Colonels fall short at North Delta
By Watson Cook
Few people gave the Indianola Colonels a fighting
chance last Friday night, having to go on the road to play the #4 team in AA and
district-leading North Delta. The Colonels however, gave North Delta the fight
of the season before falling short 35-32.
North Delta had possession to open the game and
had success moving the ball early in the drive, getting inside the Colonel 20
before Hunter Vance intercepted a pass to the keep the Green Waves off the
board. The Colonels took over at their own 20 and drove 80 yards on 9 plays.
Jonathan Holland completed a screen pass to Ashton Knight who took it 37 yards
for a touchdown. The duo hooked up again on the 2-point conversion to put the
Colonels on top 8-0 with 3:18 to play in the first quarter. North Delta answered
quickly with a 5-play, 60-yard drive to close the gap to 8-7 following the PAT.
The Colonels were forced to punt on their next possession, giving the Green
Waves the ball at their own 25 to start the second quarter. North Delta made
quick work of the drive, going 75 yards on 1 play to take a 14-8 lead and the
momentum away from the Colonels. After turning the ball over on downs, it
appeared things may slip away from IA. However the defense, with the help of a
15-yard penalty, forced a three-and-out on North Delta's next possession.
Wheeler Timbs got the Colonels back in the game with a 75-yard punt return
touchdown. The 2-point pass was incomplete, leaving the score tied at 14-14 with
8:23 to play before the half. IA would re-take the lead on the next offensive
series with Knight's second touchdown of the night, a 63-yard run to put the
Colonels up 20-14 with 6:04 to play in the second quarter. The 2-point attempt
was unsuccessful. Not to be outdone, North Delta answered once again with a
touchdown to cap a 4-play, 56-yard drive. After the PAT, the Green Waves led
21-20. With 4:41 on the clock, and 69 yards in front of them, the Colonels went
to work looking to regain the lead before halftime. They did just that, with a
6-yard carry into the endzone by Dalton Sykes with 2:00 to play in the half.
However, the third unsuccessful 2-point attempt in a row left the Colonels with
only a 26-21 lead. The two minutes on the clock proved to be plenty of time for
North Delta as they needed only 2 plays to go 65 yards and put the final points
of an explosive first half on the board. The Green Waves carried a 28-26 lead to
the locker room.
After combining for 54 first half points, the
Colonels and Green Waves continued to move the ball on each other in the second
half. However, points were at a premium. The Colonels struck for their only
points of the second half on their first possession. Holland found Michael Sykes
on a screen pass from 9 yards out to highlight an 8-play, 49-yard drive that put
IA up 32-28 with 8:11 to play in the third quarter. The 2-point run
failed. Each team continued to take the ball up and down the field for the
remainder of the quarter and into the fourth, but could not take advantage of
scoring opportunities as both defenses came up with drive-killing stops. In
fact, the Colonels got inside the Green Wave 10 twice but were held out of the
endzone. North Delta finally broke through with the dagger with 2:07 to play in
the game on a 34-yard touchdown run to cap a 9-play, 98-yard drive. The Green
Wave went up 35-32 following the PAT and would hold on to win as the Colonels
could not get anything going on their final possession.
With the loss, IA falls to 4-5 (1-2) on the
year. The good news for the Colonels is that the playoffs still appear to be
within reach. IA can lock up a wild card spot with a win this Friday at home on
Senior Night when the Carroll Academy Rebels come to Legion Field. Kickoff is
set for 7:00.
