(Red Oak) Red Oak outscored their first four opponents of the season on average 41.5-0. But that all changed last week when the Tigers fell to DM Christian.
Now coach Michael Nordeen’s group will try to respond when they host Greene County this week. Both teams are 4-1 on the season. “They are one of those perennial teams that just reloads every year.” Nordeen admits he’s impressed with Ram quarterback Gabe Ebersole, “We have to try to contain him and keep him in the pocket. If he gets outside and runs he can move a little bit.”
Red Oak’s first four opponents are a combined 5-15, so they knew DM Christian could greet them with a stiffer challenge than they’d previously seen. “We kind of knew going into the season that the DM Christian game would be our first competition. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot. We were up 6-0 with about 2:00 left and fumbled the ball on a punt return and gave them the ball in the red zone. That was the turning point in the game right here. Then they got us with a good pick play that was right in front of the refs and the refs didn’t call and they took it for 80-yards and a touchdown. A couple of big plays were the thing of the game. I think if we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we fumbled the ball quite a bit, we probably could have changed the outcome of that game.
Despite a loss in Week 5, Riley Fouts continues to be a force in the backfield. He carried 30 times for 210 yards and one TD. Fouts is Class 2A’s leading rusher with 1,116 yards. They are confident in their ability to move the ball on the ground against Greene County.
Coach Nordeen doesn’t expect one little hiccup to phase this group. “They are good to go. They understand what they did wrong. They understand it’s the little details. We talk about that all the time. When we get into the meat of our schedule it’s going to be about the little details. Details are what effected the game on Friday. We had them in on Sunday for film and a lifting session. They were all in high spirits and ready to rock and roll.”
Greene County’s lone loss this year was to a ranked Kuemper Catholic squad in Week 3. The Rams are coming off of an impressive 43-12 win over Clarinda last week. In the victory over the Cardinals they ran for 220 yards and passes for 263.
Red Oak coach Michael Nordeen: