Indians Falter Late in Season-Opening Loss to Ottumwa

The Indians defense pushed back against the Bulldogs on Friday night.

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Oskaloosa football team was on the verge of putting away its season opener, but a costly turnover opened the door and Ottumwa took advantage, scoring 14 unanswered points as the Indians fell 21-20 to the Bulldogs in non-district action Friday.

Oskaloosa (0-1) led 20-7 with just over nine minutes to go in the game and were in Ottumwa territory, looking to seal the deal. On third down with seven yards to go at the Ottumwa 45-yard line, quarterback Trevor Willett hooked up with AJ Lawrence. The receiver broke free and darted down the sideline, but unfortunately was met at around the 20 and the ball was popped loose.

The Bulldogs recovered the pigskin and on the next play from scrimmage, they went all 81 yards to cut the Indian lead to 20-14 with 9:19 to go.

The hosts then collected just one first down on their following possession before being forced to punt the ball back to Ottumwa. The Bulldogs needed 70 yards to grab their first lead of the game, but had plenty of time with exactly eight minutes still on the clock. Converting third-and-10 and fourth-and-12 plays, the visitors used nearly the entire eight minutes, eventually scoring with just 19 seconds left.

The tiebreaking extra point was good and the Bulldogs went up 21-20. Adding insult to injury, the Ottumwa kicker was knocked down on the play, resulting in a 15-yard penalty that all but ensured Oskaloosa would start its final possession at its own 20 after a touchback.

After the touchback did in fact occur, Willett hit Waylon Bolibaugh for 12 yards. Bolibaugh attempted a lateral to Lawrence, but he was tackled immediately. Two incompletions later, Oskaloosa was down to one final snap. Willett’s toss was hauled in by Lawrence near midfield, but he was corralled. Ottumwa players prevented him from giving the ball to a teammate and he was taken to the turf to end the game.

Both sides began the contest being forced into punts, with Ottumwa’s kick being downed shy of midfield. The Indians pounced on the opportunity with a Willett-to-Bolibaugh pass going for 33 yards before Lawrence beat everyone to the pylon from 12 yards out for a 7-0 lead at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter. Starting his first varsity game, Willett was 17-for-30 for 215 yards and one score.

The Oskaloosa defense stepped up again with another forced punt. Unfortunately, Bolibaugh did not field the ball cleanly on the return and fumbled the ball back to the Bulldogs. Fortunately, the Indian defense was stiff, denying the visitors once again as an Ottumwa field goal missed wide left.

Any momentum from the stop was given right back to the visitors, however, as Oskaloosa punted and the Bulldogs marched down the field and knotted the contest at 7-7 midway through the second quarter.

Highlighted by a 37-yard reception by Bolibaugh, the Indians quickly answered with a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to recapture the lead at 14-7. Bolibaugh was OHS’ top target, hauling in nine balls for 127 yards. For an even more impressive stat line, he also completed a pass for 35 yards.

Jacob Greenhalgh had two catches on the night, with one being an 18-yard pass from Willett for the second TD of the contest.

Still ahead 14-7 entering the third quarter, Oskaloosa’s defense did its job with a punt and a short 41 yards later, the hosts pushed the advantage to 13, courtesy of a 23-yard touchdown scamper by JaShaden Baker. Baker unfortunately was hurt on the play and did not return. Merrick Smith and Wyatt Grubb also suffered injuries during the game and were unable to return to action.

Unfortunately, as aforementioned, the 20-7 edge was not big enough to keep Ottumwa at bay. The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for the Indians in the head-to-head series.

Dom Piersel led his squad with 42 rushing yards, while Baker was close behind with 38 yards. Overall, the Indians outgained the Bulldogs 336-282. In a matchup where Oskaloosa lost the rushing battle 242-86, the home squad also held possession of the pigskin for nearly 12 minutes less than Ottumwa (29:52-18:08).

Piersel was a major cog for the Indian defense as well, leading the group with 13 tackles, while Tatum Westercamp also eclipsed double figures with 11 stops. Westercamp recorded the lone Oskaloosa sack as well. Jonathan Linder and Lukas Toubekis both finished with six tackles Friday.

“We battled, but got a bunch of guys dinged up; the ones that were left were playing their backsides off,” Head Coach Brett Doud said. “We just fell short in the end. We made some good plays early on, but just have to find a way to finish.”

Next Up: Oskaloosa travels to Knoxville next Friday for another non-district matchup at 7:30 p.m.