Late bombs sink Mustang JV

Sports

October 1, 2013 - 12:00 AM

A spirited comeback, buoyed by a brilliant defensive play in the fourth quarter, helped Iola High’s junior varsity come all the way back from a 14-0 deficit.
But a 48-yard touchdown pass from the Buffalos’ Trent Phelps to Colin Gulotta with 30 seconds left in the contest gave Prairie View a 20-14 lead.
Iola had two shots to tie the score.
Iola’s Ethan Scheibmeir broke into the open field on the subsequent kickoff return before he was corralled at midfield.
Then Brett Taylor found Alec Kelly on a 30-yard bomb two plays later.
Kelly collided with a Prairie View defensive back, falling to the ground as he caught it. Had he kept his footing, he likely would have gone unimpeded the rest of the way to the end zone. Instead, the clock expired as he tumbled to the turf.
The 20-14 loss drops the Mustang JV to 1-3 on the season.
“I was really pleased with our effort,” Iola JV head coach Dana Daugharthy said. “We have some kids who play very hard, and it keeps us in ball games. We have a few little things we need to get worked out in our special teams and pass defense. If we can do that, we’re tough to beat.”
The Mustangs fumbled away the opening kickoff leading to Prairie View’s first score, then Phelps connected with Gulotta on a 15-yard pass play with 32 seconds left in the half.
Iola trailed 14-0 before Jake Gumfory busted through the line of scrimmage and rambled 42 yards for Iola’s first touchdown.
Another Mustang drive in the fourth quarter that could have tied the score instead ended up one yard short of the goal line on fourth down.
Undaunted, Iola’s defense wrapped up Phelps at the goal line. Ethan Scheibmeir ripped the ball away as he fell to the ground for the sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery all at once with 6:12 left in the game. Scheibmeir also added the two-point run to tie the score at 14-14.
Iola held on defense again, and moved the ball past midfield before Brett Taylor’s pass across the middle was intercepted by Phelps with just under a minute left.
Prairie View scored 25 seconds later on the Phelps-Gulotta connection.
Individual statistics for the JV game were unavailable.

THE TEAMS wrapped up their activity Monday with a two-quarter C-team scrimmage.
Iola won that contest, 14-0.
“I was impressed because most of our freshmen had already played much of the JV game,” Daugharthy said. “Six quarters is more than they’ve played all season.”
The C-team game allowed Daugharthy to experiment with his players to great success.
Kicker Mason Key suited up at inside linebacker, where he recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
Caleb Alexander, meanwhile, added a 10-yard touchdown run for the Mustangs’ other score.
Ben Cooper highlighted Iola’s defense with two interceptions.

THE JUNIOR VARSITY team also dropped a 20-18 decision to Field Kindley of Coffeyville Sept. 23.
Iola trailed 20-0 before rallying in the second half. The Mustangs scored late in the contest but could not convert the two-point conversion that would have tied the score.
Scheibmeir ran for 125 yards against the Golden Tornados. Alexander carried the ball five times for 70 yards.

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