Special teams anchor Sigourney-Keota football to 6th-straight win

SIGOURNEY — Special teams were just that for the No. 5 Sigourney-Keota Cobras in a Class 1A unbeaten showdown with Cardinal on Friday night.

In the first half alone the Cobras blocked two punts, recovered a fumble on a kickoff and scored on a punt return to put the Comets away early, en route to a 50-26 victory.

After recovering a punt return fumble of its own, Cardinal struck first when quarterback Maddux Jones hit Griffin Greiner for a 25-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. The Cobras would respond with 21-straight points.

Sigourney-Keota did what it does best on the Cobras’ opening drive. The Cobras marched down field with their strong running game and scored on a short touchdown run by Cade Molyneaux. It was 7-6 Sigourney-Keota after the extra point, and they never tailed again.

“ It's kind of our key to success,” said Sigourney-Keota coach Jared Jensen. “We just continue to do what we do.”

The Cobras blocked a punt on the ensuing Cardinal possession, and Bo Schmidt fell on it in the end zone for a special teams touchdown to help stretch the lead to 14-7.

Sigourney-Keota recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Molyneaux scored on the very next play. It was 21-6 after the first quarter.

Cardinal struck back on the first play of the second period. It was Jones to Greiner again, this time for a 93-yard score. The two-point conversion failed, but the Comets were back in it, at 21-12.

The next 10 points were scored by the Sigourney-Keota special teams units. Colten Clarahan banged in a 39-yard field goal, and Levi Crawford returned a Comet punt 40-yards to the house.

“There was a lot of people coming,” Crawford said. “But we had pretty good blocking, and without them I couldn't do anything.”

Sigourney-Keota came up with yet another big play on special teams on the next Cardinal possession. After forcing a Comet punt, Evan Dawson blocked it to give the Cobras the ball at the 22. Molyneaux scored on the very next play.

Sigourney-Keota led 37-12 at the half and 43-12 after 3.

The Cobras had two rushing touchdowns in the second half, one each by Ethan Shifflett and Crawford. Cardinal scored on a touchdown pass from Maddux Jones to Blaine Bryant, and a kick-return touchdown for Greiner, his third score of the day.

It was Cardinal’s first loss of the year, dropping the Comets to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in district play. Sigourney Keota (6-0, 2-0) is two wins away from an undefeated regular season.

“We just stay on the grind,” Jensen said. “It's two teams that on paper we should probably beat, but anything can happen.”

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