ana Daugharthy draws up schemes for his defense, the Mustangs JV football coach doesn’t expect to see a reincarnation of the ’85 Bears.
He’s a realist.
Daugharthy only has about 30 minutes to work on plays with his defensive unit because during the rest of the week’s practice the JV team is responsible for training and prepping the varsity squad for its games on Friday nights.
So Daugharthy knows not to ask the world from his youthful players.
But he does count on one thing: “We don’t expect to light up the scoreboard and we don’t expect those kinds of things, but we expect maximum effort from everybody,” Daugharthy said.
After a 66-22 loss to Labette County on Monday night in Altamont, it was clear the Mustangs failed to grant Daugharthy’s wish — at least on defense.
“It just seems like we got people walking,” Daugharthy added. “That’s just unacceptable.”
The Grizzlies made the Mustangs pay for their sluggish effort on defense, racking up enough points for the officials to start using a running clock for nearly the entire fourth quarter.
The 66 points were the most allowed by Iola’s defense this season.
What appeared to be most frustrating for the Mustangs’ coaching staff was that the game plan seemed effective. On multiple occasions, Iola’s defense bottled up Labette County’s ball carriers in the backfield before the play could really be developed.
But missed tackles and a lack of intensity from the Mustangs proved costly.
“When they go to make the tackle, they don’t break down so it looks like they’re doing a terrible job,” Daugharthy said. “They’re in the right place but they just don’t execute. It’s incredibly frustrating because you can see them right there and it just looks like, ‘Oh they whiffed the tackle,’ and they get an 80-yard play.”
Perhaps Labette County’s quick start out of the gates was too daunting of a task to overcome for Iola. The Grizzlies ended the first quarter with a 26-0 lead.
Of course, the Mustangs’ defense wasn’t the only handicap. Daugharthy’s offense turned the ball over twice in the first quarter alone, and Labette County took advantage of the giveaways by scoring a touchdown on each of the subsequent drives.
A Mustang turnover on downs also gave the Grizzlies the chance for their longest scoring play of the day — a 74-yard touchdown run to cap off a long first quarter.
Iola finished the game with a total four turnovers while Labette County gave up the ball just once, which was an interception by Cale Barnhart just before the end of the first half.
Although Barnhart’s pick helped set up a Kane Rogers’ 37-yard touchdown pass to Caden Knavel for Iola’s second score of the contest, it wasn’t enough to slow down Labette
Iola JV surrenders season-high 66 points in loss to LC
