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Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph..

A few passing clouds. Low 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

Grace Colling/for the NT

ACGC quarterback Brock Littler rushes against several Woodward-Granger Hawks during their game Friday night at Charger Stadium in Guthrie Center. The Chargers won 34-30.

Grace Colling/for the NT

ACGC quarterback Brock Littler rushes against several Woodward-Granger Hawks during their game Friday night at Charger Stadium in Guthrie Center. The Chargers won 34-30.

GUTHRIE CENTER – After dropping their first game of the season, the ACGC Chargers came out strong against the Woodward-Granger Hawks, defeating them 34-30.

The Chargers opened the first series with several runs by senior running back Seth Reno, starting on the ACGC 31 yard-line and advancing the ball to their own 43 yard-line before a fumbled snap was picked up by Woodward-Granger’s Brock Tiernan. The Hawks then marched the ball as far as the Charger 40 yard-line when they punted, with the ball coming to rest on the ACGC 2 yard-line.

The Chargers were unable to advance the ball very far, when they were forced to punt, giving Woodward-Granger possession on the Charger 40 yard-line. The Hawks then drove the ball down the field, scoring first at the 5:10 mark in the first quarter on a 28-yard pass from Woodward-Granger quarterback Carter Moran to wide receiver Brody Nardini. The Hawks missed the extra point, taking a 6-0 lead.

On the next drive, the Chargers struck back. ACGC running back Nate Chance returned the ball on the ensuing kickoff to the Charger 41 yard-line. On a combination of runs by Reno, Charger quarterback Brock Littler, and senior running back Austin Kunkle, the Chargers were able to work their way down the field, allowing Littler to punch the ball in on a 7-yard run at 2:12 in the first quarter. Littler also rushed in for the 2-point conversion, putting the Chargers up 8-6.

However, the Hawks weren’t finished. Moran flew down the field on a quarterback keeper, punching the ball in at the 1:54 mark in the first quarter. Woodward-Granger picked up a 2-point conversion to go up 14-8.

Both teams battled hard in the trenches during the second quarter, with neither team allowing a point.

After halftime, ACGC came out a different team. The Chargers held the Hawks to short gains, with junior wide receiver Tegan Slaybaugh and junior offensive lineman Payton Jacobe making several stops on the first series.

Then things went sideways for Woodward-Granger.

On a 4th and 11 punt from the Woodward-Granger 39 yard-line, the punter had the ball go off the side of his foot, allowing ACGC’s senior linebacker Ben Marsh to land on the ball on the Charger 41 yard-line. A combination of Reno, Littler and Marsh set up for a 14-yard run by Littler with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter, tying the game at 14 points apiece.

On the kickoff return, sophomore defensive back Taytum Bates crushed the defender, only allowing him to advance to the Hawk 30 yard-line. Sophomore linebacker Ben Franzeen then punched through the line to stop the Woodward-Granger runner on their own 25 yard-line. On the next play, the Hawks were called for a false start, pushing the ball back to their own 21 yard-line. This was followed by a fumbled handoff, leading to the ball being on the Woodward-Granger 11 yard-line. Moran attempted a pass, but that was incomplete, which set up a 4th and 29 punt attempt. However, this was blocked by Kunkle, who then fell on the ball in the endzone, putting the Chargers up 20-14 with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter.

Then ACGC dug deep in their bag of tricks and pulled out an onside kick that was recovered by Littler on the Hawk 49 yard-line. The Chargers drove down to the Woodward-Granger 18 yard-line, when an unsportsmanlike conduct call advanced the ball down to the Hawk 12 yard-line. Littler danced into the endzone with 57-seconds remaining in the third quarter, giving the Chargers a 26-14 lead.

But the Hawks weren’t finished.

Woodward-Granger worked back down the field, finding the endzone early in the fourth quarter, to close the gap to 26-22 in favor of the Chargers. The Hawks then held ACGC around the Charger 35 yard-line, before getting the ball back on their own 45 yard-line. Moran then launched a long pass, to put the Hawks up 28-26 with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. After a 2-point conversion, the Hawks led 30-26.

However, the Chargers showed great strength.

After taking possession of the ball on their own 28 yard-line, Reno broke out a long run to the 50 yard-line. He then picked up another first down to the Hawk 40 yard-line. Littler then ran to the Woodward-Granger 38 yard-line, followed by two runs by Reno to reach the Hawk 26 yard-line. Littler lost a yard on the next play, before Reno rushed for 28 yards to put the Chargers on top 32-30. Marsh rushed in for the 2-point conversion, giving the Chargers a 34-30 lead with 2:21 remaining in the game.

The Hawks took possession one more time, trying to drive the ball down field, but coming up empty on the drive. Littler then took a knee to end the game.

Charger Head Coach Cody Matthewson was pleased with the second half of play from his team.

“We kind of lit a fire in their rear there at half time,” he said. “We played a very poor first half, I think, a lot of offensive mistakes, a lot of penalties, things like that. But to still only to be down by six just shows we’re a better team than what we’re showing right now.”

Matthewson said his team came out with a lot of energy in the second half to take the lead.

Littler said working with Reno was how he was able to move the ball as much as he did.

“His fakes opened my runs up, which led to touchdowns,” he said.

He also played safety on defense and was able to make several big stops by playing over the top on the receivers.

Reno gained a lot of yards on the night.

“I’ve got to be a team player, got to trust in my offensive line, those are some big dogs up front, got to trust the weak-side too, and play both sides of the ball and have faith in our team and come out hot in the second half,” he said.

The Chargers (1-1) travel to Urbandale next week to face the Des Moines Christian Lions (1-1). The Lions defeated Des Moines Hoover 48-7.

To reach Brian Rathjen, send correspondence to sports@ant-news.com or phone (712) 243-2624.

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Interviews with the Atlantic boys cross country team.

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