Iola Middle School’s offensive attack was clicking on all cylinders Thursday, with running backs slicing through defenders, quarterbacks finding open receivers and linemen clearing ample space for the skill position players to do their magic.
The defense was nothing to sneeze at, either.
Iola’s eighth-graders moved to 5-0 with a 38-14 win over visiting Burlington, while the Mustang seventh-graders were even more dominant, cruising to a 44-0 victory.
The seventh-graders wasted little time taking full control, leading 28-0 at halftime.
Noah Schowengerdt scored on a 32-yard touchdown run, Nick Bauer connected with Tre Wilson on a 34-yard pass, and Wilson ran in from a yard out before Schowengerdt scored on an 18-yard run late in the half for a 28-0 lead.
Wilson’s seven-yard run in the third quarter triggered a running block. Bauer’s two-yard run capped the scoring a few minutes later.
Schowengerdt rushed for 169 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns, while Wilson had five receptions for 105 yards, and rushed for 38 more. Bauer passed for 105 yards on seven attempts.
Jakolby Hill was a menace on defense with nine tackles, followed by Wilson with five, Easton Weseloh and Schowengerdt with four apiece and Hayden Kelly with three.
Schowengerdt and Braden Stevens each recovered fumbles. Wilson and Bauer both hauled in interceptions.
“Any time you can play Burlington and shut them out, it says a lot for your kids,” Mustang head coach Scott Ellis said. “We responded well from last week’s defeat (to Prairie View.) We played more aggressively, and the boys executed.”
THE eighth-graders utilized tough running, precise passing and lots of hard hits on defense, leading 24-0 on a pair of touchdowns from Jaedon Granere — one on a run, the other on a pass from Kyser Nemecek — and a scoring run from Cortland Carson.
Burlington finally dented the scoreboard late in the third quarter to cut the gap to 24-8, but the Mustangs responded with a long scoring drive.
Nemecek tossed his second touchdown to Granere, which triggered the most explosive stretch of the game.
Burlington’s Brody Anderson returned the subsequent kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, which Iola answered again on its next play from scrimmage, a 56-yard touchdown run from Cole Mathes for the 38-14 cushion.
The Bobcats came agonizingly close to continuing the fun on its first play from scrimmage after that, but Anderson’s 50-yard touchdown run was called back due to a holding penalty.
