GUTHRIE CENTER, IA — The lead changed hands five times Friday between Woodward-Granger and host AC/GC, with the home team eventually prevailing, 34-30, in a non-district battle.
W-G (1-1) was on the board first, with Carter Moran hitting Brody Nardini with a 26-yard strike for a 6-0 lead.
AC/GC (1-1) countered to take an 8-6 lead, but Moran then broke free off the right side and outran the defense 62 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion pass to Max Dalton made the score 14-8 after 12 minute of action.
Neither team scored in the second quarter, but the Chargers threatened to end any drama with three consecutive TDs in the third period.
Tied at 14, the hosts used moved in front when Austin Klocke fell on a punt — blocked at the seven — for a special teams score. A third score in the frame gave AC/GC a 26-14 lead entering the final period.
Dylan McCaulley pulled in a nine-yard scoring pass from Moran to trim the deficit to 26-22 early in the fourth. One possession late Moran found Dalton for a 55-yard TD with 5:21 to play. The two-point conversion worked, pushing W-G into a 30-26 lead.
The Chargers found the end zone with 2:32 remaining to seize a 34-30 edge and held on from there to secure the back-and-forth victory.
The game was quite different from the 2021 meeting between the two, in which the Chargers reached the Class 1A Quarterfinals. AC/GC was a 62-6 winner but found the sledding much more difficult this year.
Quarterback Brock Littler missed on his two pass attempts, with the team rushing 55 times for 365 yards.
Seth Reno (22-153, 1 TD) and Littler (18-136, 3 TDs) led the way, with Ben Marsh (7-4) and Kunkle (8-36) also contributing.
Moran tossed for three TDs and 221 yards on 16-of-28 passing and was not intercepted.
Nardini (7-109, 1 TD), Dalton (3-75, 1 TD), McCaulley (4-24, 1 TD), Dane Polich (1-11) and Nick Rees (1-2) were the targets. Dalton caught one two-point conversion pass, and Moran ran in a pair.
Moran’s 81 yards and TD on nine rushes led the W-G ground game, with McCaulley adding 15 yards on eight carries and Nardini five yards on one tote.
Oliver Potter paced the Hawk defense with 13 tackles, with Kolby Fogarty adding seven and Nardini six. Both Fogarty and Brock Tiernan recovered fumbles.
W-G will visit Interstate-35 Friday. The Roadrunners (0-2) lost, 20-7, to Southeast Valley and 27-14 at Pleasantville. Homecoming at W-G is set for Sept. 16, with Eagle Grove the opponent.
