The Iola Mustangs football squad is coming off three straight defeats including last week’s gut-wrenching, near-comeback, Homecoming loss against Parsons.
One of the only teams in the Pioneer League that is possibly more desperate to get a win is Osawatomie.
The Trojans carry a 0-5 record into Friday’s matchup where they will be celebrating their Homecoming. They have fallen victim to a couple of close losses this season.
In Week One, they lost a 26-20 game against Santa Fe Trail when they were tied with the Chargers at halftime. The Chargers defeated Iola 46-10 two weeks ago.
“They have played people very close,” Iola coach Doug Kerr said. “We respect them and we respect their abilities. We aren’t going into this with the mindset of it being a 0-5 team and an easy win… We will have to play our best game.”
The Trojans were dealt a big blow two weeks ago when in a 14-12 loss to Anderson County, senior quarterback Chaseton Wylie — No. 7 — injured his ankle.
The Trojan signal-caller was off to a very strong start through his first six games of the season. He had thrown for 707 yards and three touchdowns and also ran 173 yards with a couple of scores.
“Wylie is a big, strong kid and with him they were a spread team with four- and five-wide sets,” Kerr said. “He can throw the ball all around the field and that is a challenge for us.”
With Wylie out of the lineup last week against Burlington, The Trojans shifted Wylie’s favorite receiver Will Thompson — No. 10 — into the quarterback role.
With Thompson’s team-high 17 catches and 279 yards not available to be targeted, the Trojans shifted to more of a running style and senior running back Cody Hazlett — No. 40 — ran for a season-high 231 yards on 32 carries. Thompson also carried the ball nine times for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats beat the Trojans 52-28, however, and when Thompson was called on to throw the ball late in the game he struggled. Thompson finished the game with 72 yards on 6-for-16 passing and threw four interceptions.
“He is not a throwing quarterback,” Kerr said. “He is definitely a running quarterback. He is fast and is their best receiver, so it really hurts them (without him playing there).”
Kerr said on Wednesday that he isn’t sure yet who will be taking snaps for Osawatomie and that having to prepare for the two very different styles of offense have made it very difficult to prepare.
“We are preparing for two different offenses which has not been fun, but the kids are responding to it really well and they are trying really hard,” Kerr said. “We are learning the keys, but they are two significantly different offenses.”
After the offense came to life late against Parsons last Friday, Kerr is hoping they can carry that over to the game this Friday.
“We are expanding a bit under center to give us a different touch and we have added a few wrinkles,” Kerr said. “As far as confidence-wise, if we can have a first quarter like we had that fourth quarter last week, then every should go really well.”
One thing is certain, both teams will be charged up on Friday in an effort to get their seasons back on track after disappointing starts and that should translate into a lot of energy when the ball is kicked off at 7 p.m.
Mustangs look for bounce-back versus Trojans
