Staunch defense guides GC to week 8 victory, completes unblemished district record
By Brandon Hurley
Managing Editor
Greene County’s ball-hawking defense forced an impressive six turnovers in their decisive 54-8 victory over Clarke Oct. 14 in their regular season finale.
The Rams (7-1 overall) also were sparked by a 20-point second quarter outburst, springing Greene County to a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Rams didn’t slow after the break, scoring 27 more over the final two quarters to punctuate their undefeated district crown, 5-0.
Greene County recovered four fumbles, snatched a pair of interceptions and tallied 7.5 tackles for loss. Patrick Daugherty led the way with a team-best eight tackles while his twin brother Richard hauled in both an interception as well as fumble which he returned for a 27-yard touchdown.
Offensively, the Rams were a well-oiled machine yet again. First-year quarterback Gabe Ebersole produced perhaps his best start of his young career, throwing for 241 yards and four touchdowns while completing 12 of his 22 pass attempts at a 55 percent clip.
Richard Daugherty was Ebersole’s main target Friday night, snagging four catches for 124 yards and a touchdown at a rate of 31 yards per catch. Nicholas Stream, Jack Hansen and Jesse Miller also hauled in touchdown catches.
Greene County head coach Caden Duncan was pleased with the opportunistic defense as well as an offense willing to pound the ball home. The Indians entered the week 8 contest at 5-2 overall along with a 2-2 district record. The Rams made sure Clarke was no longer a threat last week.
“We forced a lot of turnovers and we capitalized on our opportunities when we got them,” the coach said. “Overall, it is a big win against a playoff caliber team.”
The Rams closed out the season on a five-game winning streak (including a forfeit by Shenandoah), recovering nicely from a 35-0 loss to Kuemper Catholic in week 3. Greene County prevailed by at least 11 points in all but one of those five wins. They also averaged 40 points per game during their streak.
Duncan believes the thumping win over Clarke was a perfect cap to a remarkable regular season. A shift in offensive philosophy following the week 3 loss, which focused more on the run game, helped power the Rams to the finish in addition to solid growth from top to bottom.
“We changed our offense after the Kuemper game and have just been more physical and more disciplined overall since then,” Duncan said. “We’ve gained a lot of experience over the course of the season and have really improved in all three phases.”
THE TALE OF THE TAPE
The Rams have won 13 consecutive district games dating back to the 2020 season. Their last loss came against Atlantic on Sept. 11, 2020. In fact, Greene County has won 21 of their last 24 district games dating back to 2018, never losing more than one district game per year during that stretch.
Last week’s victory assured Greene County its fifth straight seven-win season. The Rams have tallied an impressive 39-10 record since the beginning of the 2018 slate, reaching the playoffs each year.
Eberolse finished the regular season with 13 touchdowns and just a single interception thanks to a 48 percent completion rate for 1,037 yards, the 13th-best total in Class 2A. The first-year signal caller also finished in a tie for 13th with 17 total touchdowns (T-second in District 8), tallying four scores and 234 yards on the ground. His 1,271 total yards were fourth-most in the district while his yards per pass average of 19.6 was also first in the league. Greene County running back Patrick Daugherty finished third in District 8 with 790 rushing yards while his eight rushing touchdowns were also third. Jesse Miller finished the regular season ranked 11th in the state with six touchdown receptions.
Defensively, Cody Allen finished fourth with 47 total tackles while Patrick Daugherty was fifth. Defensive end Michael Rumley was third with 12.5 tackles for loss. Richard Daugherty’s four interceptions tied him for first in the league while Allen’s two fumble recoveries tied him for fourth.
As a team, the Rams tied for third in the district with 32 total touchdowns while their 14 rushing touchdowns were fourth-most in addition to the third-most passing touchdowns (13). The Rams were second in fumble recoveries (10), fourth in sacks (10) and second in defensive touchdowns (3). Greene County’s 46.5 tackles for loss were fourth-most in the district.
The Rams undefeated run through the district earned them a No. 1 seed in the Class 2A playoffs, which began Friday. They hosted Union Community (2-7), defeating the Knights, 35-13. They'll host West Lyon Oct. 28 in the Class 2A second round.
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