There was a lot to cheer about at Riverside Park Friday night when the Iola Mustangs walloped Osawatomie in their season opener, 50-14.
The Mustangs (1-0) didn’t waste any time getting ahead, scoring a little over three minutes into the game, forcing three turnovers in the first half alone and another in the second half, and scored 50 points before Osawatomie could even get on the board.
“They were playing with true confidence tonight,” Iola head coach David Daugharthy said. “You could tell when they stepped on the field they were ready to go. They knew without a doubt they were going to dominate tonight and they did.”
On Iola’s opening offensive drive, Landon Weide found Ben Kerr down the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass and the 8-0 lead following a successful two-point conversion.
During Osawatomie’s very next drive, Gage Skahan recovered a fumble and ran it to the house for a 25-yard touchdown and the 14-0 lead.
Weide found Cortland Carson downfield for a 28-yard touchdown pass only a couple of minutes later. He then hit Korbin Cloud in the endzone for the two-point conversion and the 22-0 advantage.
“The thing that is most encouraging is we executed a lot better than we ever have so that’s going to set us up for a little more success against Wellsville than ever before,” Daugharthy said. “We also want to take a lot of confidence from this.”
The Mustangs made it a 30-0 game by the end of the first quarter when Weide connected with Mac Leonard on a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Drayden Reiter ran the ball in from one yard out for a touchdown and the 36-0 lead to start the second quarter.
Weide and Kerr then connected for an 11-yard touchdown for a 44-0 lead.
“It felt really good to get us on the board early and it only went uphill from there,” said Kerr. “We feel really comfortable in this offense. We’ve worked all summer so everybody knows what they’re doing. I threw a touchdown last year but that was it.”
Carson then scampered into the endzone from one yard out to make it a 50-0 Iola lead.
Osawatomie scored their touchdowns in the second half, including a 17-yard passing touchdown to Prestyn Wendt to make it a 50-6 game. Dodge Browning then bursted into the endzone from two yards for the final 50-14 score.
Weide threw for two touchdowns and 163 yards while Tre Wilson rushed for a team-high 61 yards. Kerr and Carson each scored two touchdowns. Reiter, Skahan and Leonard each went for one touchdown.
Iola hosts Pioneer League powerhouse Wellsville at home next Friday at 7 p.m.
