WELLSVILLE — The Iola Mustangs had a tough go of it Friday, falling to the Wellsville Eagles, 48-7.
It wasn’t a pretty night for Iola (1-1) in any aspect of the game. The team allowed many big plays on the ground and through the air defensively and turned the ball over on numerous occasions offensively. The game-capping play came on an Iola fumble scooped up by Wellsville’s Jake Taylor around the Mustangs 18-yard line with six minutes left in the game.
Wellsville began its onslaught early in the first quarter when quarterback Willie Dorsey found Brody Lee out wide to the left side of the field for an Eagles touchdown and 7-0 lead.
“It’s frustrating. I really expected a different result tonight. We didn’t execute. So I feel pretty frustrated,” said Iola head coach David Daugharthy. “Everything they (Wellsville) did tonight they did really well and that’s the reason they won the league last year.”
Following an Eli Adams kickoff return to around midfield, the Mustangs got on the scoreboard for the first and only time of the night. Mac Leonard rushed the ball in from 13 yards out to tie the score at 7-7.
The second Wellsville drive of the game saw Dorsey connect with his target Lee again out wide to the left for the Eagles’ second touchdown and the 14-7 advantage.
Iola got the ball back, but not for long. A fumble at midfield gave the Eagles possession again. A couple plays later, Eagle Nash Money rushed the ball in from 16 yards out for the two-touchdown lead, 20-7.
“Offensively, We had a few moments in the first quarter, specifically where there were glimmers of hope, but then they flipped away from us whether it be penalties or lack of execution,” said Daugharthy.
Money found the end zone again on the next drive as he rushed in from three yards out for the 27-7 lead at halftime.
On Wellsville’s first drive of the second half, Dezmond Winton took a rush for 59 yards to the house for a 34-7 lead.
“Defensively, our goal was to try and attack the inside and make sure we kept Dorsey in the pocket. We kept him in the pocket but they still ran all over us. We just didn’t execute tackles and didn’t get downhill enough,” Daugharthy said.
Winton’s run was followed by a Dorsey 55-yard touchdown rush in which he dipped and dodged Mustang defenders to scamper into the end zone for the 41-7 lead.
Following a Weide interception on one of Iola’s final fourth quarter drives, Wellsville’s Dorsey found Lee again down the sideline for another touchdown connection to cap the scoring.
Iola will host Parsons at Riverside Park next Friday night at 7 p.m.
