The Iola Mustangs seem on a roll heading into their final district contest after Friday’s homecoming rout of the Osawatomie Trojans (2-5) 59-0.
Junior quarterback Reed Clift’s sixth touchdown early in the third quarter set off a running clock, allowing the Mustangs to ring in homecoming a little early with a blowout and earn their second consecutive win before their regular season finale against the Girard Trojans (5-2) Friday.
“I told the kids before (the game), ‘this is a good night to make a memory’ and tonight they definitely did,” Iola coach David Daugharthy said. “I’m proud of the effort. Honestly, we came out a little unfocused. We made some mistakes early, but once we focused, we were clearly the dominant team.”
Clift got the Mustangs rolling from the opening drive after capping it off with the first of two TD connections with senior receiver James Hunt. A pair of Clift runs allowed senior running back Roy Gordon, who also had a team-leading seven tackles at linebacker, to punch the ball in from the 3-yard line. Clift made it a three-possession game with a 13-yard run for a TD.
“Huge credit to the O-line; they were moving the D-line and giving me a bunch of time,” said Clift, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 132 yards and four TDs while rushing for 136 yards and two TDs. “I had huge holes to run through and, all glory to God, it was a great game. We were able to move the ball where we wanted.”
Senior defensive tackle Alston Nelson made it a four-possession game after a deflected pass dropped into his hands. The 250 lbs. senior then returned it more than 30 yards for a touchdown.
“[Franklin Kerr, senior defensive tackle] got out faster than me, and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Nelson said. “I was just in the right place at the right time. I thought I had a pass deflection and didn’t realize I had [an interception] until the quarterback started running at me, then Frank saved me from getting tackled.”
A pair of Clift TD passes put the Mustangs one score away from forcing a running clock after connecting with senior receiver Austin Crooks, who had a team-leading 69 yards off four receptions, then Hunt again just before halftime.
A 10-yard TD connection to junior receiver Colton Thompson from Clift sped up the contest with a running clock. Coach Daugharthy then tested his junior varsity’s talents against Osawatomie and they did not disappoint. A pair of interceptions by freshman defensive back Austin Campbell resulted in a pair of Iola scores. The first was on a 29-yard field goal from freshman kicker Milo Franklin and the second was from sophomore quarterback Braylon Keithly hitting his receiver from 8 yards out for Iola’s final touchdown, and what would be the final play of the contest.
“I had a lot of adrenaline from the start,” Campbell said. “He threw it to him and the receiver fumbled with it and I just took off (after catching it).”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Iola locked down a spot in the playoffs with last week’s 55-36 victory over the Parsons Vikings (1-6). The Mustangs and Trojans will play for seeding when they meet at Municipal Stadium. Both teams come into the contest with 1-2 district records.
The Trojans secured their spot, and their first district win, with Friday’s 42-20 victory over Parsons. Their only losses this season came to district foes with previous losses to Columbus (5-2) and Frontenac (7-0), who secured a district title with their 26-7 victory over Columbus Friday.
“This has been an up and down season, and we’ve played some really good teams,” Coach Daugharthy said. “I don’t think this is a trap game, but the kids know what the tough games are. We just haven’t been on top of those. Next week, it’s going to happen. These kids are tough. They’re going to buy in, fly around and we’re going to have a great week of practice.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
FRIDAY’S LEADERS
