Indians Close Season with Loss to Perennial Power
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Oskaloosa football team unfortunately could not give its senior class a memorable upset to close out their careers as the Indians lost 38-14 to Cedar Rapids Xavier in Class 4A District 4 action last Friday.
Oskaloosa (4-5, 0-5 District 4) celebrated its seniors before the bout, but once the contest began, it was all Saints (8-1, 5-0 District 4), who appear primed for a deep playoff run. The final stats, though, were actually quite favorable to the hosts as they owned a 275-208 advantage in yards, courtesy of a pair of long scoring drives in the waning minutes. CRX did not run up much of a yardage tally as many of its scoring drives started in Oskaloosa territory.
The Indians were strong at the onset as Keaton Flaherty connected with Waylon Bolibaugh for 10 yards on the first play of the game. Unfortunately, the door was was immediately shut on the hosts.
Cedar Rapids Xavier then needed just five plays to get on the scoreboard. After another a quick three-and-out, the Saints doubled their advantage to 14-0 with a 49-yard touchdown on their first play.
Another OHS three-and-out and a huge punt return by CRX set up the Saints’ third score. Oskaloosa attempted to break its cycle of struggling in its next possession by trying to convert on fourth down, but unfortunately the pass was broken up. With just 20 yards to paydirt, Cedar Rapids Xavier hit the endzone four plays later to make it 28-0.
Following yet another quick three-play possession, the Indians finally had a positive as Eli Molyneux stripped and recovered a Saint fumble near midfield.
The positive feelings immediately subsided, however, as Oskaloosa was denied on another fourth-down attempt.
A moral victory was finally earned to open up the second quarter as CRX was limited to a 35-yard field goal. The Saints’ defense then capped the team’s scoring with an interception return for touchdown on OHS’s next drive for a 38-0 lead.
The Indians answered with a pair of drives into its opponent’s territory, but both possessions were eventually snuffed out with no points being scored.
Facing a 38-0 deficit coming out of intermission, the final half for Indians should have been a short one. The benches emptied and the running clock rule was enforced, but out of the blue, the Indians were suddenly on the scoreboard. With his team at its own three-yard line on second-and-10, Colin Snitker broke through the line and darted past the entire Cedar Rapids Xavier defense for a 97-yard touchdown.
The momentum grew from there for the Indians as the defense forced a punt. A bad snap on OHS’ first play did put the hosts in poor position, but back-to-back big runs from Snitker gave the Indians a first down. Following a pass interference call against CRX, Flaherty connected with Bolibaugh for the last time in Flaherty’s career, scoring on a 33-yard play.
In a pass-heavy offensive attack, Flaherty completed 15 of his 37 throws for 156 yards. Bolibaugh was his favorite target, tallying seven receptions for 84 yards. AJ Lawrence managed three grabs for 20 yards and Wyatt Grubb ended up with two receptions for 16 yards. Cade Kelderman had a 30-yard catch as well.
Headlined by his 97-yard touchdown run, Snitker finished his final game in the maroon with 128 yards on five attempts. He was everywhere on Friday, guiding the defense as well with 16 tackles. Blake Westercamp also eclipsed double digits with 10 stops, while Donivan Tighe and Dawson Braden were each a part of seven tackles.
“It is always sad, yet exciting, to see our senior players move into the next phase of their lives,” Head Coach Brett Doud said. “We owe this group of seniors a major debt of gratitude. This group did a tremendous job of leading the way in the weight room all throughout the offseason. They also led our team with high levels of character and discipline throughout the regular season. I have heard first-hand from underclassmen of the positive impact that our senior class had on them.”
“It is now time to reflect on this past season in order to identify areas of strength and areas of weakness,” Doud added. “We will make a plan moving forward in order to build upon both areas.”
