Iola’s eighth grade football team came out to play while the seventh grade Mustangs dropped a matchup at Anderson County Thursday.
The eighth grade Mustangs earned a dominant 58-20 win after scoring 30 points in the second quarter. The Iola seventh-graders were shut out by Anderson County, 34-0.
8th grade
Iola didn’t need the entire game to show Anderson County who the boss was. The Mustangs scored eight points in the opening quarter before adding on 30 points in the second quarter. The Mustangs allowed 20 points with the Bulldogs scoring a touchdown in each quarter.
“It was a strong finish by our eighth-graders,” Iola head coach Scott Ellis said. “Anderson County came out rushing the ball efficiently against us. We kept on grinding, scoring every time we got the ball. We made them turn over the ball several times which increased our lead.”
Kevon Loving and Reginald Davis each rushed for a team-high three touchdowns while Loving went for a team-high 192 yards and Davis added on 181 rushing yards.
Defensively, Noah Anderson led the Mustangs with a team-high seven tackles, Reed Clift went for six tackles and Loving added five. Loving also had an interception for a touchdown while Anderson had two sacks.
Davis returned a blocked punt for 37 yards to the end zone for an Iola touchdown.
7th grade
The Mustangs were shut down by Anderson County in the 34-0 loss. The Bulldogs scored three times in the first quarter alone.
Lucas Boeken rushed for a team-high 44 yards while Henry Kramer went for 30 yards. Jeep Harper and Hunter McDaniel each rushed for 14 yards. Broden Emerson started under center and threw for 32 yards and an interception.
“We need to get back to the fundamentals of tackling and blocking, playing physical and working as a team,” said Ellis. “The boys fought until the end but we were not able to stop them.”
Defensively, Boeken collected a team-high five tackles while Harper made four tackles and Ethan Hunt had three tackles.
The Mustangs host Santa Fe Trail on Thursday at 4 p.m.
