The Aplington-Parkersburg football team had a strong effort defensively but was kept out of the endzone in a 14-0 loss at Union in their season opener on Friday, as aired on 99 The Wave. It was the Falcons first loss in a series since 2021.
After a scoreless first quarter, Union on a run-heavy drive took a 7-0 lead on a 18 yard touchdown carry by Justice Luke on their opening drive of the 2nd quarter, and was the only score of the first half. A-P was 0-5 on its first half drives with four resulting in punts. Following the Knights score, the Falcons defense settled in with four sacks, forcing three punts and an interception over their next four defensive stands, between the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Union broke through for an insurance score in the 4th quarter on a 81 yard sprint by Justice Luke for his second touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 7:56 to go in the 4th. The Knights forced a turnover on downs and interception by the A-P offense on their final two drives to close out the win.
Head Coach Aaron Thomas on steps to find offensive rhythm and how the team responded on Friday night.
“A little inexperience out of our skilled kids there and that was a tough physical game,” says Thomas. “We just got to get better and it starts with us coaching. We’re gonna have to look at the little things and figure out what it is we need to correct and make sure we’re putting our guys in the best position to be successful. The thing I appreciated, our guys stayed together the whole game. They remained very coachable throughout and they played right up to the end. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get anything going, we couldn’t get anything on the board.”
Junior Benny Waller was 10/20 for 82 yards and junior Creyton Eberhart had 20 carries for 68 yards to lead the Falcons.
Aplington-Parkersburg at 0-1 will host #3(1A) Grundy Center on Friday, a game that will air on 99 The Wave.
