COLFAX – Missed opportunities derailed Colfax-Mingo’s upset attempt of No. 10 Belle Plaine Friday night.
Twice the Tigerhawks were one yard from the end zone and came up scoreless in a 26-16 defeat.
Leading 7-0 in the first quarter, a fumbled handoff by the Tigerhawks at the 1-yard line turned into a 99-yard touchdown pass by Belle Plaine on the ensuing possession. The sequence evened the score at 7-all and shifted momentum.
“That’s a whole different ball game if we go up 14-0 and don’t give up the long touchdown,” Colfax-Mingo head coach Jeff Lietz said. “It was a big momentum swing really. We just need to capitalize when we get down in scoring opportunities.”
Following a 14-all tie at halftime, Colfax-Mingo found itself on the verge of taking the lead again in the third quarter. The Tigerhawks had first-and-goal on the 1, but four straight attempts came up short, resulting in a turnover on downs.
“There’s two huge missed opportunities that cost us 14 and gave them seven,” Lietz said. “That’s a 21-point swing that’s just a killer.”
Junior quarterback Jared Myers propelled the offense throughout, throwing for 261 yards and rushing for a season-high 206 yards and a touchdown.
The primary target of his throws was Jake Lietz, who hauled in eight catches for 110 yards. Jake Buehrer added a season-high seven receptions for 67 yards.
Jake Lietz led the defense with nine and a half total tackles followed by Myers’ eight.
“Not taking anything away from Belle Plaine, they’re a good football team, but we hurt ourselves quite a bit in this game,” Jeff Lietz said, adding his team committed more than 10 penalties.
“I told the guys no football team is good enough to overcome mental mistakes. We had way too many penalties and turned the ball over too much. Even though we played well offensively and defensively, mistakes are hard to overcome. Just need to clean up the mistakes and we’ll be fine.”
Colfax-Mingo (3-1) hosts North Mahaska (1-3) on Friday.
Contact Sports Writer Ben Schuff at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6536 or at bschuff@newtondailynews.com