A goal-line stand with 5:04 remaining in the game energized Iola High’s Mustangs Friday night.
Three plays and 94 yards later, the Mustangs gained the lead over visiting Labette County High’s Grizzlies. They never relinquished it.
Jerrik Sigg, senior tailback, out ran every player on the field to the end zone. It was a 71-yard run that put Iola in a position to take the lead. The Mustangs still trailed 15-14. A two-point run by Sigg handed the lead to Iola.
“I’ve been waiting for this a long time. This was for my team, my school and the community,” Sigg said after the Mustangs broke a 16-game losing streak with a 24-15 victory. It was a great homecoming gift for Iola High.
On the ensuing kickoff, a short kick bounced off a Labette County player and senior Gavin Wilson made the recovery. There was 3:56 left in the game.
Sigg picked up five yards on a carry. On the play, the Grizzlies had a late hit on Sigg costing them 15 yards. The Mustangs made them pay with two runs by Sigg — the second a 10-yard run to the end zone. Sigg tacked on the two-point conversion.
“We knew we had it in our hands when we made the goal-line stand. John (Whitworth) had a strong run to get us out from under the goal posts,” Sigg said.
“This is awesome.”
Sigg scored all three Iola touchdowns. The first came on the opening drive of the second half. Again Whitworth made a 20-yard run followed by a 56-yard dash to paydirt by Sigg. Sigg punched the ball over for the two-point conversion.
Iola led 8-7. Labette County’s Hunter Seibert had a 96-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“We waited until the second half to bring out the ‘wildcat’ offense. We didn’t want Labette to have time to make adjustments at half,” said Rick Horton, Mustang head coach.
“They couldn’t and our guys really came out and played well in the second half.”
Sigg finished with 226 yards on 30 carries plus caught two passes for 20 yards. Mason Coons was 4 of 11 for 34 yards and an interception. Clint Heffern made two catches for 14 yards.
Once Iola scored in the third quarter, the Mustang defense held the Grizzlies in check. Unfortunately, a Labette County punted football touched Iola’s returner Devon Conner and the Grizzlies recovered the football. That led to a three-yard touchdown run by Cole Traxson. The Grizzlies went up 15-8.
“We told everybody to keep their heads up,” Sigg said. “We were still confident and we picked Devon up. We didn’t think it hit him but we put it behind us and played the game.”
