The Iola fifth- and sixth-grade Mustangs’ fourth quarter rally came up short in a 26-20 loss to the Fort Scott Tigers Wednesday.
Catapulted by a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and a three-and-out stop by the Iola defense, some offensive razzle-dazzle with 7 seconds left on the clock fizzled before the Mustangs could reach the end zone.
The outcome did little to dampen Iola coach Brandon Westerman’s spirits following the game.
“The boys could have laid down when they were down by two touchdowns, but that shows the heart of these boys,” Westerman said. “They kept fighting. They kept moving forward. Fort Scott is a bigger town, a bigger school. It makes me feel pretty good our first game came down to the wire like that.”
After allowing a Fort Scott touchdown in the first quarter, Iola closed in on the Tigers with a 32-yard touchdown run by Jonas Mueller on a double-reverse.
The Tigers built their lead from there, leaving Iola trailing 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs pulled within a score of Fort Scott on a 10-yard run by Mueller, then Iola quarterback Knox Hufferd found Mueller on a flare route to pick up the 2-point conversion. However, Fort Scott returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, which was all the Tigers needed to hold on for the win.
“I’m pretty excited. We saw what we need to work on tonight,” Westerman said. “If we’re that close to winning a game that makes me feel better. The things we’re doing right, we’re doing really well. We put them out there, see what they can do and it showed me who can play where.”
With 2:44 left in regulation, Mueller found the end zone for the third and final time, but the Mustangs did not have enough time to close the gap and force overtime. With his offensive line growing increasingly formidable in the waning moments, Westerman feels confident in his squad as they prepare for their game Wednesday in Uniontown.
“We work on a lot of technique and repetitions,” Westerman said. “We have some big guys on the line but they’re not all big. As long as they’re doing the right thing, then we feel good. If they’re doing their job, and with Jonas back there, we feel really good.”
