Worth County survived a challenge from a rapidly improving North Andrew squad and got a 70-50 win Friday to set up a showdown with Stanberry. A win Friday will give Worth County the GRC title outright. A loss means they will share the GRC title with Stanberry.
It looked like it would be another easy win for the Tigers, as they got the opening kickoff. Alex Rinehart picked up a 17 yard sweep into Cardinal territory after getting a block from Levi Cassavaugh. Then, the Tigers rescued a third and 10 at the 33 with a 25 yard pass from Aydan Gladstone to Jackson Runde to the 10. Aydan was dropped for a loss of five, but then Alex Rinehart took it 12 yards to the three. On fourth and goal from the one, Gladstone powered in with 8:19 left to make it 6-0. After North Andrew went three and out, Aydan Gladstone took an option 57 yards to the house after getting blocks from Creed Wilcox and Jackson Runde and Dylan McIntyre caught a short pass and fought his way into the end zone for the extra points to make it 14-0.
But after another three and out by North Andrew, a Tiger miscue gave them hope as the ensuing punt rolled under Alex Rinehart's legs and the red shirts recovered it at the Tiger 20. From there on, a totally different North Andrew squad took the field. A blown coverage on fourth and two left Dawson Eychaner all alone for a pass from Braxon Linville with 1:34 left in the first quarter to make it 14-6.
After that, the only way for Worth County to win was to keep scoring, and to their credit, they did. They set up shop at their own 30 and four carries from Alex Rinehart put the Tigers on the Cardinal 24. That set up a pass from Aydan Gladstone to Jackson Runde with 11:53 left in the second to make it 20-6. But Worth County gave it right back again. On third and eight at the 24, Hayden Ecker slipped out of the backfield to take a pass, nobody picked him up, and he took it 53 yards down to the Tiger three. He walked into the end zone on the next play, and North Andrew was back within 20-12 with 9:51 left in the second.
Worth County only needed two plays to answer, as Alex Rinehart bounced outside for 28 yards to the Cardinal 22 after Worth County started at their own 30. From there, Aydan Gladstone threw a pass to Dylan McIntyre, who outjumped Matthew Evans and somehow stayed inbounds for a score with 9:19 left. Jackson Runde caught the extra point pass to make it 28-12. Worth County needed to stop North Andrew just one time, and they had a perfect opportunity to do so after they buried them at the 6 on the ensuing kickoff. But then they jumped offsides, which gave North Andrew all the momentum they needed. A long pass to 6'9" mountain man Owen Graham went 29 yards into Tiger territory, which opened up North Andrew's running game. From there, Worth County knew what they play was going to be, but still couldn't stop it as the Cardinals took nine plays to get into the end zone and score on Ecker's two yard run with 2:16 left. Ecker ran in the extra points to make it 28-20.
The Tigers were nearly stopped after two carries by Alex Rinehart only got 5 yards, and the 6'9" Graham got his paws up to bat down a Gladstone pass. But Worth County went for it on fourth and five from their own 35 and completed a 15 yard pass to Jackson Runde to keep the drive alive. Gladstone scrambled to the 25, and then threw a strike to Dylan McIntyre on the next play with 16 seconds left to put Worth County in the end zone and make it 34-20 at halftime.
But North Andrew came strong out of the gate to start the second half, and Hayden Ecker bounced outside and down the sideline into the end zone to make it 34-26, but Alex Rinehart got a sack on the extra point try to deny the extra points. The extra point game would be costly to North Andrew and helpful to Worth County in the second half. Worth County got the score back as Aydan Gladstone scrambled 34 yards to the Cardinal 21, and then Alex Rinehart picked up blocks from Jackson Runde and Levi Cassavaugh on Graham as he took it 12 yards down to the 9. Gladstone was stopped on the next play, but then Rinehart got a block from Cassavaugh on the next play and took it to the house with 8:41 left. Worth County was seemingly denied on the extra point try, but a pass interference gave Worth County another chance, and Rinehart added the extra points to make it 42-26.
Worth County finally had North Andrew seemingly stopped on fourth and six at the Tiger 32, but then Linville aired it out to Eychaner for a score with 4:46 left in the third. Worth County denied the extra point try, however, and the game remained at two possessions at 42-32. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty allowed North Andrew to kick it out of the end zone and pin Worth County at their own 15. One of the North Andrew players got a hand on an option pitch, and Worth County had to cover it on their own 11. But Jackson Runde caught a 17 yard pass to keep the drive alive, and a facemask put the ball on the Cardinal 36. Two carries by Rinehart got the ball to the 21, and Levi Cassavaugh picked up eight more to the 13. Alex was dropped for a loss of two, but Jackson Runde caught a short pass to the 7, and Alex Rinehart took a swing pass to the house with 1:04 left to make it 48-32.
The Tigers finally caught a break when Dawson Vore got a hit on the ensuing kickoff return and Levi Cassavaugh recovered it on the Cardinal 20. It only took one play for Worth County to convert when Aydan Gladstone aired it out to Jackson Runde for a score with 49 seconds left in the third quarter. Runde also caught the extra point pass to make it 56-32. North Andrew only needed three plays to answer, as Ecker ripped off carries of 9, 8, and then 30 yards to the house with 11:52 left in the fourth. But Worth County stopped the extra point try as Chittum was stopped short of the end zone on a quick hitter, keeping Worth County's lead at three possessions at 56-38.
North Andrew had kicked the ball out of bounds all night, and Worth County had elected to take it at the 25 each time. But this time, Worth County elected to make them kick it over again, marching them back each time. North Andrew blinked on the fourth time of this, and Dylan McIntyre took the kick, got blocks from Braxton Hightshoe and Levi Cassavaugh, and took it to the house with 11:39 left. Alex Rinehart made it four possessions when he converted the option pitch, making it 64-38.
The Cardinals were not going to be forced out of their running game, however, and they marched right back down the field again. Finally, they stalled at the Tiger 27, where they faced fourth and five. Worth County nearly stopped them and a screen pass to Ecker should have been stopped short of the first down. But poor tackling meant he sprung loose 22 yards to the five, and he was in the end zone two plays later to make it 64-44. Then, North Andrew elected to do an onsides kick and they recovered it successfully on the Tiger 39. Once again, Worth County had them stopped, this time third and aa at the Tiger 17, and once again, they couldn't stop them; this time, Linville aired it out to Graham for 17 yards and a score to make it 64-50.
There was a heartstopping moment on the ensuing onsides kick as the ball squirted out of Jackson Smith's hands, but Levi Cassavaugh recovered for the Tigers at the 39. Alex Rinehart only needed two carries to get into the end zone again with 4:02 left to make it 70-50. Back to back facemask penalties gave North Andrew another chance, but this time, Worth County finally stopped them at the 9 and was able to kneel out the clock.
Alex Rinehart had 18 carries for 167 yards. Aydan Gladstone had 8 carries for 99 yards, and Levi Cassavaugh 2 carries for 11 yards. Aydan Gladstone completed 9 out of 10 passes for 163 yards. Jackson Runde had 5 catches for 89 yards, Dylan McIntyre 2 catches for 47 yards, and Alex Rinehart 1 catch for 7 yards. Worth County ran 38 plays for 440 yards.
For North Andrew, Hayden Ecker had 23 carries for 144 yards. Braxon Linville had 21 carries for 62 yards. Jacob Chittum had 6 carries for 28 yards, and Andrew Goff 2 carries for 3 yards. Linville completed 6 out of 7 passes for 165 yards. Dawson Eychaner had 2 catches for 44 yards, Hayden Ecker 2 catches for 75 yards, and Owen Graham 2 catches for 46 yards. North Andrew ran 59 plays for 402 yards.
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