GARNETT — It was only fitting that Iola High’s season finale was decided by half-time adjustments on the football field. BOTH OFFENSES registered big plays aplenty early in the contest. WHITWORTH rushed for 128 yards on 12 carries, while Jacob Rhoads had 12 rushes for 87 yards. Kauth and Ashmore added 25 and 21 yards, respectively on the ground. Iola 14-6-7-12—39 Iola AC
After the Mustang defense struggled against the run throughout the first half Thursday at Anderson County, Iola closed those running lanes after the break.
In so doing, the Mustangs put an exclamation mark on their inaugural season as part of the Pioneer League.
Iola scored 25 consecutive points, starting just seconds before halftime, in a 39-21 win over host Anderson County High.
Iola ended with an overall 6-3 record and a perfect 5-0 mark in Pioneer League play.
The tide started to turn late in the first half on a cold, blustery night, after Anderson County scored a touchdown with 30 seconds left on the clock.
Iola promptly marched 63 yards in five plays, the last 39 coming when senior quarterback Mason Coons found receiver Adam Kauth behind a Bulldog defensive back. Kauth raced into the end zone with 2 seconds left in the half, giving Iola a 20-13 lead.
The Mustang defense took it from there, forcing seven Anderson County fumbles after intermission, most coming from mishandled center-quarterback exchanges due to the pressure exerted by defensive linemen.
Seniors Stephen McDonald and Eli Grover were a major part of the commotion, consistently powering through the center and guards to disrupt the Bulldog offense.
“It was a good job by our front,” Mustang head coach Doug Kerr said. “They recognized what was going on and adapted well to their surroundings in the second half.”
Anderson County had nine fumbles in all, losing four.
A fumble recovery at the Iola 27 set up a 10-play, 77-yard drive, capped by a 26-yard touchdown run by junior tailback John Whitworth with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs moved quickly into Iola territory on the next drive, but Iola’s defense stiffened on four straight plays, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Mustang 20.
Whitworth opened the ensuing Iola drive with runs of 22 and 16 yards. Seven plays later, Grover plowed into the end zone from a yard out to push the lead to 34-13.
Two more bad snaps from the Bulldogs midway through the fourth quarter led to a safety in which Anderson County quarterback Jack Rickabaugh intentionally kicked the ball through the end zone to prevent a Mustang touchdown.
Isaias Macias capped the scoring with a 27-yard field goal with 3:31 on the clock.
“These guys’ ability to be coached on half-time adjustments was tremendous this year,” Kerr said. “We’ve played great third-quarter defense all year, and I knew if we could play good defense tonight, then offensively we could put this game away.”
Iola’s Levi Ashmore got the proceedings started at the 8:19 mark of the first quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run.
After fumbles ended both of Anderson County’s first two drives, the Mustangs upped the lead to 14-0 on a 1-yard Whitworth touchdown run late in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs lost another fumble on a bone-crunching quarterback sack by McDonald, but the Mustangs could not convert on a fourth-down pass from the Bulldog 8.
The missed opportunity shifted momentum to Anderson County’s favor for a spell.
The Bulldogs marched 92 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Cale Hedges.
Another Iola fumble led to the Bulldogs’ second score. Weston Gilbreth, who rushed for 183 yards on the night, plowed in on a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the half.
That was it for the Bulldogs until the game’s waning seconds, when Gilbreth scored in a 71-yard touchdown run against Iola’s junior varsity defenders with 1:31 left in the game.
By then, Kerr had allowed the Mustang starters to walk off the field to a rousing ovation from the hearty Iola fans who stuck around through the frigid night.
“We challenged the kids at halftime,” Kerr said. “Our front did a good job once they realized what was going on. Eli stepped up big for us, playing
Coons connected on 8 of 15 passes for 109 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Kauth covered 57 yards on two receptions. Ashmore had 15 yards on three catches. Quinton Morrison, Jacob Harrison and Rhoads had 14, 13 and 10 yards receiving, respectively.
Rhoads also led the Iola defense with 11 tackles — seven solo — and a fumble recovery. Four of Tyler McIntosh’s seven stops were solo. Kaden Macha had 10 stops, six solo, McDonald had seven tackles and a sack. Whitworth, Bryce Misenhelter and Eric Maxwell also recovered fumbles.
Anderson Co. 0-13-0-8—21
Iola — Ashmore 19 yd run (kick failed)
Iola — Whitworth 1 yd run (Whitworth run)
AC — Hedges 1 yd run (kick good)
AC — Gilbreth 1 yd (kick failed)
Iola — Kauth 39 yd pass from Coons (kick failed)
Iola — Whitworth 26 yd run (Macias kick)
Iola — Grover 1 yd run (Macias kick)
Iola — Safety (ball kicked out of AC end zone)
Iola — Macias 27 yd field goal
AC — Gilbreth 71 yd run (Hedges run)
First Downs 16 16
Rushes yds 53-330 46-265
Passing yds 109 67
Total offense 439 332
Passing 8-15-1 4-9-0
Fumbles-lost 2-2 11-4
Punts/yds 1-30 0-0
Penalties 4-30 1-5
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: Iola — Whitworth 12-128, Coons 5-12, Rhoads 12-87, Kauth 4-25, McIntosh 5-17, Ashmore 3-21, McDonald 2-15, Aiello 1-0, Badders 3-(-1), Walden 3-14, Grover 2-9, Heffern 1-3; AC — Gilbreth 20-183, Hilliard 7-32, Hedges 12-70, Rickabaugh 6-(-23), Read 1-0.
Passing: Iola — Coons 8-15-109; AC — Rickabaugh 4-9-67, Gilbreth 0-1-0.
Receiving: Iola — Harrison 1-13, Rhoads 1-10, Ashmore 3-15, Kauth 2-57, Morrison 1-14; AC — Gilbreth 1-23, Hilliard 1-29, Alley 1-9, Ratliff 1-6.
Defense: Iola — Rhoads, 11 tackles; Kauth, 3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery; McIntosh, 7 tackles; Macha, 10 tackles; Heffern, 4 tackles; Whitworth, 2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery; McDonald, 7 tackles, 1 sack; Grover, 1 tackle; Misenhelter, 5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery; Maxwell, 5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery; Ashmore, 2 tackles; Larney, 1 tackle; Badders, 1 tackle; Weir, 1 tackle.
Mustangs cap 2012 with romp over Bulldog
