A week ago, Iola High was able to cut down on costly mistakes after halftime, and coasted to an easy victory to start the 2020 season.
There was no such reprieve on Friday.
In an exasperating night that saw both teams miss out on multiple scoring opportunities, visiting Parsons High was able to right its ship just enough down the stretch for a back-breaking 96-yard touchdown drive.
The Vikings’ Ethan Houk found Tanner Barcus on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 5:19 left in the game to provide the decisive points in Parsons’s 25-20 victory.
Iola had one final shot to retake the lead, marching well into scoring range, before Parsons slammed the door with a ferocious pass rush. The Vikings sacked Iola quarterback Bradyn Cole three times over a four-play stretch, the last of which came on fourth-and-9 from the Viking 20-yard line with 44 seconds remaining
“It’s frustrating because I firmly believe we beat ourselves tonight,” Iola head coach David Daugharthy said. “We made too many mistakes, and they capitalized.”
The last, missed chance capped an exasperating evening in which Iola came up empty on at least four golden scoring chances. Twice, the Mustangs lost fumbles inside the Viking 25-yard line.
But those paled in comparison to a game-changing series of plays, late in the third quarter.
It started with the Mustangs in the proverbial catbird seat.
A bad snap on a Viking punt set up Iola with first-and-goal at the Parsons 4 and still leading 20-19. But two straight runs up the middle mustered only a single yard. Cole’s third-down pass fell incomplete. The Vikings capped the finished off goal line stand by stuffing Iola running back Trent Jones behind the line of scrimmage on fourth down.
But even though Iola lost possession, the Mustangs still had the upper hand. And when Houk lost three yards on the Vikings’ next play from scrimmage — pinning Parsons at its own 1-yard line — the Mustangs were ready to pounce.
Parsons had other ideas.
A couple of short passes moved the ball to the 13, but still a yard shy of the first down.
Viking head coach Jeff Schib eschewed a punt, instead sending running back Yusil Kindrick up the middle on the fourth-down play.
The risky gambit worked as Kindrick rumbled 15 yards for the crucial first down.
