When the dust cleared in the latest chapter of the Mid-Prairie/Sigourney-Keota football rivalry Friday at Dwight G. Sattler Field in Wellman, the Golden Hawks had secured a 28-0 Homecoming win over the visiting Cobras on KCII. After highlighting the importance of fast start, that’s just what the Hawks did, taking the ball on their first possession 70 yards on 13 plays, finishing with an eight yard touchdown toss from Brooks Weber to Carson Humphrey to make it 7-0 midway through the first. The score stayed put into the second, through three possessions, before Mid-Prairie doubled their lead, capping an 11 play 67 yard drive with another Weber scoring throw, this one on fourth on goal from the four to Hudson Ehrenfelt. In the final two minutes of the half, the Hawks got the play of the night, when junior defensive lineman Jack Sorrell picked off a Brayden Wood pass and rumbled 14 yards to the end zone to put Mid-Prairie up 21-0 going to the break.
Out of halftime, the Cobras mounted a drive that covered 30 yards before Humphrey ended things with a Mid-Prairie fumble recovery. Three plays later, Weber and Kaden Kos went to work in the insurance business on a 53-yard touchdown connection to put Mid-Prairie up 28-0 and seemingly seal it. SK put together several promising second half drives to follow that were snuffed out by Golden Hawk fumble recoveries from Kos and Damian Vazquez. Following the win, the Golden Hawks of the game, Kos, Sorrell and Weber joined the KCII postgame show to talk about the win.
Weber said, “Getting out and getting a lead boosted everyone’s confidence. Getting the ball and getting a score, and our defense played tremendously from there. When we built that lead, we had to keep our foot on the gas, not let them back in the game. The O-line did a great job tonight, keeping the ball on the ground with the run game.”
Kos continued, “The defense did our job extremely well with reading our keys and flying to the ball. Coach Turtle (Derek Yoder) came in at halftime and put a big zero on the board and circled it. That’s what we were trying to hold them to. I think our defense coming out and shutting a team out is something we really needed.”
Sorrell said, “(On the pick six) I just fought off my blocks. I saw my teammate Ryan (Henry), get to the quarterback really fast which made him make a choice, I saw a wide open running back so I just took my shot. I got in front of him and just ran it. I made sure not to drop it. I thought ‘I just scored a touchdown!’ It’s pretty important to me. We played well on defense, I think increasing the pressure on their backs was important. This was a big win in a rivalry, the crowd was great.”
Unofficially, Mid-Prairie won total yards 313-200 and turnovers 4-0. The Golden Hawks were led by Ehrenfelt with 136 all-purpose yards on 21 touches and a receiving touchdown. Weber was 12 of 16 passing for 147 yards and three scores. Kos added 93 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, while leading the defense with nine tackles and a takeaway. Sorrell, Humphrey and Vazquez all took turnovers from SK. The Cobras had Ike Molyneux finish with 115 yards on the ground to lead on 24 rushes. Chase Clarahan and John Berg combined for 16 tackles. With the win Mid-Prairie is now 2-1 and opens district play Friday at Wilton on KCII. The Cobras drop to 0-3 and they are on KCII next week for Homecoming against Eddyville-Blakesburg.