G-K runs away with key BNC win at Dixon

DIXON – Thank goodness for an offensive line for running backs to rely on.

The Genoa-Kingston Cogs and its bevy of backs were definitely thankful for their big men up front Friday against Dixon.

The Cogs line paved the way for more than 200 first-half yards and four touchdowns in that span as they downed the Dixon Dukes 34-19 at A.C. Bowers Field.

Cogs senior running back Joshua Oates is definitely thankful for his O-line, and especially junior tackle Owen Bohne for putting an exclamation point on a short red zone run that otherwise would have made for plenty of question marks.

Up 14-7 in the second minute of the second quarter and 6 yards shy of the goal line, Oates took a handoff from junior quarterback Nolan Perry and was stopped and stripped about a yard short of the end zone. The ball bounced into the end zone, where Bohne spotted it quickly at about chest-high and pounced on it against a flurry of Dukes defenders for the touchdown and a 20-7 lead.

Of all of the years the 5-foot-10, 260-pounder has played football, this was his first touchdown.

“I just remember seeing the ball in the air, grabbing it, and just falling in the end zone,” Bohne said. “I was so surprised. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was an actual touchdown, it was surprising.”

Dixon (5-2, 5-2 Big Northern) never came within one touchdown of the Cogs the rest of the game.

To set up the game’s crucial score, the Cogs made a couple of big stops in the backfield and on their own side of the field. Seniors Colton Halter and Aidan Vasak stopped Dukes sophomore quarterback Tyler Shaner for a 9-yard sack on third down, and junior Connor Grimm took down Shaner before he could punt the ball away for a 6-yard loss.

The Cogs (6-1, 6-1) set the tone of the game early, as junior Ethan Wilnau took their second play from scrimmage 60 yards for a score and an 7-0 lead only 49 seconds into the game.

“I saw a bunch of people crash down and saw a hole outside,” Wilnau said. “I know that I’m fast enough to outrun anyone, and I just took it to the house.”

Wilnau found a big hole to his right and scampered near the sideline on the big run. The 5-foot-8 junior also gave the Cogs a 26-7 lead with a 93-yard scoring run, taking it around left end and following the sideline hashmarks all the way to a three-touchdown lead that remained at halftime.

Wilnau also added a kickoff return of more than 80 yards with 9:15 left in the third quarter, right after the Dukes scored their second touchdown of the game.

Junior Brody Engel made it 14-0 after a 15-yard run, reaching his hand just beyond the goal line for the two-score lead. An interception from Perry set up Brody Engel’s run.

“Everything was just working on offense and defense,” Wilnau said. “We just kept pounding the whole game.”

Dixon scored its only touchdown of the opening half when junior Jath St. Pier caught a pass from sophomore quarterback Tyler Shaner for a 54-yard score with 3:40 left in the first quarter. The Dukes came within 8 yards of another score midway through the second quarter, but were stopped by an incomplete pass on fourth down.

“They’re a really good football team,” Dukes coach Jared Shaner said of the Cogs. “They have not given up many points this year, they run it right at you on offense, and unfortunately I didn’t have our guys ready to play. It was 14-0 within the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game, and we played poorly on both offense and defense. The next three quarters it was 20-19, so we’ve got to figure something out to come out a little better.”

The Dukes’ second score came on an 11-yard pass from Shaner to senior Mason Randick in the third quarter, and the third came on a 3-yard toss to Jacob Gusse later in the quarter.

“It was mental toughness,” Randick said. “Physically we could have played better, but mentally we just weren’t there.”

Dixon fell out of a tie for second place in the Big Northern standings, while Genoa-Kingston is still jockeying for position in second with Stillman Valley. The Dukes’ challenging stretch of the season continues next week back home against Byron (7-0), and the Cogs travel to winless Rockford Christian.

For now, Bohne will soak up the special moment of scoring a touchdown from the offensive line.

“I feel great,” Bohne said. “First touchdown? Probably the only one I’ll ever have? It feels great that I helped the team win the game.”