The Iola High JV football team kicked off its season Tuesday night at Santa Fe Trail with a 46-20 loss.
Despite the 26-point defeat, coach Dana Daugharthy said he saw some positive takeaways from the squad’s first action of the year.
“Overall, we were very pleased with the effort that the kids demonstrated,” Daugharthy said. “We just let too many big plays get away from us on defense, and that ultimately cost us in the end.”
The Mustangs defense surrendered a quick 26 points to the Chargers in the first half. With the offense having only put up 6 points, Daugharthy’s team found itself in a hole heading into the break.
However, one of the more positive traits that Daugharthy saw was the Mustangs’ resilience in the second half, when Iola cut the lead with two straight touchdowns by Tayton Driskel.
Santa Fe Trail went on to score 20 unanswered points to quell any type of comeback attempt by Iola.
“Things like this are going to happen when the JV team is focused on helping the varsity prepare for their game during the week instead of running our own offense and defense,” Daugharthy said.
“However, the players did not give up and fought until the end, and that is what I was most excited about. The good news is that a lot of the mistakes that were made are correctable.”
Driskel finished the day as the team’s leading rusher with 58 yards on 14 carries as well as his two scores from the second half.
As for the Mustangs’ attack through the air, Kane Rogers went 8-for-11 with 165 yards and a touchdown. Daugharthy called Rogers’ performance in the pocket as one of the best that the JV team has had over the past couple years at Iola.
Nic Peterson was the recipient of that 51-yard touchdown pass, which was Peterson’s only catch of the day.
Ethan Holloway led Iola with 55 receiving yards on three receptions, which was also the most on the team.
Derek Bycroft added 41 receiving yards on his two catches, both of which helped the Mustangs sustain a 7:55 drive during the freshman quarter.
During the freshman quarter, Iola outscored Santa Fe Trail 6-0 thanks to players like Rogers and Bycroft.
The JV team’s next game is Monday at 4:30 p.m. against Prairie View at home.
Iola JV football falls 46-20 to Santa Fe Trail
