By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Indians’ offensive struggles continued on Friday night as they hosted the Grinnell Tigers for their homecoming game and fell 28-0.

Things started slowly on both sides of the ball for Oskaloosa, as the Tigers scored touchdowns on 3 of their first 4 drives and Oskaloosa’s offense was stuck in the mud. However, the Indians’ defense would turn things around and become a bright spot: from the midway point of the 2nd quarter until the end of the game, they surrendered only 7 points, forcing 3 3-and-outs and a turnover. Kayne Boender and Ayden Plumb each recorded interceptions on the night, and in total, the Indians only surrendered 257 yards of offense on the night, with Grinnell’s 28 points owing largely to short fields created by turnovers by the Indians’ offense and the aforementioned slow start out of the gate for Osky’s D.

On the offensive end, Oskaloosa was marred by 4 turnovers, and perhaps equally by ill-timed penalties committed on the occasions where they ventured into Grinnell territory. In the 2nd quarter, Oskaloosa faced a 2nd and 5 at the Grinnell 37; that quickly turned into a 2nd and 20 after an ineligible man downfield penalty followed by a holding penalty. In the 4th quarter, the Indians made it to the Grinnell 24 yard line with a 1st and 10 situation, but a personal foul penalty set them back to a 2nd and 25 situation. Both drives would end in interceptions on long yardage situations.

Friday’s loss set Oskaloosa back to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in district play. The Indians have now scored only 14 points in their last 3 games. They have averaged just under 119 yards of offense per game in that time.

They’ll look to bounce back on Friday at home versus the Pella Dutch for their final home game of the season. The game will be broadcast on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.