T-R GRAPHIC

ACKLEY — The Gladbrook-Reinbeck football team withstood AGWSR’s comeback and finished off the Cougars for a 44-19 victory in Friday’s 8-Man District 5 showdown to secure the division title.

Both teams brought five-game win streaks into the battle between district frontrunners, but only the Rebels (6-2, 6-0) kept theirs going. Gladbrook-Reinbeck got out to a 28-0 lead before a pick-six by Brody Roder just before halftime kicked off a 19-0 Cougar surge.

AGWSR (5-3, 5-1) got back within 28-19 before the Rebels scored the game’s final 16 points on a pair of Colton Clark touchdown runs. The senior tailback finished with four touchdowns in all, dashing into the end zone on runs of 26, 9, 13 and 37 yards to propel Gladbrook-Reinbeck to victory.

Clark finished with 256 yards from scrimmage, rushing 24 times for 175 yards and catching three passes for another 81 yards. Quarterback Jackson Kiburis added 84 yards rushing and a touchdown while completing 4-of-6 passes for 141 yards, including a 60-yard TD to Aiden Wyatt.

The Rebels outgained AGWSR 448-195 in total offense, taking advantage of a 2-1 turnover margin and withstanding all four tries by the Cougars to convert on fourth down.

AGWSR quarterback Titan Opperman had a pair of short touchdown runs in the third quarter to help rally the Cougars to within nine, but G-R made the closing push to finish off the win.

Opperman ended with 82 yards rushing on 22 carries while passing just 5-for-21 for 74 yards with an interception. Jaden Penning had 44 yards on the ground while Chase Harms hauled in three passes for 65 yards.

Playoff-bound Gladbrook-Reinbeck closes out the regular season with a home game next Friday night against Colo-NESCO, while AGWSR visits Twin Cedars.

BCLUW edges GMG in district play

GARWIN — The BCLUW football team picked up its first win in Class A District 7 play with a 19-14 triumph over GMG here Friday night.

The Comets (2-6, 1-4) went in front with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and added a third-quarter score that would eventually provide the final margin. GMG (1-7, 0-6) scored twice in the second half to get within 19-14 but couldn’t finish off the comeback.

Koty Kruse carried the ball 24 times for 119 yards and a 5-yard touchdown for BCLUW, and quarterback Jessie Moore ran nine times for 87 yards and scoring runs of 1 and 15 yards. Moore’s favorite passing target was Jack Garber, who reeled in five catches for 40 yards.

Noah Cross led the Comet defense with 8.5 tackles, while Garber had six stops, Mason Yantis added 5.5 tackles and Moore had another five.

No statistics were reported for GMG, which played its final game since next week’s non-district opponent Starmont has packed it in for the year due to low numbers.

BCLUW hosts fourth-ranked North Tama next Friday.