Two shutouts occurred here Thursday evening. One was good and one not so good for Iola.
Iola Middle School’s eighth-grade Ponies were shut down by visiting Columbus 42-0. Before that, Iola Middle School’s seventh-grade football team rolled to a 36-0 win over the Titans.
Iola’s teams are now both 3-2 on the season. The Ponies travel to Coffeyville next Thursday.
“Columbus is a very good team, but we just didn’t come to play tonight,” said Marty Taylor, IMS head football coach, following the eighth-grade game.
“I have to do a better job of getting these kids ready to play. We’ll get back to work and be ready for Coffeyville.”
Columbus held a 36-0 lead at halftime and scored its final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Brice Aiello rushed for 136 yards on 19 carries for the Ponies. Brett Taylor was 1 of 5 passing, hitting Gus Hopkins for a three-yard gain.
Aiello led the Pony defense with four unassisted tackles and one assisted tackle plus a fumble recovery. Ethan Sigg also recovered a fumble.
Taylor had three solo stops, two assisted tackles and caused a fumble. Jake Kress and Jake Gumfory each had two solo tackles and two assisted tackles.
The seventh-grade Ponies scored on four pass plays but only once in the first half. Ben Cooper hooked up with Chase Regehr on a 27-yard touchdown pass play with eight seconds left in the first quarter.
Iola was up 6-0 at halftime. The Cooper-Regehr connection resulted in a 15-yard scoring strike with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Mason Snavely ran in the two-point conversion.
Two swing passes to Snavely accounted for the next two touchdowns. One was for four yards in the third quarter and the second was a five-yard play at the 2:28 mark of the fourth period. Ethan Scheibmeier scored a two-point conversion to make it 28-0.
Nineteen seconds later Hunter Boren grabbed a Columbus fumble out of the air and raced 37 yards for a touchdown. Scheibmeier pushed across for another two points.
“The line did a good job of pass blocking and Ben threw the ball very well,” Taylor said.
“These kids have come a long way since day one but we still have a long, long way to go but they are getting better.”
