Colome hosts Viborg-Hurley in 9B semifinal

COLOME — The No. 2-seeded Colome Cowboys hope to return to their first championship game since 2007 as they take on No. 3-seeded Viborg-Hurley in a 9B semifinal football game at 6 p.m. Saturday in Colome.

Colome has a record of 9-1 this season and has hosted all of its postseason games. Viborg-Hurley’s last championship-game appearance was in 2010, when it lost to Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 48-34.

Colome coach Kevin Keiser said the team is looking forward to playing in front of the Cowboy fans.

“We love playing at home,” he said. “Our fans are so supportive, and we’re feeling good and healthy going into this game.”

Colome has never played Viborg-Hurley but defeated Viborg in 2006 before it was combined with Hurley.

Viborg-Hurley is 8-2 and defeated No. 6-seeded Hitchcock-Tulare 38-28 in the quarterfinal round.

Keiser said he has noticed the team taking practices more seriously this week.

“There is a lot more riding on this game,” he said. “We can sense it in practice because the intensity is high and the kids are doing drills with more energy.”

The Cowboys intend to stick to what has brought them to this point — the run game.

Colome has racked up 2,739 yards rushing this season, averaging 274 yards per game. The Cowboys have two players with more than 1,000 yards rushing this season. Junior Terrance Kinzer has led the Cowboys on the ground with 132 carries for 1,196 yards and 22 touchdowns, while senior Andrew Odden has 179 carries for 1,125 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“When you get to this point in the season, you want to keep doing what has been working,” said Keiser, whose team has scored 43 rushing touchdowns in 10 games. “We have to try to establish the line of scrimmage and stick to our game plan.”

Kinzer is 24-of-54 passing for 433 yards and seven touchdowns as Colome’s quarterback.

Defensively for the Cowboys, Kinzer has 105 tackles and Brandon Hauf and Cohl Ratermann have 81 tackles apiece.

Tags: sports, updates, colome, football