Oberlin pulls away from Iota

IOTA - There were many storylines in the Iota Bulldogs-Oberlin Tigers Week One contest.
There was the final score, 32-12, in favor of Oberlin. There was the 35 penalties for 225 yards combined between the two teams. Then, there was Oberlin’s big plays. Finally, there was the defenses on both teams providing a mixed bag.
All the stories, however, equaled two very different stories for both teams: Oberlin (1-0) knowing what needs work and pleased, while Iota (0-1) will return to the drawing board Monday looking to build on positives while working for its first win of the season.
“Oberlin’s a good club; they’re ranked in class A and do some good things,” said Iota coach Neal Lege. “But, we created (some of those scoring opportunities).
“It’s just disappointing. We have to find a way to get better.”
Equally upsetting for the Bulldogs was a problem that reared its head often in 2013 and showed up in game one of 2014, playing good for one half to have the wheels fall off in the second.
After playing to a stalemate in the first quarter, the game opened up in the second, particularly for Oberlin.
The Tigers rattled off two big touchdown runs in the second quarter, a 66 yard run from Kaylup Wilson and a 71 yard run by Jeremiah Berry gave the Tigers a 12-0 lead.
“We had two plays in the first half with missed assignments, and both of them went for touchdowns,” said Lege. “That’s how it started.
“We’re going to look at the film, but defensively we told them all week that this is assignment football. When you play a veer offense … if the end don’t squeeze and the linebacker doesn’t move just right … and the two plays we had, we put a new end in and the guy got by the linebacker and was gone.”
While Lege was displeased with Iota’s play on both big plays, Oberlin coach Ronnie Simmons was excited about the Tigers’ play.
“(Big plays are) what our offense is known to do,” he said. “We want to get big plays; O-line did a great job, and when they do their job, good things happen.
“We didn’t have the effort I thought we would have for our first game.”
The Bulldogs would draw within striking distance before the half on a 6 yard run by Adam Ardoin.
However, it would be the last time Iota would be within one possession all night.
The Bulldogs tried to get its sputtering offense going again early in the third but it would instead turn into six for the Tigers in somewhat controversial fashion. On third down and long, Iota handed the ball off to Ardoin, while it appeared the senior’s progress had been stopped, the referees opted to let the play continue. A few seconds later, Oberlin’s Destiny Courville would strip the ball and take it the full 40 yards for the touchdown, pushing the game to 20-6.
“Defense made a great play,” said Simmons. “We had the strip on defense that we were able to run back for a touchdown”
On the Iota sideline, a bit more of an explanation was needed on the play. Lege was told by the referee that because Ardoin continued to “fight for yardage,” the whistle did not blow on the play.
It was not the first time Oberlin’s defense showed off Friday night as throughout the game the Tigers defense kept the Bulldogs in check.
“Our defense set the tone, at least that’s what we rely on every week,” said Ronnie Simmons, Tigers coach. “A lot of penalties killed us in the first half, but I thought we did a great job of tackling and a great job of getting to the ball.
“We got some big stops when we needed them.”
Oberlin would not look back, scoring twice more in the fourth on a 30 yard run by Tanner Hebert and a 44 yard pass from Hebert to Johnny Andress.
The Bulldogs would add a score at the tail end of the fourth capped by Alex Frey’s 2 yard run.
While being down 26 entering the drive, Iota allowed some of its freshmen to get some playing time. Once again, the young Bulldogs looked to leave a lasting mark.
“We pulled some of the older guys out and look we went down and scored,” said Lege. “Simply, simply, they were just executing what we called.”
Ardoin led the Bulldogs with 11 carries for 59 yards as well as two catches for 20 yards. Tim Lunson finished his night 6-10 for 85 yards and an interception in the air; Tristan Miller added 30 yards, going 3-3. Frey had six carries for 7 yards.
For Oberlin, Kaylup Wilson was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 104 yards on eight carries. Tanner Hebert accounted for over 170 yards on his own, going 6-12 for 85 yards and a touchdown in the air and nine carries for 89 yards and touchdown on the ground.
Iota is also awaiting reports on just how severe injuries are to seniors Tyler Bushnell (hand) and Ardoin (shoulder) and sophomore Bliss Deshazo (knee). Bushnell reportedly broke his hand in Friday’s contest. The severity of Ardoin and Deshazo’s injuries were not immediately known, however.