Eagles fly past Cobras in postseason play

After driving into Pella Christian territory multiple times in the first half, the Cobras couldn?t find a way onto the scoreboard.

It was that kind of night for Sigourney-Keota, as they took on the No. 2 ranked Eagles on the road in a first-round playoff contest.

The Cobras played a tight first half, holding high-flying Pella Christian to a 14-0 lead at halftime, but the Eagles erupted in the second half, handing Sigourney-Keota a 49-0 loss to end the season.

The Cobras ended the season with an 8-2 record, but their two losses came against the top two ranked teams in Class 1A, as they dropped a regular season game to No. 1 ranked Regina earlier this year.

?They laid the groundwork,? Sigourney-Keota head coach Jared Jensen said. ?They brought Cobra football back. The last few seasons we?ve been getting closer and closer this entire season. (An 8-2 record) is nothing to feel ashamed about and it?s laying the groundwork for greatness. We ran into a great football team tonight. We just faced a good team tonight.?

The Cobras were unable to get much going out of their single-wing rushing attack, with senior Avery Moore held to 79 yards on the ground and 4.6 yards per carry.

Junior quarterback Luke Greiner finished the night with 41 yards on the ground, while sophomore running back Carson Crawford was limited to 24 yards rushing.

Despite the tough ending to the season, Jensen said it shouldn?t diminish what the team accomplished this year.

?We got to one of our goals (the playoffs),? Jensen said. ?We finished short (of others) but 8-2 is nothing to be ashamed of and that?s a phenomenal football season. I?m proud of our team and our seniors and how they carried themselves all season long.?

After a short punt on Sigourney-Keota?s opening drive, Pella Christian was set up with good field position and struck with a quick touchdown pass, taking a 7-0 lead.

The Cobras took the next possession and got their offense rolling, driving into Pella Christian territory, converting a fourth down along the way.

After getting inside the Eagle 35-yard line, the Cobras were stopped on another fourth down try, turning the ball over.

Sigourney-Keota responded with a pick on the next play, with Crawford dropping into coverage for the turnover, and the return put the Cobras in great position to strike.

Sig-K was stopped at the Eagles? 7-yard line, and opted to go for a field goal on fourth down, but missed the attempt to the right.

On Pella Christian?s next possession, they looked to throw a deep ball, but Will Magill came up big for the Cobras, picking the pass off, setting up Sig-K?s offense in Eagle territory.

They drove to the Pella Christian 32-yard line, but were stuffed on a fourth-and-short attempt, unable to maintain possession of the ball.

Pella Christian took the momentum on a 31-yard touchdown pass with 2:27 to play in the half, and carried that into the second half, exploding for 35 points en route to the playoff win.

?At those points in the red zone, you have to convert in games like this,? Jensen said. ?They stopped us a few times and we missed a field goal. We gave up potentially 17 points there, and against good football teams in the playoffs you can?t do that. We just didn?t get it done there.?

The Cobras will lose nine seniors from this season?s team, all of whom played important roles for the squad.

?This is a (class) that followed a pretty good senior group last season,? Jensen said. ?We got good leadership from them and probably got as much out of this group as we have out of any senior class. They were a great group and came to work. We might have a day where we aren?t having a great practice and someone would step up. When they spoke up, kids listened.?

Moving forward, Jensen said he hopes the offseason commitment he saw before this season carries into this offseason, as they look to keep their arrow pointing upward.

?We need the weight room and commitment in the offseason,? Jensen said. ?We need to put the work in. The commitment was good this summer, but we need it for 11 months. There were guys who did that, and we stayed healthy because of our commitment there. We just need to hit the weight room now.?