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Cobras fall 1 game short of the Dome
No. 5 Sigourney-Keota football team knocked out by No. 4 Dike-New Hartford
Andy Krutsinger
Nov. 6, 2021 1:08 am, Updated: Nov. 7, 2021 10:55 am
DIKE — A magical 2021 football season for the Sigourney-Keota Cobras came to an end on Friday night. A slow start doomed the fifth-rated Cobras in a 38-14 loss to No. 4 Dike-New Hartford in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
The Wolverines got off to a fast start and never trailed. Dike-New Hartford scored twice in the first quarter, including an 82-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Stockdale to Devon Kollasch on the first drive.
After the bomb touchdown pass, Sigourney-Keota was forced to punt on the ensuing possession. The snap went past the punter and the Wolverines got the ball in the red zone.
Dike-New Hartford capitalized on the turnover. Fullback Gus Varney converted on a 4th-and-1 from the 5-yard line, running the ball into the end zone to help the Wolverines stretch the lead to 14-0, a score that would stick until the end of the first period.
“Those were huge emotional killers, but the kids hung in there,” said Sigourney-Keota head coach Jared Jensen. “We just told them they’ve got some ground to make up and to fight like they’ve never fought before.”
Dike-New Hartford got the ball back and pushed it inside the 10-yard line with less than five minutes left in the first half. The Cobras stood tall, however, and forced a field goal. The Wolverines led 17-0, but Sigourney-Keota scooped up a bit of momentum.
“We started to change our blocking scheme a bit and got back to how we traditionally block things,” said Jensen. “We started to do so and really found some success. Getting a score before half was the emotional jump start we needed.”
The Cobras threw an interception on their next possession, but the first big break came in the final minutes of the half. A botched handoff gave the Cobras the ball back when Cade Molyneaux recovered the fumble, and they were able to march down to score right before the break.
Colten Clarahan set up the score with a pass to Aidan Anderson, which set the Cobras up inside the 10. Molyneaux punched it in on a short touchdown run, and it was 17-7 at the half.
The Cobras had the ball to start the third quarter, and they were able to get the ball down past midfield. Dike-New Hartford, however, stopped a fourth down play and scored on a 35-yard touchdown run by Micah Walston.
“We just short ourselves in the foot a couple times but D-NH’s defense really played well and really tried to stop our quick side run game,” Jensen said.
Walston’s rushing touchdown made it 24-7 with 7:24 left in the third. It would stay that way until the end of the quarter.
Dike-New Hartford scored the dagger with 4:06 left in the game, when Walston took a 4th-and-7 screen pass 20 yards to the house. Clarahan threw a pick-six to Parker Adams on the next Cobra possession and the Wolverine lead was at 38-7.
Sigourney-Keota would score once more before the game was over. Molyneaux ran in a 2-yard touchdown with 7.5 seconds showing on the clock.
The Cobras finished the season 10-1. They’ve went 28-3 over the last three years, and a lot of that is credit to the senior class.
Sigourney-Keota loses its leading passer, three top runners, two top receivers and two top tacklers.
“This senior class was a huge part in bringing our culture and program back to prominence,” Jensen said. “They have been a commuted group that was willing to just outwork each other day in and day out which really set the bar high. They have continued to build up from the foundation that was laid in their early year as a highschooler.
Cade Molyneux of Sigourney-Keota Is corralled by Dike-New Harford’s Brexton Johnson (11) and Nick Reinicke (57) in Friday night’s Class 1A quarterfinal. (@cdye56/Courtesy)
Sigourney-Keota’s Colten Clarahan rears back to fire a deep pass in Friday night’s Class 1A quarterfinal loss at Dike-New Hartford. (@cdye56/Courtesy)
Sigourney Keota (left) and Dike-New Hartford (right) face off in the battle of the unbeatens on Friday, Nov. 15, 2021. (@cdye56/Courtesy)