Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

The Pella Christian football team struggled throughout the night Friday, falling 42-15 in a district road game heard live on 92.1 KRLS at Sigourney Keota.

The Cobras got the scoring started with a 50-yard passing touchdown, taking a 7-0 advantage midway through the first quarter. The Eagles answered with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Van Arendonk to Benny Schirz, and following a penalty on the extra point attempt, Trevor Veenstra’s two-point conversion gave P.C. an 8-7 lead with 5:16 left in the first. A minute later, Sigourney Keota responded with a 39-yard rushing touchdown to reclaim a 14-8 lead, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish. After regaining the upper hand, the Cobras scored the next 21 points to go up 35-8 heading into the fourth quarter. Van Arendonk would find the endzone once again to start the fourth, this time with an 18-yard rushing touchdown, to make the score 35-14, but Sigourney put the game away midway through the quarter with their fourth rushing touchdown of the night.

Pella Christian was outgained on the ground 310 yards to 142 and managed to gain just 12 first downs throughout the game. Van Arendonk threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, while also leading the Eagles in rushing with 56 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Benny Schirz was the primary receiver for Pella Christian on the night, hauling in five passes for 180 yards.

The Eagles drop to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the district on the season, and will look for a big bounce back game against a 1-5 Cardinal Comets squad that fell 52-6 at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Friday.