FORT SCOTT — With a punishing running attack, Fort Scott High’s Tigers ripped through Iola High’s Mustangs Friday night. The Tigers rolled up almost 500 yards on the ground in a 64-28 victory.
Mustang senior workhorse Jerrik Sigg rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries, scored three touchdowns and passed for a touchdown. Iola offense put up the most points it has all season but it wasn’t enough.
In the Kansas Class 4A, District 6 opener the Mustangs could not stop the three-headed Tiger out of the backfield. Jason Thorpe had 200 yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns.
Dane Cummings carried the football eight times for 124 yards. The first time he touched the ball in the game Cummings went 39 yards for a touchdown. Cody McGehee had 88 yards on nine carries, two of those went for touchdowns.
“Offensively, we did a lot of things pretty well. We moved the football. Our offensive line did a good job of picking up the blitzes for the most time,” said Rick Horton, Mustang head coach.
“Fort Scott sent some all-out blitzes we just didn’t handle. We had some deep passes that were right off fingertips tonight.”
The Mustangs held the lead in the first quarter. Fort Scott used two plays to score the first touchdown of the night but missed the extra-point kick.
Iola answered with a 10-play drive that opened with a 43-yard reverse pass play. Sigg handed it off to John Whitworth on a reverse who gave the ball back to Mason Coons. Coons connected with Sigg.
Nine plays later, Sigg went into the end zone from three yards out and tacked on the two-point conversion run. That put Iola up 8-6 with 7:36 left in the period.
A little over a minute later, Thorpe had a seven-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers back in front. Cummings scored the two-point conversion.
Fort Scott built on its lead when Brady Fink blocked a punt by Iola’s Devon Conner. The Tigers’ Chism Hoener scooped the ball up and raced 35 yards for a touchdown.
Iola was down 28-6 with two minutes left in the first period. Sigg had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Whitworth ran in the two-point conversion.
Fort Scott scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter. The Tigers led 44-16 at halftime.
“We did not make them punt tonight. We can’t win if we don’t stop people,” Horton said.
“We are still in the playoff picture but we have to stop the run. Our next two opponents run similar offenses to Fort Scott.”
Anderson County downed Prairie View in the other district game Friday night. Anderson County is at Iola next Friday.
