BURLINGTON — Iola Middle School’s seventh-grade football team was locked in a back-and-forth affair with Burlington Monday for the first two quarters of the Pioneer League Championship Bowl.
But as Iola’s offense cooled, Burlington’s kept right on cooking.
The Wildcats tacked 20 unanswered points onto its 20-16 halftime lead to win, 40-16.
The IMS seventh-graders end the year at 5-2.
“The game didn’t go as planned, but I’m proud of our season and the effort of these young players,” Iola head coach Scott Ellis said. “We could not stop their big tailback.”
Iola’s Milo Franklin led the Mustang ground attack with 81 yards on seven carries, and a touchdown. Ty Thomas covered 38 yards on two carries. Axtin Christensen added 10 yards rushing and had a 16-yard reception, while Jaxen Mueller had eight yards and a touchdown on the ground, and completed 4 of 6 passes for 49 yards. Cade Curry had two receptions for 16 yards and 15 yards on one carry. Austin Campbell and Christensen each had one reception covering 17 and 16 yards, respectively.
Mueller led the defense with nine tackles, Franklin had seven and Michael Hancock five. Kaiden Jones recovered a fumble.
“This seventh-grade team has a great group of young players,” Ellis said. “Finishing second is not the goal we had in mind, but it’s an accomplishment.
“I’m very proud of how these guys showed up every day to practice, wanting to learn, and being coachable,” he continued. “We will definitely have high goals set again next year with this group.”
