For the second week in a row, a vindictive Mother Nature was the big winner Friday night.
The host Fort Osage Indians and visiting Truman Patriots played just three quarters of football until the game was called, because of lightning and a torrential downpour. It is scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with the Indians clinging to a 21-20 lead.
A 76-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Ty Baker to junior running back Isaiah Iloilo with just 45 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Indians a 21-20 lead.
The Patriots had taken a 20-14 lead at 7:32 of the third period when quarterback Aaron Lehman scored on a 5-yard dive into the end zone and Dave Rivera ran in a two-point conversion. The Patriots had an extra-point blocked and saw a two-point run fail on their first two scores.
The touchdown was set up when speedy Zachary Graham faked a punt on fourth-and-6 from the Truman 47.
“He’s so darned fast we really felt like if he got to the outside he could pick up some yards,” Truman coach Gregg Webb said of the call to go for the fake. “That was a big play; we needed to make something happen at that point of the game.”
He took the ball to the Fort 12-yard line and Lehman scored two plays later.
The Patriots had a fourth touchdown taken away when they were flagged for roughing the passer on a 32-yard interception return by Bryant Reizer.
“I didn’t see the play because I was watching Bryant on the (interception) return,” Webb said. “That was tough; we’d have really had some momentum if we’d have had that score.”
Lance Barrett, the Indians assistant head coach, hopes the penalty was a game changer.
“That play was huge,” said Barrett, as first-year head coach Brock Bult was dealing with administrators and officials to make sure everything was in line for the Saturday makeup date. “We have to come out physical tomorrow and we have to play smart.
“The pass to Isaiah, that gave us the lead, was so big. We have the lead going into tomorrow and we have to play smart, physical ball and not allow Truman to get back on the scoreboard.”
It was a big night for Iloilo.
“I was really impressed with Truman and how hard they hit,” said Iloilo, one of a handful of returnees from last year’s state championship team. “We’re looking for our first win and they’re looking for their first win so you’re going to have two hungry teams out there tomorrow.”
Iloilo scored the Indians first touchdown on a 7-yard run at 5:45 of the first quarter. He then scored on a 10-yard run at 4:37 of the second quarter.
“That No. 12 is something special,” Webb said of Iloilo, “and I’m impressed with their quarterback. We know they lost a lot of kids and aren’t the same team they were last year, but they’re playing well tonight. We’re (the coaching staff) going to look at some film tonight, let the guys get to bed as soon as we get back home and come back tomorrow to wrap it up.”
Iloilo said the key to winning the game is playing with same determination they displayed to take that one-point lead into the fourth quarter Friday night.
“We’re young and a lot of the guys are inexperienced, but we’re playing hard and I’m proud of the guys,” Iloilo said. “Ty is doing a great job and I’ve never seen (offensive lineman Austin) Lassiter run as fast as he did tonight to block for me on the touchdown pass.
“There’s one last guy who had a chance at me and I hear the guys yelling, ‘Go! Go!’ And Austin runs as fast as I’m running and makes the big block. That’s what I love about this team.”
Baker, who has the unenviable task of taking over a starting quarterback role from three-year starter and current Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson, said he’s just trying to be himself.
“I’m not Skylar,” Baker said, “we’re just taking it one play at a time, one series at a time. After we lost last week, we all want to win this game, we really want a win. Even though we lost (the first game of the season to defending state champion Kearney), we’re still confident.
“We’re going to get better as the season goes on. And we’re going to come out here tomorrow and do anything we can to get a win.”
Truman’s first score came on a 72-yard run by Juan Flores. The Patriots second score came on a Lehman 2-yard run.
It was a big night for kicker Kegan Lammering, who scored the winning goal in a 1-0 soccer victory over Grandview. He arrived at Fort Osage minutes before the kickoff against Truman and connected on all three extra points.
“I was hoping to get two wins in one night,” Lammering said, before the skies opened the game was suspended.
