It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a victory nonetheless as the Iola High opened the 2024 football season with a 23-20 win over Baldwin Friday on a picturesque evening at Iola’s Riverside Park.
The Mustangs took full advantage of key turnovers, repelled a pair of Bulldog drives deep in Iola territory, and seemingly had the game well in hand late into the fourth quarter.
Iola’s Easton Weseloh broke containment for a 49-yard touchdown run with under 4 minutes remaining, putting Iola on top 23-6 before a calamitous sequence almost undid all of what Iola had worked so hard to build over the previous 2 hours.
Baldwin promptly marched down the field in four plays, capped by Bryis Alford’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Ryder Nigh with 2:29 remaining. And then, the Bulldogs scored again 11 seconds later on a 40-yard fumble return to the end zone.
Suddenly, Iola’s lead had been winnowed down to three precious points with 2:18 still showing on the clock.
What’s more, Baldwin still had two timeouts and plenty of opportunities to stop the clock and get the ball back.
But Iola recovered the subsequent onside kick, before the Mustangs’ Tre Wilson gained 7 and 6 yards on back-to-back runs to record the critical first down, allowing Iola to run out the clock from there.
The ending capped a memorable night for Wilson, Iola’s dynamic junior who scored Iola’s first two touchdowns.
His first score, a 2-yard reception from Jakolby Hill midway through the first quarter, was set up by Wilson’s own 52-yard completion to Nick Bauer on a halfback pass.
Baldwin scored later in the quarter to close Iola’s lead to 7-6, and threatened to score headed into halftime before Wilson picked off Alford’s pass into the end zone on the last play before intermission.
The fun continued in the third quarter. Wilson blasted through the line, broke through a couple of tackles and was off like a flash to score on a 32-yard touchdown run, pushing Iola’s lead to 13-6.
And when Baldwin misplayed the subsequent kickoff, allowing Iola’s Brody Thompson to recover the ball at midfield, Iola marched once again into scoring position. The drive stalled, however, leading to a 21-yard field goal from Kale Pratt, making it 16-7.
Baldwin wasn’t finished.
Alford found receiver Jackson Rood for a 32-yard reception to the Mustang 1 yard line in the waning seconds of the third quarter.
But a bad snap on the next play put the ball on the turf, and into the waiting arms of Iola’s Pratt to give the Mustangs possession once again.
