Le Mars Gehlen's football team used a big 34-0 win over River Valley on Friday to keep pace with Akron-Westfield at the front of the district race.

The Jays (5-2, 4-1) were in control early as they scored on five of their first six possession of the game.

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"They were mixing it up pretty good on defense to start and they were confusing us a little bit so we came with the run game early," said coach Tony Gunter. "I think the key is that if you can run between the tackles, you can feel the other team out while getting first downs. If you get four or five yards a carry, you can take your time a little bit and hold onto the ball a little bit longer."

Jordan Sitzmann had the team's first score as he found the end-zone from seven yards out to put Gehlen up 6-0 at 10:08 left in the first quarter. The point after attempt was no good.

Quarterback Taylor Wurth kept the running game going as he scrambled out of the pocket and scampered 33 yards for another Jays' score just a few minutes later. Gehlen made it 14-0 after Wurth found Cody Campbell for the two-point conversion.

With 3:08 left in the half, Sitzmann found a hole and broke loose for a 25-yard scoring run to make it a 20-0 lead for Gehlen. The PAT was no good.

Unfortunately for the host Wolverines, the high-powered offense wasn't done yet as Wurth found Campbell again, this time for an 11-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining. Sitzmann added the point after and the Jays led 27-0 at halftime.

Things didn't get much better for River Valley in the second half as it took the Jays just a few minutes to march down the field for another score. Wurth used his arm again to lead Gehlen to the end-zone, this time finding senior wideout Chris Gabriel for the 31-yard touchdown pass for the team's final sscore Sitzmann added another PAT to cap the scoring for Gehlen.

The Jays got 19 first downs on offense while limiting RV to 10 while racking up 330 total yards. The team had 186 yards rushing on 37 carries and Wurth was 8-15 in the passing game for 144 yards and two scores.

Sitzmann carried the ball 16 times for 81 yards and two scores while Wurth rushed 12 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Trevor Bouma continued to make his mark in the offense with a 37-yard performance on five rushing attempts. Campbell carried four times for 15 yards.

In the passing game, Gabriel was on the receiving end of Wurth's passes five times for 82 yards and a score. Campbell had his 11-yard touchdown reception and Adam Nemmers had a huge 51-yard grab for the Jays.

Cole Heissel had a big night for the Jays with 12 total stops, including six solo tackles, while racking up two sacks and a fumble recovery for the defense.

"Anyone who says Cole can't play football isn't watching the game," said Gunter. "He dominates. I can't imagine having to see him coming down at the field. He looks for someone to run over - he just doesn't slow down."

Campbell had 10 total stops and Drew Kellen added eight, six assisted. Bouma had eight total stops and a quarterback sack and fellow freshman Micah Neary had seven total stops in the win.

Bouma also came up big in the special teams department as he blocked a punt to set up Wurth's touchdown pass to Campbell.

Gehlen continues its march to the playoffs this Friday as they host Woodbury Central. The Wildcats are fresh after a 32-7 romp over Kingsley-Pierson and look to improve on their 1-3 district record when they come to Le Mars this Friday.