Iola Middle School’s seventh-graders kicked off the season in winning fashion, rolling over visiting Osawatomie 36-6 Thursday.
The eighth-grade Mustangs came up short in a defensive struggle, 8-0.
“It was a good start for our seventh grade kids,” head coach Scott Ellis said. “Our offense tonight had several who contributed. This group has several options to go to and should get better as the session progresses.”
Axtin Christienson rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns for the seventh-graders, while Milo Franklin added 48 yards and two more scores. Jaxen Mueller threw for 20 yards on two passes to Cade Curry.
Defensively, Christienson pulled in a pair of fumble recoveries. Ty Thomas had five tackles; Corbin Coffield added four stops.
“Ty played relentlessly,” Ellis said, adding Iola’s pressure forced Osawatomie into a number of mistakes.
“There are several things to work on, but that’s expected with a young group,” he said. “I’m proud of how we started.”
IOLA’S eighth-graders missed out on scoring chances, largely due to mistakes.
“We kicked ourselves a couple of times that would have led to points,” Ellis said. “We didn’t score, but that was not from lack of effort. Our backfield ran hard and just came up a little short tonight. We have plenty to work on and get better.”
Lucas Boeken carried for 38 yards, while Broden Emerson had 33 yards and Hunter McDaniel 30. Emerson passed for 42 yards and Braylon Keithly threw for 32.
McDaniel had 37 yards on two receptions. Henry Kramer had a pair of catches covering 18 yards.
Emerson paced the defense with nine tackles. McDaniel followed with seven.
