October 16, 2024
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Fourth-quarter heroics by Nathan Kleba, Hayden Hodgson fall short for Genoa-Kingston in OT

By Jordan Birchfield
Genoa-Kingston's Nathan Kleba, left, runs the ball for a first down before being brought down by Stillman Valley Luke Miller (22) and teammate Jackson Musial (23) during the game on Friday Oct. 11, 2024, held at Genoa-Kingston high School.

Genoa-Kingston's Nathan Kleba, left, runs the ball for a first down before being brought down by Stillman Valley Luke Miller (22) and teammate Jackson Musial (23) during the game on Friday Oct. 11, 2024, held at Genoa-Kingston high School. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

GENOA – At the end of the day, either Stillman Valley or Genoa-Kingston was going to strengthen their playoff position with a win, and one was going to be in a tougher situation with a loss.

It took overtime to sort it out, but the Cardinals knocked off the Cogs 22-20 on Friday in the Big Northern Conference showdown.

Peyton Meyer was a catalyst for the Cogs’ offense in the first quarter, helping the offense to rush the ball several yards during their first play drive.

The first touchdown of the game came from Stillman Valley (4-3, 4-3) after Genoa-Kingston (3-4, 2-4) turned the ball over on downs.  Cardinals senior Jaxon Barrett rushed in the touchdown on a third and goal. The extra point attempt was no good and the first quarter ended with Stillman Valley up 6-0.

The second quarter started with the Cog’s on offense, they would however struggle in the first half, turning it over twice on downs in the second quarter then fumbling with 4:30 left in the first half.

Cogs senior Patrick Young who helped turn up the defensive pressure forced an incomplete pass that forced a turnover with just under two minutes left.

Young attributed it to the seniors on the team having the heart, and their focus on ground and pound.

This stingy defense helped power the offense into scoring the Cogs first touchdown of the game with just under two minutes left in the first half. By making the extra point attempt the Cogs went into the second half with a 7-6 lead.

The third quarter began with strong defense from both sides, both defenses forcing fumbles in an intense back in forth. Both sides struggled to advance the ball with many possessions being forced in fourth downs. Stillman Valley forced a touchdown in the last two minutes of the third quarter and also was successful at a two-point conversion.  The third quarter ended with the Cogs down 14-7.

The fourth quarter saw more stifling defense from Stillman Valley. The Cogs struggled on offense up until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. In the final minutes Genoa-Kingston was able to score and tie the game at 14-14. Quarterback Nathan Kleba found Hayden Hodgson for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 0:55 seconds left.

Genoa Kingston coach Cam Davekos attributed this to the seniors really stepping up and recognizing how the defense began to loosen up.

This resulted in overtime in which the Cogs were able to go up 20-14  but failed to make the point after touchdown. Stillman Valley secured the lead after scoring a touchdown at third and goal and making the two-point conversion. The Cogs fell to Stillman Valley 22-20.

Stillman Valley coach Mike Lalor said that Genoa-Kingston is awfully good and that his team had to be close to perfect to get the win.