PELLA — When you are dealt a hand of lemons, make lemonade and that is just what the Pella Christian Eagles did Friday night in a non-district battle with Sigourney-Keota.

The Eagles had to deal with some adversity during the week and fought through it to post a sweet 33-13 win over a physical Cobra club.

Last Friday, the Eagles lost their leading rusher, receiver and middle linebacker Caleb Morgan, with a serious leg and ankle injury. Morgan’s teammates pushed him onto the field in a wheelchair and he watched the game on crutches. During the week, second-leading rusher Michael Mason went down leaving the Eagles without about 70 percent of their offense for this game.

Last week, Derek Van Kooten missed the game due to a concussion, but he was cleared to play this week. To say that he was chomping at the bit might be an understatement. Van Kooten had a huge night that included 214 yards in 12 carries, three pass receptions for another 26 yards and had touchdown runs of 76 and 19 yards.

“I knew I had to step it up,” Van Kooten said. “Coming back from an injury made me really pumped to go. I had great blocking from my offensive line and the lead backs.”

Pella Christian took the opening kickoff and Mason Howerzyl returned it to near midfield. The Eagles then put together a nine-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard sprint to the corner of the endzone by Van Kooten. The PAT was blocked and the Eagles had a 6-0 lead with 8:19 left in the first period.

That lead didn’t last long as on the ensuing kickoff, Kolton Greiner ripped off an 88-yard kickoff return for six points. Kevin Weber kicked the PAT for a 7-6 Sigourney-Keota lead.

The Eagles had an answer as they drove 64 yards in six plays to regain the lead. Key plays in the drive were a 15-yard pass from Coltin Collins to Riley Stursma for a first down and a 31-yard scoring strike from Collins to Blake Riggen. This time the PAT kick by Jacob Brouwer was good for a 13-7 Eagle lead with 6:07 left in the opening quarter.

Just when it appeared that the game would turn into a ping-pong match, the worm turned. For the rest of the first half the game became a bump and grind, hard-hitting defensive battle.

The Pella Christian defense registered a three-and-out stand to open the second half and after the Cobra punt, the Eagles drove 77 yards to score in five plays. A 52-yard dash by Van Kooten put the pigskin on the Cobra 11-yard line. On the next play, Collins found Riggen for an 11-yard scoring pass and Brouwer kicked the PAT for a 20-7 Eagle lead with 8:39 to go in the third period.

Midway through the final stanza, the Eagles scored twice in a 15-second time span. The first score came when Van Kooten darted off left tackle, cut back and outran the Cobra defense on a 76-yard ramble to the end zone. The pass for two points failed.

On the first play of the Sigourney-Keota drive, Stursma latched on to a Cobra pass and the 25-yard line and took it home untouched for a TD. Brouwer’s kick was good and the Eagles led 33-7 with 7:35 to go in the game.

Sigourney-Keota scored on the next drive as Luke Lyle passed 30 yards to Eddie Conrad. The run for two points failed and the final score was set at 33-13.

“This is a big win for us against a good team and a good program,” Pella Christian coach Rich Kacmaryinski said. “I’m just real proud of our kids. They overcame a lot of adversity this week and showed some toughness. Derek had a great game and Coltin took a step forward tonight. Our offensive line continues to improve and our defense did a fine job against an offense that we don’t see.”

In addition to Van Kooten’s big night, Mason Howerzyl pounded out 55 heavy duty yards in 17 carries and Collins was 10-of-19 in the air for 128 yards and two TD’s. Riggen and Van Kooten each had three catches for 55 and 26 yards respectively and Adam Howerzyl added two catches for 25 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Zach Van Zee was in on 15 tackles and Alex Van Maanen was a part of 10 tackles. Stursma had an interception and Zach Arkema dug out a fumble recovery.

The Eagles will put their perfect 5-0 record on the line Friday night at Ogden in a key district battle with the Bulldogs.

 

Pella Christian 33, Sigourney-Keota 13

S-K    7    0    0    6    —    13

PC    13    0    7    13    —    33

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

PC — Derek Van Kooten 19 run, (Kick blocked)8:19

S-K — Kolton Greiner 88 kickoff return (Kevin Weber kick), 8:04

PC — Blake Riggen 31 pass from Coltin Collins (Jacob Brouwer kick), 6:07

Third Quarter

PC — Riggen 11 pass from Collins (Brouwer kick), 8:39

Fourth Quarter

PC — Van Kooten 76 run (Kick failed), 7:50

PC — Riley Stursma 75 interception return (Brouwer kick), 7:35

S-K — Eddie Conrad 30 pass from Luke Lyle (Run failed), 5:36

Team Statistics  

    PC    SK

First downs    14    13

Rushes-yards    29-269    47-143

Passing yards    128    102

Comp-Att-Int    10-19-2    7-14-1

Punts    2-37.0    4-38.0

Fumbles-lost    0-0    1-1

Penalties-yards  4-29    5-35

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — Sigourney-Keota, Mark Weachter 13-51, Greiner 8-38, Peyton Crawford 9-34. Pella Christian, Van Kooten 12-214, Mason Howerzyl 17-55.

PASSING — Sigourney-Keota, Luke Lyle 7-14-102-1. Pella Christian, Coltin Collins 10-19-128-2.

RECEIVING — Sigourney-Keota,  Jackson Davis 2-33, Greiner 3-32, Conrad 1-30, Cole Streigle 1-7. Pella Christian, Riggen 3-55, Van Kooten 3-26, Adam Howerzyl 2-25, Riley Stursma 1-15, M. Howerzyl 1-7.

TACKLES — Sigourney-Keota, Derek Berg 8, Greiner 6, Crawford 6, Streigle 5, Lyle 4. P{ella Christian, Zach Van Zee 15, Alex Van Maanen 10, M. Howerzyl 9, Zack Giddings 8, Riggen 6, Jeremy Visser 5.

INTETCEPTION — Sigourney-Keota, Lyle, Derek Berg. Pella Christian, Stursma.