(Exira) Ar-We-Wa scored on three of their first four offensive plays on their way to a 61-12 win at Exira-EHK on Friday. The Rockets forced a couple of early turnovers and cashed in against an Exira-EHK squad that was missing a couple of key starters.
The Rockets improve to 2-4 with the victory and have West Harrison/Whiting up next. Coach Chris Petersen said after the game, “We had talked about coming out strong after last week. We got down 14-0 to Boyer Valley. It was one of our points of emphasis and the kids really responded well. We made some changes from a personnel standpoint and the kids came out and played some really good football.” One of their changes was moving Will Ragaller to quarterback and the ex-running has thrived in the new spot. In Ragaller’s second start under center he had TD runs of 41, 14, and one yard. He passed for a 30 yard score to Zach Schimmer and ran a kickoff back 73 yards to the house.
Another plus from putting Ragaller at QB has been more rushing opportunities for Damon Ehlers. The 240 pound back was hard for the Spartans to stop with TD carries of 32, 37, and 14 yards.
Ar-We-Va’s defensive front of Luke Smith, Cody VonGlan, and Damon Ehlers put heavy pressure on Exira-EHK’s quarterback as did a blitzing Ragaller from his linebacker spot. Exira-EHK’s lone TD’s came on a Hunter Anderson 14 yard catch and run from Tyler Petersen early in the 2nd quarter and a Trey Petersen 68 yard run in the 3rd quarter. The Spartans dip to 0-5 on the season and will oppose Boyer Valley next Friday night.
