March 28, 2024

Area football

CMB 57, Clarke 7

BAXTER — Collins/Maxwell-Baxter rolled to a 57-7 win over Clarke here on Friday, dropping the Indians to 1-8 for the season and 0-5 in Class 2A District 6.

“The game came down to them finishing drive and us not finishing drives,” Clarke head coach Michael Kline said. “Offensively, I thought that we moved the ball pretty well. We had a fumble and an interception in the red zone that hurt us. Defensively, we got them to a lot of third and fourth down situations, and then just didn’t finish the series by getting off the field.”

Junior Gordon Witt saw an increased role in the Clarke offense on Friday, and made the most of the opportunity, leading the team with 60 rushing yards on 10 carries and 28 receiving yards on one reception.

Witt also scored his first career varsity touchdown, a 5-yard touchdown run, accounting for the lone score of the night for Clarke.

“Gordon Witt played a good game,” Kline said. “He was a little banged up in the first half, but came back and ended up scoring his first ever varsity touchdown. Defensively, he had six solo tackles, three assisted tackles and one tackle for loss.”

Sophomore Rich Wilkins finished the game 8-of-16 passing for 125 yards with two interceptions.

Wilkins spread the ball around amongst his teammates, as six different Indian players caught passes.

Reed Kale finished with one reception for 27 yards, Dalton Sweeney had two catches for 24 yards and Drake Wedel caught one pass for 22 yards. Dustan Van Loon had two catches for 13 yards and Brandyne Olin finished with one reception for 11 yards.

Sweeney led the team with 11 total tackles, including nine solo tackles. Gunner Sergeant-Elben had eight total tackles. Gable Reece and Jarod Coe each recorded a solo tackle for a loss.

Clarke finishes its season Friday at Interstate 35 in District 6 play.

Central Decatur 20, DMC 8

URBANDALE — Central Decatur kept its playoff hopes alive with a 20-8 win over Des Moines Christian here on Friday.

The Cardinals improve to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Class 1A District 7.

Now, in order to make the playoffs, Central Decatur has to beat second-place Ogden (7-1, 4-1) and have Mount Ayr (6-2, 3-2) defeat Pella Christian (4-4, 2-3).

Des Moines Christian is also in a tie with Pella Christian and Central Decatur entering week nine, but if the above scenario plays out, even with a Des Moines Christian win over Van Meter (8-0, 5-0), the Cardinals would hold a tiebreaker over the Bears for the fourth and final playoff spot in District 7.

In Friday’s win over Des Moines Christian, the Cardinals defense played well, especially against the run.

“I was very pleased how our entire defense and offensive line played on Friday,” Central Decatur head coach Jon Pedersen said. “Defensively, we shut their run down and did well against the pass until the very end when we were a little less aggressive with a 20-point lead.”

Central Decatur held Des Moines Christian to just 60 rushing yards for the game.

Senior Austin Delong led the Cardinals with seven total tackles, including one solo tackle for a loss and one solo sack. Senior Marcus Foltz recorded six total tackles with two solo tackles for loss and two solo sacks.

Kyle Palmer and Daniel Weir each finished with five total tackles.

Peyton Pedersen recorded two interceptions in the win, while Clayton Dale and Trenton Wells each recovered one fumble.

Wells finished with 136 rushing yards on 33 carries, scoring all three Central Decatur touchdowns. Peyton Gilbert added 28 yards on 10 carries and Wyman Reed had 27 yards on six carries.

Wells finished the game 3-of-12 passing with 78 yards.

Murray 60,

East Union 6

AFTON — Seth Nerness returned the opening kickoff 66 yards for a touchdown, and Scott Funke returned an interception 25 yards to the end zone on East Union’s next possession, setting the tone for Murray’s 60-6 victory Friday night.

“When you give up 14 points in the first 28 seconds, the kids get their heads down and it’s tough to battle back,” said East Union coach Steve Kinyon. “We had our moments when we were moving the ball, but then like all year, all of a sudden we’d get stuck.”

The Mustangs followed with one-play drives for touchdowns. Four minutes into the game, Murray led 28-0 and had run only two offensive plays.

Murray running back Andrew Rider scored on five rushes, finishing with 144 yards on nine carries. Nerness also scored on a 37-yard run. Sam Rockhold also scored on a 53-yard run.

East Union scored with 34 seconds left on a 6-yard pass from Trevor Barnett to Cole Campbell.

“We did a good job defensively in the first half, giving up only 59 yards on 31 plays,” said Murray coach Keith Shields. “Our line did a great job during that stretch as well, allowing us to gain 250 yards rushing in the first half on only 14 carries.”

Murray improves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in District 6, setting up this week’s game at Lamoni to determine the District 6 runner-up and a chance to open the playoffs at home.

Albia 62, Interstate 35 6

ALBIA — Albia got touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a 62-6 win over Interstate 35 here on Friday.

Brenden Bassett recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, while Brett Leshen returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown.

Five different Albia players scored a rushing touchdown, as Ryan Sarver rushed for 144 yards on 11 carries.

Leshen and Luke Sarver each finished 2-of-2 passing with one touchdown each.

For Interstate 35, Zach Goering finished the game 11-of-25 passing for 190 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions, filling in at quarterback for Briar Vogel.

Vogel caught two passes for 85 yards, including the lone Interstate 35 touchdown. Jaylan White caught four passes for 63 yards.

Alex Middleton picked up 67 rushing yards on 27 carries for the Roadrunners.

Defensively, Evan McKinney recovered one fumble.

Interstate 35 fell to 0-8 for the season and 0-5 in Class 2A District 6. The Roadrunners finish up their season with a home contest Friday against Clarke.