The #2 (1A) Grundy Center football team grinded out a 21-12 home win over #4 (1A) South Hardin Friday, taking sole possession of first place in 1A District 3.
The Spartans scored on their first drive when Judd Jirovsky found Eli Wegmann for an 18-yard pass on fourth and long, but they punted on their next four drives. After a turnover on downs and losing a fumble, the Tigers finally connected on a five-yard touchdown run by Peyton Welch late in the first half. However, the extra point was blocked, and Grundy Center led 7-6 at halftime.
Wegmann intercepted a pass early in the third quarter, leading to a Pete Lebo touchdown run. But the Tigers answered on a 13-yard touchdown reception by Sam Benson. The two-point conversion failed, and it was 14-12 Spartans. Grundy Center used a nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter, capped off by Jirovsky touchdown run, to seal the win. Head Coach Travis Zajac says the clock-chewing drive was crucial.
“That says an awful lot about our kids upfront, I think in our run game,” Zajac says. “South Hardin plays pretty stout run defense with not a lot of guys in the box. Those kids are pretty darn good. And our kids responded over and over and over again. There were a lot of mistakes made, I think on both sides. Far too many penalties were called in the game. Hard for either team to really get into any sort of flow or rhythm. But at the same time, credit to our kids and assistant coaches who are just finding a way to get it done.”
South Hardin coach Nick Eller says they couldn’t find the needed consistency.
“We were good at times, we were inconsistent at times,” Eller says. “That’s where I was frustrated that I didn’t think we played a very clean game overall. And some of that’s due to them, they’re a good team. But I thought we just left some chances out there. But then boom, we’d have a really nice drive and go down and score. And I thought we ran the ball really well straight ahead. I thought Kam Adams ran really hard. Manning Pfantz ran really hard, did a good job blocking for him. And I thought our line did a good job. Just too many penalties at some bad spots. So we just gotta clean all that up.”
Jirovsky had a season-high 21 carries for 134 yards. Kameron Adams led the Tigers with 16 carries for 157 yards.
In Week 7, Grundy Center will play at Central Springs and South Hardin will host Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.
