It was a tale of two halves Thursday for Iola Middle School’s seventh-graders.
The Mustangs broke out early and held an 18-0 lead over visiting Burlington at the break.
But the tone changed after intermission. Burlington returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown to start its comeback.
The Wildcats added two more scores late, including the game-winner with 2½ minutes left to edge Iola, 20-18.
“Being up so early in the first half and not being able to maintain the lead in the second half makes for a rough night,” Iola head coach Scott Ellis said. “We knew coming in that this was going to be the most physical team we have played so far.”
Things started out quite well for the hometown Mustangs. Cade Curry took a reverse handoff 34 yards to the end zone to open the scoring in the first quarter. Jaxen Mueller made it 12-0 later in the quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run. Mueller then found Curry for a 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to give Iola an 18-0 lead.
Iola just missed on two late chances to either maintain or retake the lead. Axtin Chriestenson had a 30-yard run to put the Mustangs in scoring position, but a fourth-down pass was incomplete to end the drive.
Then, after Burlington took the lead, Iola’s Curry started the ensuing drive with a 15-yard run to push Iola back into scoring range. But that drive also came up empty.
“We ran out of steam in the second half and it hurt us,” Ellis said. “It’s definitely a game we wished we could have executed better offensively and tackled a little more when we needed to defensively.
“I told the boys to keep their heads up,” he said. “It was a good game, and we can learn from it.”
Chriestenson rushed for a team-high 70 yards on 12 carries, while Curry had 50 yards on four carries and a touchdown and two receptions totaling 10 yards and another score. Milo Franklin had 27 rushing yards and three catches for 18 yards. Mueller had 40 yards passing and 14 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Franklin spearheaded the defense with 13 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a quarterback sack. Chance Conley also recovered a fumble and had a sack. Mueller had a sack, while Ty Thomas had five tackles.
A PAIR of early turnovers spelled trouble for Iola’s eighth-graders, who fell, 28-0.
The first was particularly painful as Iola was marching deep into Burlington territory before a lost fumble turned the tide.
The Wildcats responded with their first touchdown of the game on a long run to set the tone.
