By BURDELL HENSLEY
The Oskaloosa Herald

Week two of the football season is history and now the prelims are over except for Class A where all the games are district games. But in the other districts it is time to play for keeps.

What a game by the Oskaloosa Indians at Pella Friday. After a tight first half, the Indians blew it open to take a 27-3 win. The passing combo of Ryan Van Dalen to Tyler Sash was electric and the defense was very solid.

I covered the Eddyville-Blakesburg win over Colfax-Mingo and it was a good one for a small band of gritty Rockets. Low numbers have forced E-B to use 10 players both ways and on a hot night that was a challenge. The Rocket defense stopped a C-M drive on the seven yard line with just a few seconds left to preserve a 14-7 win. Nick Batterson of high hurdle fame used his quick feet to dash through the Tiger-Hawk defense for 218 yards and a TD in 14 carries.

North Mahaska continues to roll with a 56-8 win over English Valleys. Levi Ferguson has scored six touchdowns in each of his first two games. This time he only carried the ball 12 times and scored six of those carries. The Stout connection is driving opponents dizzy through the air waves as Joel pitches the football to Caleb and Clint.

Now there was a happening in Ames Saturday. I’m not sure what it was, but I know that one team got introduced to football 101. I’m at a loss to explain it, but I do know that sometimes some pretty good things rise from ashes.

What a neat day it was in Fremont Saturday for the Frontier Days celebration. The folks down there are to be congratulated for a fine event and I enjoyed getting to see many old friends.

It was quite a job getting Red Ranger cleaned up for the parade. He was as dirty as a cow hand that had been on the trail for about three months and he smelled about that bad. I took the foamy brush and gave him a good shampoo, hosed him down and then took him out for an “Iowa Chamois.” The Ranger felt so good that he really kicked up his heels. Good thing “Smoky” wasn’t around or he would have been in dry dock again.

Curt took him and polished his toe nails Friday night and then took the Ranger to Fremont Saturday morning to decorate him with the finest Cardinal products. Jack Buck always said to buy your Ford trucks in Cardinal Red and I took his word.

Got the grandkids in uniform and loaded them up. Since the twins could not make it, Logan and Emily brought Andrew Brower along to be a substitute grandkid. He did fine and a good time was had by all. Red Ranger enjoyed himself a great deal. He doesn’t get out so often anymore as the OPEC cartel has limited his usefulness.

We had a wonderful bank trip Thursday. It was a mystery trip and we just grazed our way through southern Iowa. Our first stop was Chariton where we visited Piper’s Old Fashioned Grocery and Candy Store. Jill Naylor is the owner and she welcomed 50 of us to her place. The store is small, but crammed full of neat things and collectibles. Her staff demonstrated their candy making techniques and gave out samples. That was our coffee stop.

The next stop was Allerton and the Inn of the Six Toed Cat. Half of the group toured the Inn and the other half toured the Log Chain Apiary which is next door. After we had visited both facilities we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Inn.

Scott and Julie Fisher own the Inn and they are terrific hosts. Scott is also a retired teacher and coach. He is a writer of considerable fame and he does much of the cooking in the kitchen. Now that is where anything that we have in common ends. There is no way I would try and cook anything beyond peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

In a park just a mile east of Allerton is a restored round barn, a restored country school and a restored country church. All three are well done and bring back many memories. They are currently restoring an old Victorian mansion on the grounds.

Leaving Allerton, we passed through Seymour, Numa and ended up in the bustling little town of Exline. It was coffee time and we all had ice cream at the Exline General Store. I must say that the store would give the Frosty Udder a run for quality. The store was restored by native son Morgan Cline and it is a wonderful collection of antiques and area history.

Our final stop was in Centerville where we did some shopping at Bradley Hall and then enjoyed an excellent meal at the Continental Hotel.

We returned home well fed and happy. Most folks probably did not feel a need for food until well into the day on Friday.

It is time once again to take a look over our shoulder and see what happened in our yesterdays.

75 years ago: Sept. 20, 1930 — Sigourney beats North English 6-0. Davidson and Pfaff were the chief ground gainers for Sigourney. Sept. 20 — What Cheer trounces New Sharon 48-0. Strong and Holly had stellar games for What Cheer. Sept. 20 — Pella downs Attica 26-0. Fennama scored twice for Pella and Van Arkel and Dykstra each scored once. Sept. 22 — Osky loses the opener to Washington 6-0. Washington scored in the final three minutes for the win. Robertson, Sheesley and McCormick stood out for Osky.

50 years ago: Sept. 15, 1955 — Lacey upsets Tracy 8-6. Ray Poe had a double and two singles and Les Maudlin pounded a Triple, double and a single to lead Lacey. Sept. 15 — The Indians sink Belle Plaine 20-7. Jack McDonald scored twice and Tom Bowen once to lead Osky. Sept. 15 — Bussey beat New Sharon 25-19. Bill Hines and Deb Ford starred in the backfield for the Yellowjackets while Don DesPlanque was the leader in the line. Jack Klinker, Jerry Dawley and Earl Thomas stood out for the Bulldogs. Sept. 19 — Fremont and Cedar post wins in sectional baseball. Fremont beat Packwood 8-5 and Cedar topped Ollie 11-1. Dick Lee pitched the win for Fremont and Akerman led the hitting with a pair of singles. Cecil Brown pitched the win for Cedar and Alvin Van Maanen blasted a pair of home runs and a single.

25 years ago: Sept. 16, 1980- Eddyville tops Osky in a slugfest 12-10. Kathy Klyn broke a 10-10 tie with a two run single in the sixth. Linda Schuring had a triple and a single for Osky and Julie Beal tagged a pair of doubles. Sept. 16 — Steph Holliman drove in the winning run as Fremont remained unbeaten in the Empire Conference with a 7-6 win over Russell. Sept. 20 — Osky falls short of Fort Madison 23-21. Matt Moore scored twice for Osky. Sept. 20 — Eddyville beats North Mahaska 26-7. The passing combo of Doug Richards to Rich Thomas and the running of Dan Ozborne led the Rockets. Bill Hudson fired an 80 yard pass to Tim Pinkerton for the lone NM score. Sept. 22 — Penn’s ground game buries Central Methodist. Richard Baskerville and Warren Loving led the Statesman attack.

Have a great week and boost your favorite team.

Any views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of the Oskaloosa Herald.