Nathan Kleba’s three touchdown passes helps Genoa-Kingston drop Leo

GENOA – The Genoa-Kingston football team and its usually run-heavy offense opened the season in an unusual way: throwing downfield.

Cogs quarterback Nathan Kleba tossed three touchdown passes in the first half as part of a big-play explosion Friday as the Cogs beat Chicago Leo 41-22.

For Kleba’s first touchdown pass, he rolled right to avoid pressure then threw back to the middle of the field 26 yards to a wide-open Patrick Young.

“I definitely influenced his decision on calling those [passing] plays,” Kleba joked. “I’m a little surprised we called all those pass plays, but it worked out.”

Kleba’s next touchdown pass came in the second quarter with the Cogs driving at their own 47-yard line. Kleba rolled back and hit Blake Ides as he was running behind the Leo defense for a 57-yard touchdown catch and run. That score put the Cogs up 28-7.

“We have great receivers catching balls over people’s heads and it’s awesome,” Kleba said. “I love it.”

With the clock running down at the end of the half, Kleba had one more touchdown pass to throw before time expired. With less than five seconds left and the ball at the 10-yard line, Kleba bought time and fired a strike to Hayden Hodgson in the back corner of the end zone as time expired in the half. That score put the Cogs up 35-6 going into the half.

“We just took advantage of some opportunities that they were showing us and that happened to be some pass plays,” Cogs coach Cam Davekos said. “We’re definitely a run-first, run-heavy team and pass if it’s open.”

Sandwiched in between Kleba’s touchdown passes were the big plays from the running backs that have been the mainstay of the Cogs’ offense. In the first quarter, Owen Zaccard broke through the line and ran 49 yards to Leo’s 14-yard line. Zaccard punched it in from 2 yards out four plays later.

On the next Cogs’ possession, Tyler Atterberry took the ball on the second play of the drive and weaved his way across the field and down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown run.

Atterberry made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball as well. The Lions were making their way back into the game. The Lions scored a touchdown on a Javon Logan 63-yard touchdown run and then recovered the onside kick. Atterberry had back-to-back sacks on the next two plays to push the Lions back to third and 16. On the next play after the sacks, Nolan Kline intercepted a deep pass and the Cogs closed out the game.

“It felt so good to get those back-to-back sacks,” Atterberry said.

The Cogs defense played sharp all night. They forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs four times.