KoMets get by Cobras in season opener

K-M strong in opening victory Heading into this season, the Kasson-Mantorville football team found themselves on much more stable ground than this time a year ago. While the players have gotten comfortable and healthy, the KoMets have been optimistic that this season can turn out better than last year’s edition of the team. After one game, some of the improvements are evident after a 27-16 victory over Triton at Wally Hitt Field inDodge Center last Thursday night. The first drive of the game set the tone for the KoMets as they tried to get the ball in the hands of Brendan Knoll early and often. As the senior streaked up the sideline, leaped for a grab and stiff-armed Triton cornerback Brady Essig for what appeared to be the opening touchdown, he looked back to see flags on the field for holding and retreated back to the huddle. That would be a pattern to open the game as the KoMets would see their first three drives end deep in Cobras territory with fumbles. The first two came on Knoll trying to gain a couple extra yards on a play while the third came on a bad exchange between fullback Noah Ryan and quarterback Matt Winkle. “If we convert on those drives right away, we could have put Triton in a deep hole,” K-M football coach Broc Threinen lamented. “Brendan was just trying to get a couple yards and that allowed some defenders to come in and rip it out. The other fumble was just a matter of getting the reps for our players to have that run smoothly.” Triton’s resiliency not enough against K-MA year ago, everything seemed to go right when the Triton football team opened its season against Kasson-Mantorville. With a strong defense and a dominant running game, the Cobras were able to pick up a 20-6 victory over the KoMets and used that to springboard themselves to a successful year. When the two teams faced off last Thursday night, there were a couple things that had changed as the Cobras fell to the KoMets 27-16 at Wally Hitt Field in Dodge Center. “Their offensive line is bigger than it was last year,” Triton head coach Don Henderson observed. “They also have a lot of athletes that make things a bit of a challenge.” The KoMets brought the challenge immediately as they connected on a deep pass to Brendan Knoll, who waltzed into the end zone, but had the touchdown negated by a penalty. K-M would drive the ball deep into KoMet territory on the opening drive, but a nice strip would stop the drive and give the Triton offense a chance to respond. The opportunity came on the second play of the drive for the Cobras when Brady Essig found a streaking Drew Kelly on the side of the field, but it hit his hands and fell to the turf. After Triton would punt on the possession, they would force another pair of turnovers deep in the own territory, but couldn’t drive