Tigers Bury Stanberry 76-16 to Clinch GRC Title

Worth County had every reason to expect a tough matchup against Stanberry for the rubber game of the GRC race, but had a surprisingly easy time with it, beating them 76-16 Friday in the worst beating Stanberry has taken from Worth County since joining the ranks of eight man. The reward, however, will not be easy. Worth County, after a bye week this Friday, will take on Albany or Mound City the week after. Two years ago, Worth County won handily over Albany on Homecoming, only to have a dogfight with them in districts before winning. And Worth County/Mound City has always been one of the best rivalries in eight man football, and the recordbook can easily be thrown out for that game. Last year, Worth County, which had struggled much of the year, ended Mound City's two year state title run, and Mound City will be looking to crash Worth County's undefeated season this year.

The Tiger win meant Stanberry fell all the way to fifth in the rankings and will have to travel to South Holt to face a tough Knights squad. Platte Valley beat East Atchison 28-26, which meant that they move past them and Stanberry all the way up to second. However, their reward will be playing either a North Andrew team that gave Worth County fits before losing, or a suddenly improving Nodaway Valley squad, which played South Holt tough before falling 22-6.

After getting the jitters out of their system, the Tigers overcame a second and 15 after a false start as Aydan Gladstone took an option 57 yards down to the Stanberry 13. The focus of the game was on keeping monster lineman Austin Colvin. at 6'4" and 275, under control, and Auston Pride and Creed Wilcox kept him tied down all night long. Alex Rinehart got good blocking up front and took it to the house with 11:10 left to make it 6-0.

Jace Latham and Dylan Wilmes combined on a sack of Schwebach, one of several for the Tigers all night long. That helped force a three and out. After a false start, Alex Rinehart got loose for 18 yards to the 33 and got another carry for six to the 39. Aydan Gladstone got six to the 35, and then aired one out to Jackson Runde 27 yards to the Stanberry 8. Two more carries by Alex Rinehart got Worth County into the end zone with 7:06 left, and Gladstone's pass to Dylan McIntyre made it 14-0.

On their next series, Stanberry went for it on fourth and one from their own 29, but Dylan Wilmes tackled Tucker Schieber inches short of the first down on the 30. That set up a short field for Worth County, and Gladstone aired it out to Dylan McIntyre for 29 yards to the 1. A false start put Worth County back to the 6, but Alex Rinehart got a block from Dylan McIntyre and got in with 5:58 left. Jackson Runde was all alone in the end zone to make it 22-0.

Stanberry went into their spread look, the same look which they had used to good effect against Worth County two years ago, when they nearly wiped out a big Tiger lead and came to within 8 points of the Tigers before Reid McIntyre jumped a pass and got a pick six to restore order for the Tigers in a 48-28 win. A holding penalty wiped out a long run, but then Austin Schwebach showed that he was dangerous in the open field, getting 17 yards down to the Tiger 23. But most of his throws were off Friday night; he had a receiver all alone but missed him and the Tigers used their second chance to stop Stanberry on downs at the 27.

Two carries by Alex Rinehart picked up a first down to the 38, but Worth County was stuck with third down and 11 at the 37. Aydan Gladstone aired one out to Runde, and a pass interference gave Worth County a first down at the 28. Runde caught a long pass down to the 1, and then Gladstone took it the rest of the way with 11:56 left in the second to make it 28-0.

Stanberry finally looked like they would get back momentum after Tucker Schieber ran back the ensuing kickoff to the 39. Worth County put Schwebach under heavy pressure and forced a three and out, but Stanberry got off a good kick and pinned Worth County at the 4. A bad snap resulted in a safety, and Stanberry had a free possession as they made it 28-2 with 11:11 left in the second.

The Bulldogs went back to their running game and got as far as the Tiger 33, but a false start buried them and two incomplete passes forced a three and out. Worth County was able to get a long ten play drive going. They rescued a third and five from their own 20 as Jackson Runde caught an eight yard pass to the 28 for a first down. Two carries from Alex Rinehart got another first down to the 39. On third and seven at the 36, Rinehart picked up 11 more to the 25. Five more yards from Rinehart moved it to the 20, and then Aydan Gladstone aired it out to Dylan McIntyre for the remaining 20 yards. Alex Rinehart added the extra points to make it 36-2 with 4:20 left in the half.

Stanberry started at their own 29, and got a bad snap, but Austin Schwebach took the busted play and scrambled 26 yards all the way down to the Tiger 25 as the tackling broke down. He scrambled seven more yards to the 18, but then Dawson Vore dropped Gavin Cameron for a loss of five back to the 23. An option play went nowhere, and Braxton Hightshoe broke up a pass on fourth down to give Worth County the ball back on their own 24 with 1:31 left. On the first play, Colvin finally got loose, flushed Gladstone, and forced an incompletion, but Gladstone turned around and aired one out to Alex Rinehart. He got twisted around, but somehow came up with the ball and kept his balance, going 56 yards to the house with 1:14 left. That made it 42-2.

But Stanberry finally found some daylight as they overcame a sack as Schwebach scrambled 13 yards to the Tiger 39. As time was winding down, Austin Schwebach finally connected, hitting Tyler Schwebach over the middle, and he got a block and took it to the house with 0.6 seconds left to make it 42-8.

Despite the large deficit, Stanberry had every right to expect momentum going into the second half as they had the ball and a free possession. They tried to get Austin Schwebach around the edge and into the open field, but Jace Latham moved down the line perfectly and dropped him. They went back to the same over the middle play that worked for them at the end of the half, but then Gladstone put a big hit on Tyler Schwebach and broke up the pass. A false start and another incompletion forced a three and out. Jackson Runde caught a 15 yard pass to the Stanberry 36, and then an offsides and a defensive holding on Stanberry put it on the 21. Aydan Gladstone picked up 8 yards on a keeper to the 8 for a first and goal. They were stuck on third and goal, but then Gladstone threw a strike to Dylan McIntyre, who held on despite a big hit by his defender and scored with 8:00 left as Worth County restored order.

This time, on fourth and six at their own 30, Stanberry tried to go for it, airing it out down the field. But Aydan Gladstone broke it up and the Tigers got the ball back on downs. Alex Rinehart took a swing pass to the 15. An incompletion made it second and 10, but an offsides put it on the 10, and Rinehart took it the rest of the way, breaking two tackles to score with 5:53 left to make it 54-8 and putting Worth County over the 45 point margin.

But Stanberry elected to play on, and they got a good runback from Tyler Schwebach all the way to the Tiger 39. The kickoff return game was a bright spot for the Bulldogs as they gashed the Tigers on runbacks all night long. That set up Austin Schwebach's pass to Colby McQuinn from 37 yards out with 4:06 left. Tyler Schwebach ran in the extra points to make it 54-16.

Stanberry pinned Worth County at their own 15, but then Aydan Gladstone got loose and took it 65 yards to the house, outrunning everyone along the way. Dylan McIntyre caught the extra point pass to make it 62-16 with 3:53 left in the third.

Once again, Stanberry gashed Worth County on the kickoff return, and Tyler Schwebach got loose again and took it to the Tiger 23. But this time, Stanberry was unable to kill the running clock as Alex Rinehart and Tanner Ridge combined on a sack. Schwebach aired one out, but Dylan McIntyre and Aydan Gladstone broke it up. Then, Levi Cassavaugh and Alex Rinehart combined on a sack, and then Rinehart got his third sack in four plays as the Tigers took over at the Stanberry 35 on downs. Alex then broke a host of tackles to the Stanberry 10. Austin Colvin, despite his 6'4", 275 frame, showed his speed as he ran down Alex at the 10, but a horsecollar penalty put it on the 5. Alex ran it the rest of the way and Levi Cassavaugh ran in the extra points to make it 70-16 at the end of three.

The reserves played out the fourth quarter, and Tyler New's 27 yard run set up Worth County's final score with 4:41 left when he aired it out 16 yards to John Galanakis to make it 76-16.

Carter Chapman showed some nice potential as a defensive end when he shot a gap and dropped a Stanberry back for a big loss, and Tyler New got a pick to kill Stanberry's last drive.

Worth County had 49 plays for 553 yards. Alex Rinehart had 22 carries for 140 yards and Aydan Gladstone 7 carries for 134 yards. Tyler New had 2 carries for 36 yards, Landon Wilmes 2 carries for 20 yards, and Levi Cassavaugh 3 carries for 2 yards. Aydan Gladstone had 12 attempts and 9 completions for 205 yards. Tyler New had one completion in one attempt for 16 yards. Jackson Runde had 4 catches for 77 yards, Dylan McIntyre 3 catches for 57 yards, Alex Rinehart 2 catches for 71 yards, and John Galanakis 1 catch for 16 yards.

Stanberry had 45 plays for 161 yards. Austin Schwebach had 10 carries for 62 yards and completed 4 passes in 17 attempts for 87 yards. Tyler Schwebach had 3 catches for 50 yards and Colby McQuinn had 1 catch for 37 yards.