Indian Pass Game Takes Down Panthers
by Wade Steinlage
Knoxville–The Oskaloosa football team aired it out to claim its first victory of the 2022 season, defeating Knoxville 28-6 in non-district action last Friday.
The Indians (1-1) used 285 yards passing from quarterback Trevor Willett, including 169 to his favorite target Waylon Bolibaugh to move into the win column.
The programs struggled to move the ball through their first three combined drives. Knoxville (0-2) then moved quickly into Oskaloosa territory, but just outside of the Indians’ red zone, Lukas Toubekis stripped the Panther ballcarrier and Jonathan Linder pounced on the pigskin.
Four plays later, Willett hooked up with Bolibaugh for a 51-yard touchdown pass to put the visitors ahead 7-0 at the 10:39 mark of the second quarter.
A Knoxville punt gave the ball right back to the Indians, but Bolibaugh lost the handle on the second play of the ensuing possession. The Panthers recovered and three snaps down the road, they got on the board. The extra point was unsuccessful, leaving OHS up one at 7-6 late in the first half.
Still clinging to a one-point advantage in the third quarter, the Indian offense again began to sputter, while the defense did more than just hold its own. Finally, on his squad’s third possession post-halftime, Willett strung together a few passes, headlined by a 55-yarder to Bolibaugh to make it 14-6 with 4:51 left in the third stanza.
Willett was 17-for-34 through the air, while Bolibaugh caught seven of those throws. Overall, the Indians outgained the Panthers 324-163.
Five consecutive punts followed with very few yards being collected. The fifth punt, by Knoxville, buried the Indians in a deep hole at their own nine-yard line with 9:19 remaining in regulation.
Dom Piersel, who paced the rushing attack with 55 yards on 16 carries, notched five yards on first down and then OHS moved out of the shadow of its goalposts with a 46-yard pass from Willett to AJ Lawrence.
A pair of personal fouls helped get the visitors even closer and then the Willett-Bolibaugh pairing recorded its proverbial hat trick with a 25-yard TD pass play.
As the final seconds ticked away and the Indians ready to celebrate their first victory of autumn, Lawrence capped the win in electric fashion, picking off the Knoxville quarterback and returning the ball 48 yards for a touchdown with 25 seconds left.
Oskaloosa’s vaunted defense was paced by Tatum Westercamp with 12 tackles and one sack. Jonathan Linder was next with 11 stops (one sack), while Toubekis hit double figures with 10.
Maddux Ashman, with 46 yards, and AJ Lawrence, with 41 yards, both had three receptions to supplement the OHS passing attack.
Punter Parker Lewis earned unsung hero of the night honors with a hefty load of seven punts that averaged 37.4 yards per attempt.
“I was very proud of our guys against Knoxville,” Head Coach Brett Doud said. “This was a challenging week for our team that was filled with a number of distractions. I was very encouraged by our ability to unite together and press on. Our leadership stepped up tremendously throughout the week which helped our younger guys feel more confident as we prepared. This game resembled our Week 1 matchup (vs. Ottumwa) where we were unable to close the game out, but fortunately we made some plays down the stretch. I was proud of how we finished this one.”
Next Up: Oskaloosa travels to Burlington Friday for a non-district matchup at 7:30 p.m.
