The Indianola football team held on with a goal-line stand as time expired to defeat Urbandale 21-17 in their season opener Friday night as heard live on 94.3 KNIA.

The Indians fell behind after a defensive miscue led to a 75-yard Urbandale touchdown to trail 7-0 after the first quarter, but answered with a Jake Pontier four-yard run to tie the score at seven in the second. The J-Hawks snuck a 39-yard field goal near the end of the second quarter to lead 10-7 at half, then took advantage of another Indianola defensive miscue to score early in the third to lead 17-7.
Indianola methodically drove down the field and scored on another Jake Pontier two-yard run to cut the lead to 17-14, then as time ticked over into the fourth quarter the Indianola defense stepped up to get a stop on fourth down. The Indianola offense took advantage with a one-yard Indianola touchdown run for the third time by Pontier to take their first lead 21-17, then had to stop Urbandale with just seconds remaining with the ball on the 1-yard line.

Head coach Eric Kluver said after the game the team had a dreadful start that put them behind, and while they recovered it’s something they have to fix.

“You gotta go earn things. If it’s important to you then you have to go make it happen. I just didn’t think that was the mindset we came out with, and that’s one me. I’ll do a better job. But we have to come out with some energy, make plays, and be aggressive. And I just didn’t see that in the first half.”

Pontier had 124 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team offensively. The Indians improve to 1-0 on the season, and will host rival Norwalk at Indianola Stadium next week.