Mustang JV falls to Cherryvale

Missed chances were costly Monday for Iola High’s junior varsity football team.
The Mustangs came up empty on several possessions in scoring territory, and didn’t dent the scoreboard until the game’s waning moments of a 22-6 loss to visiting Cherryvale.
The loss at Iola’s Riverside Park drops the Iola JV record to 1-1 on the season.
Even with the loss, JV head coach Dana Daugharthy was encouraged.
“We played against a lot of their varsity kids, and we played them very tough,” Daugharthy said. “I was happy with how we played hard to the end.”
Iola was facing a shutout until Ben Cooper found Chase Regehr on a short pass that turned into an 18-yard touchdown pass when Regehr outraced a handful of Charger defenders to the end zone.
Problem was, only 90 seconds remained in the game.
Iola missed on a golden scoring opportunity in the second quarter, after taking possession at the Mustang 5.
A mixture of Cooper passes to Gus Hopkins and the running of Nate Evans and Ethan Scheibmeir led the way as the Mustangs held the ball for more than 8 minutes, marching 87 yards.
But the drive stalled inside the Cherryvale 10. A pair of Cooper passes were dropped by receivers, including one in the end zone, and a fourth-down play went for naught.
“We had some penalties that hurt,” Daugharthy said.
The Chargers took a 14-0 lead into halftime, on a pair of Brenan Menzer touchdown runs in the first quarter, covering four and three yards.
Defenses ruled through the third period until Cherryvale sealed the win early in the final quarter on a one-yard run by Lane Raida. The ensuing 2-point conversion gave the Chargers a 22-0 lead.
Iola came up empty on other scoring chances. The Mustangs recovered a Cherryvale fumble late in the first half in Charger territory, but went three-and-out.
“I was happy with our passing game,” Daugharthy said. “I’m normally not a passing coach, but they were clogging the box, and we were able to make some plays.”
Cooper and Brett Taylor split time at quarterback and connected on several occasions with Regehr and Gus Hopkins.
“Ethan Scheibmeir did a nice job for us on both sides of the ball,” Daugharthy said. “Chase Regehr played well out of our backfield, and Seth Sanford really stood out for us on defense. As a whole, the entire team did a nice job against their varsity players.”
Statistics were unavailable.