Tigers break Cogs down with week eight win

RANDY STUCKENBERG PHOTO Tempo
Drake Snodgrass runs past a Genoa-Kingston defender during the first half of their game in Byron on Friday, Oct. 18. Byron won 42-13.

By Chris Johnson
REPORTER
The Byron Tigers did exactly what they needed to do in their week eight match against Big Northern co-leader Genoa-Kingston. They refused to let the Cogs roll their offensive machine and captured the night 42-13.
The win moved Byron to 7-1 on the season and kept them within striking distance of the Stillman Valley Cardinals, who now stand alone in front in the mid-school conference with their unblemished eight win mark.
Byron handled business right out of the gate. They refused to let Genoa-Kingston work its offense as it had throughout the entire Big Northern campaign. The Cogs scored seven points in the opening period. Byron outpaced them at a 2-1 rate and entered the second up a score.
The Tigers tacked on another seven points as they entered the half time break with the 21-7 advantage.
Action in the third period nearly mirrored the first quarter efforts. The Cogs got on the board, but Byron again doubled up on them in the period. After three the lead had grown to 35-13 as the Tigers prepared to settle in for the remaining twelve minutes of game time.
Genoa-Kingston would not score again as Byron finalized its scoring with another seven points to win 42-13. Again highlighting its strength on the defensive line. Two great defenses took the field and one held ground showcasing its prowess.
Throughout the season, Genoa-Kingston had averaged nearly 38 points a night and their defense was touted as the second best in the conference, only behind Byron, allowing just over seven points a night.
The Cogs efforts pushed them into the top ten where they opened the weekend ranked eighth in the State in Class 4A. It was one position behind Stillman Valley on the State polls.
This Friday night the regular season comes to a close as the Tigers look to take down the Dukes and improve their season mark to 8-1, assuring the 2019 Class 3A State Tournament will open for Byron in Tigers territory.
Dixon has its own concerns, of sorts. They currently sit with a season mark of 5-3 and need to secure their sixth to assure they will be seeing second season action in November.
A loss to Byron will drop them to 5-4 and cause mathematics to be put into play, with playoff points being calculated to see if the Dukes have a chance to keep their streak of post-season visits in tact. It currently sits at five years in a row, which also incorporates a previous Big Northern conference Title.