Wolves show teeth in first round playoff win

 CORNING (Oct. 16) -- The IKM-Manning football team did not look, act or play like the underdog in Friday night’s opening round of the Class A playoffs.
   IKM-M senior fullback Kyler Rasmussen scored rushing touchdowns of 3, 5, 20 and 5 yards to lead the Wolves past Southwest Valley 34-20 in Corning.
 IKM-Manning (3-5) used a powerful ground attack to dominate the first half and reached the break with a 27-0 lead when quarterback Nolan Ramsey connected with Cooper Irlmeier on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.
 Southwest Valley, which finished 6-3, scored two third-quarter touchdowns to make it interesting, but the Wolves regained momentum with a 14-play scoring drive sustained by a crucial running-into-the-punter penalty on the first play of the fourth quarter.
   IKM-Manning advanced to play at 6th-ranked Logan-Magnolia (6-1) in a second round playoff game Friday, Oct. 23.
 “We just came in with that extra intensity and had a little chip on our shoulder,” said Rasmussen, who finished with 29 carries for 211 yards and four TDs while also leading the defense with six solo tackles and 10 assists.
 “It seemed like we were on offense more than we were on defense, so that really helps. Coach (Tom Casey) always says, ‘Long drives, first downs, score at the end,’ and I think we did that.”
 Friday marked the Wolves’ first playoff win since 2014 and provided a nice milestone for the team’s small crop of five seniors.
 The Wolves punted on the first series of the night (their only punt), then recovered a Timberwolves’ fumble six plays later and dominated the rest of the first half with scoring drives of 51, 93, 40 and 81 yards. They scored three times in the final 4:10 of the half.
 IKM-Manning outgained Southwest Valley 386-216 in total offense, including 307 rushing yards on 47 carries.

IKM-Manning 34, Southwest Valley 20
IKM-M: Kyler Rasmussen 3-yd. run (kick failed) - 1st qt., 2:38.
IKM-M: Rasmussen 5-yd. run (Drew Doyel kick) - 2nd qt., 4:10.
IKM-M: Rasmussen 20-yd. run (Doyel kick) - 2nd qt., 1:45.
IKM-M: Cooper Irlmeier 25-yd. pass from Nolan Ramsey (Doyel kick) - 2nd qt., 0:16.
SW Valley: Brendan Knapp 4-yd. run (Kade Hutchings kick) - 3rd qt., 5:36.
SW Valley: Hunter Crill 1-yd. run (Hutchings kick) - 3rd qt., 2:08.
IKM-M: Rasmussen 5-yd. run (Doyel kick) - 4th qt., 6:33.
SW Valley: Knapp 2-yd. run (kick blocked) - 4th qt., 0:58.
IKM-Manning Individual Stat Leaders:
    Rushing -- Kyler Rasmussen 29-211, Cooper Irlmeier 12-79, Drew Doyel 4-22. Passing -- Nolan Ramsey 7-8-0, 79. Receiving -- Irlmeier 3-51.
    Punting -- Rasmussen 1-50.
    Tackles -- Rasmussen 6s/10a, Brody Swearingen 4s/10a, James Vega 4s/8a, Mitchell Kerkhoff 6s/5a, Doyel 1s/6a, Andan Spooner 1s/4a. QB Sacks -- Vega 1.0, Spooner 1.0.
 Fumble recovery -- Kerkhoff. Blocked PAT -- Swearingen.