Banged-Up Oskaloosa Drops Homecoming Bout
Oskaloosa–The Indian football team played short-handed, but battled to the end in a 50-26 loss to Newton for Homecoming Friday.
Oskaloosa (4-2, 0-2 Class 4A District 4), which lost for the second week in a row after a 4-0 start, was outgained 511-220, but gave the Cardinals (5-1, 1-1 Class 4A District 4) a fight with a defensive and special teams touchdown. The Indians were playing without star wide receiver Waylon Bolibaugh, while starting runningback Darryl Fane was also not at 100 percent. Their absences, coupled with the Cardinals’ stout offensive attack, made for a difficult night.
With that said, Oskaloosa was the first program to get on the board. After the Indians’ opening drive stalled, Newton marched into Oskaloosa territory, but on fourth-and-eight, Eli Molyneux intercepted a pass at his own 23-yard line. He darted up the far sideline before cutting back across the field and evading all would-be tacklers en route to a 77-yard return and a 7-0 Oskaloosa lead.
The Cardinals answered right back unfortunately with a long drive, and then forced a quick punt. The visitors continued to move at will, capturing the advantage for good midway through the second quarter.
On just the second play of their ensuing drive, the Indians were intercepted and Newton capitalized for a 21-7 lead. The margin would be trimmed to eight though on the very next play as JaShaden Baker took the kickoff at the Oskaloosa three-yard line and sprinted past everyone for the 97-yard touchdown return.
The 21-13 score proved to be the tightest the game would be the remainder of the night as Newton scored two more late touchdowns to take a 35-13 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals were stopped on their first drive of the second half and a reenergized Indian crew began to claw back into the contest. Keaton Flaherty hooked up with Wyatt Grubb to convert a fourth-down play and then dropped a screen pass to Colin Snitker and Snitker did the rest, scampering 28 yards to make it 35-20.
Another stop meant another opportunity for the hosts and they took advantage, going 95 yards on just eight plays. A massive fourth-down conversion capped the drive as Flaherty threaded the needle on a slant pass to Blake Westercamp and Westercamp went the distance. The extra point was blocked, but the Indians were once again within single digits at 35-26 with 11:09 to go in regulation.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals weathered the storm and punched back with not one, but two touchdowns in the final minutes to secure the road win.
Despite not having his favorite option in Bolibaugh, Flaherty still held his own, finishing 11-for-22 for 166 yards and two touchdowns. However, he was intercepted three times on the night.
The wealth was spread about as eight different Indians caught a ball. Molyneux led the way with two receptions for 42 yards, while Grubb and AJ Lawrence also hauled in two throws.
Snitker topped the ground attack with five carries for 23 yards, while Baker also ran five times, doing so for 21 yards.
Snitker’s outing was even better on the defensive side as he tallied a team-high 17 tackles. Tatum Westercamp was next with 14 stops, while Christian Cavan (13) and Donivan Tighe (11) also eclipsed double figures. In addition to his eight tackles, Ikaika Opheim sacked the Newton quarterback once as well.
“Our guys battled like crazy tonight, but came up short,” Head Coach Brett Doud said. “You have to give credit to Newton. They have a big and physical veteran team. They consistently executed better than we did on both sides of the ball.”
“I am so proud of our perseverance in the second half,” Doud added. “After a rough first half, we fought back and made a game of it. It was just too little, too late. We will try to learn from this game as we prepare for Pella.”
Next Up: Oskaloosa travels to Pella next Friday to face the Dutch in district play at 7:30 p.m.
