Twentieth century Asian philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh once said, "Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today." Hope--something that it would seem the ACGC football team needs to embrace after a stinging 50-0 defeat at the hands of Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek/Ida Grove on Friday night.

Coach Mark McDermott had this comment following the game. "We knew it was going to be a tough one when you combine that we had to face Chase Devitt, one of the best backs in the league and that we had at least three starters miss practice until Thursday. We appreciate all the hard work that the seniors have put into the ACGC football program. We are hopeful to finish strong against Logan-Magnolia.""

On a night when seniors on the football team, in the band, on the cross country team and on the cheerleading squad were honored along with their parents, the game started out well enough as the Chargers forced OA/BC/IG into a three and out on its first possession. After the Falcons were forced to punt and the Chargers gained five yards on their first play from scrimmage, the wheels began to fall off. On the next play OA/BC/IG recovered an ACGC fumble and proceeded to score in three plays with Devitt carrying the ball in for a 22 yard touchdown. He added the two point conversion and the Falcons took an 8-0 lead with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter.

Two possessions by the Chargers and one by the Falcons produced little yardage, and after an ACGC punt and a return by OA/BC/IG to the Charger 33 yard line, the Falcons put together a six play drive for their second score. Devitt again carried the ball into the end zone from 15 yards out to increase the lead to 14-0 with 2:05 to go in the quarter.

The second quarter proved to be more of the same, as ACGC was unable to move the ball against the Falcon defense. The Falcons, on the other hand scored four times in the quarter with Devitt accounting for two more touchdowns and Carson Godberson and Kaden Ladwing each scoring once. The score at the half was 42-0. Unofficially The Chargers were held to 21 net yards gained in the half. (It happens--even to the best of 'em. The Kansas City Chiefs, the lone remaining undefeated team in the NFL going into Sunday's game with Pittsburgh, gained only 6 total yards in the first half. And that's the NFL!)

The Chargers had the ball to begin the second half and put together a drive that started at their own 30 yard line. With Ben Kingery picking up 18 yards on the first play, ACGC was then aided by two long yard penalties on the Falcons. Logan Brincks added a 7 yard run to get a first down on the Falcon 25 yard line. After an ACGC penalty Brincks carried for 10 yards to the OA/BC/IG 20 yard line. A pass interception ended the Charger drive at that point.

The Chargers had one more possession in the quarter when a Falcon punt was downed at the ACGC 5 yard line. Kingery broke for a 33 yard gain on the first play and with a 5 yard gain by Brincks and a Falcon penalty, it looked like the Chargers might be on their way to pay dirt. However, a penalty slowed the drive and the Chargers turned the ball over on downs at the visitors 33 yard line.

The fourth quarter was played mostly between the 30 yard lines with neither team moving the ball effectively, with one exception. Reserve Nick Sholty broke free for a 32 yard TD scamper for the Falcons with 5:25 to go in the game. A two point conversion upped the margin to the final score of 50-0.

The loss dropped the Charger record to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in district play. The team will close out the season at Logan-Magnolia this Friday, with a 7 PM start. Will "tomorrow be better"?

Line Score

OABCIG 14 28 0 8-50

ACGC 0 0 0 0- 0

Statistics:

Passing: Bryce Littler: 9 attempts-2 completions-19 yards-2 interceptions

Rushing: Cole Boyer: 4 attempts-8 yards; Logan Brincks: 9-26; Ben Kingery: 7-62; Bryce Littler: 4-9; Devon Oberholtz: 3-12; Caden Wardyn: 3-3

Receiving: Kolby Jacobe: 1 reception-12 yards; Caden Wardyn: 1-7

Fumble recoveries: Quynton Younker: 1

Kick Offs: Quynton Younker:1 for 43 yards

Punting: Will Byars: 6 for 37.7 yard ave.

Kick Off Returns: Will Byars: 1 for 15 yards; Kolby Jacobe: 2 for 11.5 yard ave; Gabe Rowley: 3 for 14.3 yard ave.; Avery Wheatley: 2 for 10.5 yard ave.

Tackles: Cole Boyer: 5 solos, 8 assists; Logan Brincks: 1-2; Gage Butler 0-1; Will Byars: 1-2; Trey Derry: 0-1; Sam Fuller: 1-4; Flavio Gonzalez: 1-1; Dustin Hansen: 1-2; Owen Hansen: 1-2; Kolby Jacobe: 2-2; Ben Kingery: 3-3; Bryce Little: 0-1; Devon Oberholtz: 1-0: Cale Rowley: 0-1; Gabe Rowley: 1-5; Caden Wardyn: 2-4; Avery Wheatley: 0-2; Quynton Younker: 3-4