NO. 1 PHOENIX WIN OVER NO. 3 ALCESTER-HUDSON

Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy hands Cubs first loss with 38-19 win on the road despite struggles

It wasn’t exactly pretty — the Phoenix had three turnovers and nine penalties — but Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy got the job done against a tough opponent in Alcester-Hudson in Alcester Friday night, Sept. 19.

In a battle of ranked teams, the Class 9AA No. 1 Phoenix defeated the Class A No. 3 Cubs 38-19 in a game that felt closer than a three-score win. That’s largely because Alcester-Hudson executed a solid drive to close out the first half that ended in a touchdown and had the ball to start the second half down just one touchdown. But an interception nixed the would-be game-tying drive, and a Luke Peters touchdown followed to make it a two-score game at 26-13 — too much separation for the Cubs to overcome.

With the win, FMFA improved to 5-0 while AH dropped to 4-1.

Peters had a big night on the ground for the Phoenix, carrying the ball 18 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Riley Tschetter ran for three touchdowns and threw for another, tallying 221 total yards from scrimmage, and FMFA largely controlled the field, coming up with 23 first downs to the Cubs’ 11.

But two turnovers in the red zone in the first half prevented the Phoenix from separating themselves from Alcester-Hudson — the top team in Class 9A in seed points — while penalties set them back nearly 100 yards.

FMFA is off this week before hosting Centerville (2-2) for Marion’s homecoming on Oct. 3 and Irene-Wakonda (0-5) for Freeman’s homecoming on Oct. 10.

The Phoenix close out their regular season in a Great Plains Conference battle on Oct. 17, likely against Avon, which is 5-0 and the second-ranked team in Class 9B behind Sully Buttes.