A pair of third-quarter scoring drives for Iola High, accentuated by a stout defensive effort, turned into a 13-6 win over visiting Santa Fe Trail Friday.
The Mustangs trailed 6-0 at the break, but opened the second half with a 52-yard scoring run from junior quarterback Tre Wilson. Kale Pratt’s extra-point kick pushed Iola ahead, 7-6.
Then, after a Charger punt, Iola took advantage of a 36-yard pass from Wilson to Cortland Carson and a 35-yard run from Easton Weseloh to set up Weseloh’s 5-yard touchdown run.
The Mustang defense took it from there, keeping Santa Fe Trail well outside scoring range the rest of the way.
The Chargers’ last possession ended with a fourth-down incompletion at the Iola 34 with 6½ minutes left.
Iola picked up three straight first downs to run out the clock from there, including a critical 9-yard pass from Wilson to Carson on fourth and nine with 1:31 left.
Both teams were plagued with penalties in the early going
An illegal procedure penalty midway through the first quarter negated an 8-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Carson. The Mustangs wound up turning the ball over on downs when Wilson came up inches short on a fourth-and-long scramble.
Santa Fe Trail’s only scoring drive came in the waning moments of the second quarter.
Xavier Davis’s leaping catch of a 33-yard pass from Rigley Sleichter, followed a short time later by a questionable pass interference penalty on the Mustangs led to a 6-yard touchdown run from Kane Tantaros with 16 seconds left.
Wilson led the victors with 111 yards on 18 carries, while completing 6 of 9 passes for 109 yards. Weseloh followed with 67 yards rushing. Carson had 45 yards receiving and 16 yards on the ground.
Wilson had a team-high seven tackles, followed by Weseloh with six and Nick Bauer and Jordy Kaufman with five apiece. Bauer and Brody Peters received fumbles.
Iola (2-1) travels to Anderson County, which lost 30-28 to Lexington, Mo.
ELSEWHERE Friday, Humboldt improved to 3-0 with a 68-0 thrashing of host Erie, Marmaton Valley also moved up to 3-0 with a 50-0 shutout win over Northeast. Crest dropped to 2-1 with a 52-6 loss to Oswego. Yates Center came up just short a bid for its first win of the season, falling to St. Paul, 34-26.
