EARNING A SPOT: With a win, Mustangs can punch a playoff ticket

The Iola Mustangs have the opportunity to give their coach something he hasn’t had yet in his five years at the school.
A postseason berth.
Iola has been close, especially the past two seasons with season-ending losses to Girard costing the team a spot each of the past two seasons.
If coach Doug Kerr and the Mustangs have their way on Friday, they can eliminate a lot of the drama of the final week.
“The last two seasons, we had all that stress on the Girard game and that is just a ton of pressure,” Kerr said. “We only have made the playoffs four times since like 1947, so just to get over that hurdle would be a great accomplishment. I am confident that our kids can do it. I don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket, but I think we can get it done on Friday.”
Iola needs a win over Anderson County in Garnett on Friday night to secure their place in the postseason.
To accomplish that goal, the Mustang defense must find a way to limit the production of Anderson County star running back Kyle Lamb, No. 22. The 180-pound senior has accounted for 57 percent of the Bulldogs’ total offensive yards this season.
“He is a volume back,” Kerr said. “He isn’t going to have six carries for 100 yards, he is going to have 35 or 40 carries for 100 yards. They are fine with three yards and a cloud of dust with him, because unless you get to him early he is going to drag people with him.”
By comparison, Iola star sophomore Tayton Driskel has accounted for 41 percent of the Mustangs’ total offense and anybody who has watched the Mustangs play this season knows how much of a focal point to the offense Driskel is.
Lamb has 184 carries in the Bulldogs first six games and rushed for 774 yards on those carries. He is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and has six touchdowns.
“He is a big back,” Kerr said. “Our kids will not be surprised by him.”
If the Mustangs are able to force the Bulldogs into a passing game, senior quarterback Adam Kropf, No.  10, will be locked into sophomore receiver Austin Adams. Adams, No. 19, has 15 catches for 255 yards this season. The next leading receiver for the Bulldogs is Lamb with 36 yards.
“He makes some big catches for them when teams are able to stop the run a couple times and force third-and-long,” Kerr said. “He makes big first downs to keep drives going. That is the key for us, because if we get them into third-and-long, we have to get them off the field.
Kerr plans to counter Adams by shadowing him with Iola star cornerback Isaac Vink.
“We are going to match Isaac up with him for most of the night,” Kerr said.
Driskel should be able to have a strong day running the ball against a Bulldog defense that has been gashed in the running game the last two weeks.
Last week, Girard ran for 374 yards and seven touchdowns against Anderson County as they rolled to  a 55-14 victory. The week before, Wellsville ran for 256 yards with four touchdowns in its 40-6 win.
Driskel has 816 yards rushing this season and is averaging five yards per carry.
The biggest advantage the Mustangs may have over the Bulldogs is their ability to throw the ball if needed.
Senior quarterback Ben Cooper is coming off his best game of the season with 178 yards and three touchdowns against Burlington last week.
Cooper has had three consecutive 100-yard passing days after not accomplishing that once in the season’s first three games.
Kerr, Driskel, Cooper and company will need be ready to go on Friday  in Garnett as Anderson County is a desperate team, they know that if they don’t win, they will be all but eliminated from postseason contention.