Special team heroes for Cobras

DURANT — Coaches always talk about the three phases of football being offense, defense and special teams, but the third one is often overlooked.

Sigourney-Keota’s special teams were heroes Friday in a 23-20 win at Durant.

Cobras head coach Jared Jensen players provided “a solid wall to kick behind” for Colten Clarahan’s three field goals, one from 48 yards out, another with under 5 minutes left in the game. The return teams provided good field position. A timely punt by Evan Dawson left Durant inside the 5. “All of those guys that make up those teams did a great job and were instrumental in what we were able to accomplish.”

The Cobras defense started strong with a fumble recovery by Ethan Shifflett and an interception by Cole Clarahan on the first two drives. The results were a 28 yard field goal and a touchdown pass from Cade Molyneux to Levi Crawford.

Durant scored late in the first quarter, but Jack Clarahan blocked the extra point to make the score 10-6.

Durant forced the Cobras into “some sloppy offensive plays, getting us behind the chains every possession,” Jensen said.

Nolan DeLong, who ran for 1,589 yards as a sophomore last year at Durant, started getting stronger as the game went on.

Down 20-13, Clarahan punched through another kick to close the gap to 20-16 with 3:30 to go.

Zach Smithart stopped Durant’s next possession when he stripped the ball and recovered the fumble.

“Our offensive line and blocking back did a great job picking up Durant's defenders that were coming from every which direction,” Jensen said. “Our team's mindset was win at all costs.”

The Cobras finished off a tough drive by Molyneux rushing into the end zone with 30 seconds to go.

“Our defense held strong and kept DeLong in check, finishing out the final seconds to get the win,” Jensen said.

Friday Sigourney-Keota hosts Mid-Prairie, a 55-13 winner over WBND. The Cobras and Golden Hawks had a barnburner last season that went down to the wire.