Glenwood, Ia (Northwest Iowa Now) – The Spencer Football team made the long trip south to Glenwood on Friday Night for a Class 4A 1st Round Playoff matchup with the Rams.

The Glenwood Defense, led by Minnesota commit Drake Buthe, took Spencer out of the running game early, as the Tigers were only able to muster 14 first half rushing yards.  Spencer’s defense was able to counter well though, containing the Rams offensive attack that averaged over 375 yards per game this season to only 70 yards late most of the 1st half.

Special teams were the difference early.  After Spencer went 3 and out on their first drive, a perfect Dylan Harris punt pinned the Rams back within their own 10-yard line.  The Tiger defense forced a 3 and out, and a shanked punt went out of bounds at the Glenwood 15-yard line, setting up a short field for Spencer.  The Tigers capitalized with a Larson Vulk Touchdown pass to Logan Wurm, putting Spencer up 7-0.

Glenwood used a big punt return in the 2nd quarter to get to Spencer’s 15-yard line and eventually punched it in on a 1-yard Touchdown run by Quarterback Haze Stephens.  The extra point would be missed though, and Spencer retained the lead at 7-6.

That score would hold till the very end of the 2nd quarter, when a deep throw by Stephens bounced off the helmet of a Spencer defender into the hands of top receiver Myles Longmeyer for a 63-yard Touchdown pass, almost doubling the Rams total yards in the first half with one play.  After a successful PAT, Glenwood led 13-7 going into the half.

A wild 3rd quarter saw each team score twice on big plays.  Glenwood got a 59-yard Touchdown run from Haze Stephens and a 49-yard Touchdown run from Joe Leick.  Spencer had a 61-yard Touchdown run from Quarterback Larson Vulk, and a 45-yard Touchdown run from Hunter Pearson.  Glenwood led 27-21 going into the 4th.

With 9:24 left in the game, Glenwood put together an 8 play, nearly 5-minute drive that was capped off with a 24-yard Field goal from Jace Tallmon to put the Rams up two possessions with only 4:24 to play.

Spencer, working with no timeouts, got down the field in 2 minutes and 32 seconds, scoring a Touchdown on a 12-yard pass completion from Vulk to Shelton Bendlin.  The Tigers were unable to convert a successful onside kick though, and Glenwood kneeled out the clock to win 30-28.

Glenwood ran the ball 40 times for 265 yards on the evening.  Running back turned Quarterback Haze Stephens was impressive, rushing for 104 yards and 2 Touchdowns with 131 yards through the air and a Touchdown.  The Rams improve to 8-2 on the year and will advance to the Class 4A Quarterfinals where they will take on a Sergeant Bluff-Luton team on the road who beat Glenwood 27-13 back on September 18th.

Larson Vulk completed 7 of his 16 passes for 93 yards and a pair of Touchdowns while also rushing for 50 yards and a score in the loss.  Spencer ends the season at 6-4 with their 5th trip to the playoffs since 2020.  The Tigers haven’t gotten out of the first round since 2018.