Mustangs Football Aiming to Have Special 2025 Season

IOLA, Kan. – The Iola High School Football team is looking to make some noise in 3A in the 2025 season as they look to bounce back from a 4-5 season in 2024.

Head coach David Daugharthy will enter his 9th season as the head coach of the Mustangs with an overall record of 19-34. It is his 11th with the program overall as he was an assistant for two years prior.

The 2024 season for the Mustangs was a roller coaster. On one hand, they were able to earn themselves big wins, especially in clutch situations. On the other hand, they dealt with injuries and faced some tough losses in the second half of the season, especially against a fierce Pioneer League.

The Mustangs finished 4-5 overall on the season, 2-3 against league opponents. Three of their wins came in the first four weeks against Baldwin, Santa Fe Trail, and Anderson County. The lone loss in that stretch was a 48-0 shutout loss to Wellsville, who won the league and suffered their only loss of the season in Sub-State against Topeka-Hayden. Since week four, the only win the Mustangs had was via forfeit from Osawatomie, who did not have a varsity team in 2024. They then lost a heartbreaker to Burlington before falling twice in a row to Prairie View to end the season.

The Mustangs did lose some key talent, including some all-league honorees from 2024. “We lost a handful,” Daugherthy said. “We did lose at least five or six guys who were impactful on both sides of the ball.

While nobody was named an all-state honoree from the KFBCA, the Mustangs did lose five seniors who earned All-League honors. Grady Dougherty earned two All-League honors in 2024, First Team both on the offensive line and on the defensive line. The Mustangs also lost linebacker Jordan Kaufman, who will play in Leavenworth for the University of Saint Mary, Second Team All-League receiver Cortland Carson and Second Team All-League defensive lineman Everett Glaze.

Despite the experienced talent that was lost, Daugharthy has faith in the experienced talent that is returning. There will be six starters returning with others who saw plenty of experience last season. When asked about some young talent, especially sophomores, Daugharthy mentioned three players who look close to being ready to play varsity: Kevon Loving, Reed Clift, and Noah Anderson. He believes that the trio of athletes had a tremendous season last year and a great summer.

One of the biggest names returning to Iola for his senior season is Tre Wilson. Even though he is an all-state baseball player, Wilson is a tremendous athlete on both sides of the ball, earning all-league honors in the secondary and finishing the season as the team’s leading rusher.

Daugharthy describes Wilson as one of the best players in the state. “He’s going to have a huge impact on defense,” Daugharthy said. “Honestly, I would be shocked if there’s 10 better defenders in 3A in the entire state.”

Wilson could see himself as a quarterback, but the battle is currently between a pair of other players. With the different skillsets that they have, it could change how the offense operates. “Everything will change based on who our quarterback ends up being,” Daugharthy said. Junior Kale Pratt was the first name mentioned as the man under center, but Daugharthy believes his future is bright and he can play good anywhere.

Another name to look for is Easton Weseloh, who finished as a second team All-League honoree as a running back. Weseloh will also be a senior in the 2025 season.

The goals that Daugharthy has for the 2025 season include winning the Pioneer League, but above all else to play fearless and within themselves.

The Pioneer League was a tough league to face in 2024, with three teams finishing above .500 and two teams having deep playoff runs. Wellsville and Prairie View were the top dogs last season, as the league title came down to their matchup, which Wellsville won. Wellsville defeated Prairie View in Sectionals as well.

However, Daugharthy believes that this Iola team can raise a few eyebrows not just in the league, but in the state.

Every play of the 2025 season can be heard on 99.3/1370 KIOL with Mike Sailor and Gene Myrick on the call. The games will also stream live on iolaradio.com and the free Ad Astra Radio mobile app, available for Apple and Android.

Schedule: