By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians played their home opener on a beautiful Friday night versus the Burlington Grayhounds looking for their first win of the 2025 season. The game could not have presented more of a stark contrast to their season opener at Ottumwa, in which they lost 7-0: by the end of the first quarter of Friday night’s game against the Grayhounds, there were already 27 total points on the scoreboard.
Burlington got off to a fast start with an efficient 6-play scoring drive to make it 7-0. They pushed the envelope further by recovering the following kickoff, a pooch kick that landed just beyond the Indians’ front line, and then scoring quickly again. By the time Oskaloosa’s offense got their hands on the football for the first time, they were in a 14-0 hole.
Fortunately, Osky’s offensive unit was up to the task after their scoreless performance in the previous week. Junior quarterback Tyler Edgar had a tremendous bounce-back effort that started by leading a 10-play drive that culminated in a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Heavon Knox to cut the lead to 14-7.
However, Burlington’s offense continued to run the ball well all night long. Senior running back Keshawn Wyldon had a monstrous night: he finished with 338 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on 16 carries. Burlington scored on each of their first 4 drives with Wyldon leading the charge, but Osky’s offense matched them with 3 straight scoring drives to open the game. The score at halftime was 26-21 in favor of Burlington.
The third quarter was relatively quiet for both teams, with only one score during the frame (a 25-yard rushing TD for Wyldon). In the fourth quarter, things heated back up: Oskaloosa drove down the field and Edgar tossed his 4th touchdown pass of the night, this time to senior WR Kayne Boender, to cut the Burlington lead to 5 points at 33-28. Edgar finished the night 16/22 passing for 222 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 INTs, while rushing for 126 yards on 14 carries.
But Burlington answered quickly. Wyldon broke free for a 68-yard TD run to extend their lead back into double digits; he would add another 53-yard rushing score to his ledger by the end of the night, and ultimately, time ran out for the Indians’ comeback effort. The final score of the game was 45-31 in favor of Burlington.
Oskaloosa (0-2) will look for their first win of the season on Friday night vs. Mount Pleasant. Coverage will begin around 7pm on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.
