ON THE LOOSE … Logan Emmons looks for room to run in the Panthers’ win over North Adams on Aug. 27 at Stryker.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
HIGH POINT … Stryker junior Dylan Rivas goes up to catch a pass in front of a North Adams defender in an eight-man game on Aug. 27. VIEW 91 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
STRYKER (Aug. 27, 2026) – The Stryker Panthers blanked Michigan’s North Adams-Jerome Rams in a 54-0 rout during eight-man football play at home Thursday night, Aug. 27.
The Panthers wasted no time, with junior Dylan Rivas recovering a short kickoff and carrying it into Rams territory.
Junior quarterback Cody Stewart carried it a dozen yards for a first down before a pitch and a pair of handoffs to junior Nate Ryan gave Stryker its first touchdown two minutes into the game. Ryan then caught a pass for the conversion to give the Panthers an 8-0 lead.
The Rams started strong with a more than 60-yard return by senior Carter Rader, but after a false start penalty and a failed run attempt, a fumble was recovered by Rivas. Ryan followed up with a 73-yard touchdown run and catch on the conversion attempt to put Stryker up 16-0.
A short, rolling kickoff from Ryan was recovered by Panther freshman Brantley Shock and carried to the North Adams 47-yard line, and a pair of incomplete pass attempts were followed by another Ryan run, brushing off multiple hits for another touchdown. This time Stewart held the ball for Stryker’s third successful conversion and a lead of 24-0.
Another rolling kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Rams possession at their own 43-yard line.
A run and pitch attempt each resulted in no forward progress, and senior quarterback Ryker Campbell slipped and fell under pressure for a loss to bring up fourth down.
Rader punted the ball into the back of another player, resulting in a recovery by Shock, who carried it to the 27.
A 27-yard pass to sophomore Zechariah Rodriguez and conversion pass to Shock put the score at 32-0 and kept the clock running for the remainder of the game.
A third successive rolling kickoff was recovered for Stryker by Rivas and carried to the North Adams 46.
Senior Jacob Ramon ran for 25 yards followed by Stewart holding it for 16 before handing it off to Rivas to run in the Panthers’ fifth touchdown of the quarter. A failed conversion attempt left the score at 38-0.
Stryker’s next kickoff went out of bounds at the Rams 35-yard line, and senior Keegan Hull carried it two yards to end the first quarter.
The second quarter increased North Adams’ woes, with the first play resulting in a Stryker interception by sophomore Logan Emmons, who carried it all the way for a touchdown. Another conversion by Rivas brought the Panthers’ lead to 46-0.
A further fruitless four Ram attempts resulted in a turnover on downs, and after four plays of their own, Stryker notched another touchdown via a pass to Ramon and a conversion pass to Ryan to end the half 54-0.
Due to the extent of the lead, the clock continued to run during the second half, and the quarters were shortened from 12 minutes to 10.
The Rams found some momentum in the third quarter, slowly marching down the field from their own 30-yard line to the Stryker 22, overcoming penalties for false start and delay of game. Another false start and a recovered fumble left them back at the 22 to end the quarter.
That momentum would be lost at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when they recovered another fumble to bring up fourth-and-15.
A failed attempt on fourth down resulted in a turnover on downs, and an injury forced North Adams to play the remainder of the game with just seven players on the field.
Stryker (2-0) returns to action on Sept.5 when they travel to Windam.