Oskaloosa Blanked by Dutch
by Wade Steinlage
Pella–The Indian football team did not have an answer to its rival as it fell 36-0 to Pella in district play Friday.
Oskaloosa (4-3, 0-3 Class 4A District 4) controlled possession for nearly 30 of the 48 minutes, but was outgained 385-116.
Each team punted on its first two drives, but Pella (3-4, 2-1 Class 4A District 4) broke the scoreless game with a pair of long rushes to lead 7-0 late in the opening quarter.
The visitors continued to struggle offensively, while the Dutch doubled their advantage to 14-0 in their next possession. The Indians, which failed to enter Pella territory in the first half, allowed one more touchdown before intermission to trail 21-0 after 24 minutes of play.
Pella tacked on another touchdown (with the two-point conversion) just two plays into the third period for a 29-0 advantage.
Oskaloosa then finally achieved some success moving the ball with a methodical march to the Dutch 28-yard line. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there. To make matters worse, the hosts countered with another quick touchdown for the final points of the night.
With a 36-point margin, the game rolled on with a running clock and little else transpired the remainder of the contest.
Despite having his top target in Waylon Bolibaugh back on the gridiron, Keaton Flaherty was limited to just seven completions out of 19 attempts for 57 yards. Bolibaugh caught four of those tosses for 43 yards.
Flaherty was extremely busy in the punt game with nine kicks for an average of 33.0 yards, including a long of 46 yards. He also pinned the Dutch inside their 20-yard line on two occasions.
Colin Snitker topped the running game with 17 rushes for 39 yards, while Wyatt Grubb notched 22 yards on three carries.
Snitker was a force defensively as well with a team-high eight tackles. Blake Westercamp was next with six stops, while the quartet of Warren Feudner, Jonathan Linder, Dawson Braden, and Donivan Tighe all managed five tackles. Westercamp and Braden shared a sack as well.
“While it was a frustrating night, I felt our guys battled for all four quarters,” Head Coach Brett Doud said. “This team has a great mentality. The guys work extremely hard and are physical. At times, we are very disciplined in our assignments and execution, but other times we are not. The key for us moving forward for the remainder of this season, and into the future, is finding that consistency on every play.”
“I was happy with the start of the game,” Doud added. “It was a battle up front. The big turn in momentum as the game moved on was that one team was disciplined in its execution and the other was not. We need to flip that script if we want to find success the rest of this year.”
Next Up: The Indians return to Oskaloosa next Friday to host Cedar Rapids Washington at 7:30 p.m.
