Eagles build insurmountable lead

TOMBALL-- The Iola Bulldogs concluded non district play with a 35-12 loss to the Rosehill Eagles in Tomball Friday night.

For the entirety of the first quarter and the beginning half of the second quarter, neither team was able to put points on their side of the board. The score was at a standstill ending the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Eagles were finally able to break the plane with a 14-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trevor Manning.

The Bulldogs were unable to match their aggressive offense and only minutes following the first score, Manning found the end zone again, this one good for 46 yards.

“We were letting them break big plays,” stated Iola running back, Cale Gould, “Every time we started to catch up, we shot ourselves in the foot one way or another and we have to fix that.”

Iola threatened to open the third, but the drive stalled when Ben Nicholson forced a Bulldog fumble 5-yards from pay dirt.

The Eagles capitalized on the turnover as Nicholson took a shuffle pass from Manning and navigated through the defense for a 95-yard score.

Iola finally put points on their side of the scoreboard with a 1-yard run from Blake Driver. The extra point was unsuccessful.

Iola forced a fumble and narrowed the gap with a 55-yard connection from Driver to Colton Boullion.

“We have to get better,” said Philip England, “We have to practice harder and get out there and execute.”

Though the Bulldogs were making good headway, they waited too long to make their comeback. When asked about improvements for next weeks’ game, Iola head coach Kerry Bamburg said, “We have to eliminate mistakes, we have to execute, and we just have to play better all around.”

At the end of the fourth quarter the Eagles finished the game with a pair of DreVonte Green touchdown runs, each with successful two-point conversions.

Iola travels to Granger on October 11, at 7 p.m. to begin district play. Rose-hill Christian travels to Legacy Prep Academy Oct. 11, at 7 p.m.