Top Photo: Valley Falls junior quarterback Mitchell Streeter turns to hand the ball to a running back during the Dragons’ 28-8 loss to Oskaloosa in the season opener Friday. Streeter ran 8 times for 62 yards and a touchdown and was 3-for-7 passing for 29 yards and an interception in the loss.
Bottom Photo: Oskaloosa junior Brandon Barnes heads upfield during the first half of the Bears’ 28-8 win over Valley Falls/ Barnes rushed 10 times for 69 yards and a touchdown and had a key kick return in the win.
Photos by Brad Roudybush
Photos by Brad Roudybush
The Oskaloosa Bears took advantage of the opportunities presented by five Valley Falls turnovers Friday to surge past the Dragons in the second half and win the teams’ season-opening tilt in Oskaloosa, 28-8.
Turnovers and a key Oskaloosa possession in the second half were the difference in the game as Oskaloosa outgained the Dragons by only 10 yards offensively, 238-228.
The game was scoreless through the first quarter, although Valley Falls got a 38-yard run from senior Josh Kearney on the first offensive play of the game but the opening drive stalled at the Oskaloosa 45. Valley Falls’ second possession started at the Oskaloosa 40 and the Dragons got to the Oskaloosa 20 before junior quarterback Mitchell Streeter fumbled and Oskaloosa sophomore Adam Bowser recovered the ball at the Bears 13.
The Bears mounted their first sustained drive of the game, keyed by a 34-yard run by senior Trent Newell. The Bears ended up stalling out at the Valley Falls 26, however, and the Dragons took over on downs.
On the Bears’ next possession, two passing plays took the ball into Dragon territory, where Oskaloosa was driving as the second quarter began. On fourth down at the Valley Falls 33, Bowser looked downfield for senior J.T. Thurston but Dragons junior Logan Wynkoop came down with an interception at the Dragons own 4-yard-line.
The Dragons ended up punting and an ensuing Oskaloosa punt gave the Dragons the ball at their own 13 with 7:05 left in the half. On first down, a fumbled exchange was recovered by the Bears at the Valley Falls 6 and Oskaloosa took over close to the end zone. A 1-yard Trent Newell run and two incomplete passes left Oskaloosa with fourth down at the 5 and junior Brandon Barnes was stopped at the 4 to give the Dragons the ball with 6:02 left in the half.
On second down at the 5, Streeter ran the option right and pitched the ball to Wynkoop, who was wrapped up and lost the ball as Bowser ripped it out of his hands and took it into the end zone for the first score of the game. Barnes added a 2-point conversion run to make it 8-0 Bears with 5:21 left in the half.
That was the score coming out of the locker room for the second half and Oskaloosa’s first drive stalled. The Dragons took over after a punt at their own 24 and a 23-yard run by junior Chance Gier took the ball to the Valley Falls 47. Streeter hit senior Garrett Jennings for a 19-yard pass play and, three plays later, Streeter broke away to his right for a 27-yard touchdown run. Kearney added the 2-point conversion run to tie the game with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
Oskaloosa wasted no time in responding as Barnes returned the ensuing kickoff to the Dragons 43 and Bears sophomore Mark Newell broke free for a 37-yard run to take the ball to the Dragons 6. Bowser fell on a fumble at the 8 for a 2-yard loss but, two plays later, Barnes broke off a 6-yard touchdown run. Bowser connected with senior Chase Tenpenny in the back corner of the end zone for the 2-point conversion pass and Oskaloosa led, 16-8, with 5:50 left in the quarter.
A Valley Falls miscue would help put the Dragons farther behind as a fumbled snap on second down was recovered by the Bears at the Valley Falls 9. Two plays later, Bowser and Thurston connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 22-8 Bears as the 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After another stalled Dragons drive, Oskaloosa started its next drive at its own 29 and drove 71 yards in 13 plays capped by a 1-yard Bowser touchdown run to make it 28-8 as the extra point kick was blocked with 3:54 left in the game. The Dragons drove to the Oskaloosa 26 with less than a minute left in the game but a Streeter pass was picked off by Oskaloosa senior Drew Beisel and the Bears ran out the clock to preserve the win.
The Bears were led by 10 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown by Barnes and 13 rushes for 65 yards by Trent Newell. Mark Newell ran 8 times for 53 yards and Bowser was 3-9 passing for 38 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Valley Falls was led by 11 rushes for 79 yards by Kearney and 12 rushes for 56 yards by Gier. Streeter ran 8 times for 62 yards and was 3-7 passing for 29 yards and an interception.
Oskaloosa coach Scott Whaley said he was overall pretty pleased with his team’s performance on the night, other than suffering six false start penalties for a total of 30 yards.
“It was a first game and the first half was ugly but we hung in there in the second half and made some good things happen,” he said. “I give Valley Falls a lot of credit, they’ve got a good team and moved the ball down the field on us a couple times. Brandon’s kick return after the touchdown was a big play for us. We had too many false start penalties, which it doesn’t seem like we’ve had problems with in practice. We took advantage of things there and I felt like in the second half the defense stepped up.”
Turnovers and a key Oskaloosa possession in the second half were the difference in the game as Oskaloosa outgained the Dragons by only 10 yards offensively, 238-228.
The game was scoreless through the first quarter, although Valley Falls got a 38-yard run from senior Josh Kearney on the first offensive play of the game but the opening drive stalled at the Oskaloosa 45. Valley Falls’ second possession started at the Oskaloosa 40 and the Dragons got to the Oskaloosa 20 before junior quarterback Mitchell Streeter fumbled and Oskaloosa sophomore Adam Bowser recovered the ball at the Bears 13.
The Bears mounted their first sustained drive of the game, keyed by a 34-yard run by senior Trent Newell. The Bears ended up stalling out at the Valley Falls 26, however, and the Dragons took over on downs.
On the Bears’ next possession, two passing plays took the ball into Dragon territory, where Oskaloosa was driving as the second quarter began. On fourth down at the Valley Falls 33, Bowser looked downfield for senior J.T. Thurston but Dragons junior Logan Wynkoop came down with an interception at the Dragons own 4-yard-line.
The Dragons ended up punting and an ensuing Oskaloosa punt gave the Dragons the ball at their own 13 with 7:05 left in the half. On first down, a fumbled exchange was recovered by the Bears at the Valley Falls 6 and Oskaloosa took over close to the end zone. A 1-yard Trent Newell run and two incomplete passes left Oskaloosa with fourth down at the 5 and junior Brandon Barnes was stopped at the 4 to give the Dragons the ball with 6:02 left in the half.
On second down at the 5, Streeter ran the option right and pitched the ball to Wynkoop, who was wrapped up and lost the ball as Bowser ripped it out of his hands and took it into the end zone for the first score of the game. Barnes added a 2-point conversion run to make it 8-0 Bears with 5:21 left in the half.
That was the score coming out of the locker room for the second half and Oskaloosa’s first drive stalled. The Dragons took over after a punt at their own 24 and a 23-yard run by junior Chance Gier took the ball to the Valley Falls 47. Streeter hit senior Garrett Jennings for a 19-yard pass play and, three plays later, Streeter broke away to his right for a 27-yard touchdown run. Kearney added the 2-point conversion run to tie the game with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
Oskaloosa wasted no time in responding as Barnes returned the ensuing kickoff to the Dragons 43 and Bears sophomore Mark Newell broke free for a 37-yard run to take the ball to the Dragons 6. Bowser fell on a fumble at the 8 for a 2-yard loss but, two plays later, Barnes broke off a 6-yard touchdown run. Bowser connected with senior Chase Tenpenny in the back corner of the end zone for the 2-point conversion pass and Oskaloosa led, 16-8, with 5:50 left in the quarter.
A Valley Falls miscue would help put the Dragons farther behind as a fumbled snap on second down was recovered by the Bears at the Valley Falls 9. Two plays later, Bowser and Thurston connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 22-8 Bears as the 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After another stalled Dragons drive, Oskaloosa started its next drive at its own 29 and drove 71 yards in 13 plays capped by a 1-yard Bowser touchdown run to make it 28-8 as the extra point kick was blocked with 3:54 left in the game. The Dragons drove to the Oskaloosa 26 with less than a minute left in the game but a Streeter pass was picked off by Oskaloosa senior Drew Beisel and the Bears ran out the clock to preserve the win.
The Bears were led by 10 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown by Barnes and 13 rushes for 65 yards by Trent Newell. Mark Newell ran 8 times for 53 yards and Bowser was 3-9 passing for 38 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Valley Falls was led by 11 rushes for 79 yards by Kearney and 12 rushes for 56 yards by Gier. Streeter ran 8 times for 62 yards and was 3-7 passing for 29 yards and an interception.
Oskaloosa coach Scott Whaley said he was overall pretty pleased with his team’s performance on the night, other than suffering six false start penalties for a total of 30 yards.
“It was a first game and the first half was ugly but we hung in there in the second half and made some good things happen,” he said. “I give Valley Falls a lot of credit, they’ve got a good team and moved the ball down the field on us a couple times. Brandon’s kick return after the touchdown was a big play for us. We had too many false start penalties, which it doesn’t seem like we’ve had problems with in practice. We took advantage of things there and I felt like in the second half the defense stepped up.”
