Photo Courtesy of Jeff Yoder
It was a nailbiter in the second round of the playoffs Friday night in Sigourney, but the Sigourney-Keota Cobra football team upset the No. 10 Mediapolis Bulldogs in overtime to keep their season alive 20-14. The Bulldogs got the scoring underway with five minutes left in the first on an Anthony Isley three yard scoring run to make it 7-0. The Cobras went up top for their first points when Sawyer Stout dialed up a deep ball to Clay Morse who took it 70 yards for six, to pull SK within one in the final 20 seconds of the opening frame. With five minutes left in the first half, the Bulldogs found the end zone for the second time on an Alton Wonderlich three yard touchdown dive to move their lead to 14-6. The Cobras would even the score right before half when Cole Clarahan plunged in from three yards out and collected the two, leaving things at 14 all going to intermission. Out of halftime, the defenses posted a scoreless stalemate, with dueling turnovers and a missed field goal closing out regulation. In extra time, Cole Clarahan punched another touchdown in from three yards out to put the Snakes on top 20-14. The SK defense stood tall one more time, holding MEPO out on fourth and goal from the three to preserve the win. After the game, head coach Jared Jensen talked about what the win meant and the effort to get it. “Yeah, it was an exciting game! That’s what playoff football is about! They got up on us early, we answered back. They score again, we put a drive together right before half to go down and score, get a two-point conversion to tie it up at 14. So I think we’ve got a little bit of the momentum. It’s kind of just a defensive battle the rest of the game. They had an opportunity to try to kick a field goal with a little time left on the clock to potentially win the game, and they came up short. They kind of had the last shot. Our defense had good coverage and an incomplete pass sent it to overtime. It’s 10 yards and in, and we are a three and a half yard football team. That’s what we pride ourselves on. We need to get that every single play. We just knew it was time to step up. Everybody knew what was at stake and really put it together. Defense stepped up huge. MEPO had four chances as well, the first three got them down to about the three yard line. Last play our defense stuffed them and sealed the victory.”
The Cobras found a way despite being outgained 326 to 211 in total yards. The Bulldogs won the ground battle 302 to 99, SK controlled the skies 112 to 24. Cole Clarahan carried 12 times for 24 yards with two scoring runs. Stout was three of eight passing for 112 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Morse caught one ball for 70 yards and a touchdown. Jack Clarahan had a game high 15 tackles. Reid Molyneux had 11 stops and a fumble recovery. Cole Clarahan picked off a pass. The win is the eighth in a row for the Cobras since starting 0-2, and moves them into the 1A quarterfinals for the third straight year. SK now heads west to Van Meter to meet the 9-1, No. 2 ranked Bulldogs who were a 42-0 winner over Woodward-Granger Friday. The winner of that contest advances to the UNI-Dome.