7th Grade Indians Pound the Panthers and Move to 5-0.
Oskaloosa Indians
The Oskaloosa Indians knew going to Knoxville and coming home with a win against the 3-1 panthers was going to be a challenge. Knoxville had several wins over quality opponents with their only loss coming to a stout team from Norwalk. However, Oskaloosa dominated the A game from start to finish and ended with a 27-6 victory. The Indians worked hard in practice all week on the timing of the offensive plays and it paid off as they were clicking on all cylinders. Vincent Ramirez was a thorn in the panthers side all night as he led the Indian charge on both sides of the ball. On the second play from scrimmage, Ramirez rumbled 65 yards for a score. Blake Van Veldhuizen powered in the two point conversion run making the score 8-0 with less than a minute gone in the game. The Indian defense took the field and stopped the panther offense after surrendering a few yards initially. The Indians took over deep in their own territory and Ramirez again broke loose for a long run breaking several tackles and then outrunning the defense for his second score. The conversion try failed and the score was 14-0. The Oskaloosa coaches made a defensive adjustment after the first Knoxville possession and shut down the Knoxville running game for the rest of the way making it 14-0 at half. In the second half Oskaloosa again stopped the Knoxville attack and Ramirez returned a punt 60 yards for a score. The conversion try failed making it 20-0. The Indians later would add to the score as Blake Van Veldhuizen ran in from 4 yards out. The Indians tried their first extra point kick of the year and executed it very well as Jacob Kime converted the kick making the score 27-0. The Panthers would add a late score on the final play of the game as they converted on a pass play. The Oskaloosa defense held on the point after try making the final score 27-6. Ramirez and Van Veldhuizen led the rushing attack behind the blocking of Cole Jansen, Geoff Fogle, Nick Reiter, Nick Kutz, Richard Phillips, and Tanner DeKock. DeKock led the team in receiving as the offense mixed in the passing game from Tucker Nunnikhoven. Defensively, the Indians were led by Will Kiminek with a fumble recovery, and interceptions by Kime and Van Veldhuizen as well as many tackles from Tanner DeKock, Keaton DeKock, Jaden Van Roekel, Alex DeJong and Ramirez. Zuhayer Mamun played the “next man in” role for the Indians and did an excellent job as he took the place of a key starter who couldn’t play due to illness.
In the B game Oskaloosa was upset by Knoxville 26-0. The defense gave up two early scores and the offense moved the ball but couldn’t sustain a drive. The Oskaloosa defense was led by Geoff Fogle, Nick Kutz, Izaya Strait and Cooper James. The offense also had good performances from Calvin Silvers, Jaden Van Roekel, Levi Fresquez, and Kaden Utterback. Oskaloosa will play its final game next Tuesday in Albia. The Indians are looking to cap off a great season with a win making them the first 7th grade team in several years to go undefeated.
