The Exira-EHK Spartans Football team came into Friday’s game needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and they got a resounding 60-30 win over the Griswold Tigers. It was a night where their big guns were nearly unstoppable as quarterback Bryce Brabham and Alex Hansen combine for 9 total touchdowns. Despite Griswold being able to slow down the Spartans’ offense, they struggled with turnovers and to complete scoring drives. Although quarterback Bode Wyman was able to put four total touchdowns on the board it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Spartans’ efficiency.

The ball game started with a 32-yard return from Brabham to put the Spartans in position early. Three plays later Hansen was in the back of the endzone on a 9-yard touchdown run to give Exira-EHK an 8-0 lead.  However, the Tigers came right with a short drive of their own. After a 31-yard completion to Connor Bowers, it took just a run from Zane Johnson before Wyman would find on the run from 9 yards out. Griswold struggled with two-point conversions throughout the night making the score 8-6.

With a 2-point lead and the ball back it was the Brabham show. He returned the kickoff for 33-yards before cashing in on his only rushing touchdown to bring the lead to 10. After forcing Griswold to punt Alex Hansen would pick up his second of 4 rushing and 5 total TDs to push the score to 24-6. Although Wyman would respond with an explosive 55-yard touchdown run, Brabham came back with the first of two passing touchdowns to Josten Kilworth for the 30-yard score. This would cap a 32-point first quarter for Exira-EHK making the lead 20.

The second quarter is where the Griswold defense had most of their success. They would give up just one touchdown while forcing the Spartans to punt twice and even turning the ball over on downs. The problem was that they only scored once on a 26-yard reverse handoff to Peyton Cook. They were able to move the ball in large part to Connor Bowers but struggled to make the right plays at the right times. They turned the ball over twice (once on a fumble and once on an Owen Juhl interception), while punting and turning it over on downs. Ultimately Griswold would trail 40-18 at the half.

Due to receive the second-half kickoff, Griswold had a lot of work to do. Up until this point the Tigers had not had many solid returns. This changed when Johnson opened up the half with a huge 57-yard return to set up Griswold at the 11-yard line.  However, the Exira-EHK defense would come up with a couple negative plays to help turn the ball over on downs. Taking over at the 10-yard line the Spartans would go driving again capping it off with a 10-yard Hansen reception. As if Hansen hadn’t done enough, he would also recover the ensuing onside kick. Griswold force a turnover on downs and drive down the field. They capped off the drive with Wyman’s first passing touchdown. It was a five-yard score to Auden Wilson who was the Tigers biggest receiving in the second half. The deficit now 46-24 it became the clock was not on Griswold’s side. They would try an onside kick but were unsuccessful. The Spartans would go on to add two more Alex Hansen touchdown runs. Despite the score being 60-24 the Tigers refused to give up. Although Hansen would add an interception to his total late in the game, the tigers were determined to put more points on the board. They would get their wish by getting a 20-yard Cook reception on the last play of the game to make the final 60-30.

On a night with potential playoff implications on the line and the last home game for many, Head Coach Drew Buckholdt was very proud of the effort his team put forth.

Although there is always room for improvement, Buckholdt was pleased with the on-field performance.

When speaking of Hansen’s success, Buckholdt appreciates his attitude and mindset.

Exira-EHK will await a potential playoff appearance and opponent.