PARSONS — Iola High saw its season come to a bitter conclusion Friday.
Host Parsons, which fields of one of the stingiest defenses in this part of the state, kept the Mustangs in check from start to finish in a 20-0 victory.
The loss in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs ends Iola’s season with a 4-5 mark. Parsons moves on to face Prairie View in the 3A regionals.
The Mustangs had their chances, especially in the second half, as Parsons clung to a 6-0 lead.
Iola moved the ball well on the ground, but never could convert on key fourth-down attempts after intermission.
And Parsons delivered the backbreaker late in the third quarter when Viking defender Jason Smart picked off an Iola pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 13-0.
Iola moved the ball once again inside the Viking 10, but again turned the ball over on downs.
Parsons workhorse Jahmarion Washington, who unofficially rushed 32 times for 181 yards, then delivered the final salvo on a 36-yard touchdown run.
