PARSONS Forty-eight minutes remained in the 2019 season for the Iola Mustangs as they traveled to Parsons for a consolation game. Neither team playing to advance in the playoffs, but for the Mustangs, it was an opportunity to take revenge from a heartbreaking five overtime loss in week one.
Seniors Zane Whitney and Casen Barker propelled the Mustangs ground game en route to a 38-28 victory. Whitney carried 8 times for 110 yards rushing, and Barker finished with 24 carries for 138 yards rushing.
Zane was everywhere on defense, and made a couple big plays on offense, head coach David Daugharthy said. Casen ran the ball really hard all night, and made some plays at linebacker, and Gary Lower played great up front. All three of our seniors had a great night.
On their opening possession, Iola drove 75 yards down the field, and Holden Barker powered his way into the endzone from the Parsons 1-yard line. Casen converted the 2-point conversion to give Iola the early 8-0 lead.
The Vikings responded with a 65-yard drive that was capped off by a 7 yard touchdown to trim the Iola lead to two. The Mustangs answered back with another long 70-yard touchdown drive that saw Casen pummel his way in for six, and the 2-point conversion, making the score 16-6.
On the ensuing possession, Parsons quarterback Ethan Houk scrambled in the backfield to recover ball snapped over his head 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. On fourth down, with Parsons backed up to their own endzone, Iolas Logan Brown blocked a punt that was recovered by Aidan Jones for the touchdown. A successful 2-point conversion later, courtesy of Casen, handed Iola the 24-6 lead.
Before halftime, Iola quarterback Landon Carson was intercepted, giving the Vikings an opportunity to close the deficit. Houk found an open man from 3 yards out to trim the Iola lead to 24-12 before the break.
To start the third quarter, the Mustangs offense picked up right where they left off. Whitney found open space on the edge for a 45 yard rushing touchdown. Casen was once again successful on the 2-point conversion, increasing Iolas lead to 32-12.
Casen added the final Mustang touchdown of the evening with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter, to make the score 38-12. The Vikings added two late touchdowns reduce the scoreline to 38-28, but overall, it was a dominating performance to close the season.
Top to bottom I thought they played really hard, and we were the more physical team tonight, which is a good feeling to have, Daugharthy said.
Defensively, Brown carries the Mustangs in the trenches with 8 tackles and a sack. Casen added 9 tackles along with a sack, and Whitney finished with 7 tackles.
Although a disappointing 2-7 season, the win shows optimism for the future.
I thought a lot of young kids played well tonight, Daugharthy said. There were a lot of guys out there who havent gotten many varsity minutes, and I thought they showed a lot of good things, and really impressed me.
