Iola JV football defeats Central Heights 30-22

RICHMOND — It didn’t take long for the Central Heights JV football team to record the first touchdown of Monday’s matchup with Iola.
In fact, it took all of 10 seconds for the Vikings to return the opening kickoff for a score.
But then again, it didn’t take long for Central Heights to lose that lead either.
 Behind a five-touchdown performance by running back Tayton Driskel, the Mustangs overcame an early 8-0 deficit to defeat the Vikings 30-22 on the road.
“(Driskel) is good,” coach Dana Daugharthy said. “He is probably the best JV running back I’ve ever had … He’s something special.”
The freshman running back was Iola’s only scorer on the afternoon and he did it all on the ground.
And he didn’t waste any time padding his stats either.
Three of Driskel’s five touchdowns on the day came in the first quarter.
Although the Mustangs were unable to convert on any of their two-point conversions throughout the game, a 18-8 first quarter advantage was more than enough for Iola to assume control of the contest on the road.
“I was a little nervous about that kick return right off the bat but it’s a good sign to see, especially with these young kids, stepping up to adversity,” Daugharthy said.
However, the Mustangs continued to make their head coach sweat on the sidelines when the Vikings were able to add a pair of touchdown runs in the second half — one late in the third quarter and one late in the fourth.
But following Central Heights’ score in the third quarter to cut Iola’s lead down to 18-14, Driskel responded by finding the end zone twice to put his team up 30-14.
So when the Vikings were able to record a late touchdown along with a two-point conversion to make it an eight-point contest, it proved to be too little and too late because of Driskel’s clutch performance in the backfield.
“He’s going to be good not only this year,” Daugharthy said of his star running back, “but also in the program moving forward.”
With Driskel having the game that he did, the Mustangs didn’t need a whole lot from quarterback Kane Rogers. But the freshman was able to complete a couple of down-field passes to help provide a little balance to a team that mostly relies on the run game.
Defensively, Nate Evans came up with a crucial interception in with 5:21 in the fourth quarter.
Central Heights threw a ball into the end zone when it was down 24-14, but Evans was there for the easy pick. The turnover allowed Iola to score once more and seal the win.
“Overall really good effort,” Daugharthy said.
The Mustangs play next at Wellsville on Monday.