GIRARD — Iola High was staring down the barrel of its second-straight heartbreaking defeat Friday.
The Mustangs had seen a 21-0 lead mostly dissipate.
Girard had closed the gap to 21-15 on back-to-back drives, and a Mustang turnover gave the Trojans possession once again with less than 4 minutes left.
But in the blink of an eye, in the form of a fumble recovery by Iola’s Briggs Michael, suddenly the Mustangs were back in control
The turnover set the stage for the offensive play of the game three snaps later, when Iola’s Landon Weide reversed course on third-and-eight at the Girard 30. Weide found a crease in the Trojan defense and zipped his way down the right sideline for the clinching touchdown. Iola’s 29-15 victory evens the Mustangs’ record at 3-3 on the season.
More importantly, it pushes Iola’s Class 3A, District 2 record to 2-1 with a showdown against Prairie View looming next week.
“Big win,” said Iola head coach David Daugharthy, who picked up his first-ever win over Girard, as a player or coach. “We were hungry. We wanted to prove we belonged, and I think we did that tonight.”
There may have been a bit of pride involved as well.
Several Iola players noted Friday was Girard’s homecoming night, and were keen on spoiling the Trojans’ fun.
“We came out ready to play,” Weide said. 
IT WASN’T easy.
Iola controlled possession through the first half, putting together back-to-back long drives to move ahead 14-0.
Weide capped the first drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. He then found Tre Wilson on a 4-yard pass early in the second quarter for the second score.
The drumbeat continued from there. Iola’s Korbin Cloud picked off a Girard pass and ran it back to the Trojan 23.
It took Iola all of two plays — both runs by Ben Kerr — to find the end zone once again. Kerr’s 8-yard touchdown run had Iola head 21-0 midway through the second quarter.
Things looked even brighter when Wilson ended Girard’s next drive with an interception, but Iola turned the ball over on downs late in the half — the Mustangs’ first empty possession of the game.
