WOODWARD — The skies were clear in Woodward Friday, with no breeze and no signs of an impending storm, but lightning struck anyway.
Van Meter claimed the Class 1A District 8 crown in convincing fashion, scoring twice in the first quarter and then four times in the second stanza to stun W-G en route to a 41-6 victory.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-0) were in command throughout and finished with 306 yards rushing and 161 yards passing while holding the Hawks (4-4, 2-3) to 226 yards on the ground and just 13 through the air.
Carson Rhodes led the way for the guests, scoring four times while rushing for 146 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Ben Trent ran six times for 108 yards and was 6-of-8 for 161 yards and a score while passing.
Van Meter’s first score capped a nine-play 95-yard drive. Trent had the big play, breaking loose for a 64-yard gain that would have gone for a 87-yard TD had not a hustling Johnnie Morgan ran him down from behind.
Rhodes scored from 23-yards out for a 6-0 lead with 5:33 on the clock, with a fumble recovery and a 24-yard scamper from Trent setting up a 24-yard Rhodes TD dash for a 13-0 lead after one period of play.
W-G was simply unable to sustain any kind of offensive momentum against the Bulldog defense, which has allowed just 40 points — and shut out three teams — since a 50-35 week one loss to Madrid.
The second quarter was all Van Meter, with Rhodes scoring one a one-yard dive and Trent hitting Alec Potthoff with a five-yard TD pass for a 27-0 lead with 8:04 still to play in the first half. A 10-yard scoring run from Trent and a short TD burst from Rhodes moved the scoreboard to 41-0 at the intermission and created a continuous clock for the second half.
W-G erased their goose egg when Tanner Vermaas scored on a one-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. Vermaas had 113 yards on 20 carries and now has 918 yards for the season.
Sophomore Payton Tague ran 11 times for 52 yards, with Race Brant adding 37 yards on eight carries. Brant also caught two passes for 13 yards, both aerials from Brendan Bird, who was just 2-7-1 in the game.
Morgan led the W-G defense with 5.5 tackles, with Austin Scharlau adding 4.5 stops while forcing a fumble, with John Stucker recovering a fumble.
W-G can all but clinch the fourth playoff spot in the district with a win at Des Moines Christian Friday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
———————-
Class 1A District 8
VAN METER 41, WOODWARD-GRANGER 6
at Woodward, Oct. 16
Team 1 2 3 4 — Final
VM 13 28 0 0 — 41
W-G 0 0 0 6 — 6
Scoring by Quarter
First Quarter
VM — Rhodes 23 run (kick blocked), 5:33.
VM — Rhodes 24 run (Godwin kick), 2:04.
Second Quarter
VM — Rhodes 1 run (Godwin kick), 10:47.
VM — Potthoff 5 pass from Trent (Godwin kick), 8:04.
VM — Trent 10 run (Godwin kick), n/a.
VM — Rhodes run (Godwin kick), n/a.
Third Quarter
No Scoring
Fourth Quarter
W-G — Vermaas 1 run
—————————
