PARSONS — A stout defensive effort from Iola early on wasn’t enough to make up for a lack of offense until the fourth quarter in a 21-12 loss at Parsons Friday.
The Mustangs (1-2) held the Vikings scoreless until three minutes were left in the third quarter but didn’t score until a Landon Weide 21-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Korbin Cloud caused the first of three turnovers Iola forced, an interception on the first drive of the game.
Parsons (3-0) wasted no time getting down the field on their opening drive, but Cloud’s interception in the end zone for a touchback set up the Mustangs at the 20-yard line.
“That’s what happens when you have a lot of upperclassmen on defense that have played a lot but they seemed ready to go and they understood the game plan, played fast and executed,” Iola head coach David Daugharthy said. “In years past, these guys have torched us in the air so us being able to do what we did in the secondary tonight made me feel good.”
Iola’s offense couldn’t get things going early and Parsons only made it a taller task with two interceptions of their own in the first half. Weide did have several good connections with receiver Mac Leonard, including a 25-yard touchdown pass but it was called off due to a penalty.
Jordan Kaufman recovered a fumble for the Mustangs at their own 26-yard line midway through the second quarter. Iola also pinned Parsons on their own two-yard line and allowed no room for positive yardage before halftime.
The defense didn’t stop there for Iola as Cloud contributed his second turnover when he scooped up a fumble at the 28-yard line in the third quarter.
After Parsons opened the scoring on a seven-yard touchdown run, Weide found open field for his 21-yard touchdown run to begin the fourth and fire up the Mustang fans.
“He’s been (Weide) pretty athletic all year long so we’ve kind of been waiting for that to happen and it was a good time to make it happen,” said Daugharthy. “We knew they were covering pretty well so we knew if we could get out of the pocket at least, something could happen.”
Parsons’ Cade Brown then bursted in for a six-yard touchdown run to put Iola in a 14-6 hole.
Iola trailed by only one possession but a turnover midway through the fourth set up a Parsons’ Jahmarion Washington three-yard touchdown rush for a 21-6 Mustang deficit.
Weide found Tre Wilson downfield for a 30 yard touchdown pass but a failed two-point conversion left the Mustangs trailing 21-12 with not enough time to complete a comeback.
Iola hosts Anderson County next Friday at 7 p.m. for their Homecoming festivities.
