In an opening week contest that had a bit of everything, the No. 9 ranked Sigourney-Keota Cobras got the better of rival No. 12 Mid-Prairie 27-21 on Friday. In a game heard on AM and FM KCII, the Golden Hawks got the first drive of the night going their way, entering the red zone before things stalled out on a terrific fourth down stop by the Cobra defense. The two teams traded possessions the rest of the quarter leaving the game scoreless after one frame. In the second, SK broke through on the board when the Cobras capped an eight play, 66 yard drive at the 10:07 mark with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Cade Molyneux to Wyatt Sieren to make it 7-0. Mid-Prairie mounted two more drives in before half, only to be turned away on both occasions. The first started at midfield and ended at 2:15 to go in the quarter on a fumble at the SK 30, recovered by the Cobra’s Ashton Thomas, the second for the Golden Hawks covered 63 yards in just 55 seconds down to the Cobra one before a tackle was made by the SK defense as time expired to keep Mid-Prairie out of the endzone, off the board, and leave the score 7-0 at half.
After the break, the third quarter belonged to Sigourney-Keota. Brady Duwa took the opening kickoff and raced 90 yards for a touchdown. After a missed extra point the SK lead stood at 13-0. On their next drive, Vinnie Bowlin’s pass was intercepted by Colton Clarahan who returned it to the Golden Hawk 26 to set up a four play drive that ended with Duwa’s second touchdown in three minutes. After a Sam Sieren two pointer, the Cobra lead had ballooned to 21-0. Mid-Prairie got the offense rolling on their next drive, marching 61 yards on 10 plays with Kayden Reinier putting it in the end zone from a yard away to get within 21-7. The Golden Hawk defense then rose up and pushed SK into a fourth and 17 at the Mid-Prairie 46, however, a costly roughing the kicker penalty on the punt gave the Cobras an automatic first down and new life and SK made it hurt for the Hawks, with Cade Molyneux going up the gut for 30 yards and a touchdown on the very next snap. After a missed extra point it was 27-7 Cobras. From that point on the Mid-Prairie comeback attempt was fast and furious in the fourth quarter.
Down by 20, the Golden Hawks went back to the air with Bowlin finding Keegan Gingerich for 61 yards and a touchdown with 11 minutes to go, pulling Mid-Prairie within 27-14. SK bled three minutes off the clock with no points on their next drive before Mid-Prairie forced a punt. The Golden Hawks got the ball back with eight minutes left and went 80 yards on just three plays when Kayden Reinier raced 43 yards for six, pulling Mid-Prairie within 27-21. SK got the ball once more and tried to end the game on offense, putting together 11 plays that crossed 40 yards and bled five minutes off the clock but the Mid-Prairie defense stopped the Cobras on fourth and seven at the Golden Hawk 43 to set up one final chance. Mid-Prairie took over with 1:43 on the clock and moved the ball to the SK 23 yard line with under 30 seconds to go. A Bowlin throw to the end zone intended for Cain Brown was intercepted for a touchback by Brady Duwa with 14 seconds left to seal the game for SK. After the contest Cobra head coach Jared Jensen talked about the win. “Brady is a natural athlete. He sees things quicker than a lot people. He’s great on offense, special teams and defense. Reminds me a lot of Avery Moore from a few years ago. Sam (Sieren) and Cade (Molyneux) ran great up the middle. The guys that played last year, that senior class really laid the ground work for this year’s team. The mental toughness, the work ethic, the guys this year are still on the same page. Coming into tonight I was a little unsure of who we were. Tonight showed, we are a team that will find a way to get it done.”
Mid-Prairie outgained the Cobras 448 to 225 on the night including 238 to 32 through the air. SK forced three Mid-Prairie turnovers. The Cobras did not have any giveaways despite putting the ball on the turf four times. SK was two for two in the red zone and the Golden Hawks were just one of three. Spinner back Cade Molyneux led the Cobra ground game with 19 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. He was five of five through the air for 32 yards and another score. Kayden Reinier had 22 carries for 134 yards and a pair of scores for Mid-Prairie. Keegan Gingerich had six catches for 118 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. With the win, Sigourney-Keota is now 1-0 as they get ready for Eddyville-Blakesburg next week. The Golden Hawks are 0-1 as they welcome Iowa City Regina to town next Friday.