Cobras rewarded revenge, redemption

SIGOURNEY - Great players make great plays at great moments and there was no bigger moment for Sigourney-Keota Friday than when Brady Duwa changed the Class 1A District 6 football game against nemesis Mediapolis.

A 14-7 Sigourney-Keota halftime lead was padded with a Colton Clarahan 39-yard field goal midway through the third, but the Bulldogs responded with a deep pass, which was caught at the 35 and taken up the sideline for what seemed to be a 17-14 game. SK's free safety Brady Duwa chased Logan Thie down and punched the ball out of Thie's arms then recovered it in the end zone for a touchback. The Cobras went on to a 31-14 win.

'It was a phenomenal play by No. 34 (Duwa),” Mediapolis head coach Brian Borrison said. 'They are very physical and we got worn down on defense in the second half.”

A week of tension and nervousness for the Cobras preceded this game of 'redemption” in a rematch of last year when the Bulldogs took the district title and a playoff berth.

'This game of redemption weighed heavily on our minds all season,” SK head coach Jared Jensen said. 'This play was where we really took control of the game.”

The Cobras struck first in the game when Sam Sieren dashed 91 yards for a touchdown. Mediapolis responded with an Anthony Isley 55-yard touchdown run. Sieren charged six yards for the only second-quarter touchdown.

After Clarahan's field goal and Duwa's defensive heroics, the Cobras Cade Molyneaux rumbled seven yards for a TD in the closing minute of the third for a 24-7 advantage.

Mediapolis (4-2, 3-1) struck back early in the fourth when Regan Thornburg threw a strike to Isely for a touchdown. The Cobras had the last say in the game, adding a final three-yard touchdown plunge from Molyneux, who had nine rushes for 33 yards and was 6-of-8 passing for 75 yards with an interception. Sieren led the Cobras, rushing 279 yards on 28 carries.

Wyatt Sieren led the Cobras with five solo tackles. Duwa recovered another Mediapolis fumble, made an interception with a 15-yard return, had two carries for 21 yards, three receptions for 56 yards with a long of 40, two kickoff returns for a 27.5 yard average, and three punts with a long of 44.

'He flipped the field position numerous times. setting our offense up,” Jensen said. 'Duwa finds all those hidden yards and plays that it takes to be a complete football team.”

Friday, the Cobras will travel to meet the Cardinal Comets (4-2, 2-1), who won homecoming 74-0 over Van Buren County Friday.