Sigourney-Keota withstands Central Decatur passing attack

LEON — The Class 1A No. 4 Sigourney-Keota football team traveled to Central Decatur Friday for a 37-9 District 6 win over the Cardinals that wrapped up a district title.

“Nothing is ever easy and CD really came to play,” SK head coach Jared Jensen said. "We had to work for everything against a quality opponent.“

The Cobras took control of the game late in the second quarter when they “ran a great 2-minute drill” to score for a 24-3 lead. “That kind of sealed the deal and got the breathing room we needed going into halftime,” Jensen said. He credited the win to a balanced offense and a “strong bend-but-don't-break defense.”

Air strikes by the Cobras were a high for the season with Colten Clarahan completing 8-of-11 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He was 9-for-25 before the game. Levi Crawford caught four passes for 80 yards. Aidan Anderson pulled in a 40-yard scoring bomb and Evan Dawson caught a 32-yard touchdown pass.

Cade Molyneux added to his class-leading rushing total with 148 yards on 24 carries. His three Cobra touchdowns give him 19 on the season, third in 1A. Clarahan had 45 yards on nine carries, Crawford 50 on eight rushes. Ethan Shifflet ran once and picked up 39 yards.

The Cardinals threw 40 times with 17 completions as five different receivers caught at least two passes to total 267 yards and rushed 22 times for 66 yards.

Total yards of offense was a 483-333 advantage for the Cobras. The defense came up with some crucial fourth-down stops in the red zone to stymie the Cardinals.

Clarahan led the Cobra defense with 6.5 tackles, five solo while Cole Clarahan had 5.5, four solo. Evan Vittetoe recorded two tackles for loss.

Central Decatur falls to 4-3. Sigourney-Keota is 7-0 and 4-0 in the district with a game at home against Van Buren County (2-5).