OMAHA — There were some nerves for Omaha Skutt kicker Joe Kolega lined up for a 25-yard field goal to potentially take down state power Bennington on Friday, but he was confident.
After all, he had done just about everything else for the Skyhawks.
The do-it-all senior began the evening by hauling in touchdown receptions of 36 and 59 yards. Then he picked off a pass to set up another early Skutt touchdown. He was the go-to target for quarterback Dylan Van Dyke all night.
One more play wouldn’t be an issue. Kolega buried the kick to put the SkyHawks ahead inside the final two minutes. They won 38-30, snapping Bennington’s 46-game winning streak.
The game sealing play, naturally, came from Kolega, who jumped in front of Bennington quarterback Ty Bouaphakeo’s last-gasp attempt and returned it for one last exclamation point of a touchdown.
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“We got out of them early, and we knew that they’re too good a team,†Skutt coach Matt Turman said. “They’ve won too many games in a row just to lay over."
Said Kolega: “They were just single covering me.â€
Skutt had jumped out to a 21-0 lead early behind Kolega’s two scores and a Van Dyke sneak. Bennington began to mount its comeback with an Elliott Andersen 31-yard touchdown reception, then a 30-yard scamper from running back Will Gutz.
Late in the first half, Van Dyke was sacked deep in Badger territory. Skutt rushed its field goal unit into the field, and the kick was blocked. Bennington linebacker/kicker Morgan Schuman bobbled the ball, the scooped it up and returned it for a stunning, momentum-swinging touchdown.
The Badgers got another special teams score in the second half, falling on a bad snap in the end zone on an attempted punt. Nate Christensen returned the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown.
The score remained 30-28 until Van Dyke engineered a 97-yard drive for the win, ending with Kolega’s kick, upsetting Bennington and prompting a sea of Skutt students to storm the field.
“Obviously the win streak is in the front of my mind, but this is not the end goal, and the end goal is Nov. 25 at Memorial,†Van Dyke said. “We want that more than this.â€