Down 12-0 heading into the fourth quarter, Iola Middle School’s eighth-grade Ponies did not give up the fight Thursday night.
Kaden Macha, who had 52 yards on 15 carries, found the end zone from nine yards out with seven minutes to play. Macha tossed a two-point conversion pass to Caleb Mock.
Now it was a four-point game. All the Ponies had to do was hold Labette County and get the ball back.
Or recover an onside kick. Shane Walden’s kick was recovered by Iola teammate Tryston Ingle.
The go-ahead march down the field wasn’t easy. Isaiah Grover broke off a 12-yard run after being hit in the backfield on a third-down-and-10.
Then the Ponies faced a fourth down and five at the Grizzlies’ 23-yard line. Macha completed a 20-yard pass to Drew Faulhaber.
Faulhaber put the Ponies in front with a three-yard touchdown run at the 2:41 mark. The two-point play failed, leaving it 14-12.
“This was a total team effort,” said Marty Taylor, IMS head coach. “They could have quit at any time in the second half but instead they bowed their necks and got the job done.”
Labette County scored on its first possession of the game and led 6-0 at halftime. The Grizzlies scored again late in the third quarter.
Faulhaber ran for 35 yards on 10 carries and was 2 of 7 passing for seven yards and one interception. Macha was 2 of 3 passing for 23 yards.
Grover rushed for 15 yards and caught a pass for six yards. Mock made two catches for four yards.
On defense, Macha had four unassisted tackles and seven assisted while Mock, Alex Bauer, Grover and Trey Colborn each had four solo tackles. Walden had four assisted tackles and an interception.
Colton Heffern and Ingle each had a fumble recovery. Brock Peters, Faulhaber and Blayke Reynolds each had a solo tackle.
Taylor gave credit to his assistant coaches — Bob Macha, Travis Hermstein and Tim Siebol — for getting the Iola players ready to play.
Iola (2-0) goes to Chanute next Thursday to play Royster Middle School.
Eighth-grade Ponies rally to beat Grizzlies
