Iola Middle School holds off Dragons

Sports

October 5, 2013 - 12:00 AM

PITTSBURG — A back-and-forth affair in which neither scored twice in a row came down to the last seconds Thursday.
There, an Iola Middle School seventh-grader stepped in front of a Pittsburg pass with 4 seconds left in the game to seal a 28-26 victory.
The victory lifts the seventh-graders’ record to 3-1.
In the eighth-grade contest, Pittsburg scored in the second and fourth quarters to break open a defensive struggle, 14-0.
Iola returns home Monday for its next games, against Burlington. The seventh-grade game kicks off at 4 p.m.
Several stars stepped up to win the seventh-grade contest, head coach Marty Taylor said.
“When we needed a big play tonight, we made it,” he said. “This is a very good win for our kids.”
The teams traded touchdowns like bubblegum cards.
Tayton Driskel, who rushed for 211 yards in the contest, took the air with a halfback option and connected on a 27-yard scoring pass to Cole Regehr, followed by Nic Zimmerman’s two-point run to give the Ponies an 8-0 lead.
Pittsburg scored to cut the gap to 8-6 midway through the second quarter. Driskel responded with a 64-yard touchdown run. Kane Rogers tossed the two-point pass to Matt Karr, pushing Iola back on top 16-6.
Pittsburg scored again to pull within 16-12 before Driskel scored again from one yard out with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
Iola’s 22-12 lead didn’t last long. Pittsburg scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 22-20.
Driskel responded with another long run, this one covering 73 yards, to keep Iola on top 28-20.
Pittsburg scored its last touchdown on a 64-yard bomb with 3:15 left in the game, but Iola successfully defended the two-point attempt to hold the 28-26 lead.
Regehr’s interception sealed the victory.
Zimmerman rushed for 21 yards; Rogers for 12. Rogers was 1 of 2 passing for 33 yards, connecting with Karr.
Tim Komma added a fumble recovery.
“Tayton made a couple of fantastic runs tonight, but the difference in the game was his four- and five-yard runs that he had to work for that kept drives going. Timmy Komma and Cole Regehr made some big plays for us.”

MISSED tackles and costly penalties were pivotal in the eighth-grade contest, Taylor said.
Even so, “our effort was fantastic tonight,” he added.
Nik Peterson rushed for 40 yards to lead Iola, followed by Matt Komma with 29, Evan Sigg with 21 and Cale Barnhart with 17. Sigg was 5 of 8 passing for 73 yards. Ethan Holloway hauled in three passes for 29 yards. Isaac Vink had 33 on one catch. Barnhart had an 11-yard reception.
Matt Miller recovered a fumble.
“Bryce Andres really played well from his cornerback spot,” Taylor said. “Nik Peterson is getting better every game when he gets a chance at tailback.”
The loss drops the eighth-graders’ record to 2-2.

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