(Atlantic) Atlantic totaled 387 yards of offense and defeated Greene County 36-13 in a Class 3A District 6 matchup Friday night.
Senior running back Ethan McNeal led the Trojans with 200 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Through seven games this season, McNeal has rushed 127 times for 975 yards. He is now just 110 yards shy of reaching 3,000 career rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback James Brauer completed four of seven passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Jaxon Hepler and Landon Hagen for scores.
The Trojans finished with 306 rushing yards and put together two impressive scoring drives that covered 80 and 98 yards. Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer said afterward the team played with good physicality and mental toughness.
The Trojans struck first on a Zander Killion field goal that capped a long drive, giving them a 3-0 lead. Greene County answered with a drive of its own but missed a field goal, giving the Trojans the ball back. Atlantic mounted an 80-yard drive, capped off by a James Brauer-to-Landon Hagen 29-yard touchdown pass. Killion kicked the PAT to put the Trojans up 10-0 with 11:50 to play in the half. The Trojans then stuffed the Rams at the Trojan 2-yard line and marched down the field with a 10-play, 98-yard drive. Jake Wailes polished off the drive with a one-yard plunge. The PAT failed, and the Trojans held a 16-0 lead with 3:13 left in the half.
The Trojans blocked a punt deep in Rams territory late in the second quarter. Carter Hadley scooped up the ball and advanced to the 11-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Ethan McNeal scored on an 11-yard touchdown run. The extra point pushed the score to 23-0 going into the break.
The Rams got on the board with 11:56 to play in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Kaden Winter. The extra point failed, leaving the score 23-6. The Trojans responded with 13 straight points: a 19-yard TD run by McNeal and a 54-yard pass to wideout Jaxon Hepler, putting the Trojans up 36-6. The Rams scored a late-game touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Joe Higgins to Zach Stalder. The extra point was good, making it 36-13, which became the final score.
The win sets up a key matchup next week when the Trojans, 3-0 in district play, face Harlan, 2-1 in district action. The Trojans topped the Cyclones last season on a late game kick-off return by Ethan McNeal. Coach Brummer says the Trojans haven’t beaten Harlan at Harlan since 1981, and they haven’t beaten the Cyclones in back-to-back years since 1980 and 1981.
The kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Harlan next Friday night. We will broadcast the Atlantic at Harlan game on KS95.7 and live-stream it on westerniowatoday.com. The pre-game show starts at 6:00 p.m.
