinals at the UNI-Dome, Riverside (coached by former Creston wrestling coach and football assistant Darrell Frain) travels to Neola Tri-Center. Riverside (7-2) topped Lynnville-Sully (5-4), 29-27 and Tri-Center (8-1) routed 4-5 South Central Calhoun, 41-0. Riverside finished second in District 7 at 5-1, behind ACGC (6-0) and just ahead of Earlham (4-2).

Statistics

Rushing — Mount Ayr: Dyson Thompson 12-105; Jackson Ruggles 10-60, 2 TD; Tate Dugan 6-41, 1 TD; Tyler Martin 6-23. Earlham: Caleb Smith 39-306, 5 TD; Blake Reynolds 10-38, 1 TD; Dallas Canoyer 4-26; Zane Diersen 2-4.

Passing — Mount Ayr: Jackson Ruggles 7-8-0 for 76 yards, 1 TD; Tyler Martin 1-1-0 for 13 yards. Earlham: Blake Reynolds 13-25-1 for 142 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving — Mount Ayr: Trevin Victor 2-32; Tate Dugan 3-27, 1 TD; Dyson Thompson 2-17; Jackson Ruggles 1-13. Earlham: Josh Winey 3-60; Dallas Canoyer 5-42, 1 TD; Klayton Wolken 2-19; Jaxen Speedling 1-14; Caleb Smith 2-7.

Tackles (solo-assists) — Mount Ayr: Tyler Martin 11-8, Dyson Thompson 8-3, Garrett Walter 3-4, Jackson Ruggles 1-6, Louden Main 2-4, Tate Dugan 1-4, Trevin Victor 1-3.

Interceptions-yards — Mount Ayr: Ruggles 1-58, TD.