By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians traveled to Grinnell for their second district game of the season on Friday night and fell to the Tigers in a high-scoring affair, 49-34.
Entering the game, Oskaloosa’s offense had been struggling mightily, enduring back-to-back shutouts at the hands of Newton and Mount Pleasant and not scoring a point in a game since September 4. That changed quickly against Grinnell, when the Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff inside their own 5-yard line, setting the Indians up to begin their first drive on the Grinnell 2-yard line. Carter Jordan punched it in on the first play to give Oskaloosa a 7-0 lead.
But when the Tiger offense hit the field, they proved tough to slow down. After allowing Oskaloosa to strike first, they quickly put up 27 unanswered points: running backs Josh Ringler and Beni Kiphanzu, who had been an unstoppable duo all season, were again lighting up the scoreboard with touchdown runs. Ringler finished the night with 172 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 24 carries, while Kiphanzu ran 15 times for 174 yards and 3 TDs.
Down 27-7, the Indians’ offense came to life. Against a heavy blitz, quarterback Ty Edgar found Carter Jordan in the flat with nothing but an open field in front of him, and Jordan scampered 73 yards to the end zone for Oskaloosa’s longest touchdown of the season, bringing the Indians within two scores to make it 27-14. The Tigers would score less than 90 seconds later to extend their lead to 34-14, but Oskaloosa’s offense kept their momentum with another scoring drive before the first half came to a close, with Edgar finishing it off with a 12-yard touchdown run. At halftime, the score was 34-21, and the Indians had already tied their highest scoring output of the season.
In the second half, Ringler and Kiphanzu continued to lead the way for the Tiger offense, scoring one more touchdown apiece, but the Indians’ offense kept them in the game. A sensational 17-yard touchdown run from Edgar early in the 4th quarter, in which he broke several tackles on his way to the end zone, cut the lead to 42-27 in favor of Grinnell. Edgar finished the night with 227 passing yards, 95 rushing yards, and 3 total touchdowns with 0 turnovers.
The Indians would add to their total one more time with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Carter Jordan, his third TD of the night. But the offensive success wasn’t enough for Oskaloosa to fully spoil Grinnell’s homecoming night, as they ultimately lost 49-34.
Oskaloosa (0-6) will travel to Pella on Friday night for their final road contest of the 2026 season.
