NEW GLARUS — Had Charles Dickens written books about American football, he could have called Friday’s Iowa–Grant game A Tale of Two Halves.
     Half number one featured superior Panther defense and enough offense to generate a 3–0 halftime lead over New Glarus/Monticello.
     Half number two featured neither superior Panther defense nor offense, and ended in a 17–3 loss to the Glarner Knights.
     “The New Glarus coaching staff made some nice adjustments at halftime and their kids came out more motivated than ours,” said I–G coach Gary Allen of his team’s second half letdown.
     The first half may have foreshadowed the Panther loss, in that 132 yards of offense produced just three points. A 35-yard first-quarter drive that moved the ball to the New Glarus 23-yard line resulted in no points after a fourth-down pass fell incomplete. Another series that featured a Derek Peat five-yard run for a first down on fourth-and-one from the Iowa–Grant 20-yard line stalled out before halftime.
     A fourth-down pass from T.J. Anderson to Dakota Barnes put the ball at the New Glarus 5 yard line on the second play of the second quarter. But a one-yard run and two incomplete passes sandwiched around a false-start penalty forced the Panthers to settle for a 24-yard Cody Rider field goal.
     Iowa–Grant’s defense held New Glarus to just 60 yards of offense and one first down in the first half. The defense came up big after a fumbled punt gave the Glarner Knights the ball on the Iowa–Grant 25, holding the Knights to zero yards on four plays from the I–G 13.
     But the great expectations of the first half faded away to make New Glarus a bleak house for the Panthers.
     “Our defense played very well in the first half but wore down in the second half,” said Allen. “Ross Caygill, Josh Seyfferth, and Dakota Barnes had good games defensively.”
     The turning point of the game came four plays into the second half, when, on fourth and three at midfield, New Glarus’ Jim Chenoweth ran 10 yards for a first down. Chenoweth then added runs of 10, 1, 18 and 5 yards on the next four plays before quarterback Gabe Noyce scored on an eight-yard run to cap off a 57-yard 10-play drive.
     After an Iowa–Grant three-and-out, New Glarus’ Patrick Elzen ran it in from the 34 to complete a six-play 56-yard scoring drive, giving the Glarner Knights a 14–3 lead with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
     Iowa–Grant’s 49 yards of offense in the second half included two interceptions and two failed fourth-down conversion attempts. The first of the interceptions, returned to the New Glarus 14, resulted in a Kyle Larson 25-yard field goal. Meanwhile, 139 of New Glarus’ 169 yards of offense, all on the ground, came after halftime.
     “Our offensive line, which I am responsible for, made too many mistakes and just didn’t get the job done,” added Allen.
     Peat led Iowa–Grant with 72 yards rushing, 46 of them in the first half. Anderson, who made his first start at quarterback, was 9 of 23 for 93 yards, but with two interceptions.
     The Panthers (0–2) will look to bounce back in this Friday’s home opener against Boscobel (0–2).

New Glarus/Monticello 17, Iowa–Grant 3
(from Friday, Aug. 24 @ New Glarus)
Iowa–Grant               0    3     0     0     —   3
New Glarus/Mont.    0    0    14    3     — 17
Second quarter
IG — Cody Rider 21 FG
Third quarter
NG/M — Noyce 8 run (kick failed)
NG/M —Elzen 34 run (Noyce run)
Fourth quarter
NG/M — FG Larson 25
Team statistics
First downs — IG 11, NG/M 9. Rushing — IG 27-88, NG/M 43-169. Passing yards — IG 93, NG/M 0. Passes — IG 9-23-2, NG/M 0-3-0. Fumbles–lost — IG 2-1, NG/M 1–0.
Individual leaders
Rushing — IG: Derek Peat 14-72; NG/M: Chenoweth 16-60, Elzen 7-56. Passing — IG: T.J. Anderson 9-23-2, 93; NG/M: Noyce 0-3-0. Receiving — IG: Dakota Barnes 4-52; NG/M: none.