Iola had a double whammy of bad news Friday.
First, the Mustangs had no answer for Santa Fe Trail’s passing attack in a 44-34 loss to wrap up the regular season.
More importantly, Burlington’s 41-27 win over Girard and Prairie View’s 48-13 victory over Anderson County, meant that despite tying for first place in their Class 3A district bracket, Iola will be relegated to the third seed in the upcoming playoffs.
Point differential in district games gives the championship to Prairie View. And because Burlington edged Iola, 46-42, in Week 5, the Wildcats got the runner-up slot.
And that means a road playoff game next week, most likely against Parsons.
So while head coach David Daugharthy’s sights already are set on the playoffs, he noted Iola has a few items that need fixing if the Mustangs want to stick around in the postseason.
“We got exposed pretty badly,” Daugharthy said. “They threw the ball well and made us look bad in the secondary. When you can’t put pressure on the quarterback and you can’t cover, it’s not a good combination.”
Unofficially, Santa Fe Trail’s Luke Edwards racked up 383 passing yards, and touchdowns covering 17, 69, 73 and 52 yards.
Iola wasn’t exactly a slouch when it had the ball, moving the ball most the evening against the Charger defense.
But a few misfires allowed Santa Fe Trail to take control late in the first half.
Edwards connected twice with Trent Sleichter on passes covering 69 and 73 yards as the Chargers forged a 30-14 lead at halftime.
Iola’s Landon Weide opened the third quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cortland Carson, and a Korbin Cloud interception gave the Mustangs a badly needed stop on defense.
But as the Mustangs were marching to midfield, a deflected pass was picked off by the Chargers’ Julion Daniels to stifle any sort of comeback attempt.
Santa Fe Trail effectively put the game away with its ensuing drive, holding the ball until the mid-point of the fourth quarter and cashing on a Colten Warthen 3-yard run to pull ahead 38-20.
Weide and Ben Kerr both scored touchdowns down the stretch for Iola, but the Mustangs were unable to recover either subsequent onside kick attempts.
