The Iola High JV football team nearly saw a once 16-point advantage slip away against Osawatomie, but the Mustangs held on to their lead and won 46-36 to take down the Trojans.
“All the kids played with great effort, and that is what you want to see every week out of JV kids,” coach Dana Daugharthy said. “We weren’t always in the right position or we didn’t always make the plays that came to us, but going 100 percent on every play can help tremendously.”
Daugharthy’s squad jumped out to an early and dominant lead thanks to Tayton Driskel and the offensive line that created holes for him on the field.
Less than two minutes into the game, the freshman running back took a 59-yard run to the end zone to give Iola the first score of the day.
After a successful two-point conversion, the Mustangs were up 8-0.
Then, like déjà vu all over again, Driskel recorded a 36-yard touchdown run a little more than two minutes after his first.
Once again, the Mustangs’ were successful with their two-point conversion to go up 16-0.
With a 16-point lead in the first quarter, the win seemed imminent for Iola. But then a couple of fumbles kept Osawatomie in the game.
The Mustangs turned the ball over twice in the first half, and each time the Trojans took advantage of the giveaway by scoring a touchdown on their subsequent drive.
After Osawatomie recovered an onside kick late in the second quarter, Iola’s defense stepped up to prevent any more damage in the first half.
Before the half ended, however, Iola got a another boost from Driskel, who scored on a 25-yard run.
Driskel added two more touchdowns in the second half, one from 32 yards and one from 63. He finished the day with five rushing touchdowns and 276 rushing yards.
Quarterback Kane Rogers was also effective in the Mustangs’ run game by recording 107 rushing yards on the day.
Iola’s offense finished the contest with 426 yards of total offense, 424 of those yards came on the ground.
But perhaps the Mustangs’ best offensive play was kind of a defensive play.
Driskel fumbled on Osawatomie’s 30-yard line and a Trojans player recovered the ball and look as if he was going to return it all the way for a score.
But sophomore Nik Peterson raced down the sideline and brought down the Osawatomie player to save a score.
“Peterson made a play that epitomized the effort that the JV gave all game,” Daugharthy said.
Iola’s JV team takes on Central Heights next week.
Iola JV football beats Osawatomie 46-36
