Miscues in all three-phases of the game allowed the Burlington Wildcats to come away with a 48-38 victory over the Iola Mustangs.
The Mustangs’ playoff prospects remain murky as they enter the final week of the regular season needing a win against Prairie View Buffalos, 6-1.
If Iola, 2-5, pulls that off, they still would face another tough test as one of the lowest seeded teams in the playoffs.
“It’s tough. There are losses that are always going to stick with you, and this is one,” Iola coach David Daugharthy said.
The Mustangs played from behind for the majority of Friday’s contest.
Iola pulled within a point of the Wildcats after sophomore quarterback Reed Clift completed the first of his three touchdowns after finding junior running back Kale Pratt on a short out-route, which developed into a 20-yard TD reception after a few broken tackles.
“We just couldn’t figure it out,” Daugharthy said. “We made a lot of plays on offense. On defense, we just could not capitalize on them. There are flashes where we look like a really good football team, then flashes where we look like a really bad football team. Ultimately, we could not put together a team game tonight.”
Burlington continued finding success on the ground with more than a few Iola broken tackles. But with each score Iola found a way to respond.
After initially dropping a kickoff after Burlington took a 14-6 lead, junior receiver Jase Herrmann scooped it up, returning it 58 yards for a touchdown.
The teams traded blows with Reed finding junior receiver Austin Crooks on a 44-yard yard bomb then Pratt on a 9-yard TD.
The deciding factor was Iola’s lackluster tackling, resulting in Burlington coming 12 yards short of reaching 500 rushing yards.
Wildcat senior Hunter Kole racked up 343 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
A pair of touchdown throws by Pratt, the first to junior receiver James Hunt for a 36-yard TD and the second to Crooks for a 54-yard TD, kept Iola in contention but they could not capture the lead.
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 1-2 in district play.
With only four of five district seats making the postseason, it’s between Iola and Anderson County to win a postseason spot.
The Bulldogs are 1-3 in district play, with losses to Prairie View and Iola, but they defeated Burlington earlier this month.
