The Iola High School football team will face Frontenac Friday night in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Raiders will host the Mustangs.
The Mustangs (2-6; 0-2) have fallen on tough times this season but have fought hard to work through their adversity of injuries and tougher teams that are near the top of their respective divisions.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Kaufman and running back Courtland Carson have been forced to step into starting roles due to the high number of injuries.
“With all of the injuries piling up, we’ve already faced a lot of adversity,” said Iola football senior Jake Skahan. “We’re doing something we’ve dealt with all season with the injuries so we really have nothing to lose. Our starting quarterback Landon Weide going down has been really hard, Wyatt Westervelt went down week three and that’s been really tough.”
The Mustangs are undoubtedly excited for the opportunity to take the field and see it as a chance to prove what they are made of one last time.
Even through the struggles of a two-win season, the Mustangs want to spark a new beginning for future teams down the road.
“We’re super excited,” said Mustang senior Carter Hutton. “It feels good. There’s not many Iola teams before us that could make it to the playoffs. We’ve not had the best season of course but we won the game we had to make it.”
Skahan continued on what the opportunity means.
“It’s a special moment for us,” said Skahan. “Frontenac is a really tough opponent. Last year they were state runner-up, so they think they have a really good chance. We really just want to go out and show that we’re the underdogs and go on their home field and ruin it for them.”
The team believes its adversities have made it a stronger unit.
“In life you’re going to have ups and downs but you’ve still got to push through with what you have,” Skahan said. “Although we have all these setbacks, we still have to finish the season. We just have to deal with what we have and keep going.”
It’s both Skahan and Hutton’s fourth season donning the gold and blue on Friday nights and the pair will miss being a part of a special group of players. The senior year of any student-athlete can be hard to say goodbye but especially for this year’s Mustangs.
Hutton has contributed most on the ground where he has racked up 23 rushing yards while Skahan has hauled in 27 receiving yards for one touchdown catch.
“It’s something I’ll look back on and say ‘Wow, I’m glad I put all that hard work in to become a leader because it’s fun leading a group of guys,” said Hutton. “We’re not the best football team, but we have fun and it’s fun leading guys like this team we have.”
Iola has outscored most of its opponents in the second half this season, one of the biggest strengths of the team. This may be a key factor for the Mustangs to come out on top in their playoff game at Frontenac on Friday.
