PARSONS — The Iola Mustangs are seeking a playoff win Friday at Parsons against a team they’ve become very familiar with.
Iola (4-4) has taken on Parsons (7-1) twice over the past two years, dropping both matchups by final scores of 21-12 and 40-14. This season, the Mustangs held Parsons scoreless until the final three minutes of the third quarter.
Defense has been one of the bright spots of Iola’s football team this season. The Mustangs’ defensive line, spearheaded by Danny Boeken, has been very physical. In wins over Girard and Prairie View, Iola forced four turnovers in each game.
“This is the first year where I’ve seen us be able to force turnovers, as opposed to the other team giving us turnovers,” Iola head coach David Daugharty said. “Our guys are ripping the ball out, and they’re playing at a high level defensively in the run game.”
Daugharty also believes a large group of seniors, 13 in all, have helped the team come together and record the most number of wins since 2016. Quarterback Landon Weide, running back and linebacker Ben Kerr, receiver Korbin Cloud, linebacker Briggs Michael and defensive tackles Korbyn Fountain and Jaydon Morrison, have all assumed leadership roles.
“It’s a tight knit group of seniors. They’ve been playing with each other for a long time, which always helps,” said Daugharty. “It builds camaraderie, but it also extends beyond that because they have good relationships with everyone down to the freshmen. They’re just a good group of kids who are good football players. They look out for the best interest of others.”
IOLA played pretty well in their 21-12 loss to Parsons, says Daughartly. They held them scoreless for most of the game and were able to get on the board.
“Outside of Parsons’ loss to Frontenac, we’re the team that’s played best against them,” said Daugharty. “They are a good football team, but I feel like we’ve improved a lot. We’re ready to take on that challenge.”
Daugharty credits his team’s physicality and toughness as the most important aspects of their game. Parsons brings a physical offense as well, and Daugharty believes that slowing them down will be crucial.
AND even with a tough game ahead, Daugharty knows that win or lose, the program has made big strides this season.
“It was a change of pace this year, but our team was different in how we approached things, how we prepared, how we played the game. I think the kids definitely responded to that,” Daugharty said. “After the Burlington loss, it would have been easy for us to fold, but I was proud of how we went to Girard and won. We hadn’t beat them in a long time.”
Iola kicks off against Parsons on Friday at 7 p.m.
